MacD on Music: The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

This Saturday is one of the most exciting days for music lovers. The 22nd April 2023 sees the return of Record Store Day, one of the most exciting times of year for record shops around the world.

Starting in 2007, Record Store Day is a worldwide celebration of the heart and soul of any town or city. Record Store Day always sees an array of brilliant releases, and this year is no exception. For us in Derry, the only place to get these exclusives is in Cool Discs, Derry’s only independent record shop.

As those who know me can confirm, I occasionally wander in there myself (mainly just on days with a ‘Y’ in them), and this week I’m talking to Lee Mason, the owner of Derry’s most important shop.

Talking about the shop, Lee tells me: “Cool Discs has been based in Foyle Street for over 27 years and the shop is unique in that we are the only record shop that supports nearly every label and distributor in the UK/Ireland, alongside many other interesting labels throughout Europe and the rest of the world and we do this all year round.

"By support, we mean we put our money where our mouth is and invest in new music week in week out and our commitment and support to local music has never wavered."

About Record Store Day itself, Lee says: “We have taken part in this annual celebration of the ‘bricks and mortar’ record shop every year. Every year RSD has grown and grown to what is now the biggest single event in music retail.

"This is the biggest single day for Independent record stores and it is now our busiest weekend of the year–it shines a light on record shops, it is a celebration of the culture of the bricks and mortar shop and our place in our local community.

"The day is even more special because of the joy you see on customers faces when the get what they wanted. The craic is always good amongst people.”

Talking about this year’s event, Lee has this to say:

RECORD STORE DAY 2023:

Saturday 22 April 23 and we are back at it again for another one!

Cool Discs is DERRY'S ONLY OFFICIAL RSD SHOP, meaning we are the ONLY shop that will have many of the LTD & EXCLUSIVE RSD releases. You won’t find these titles anywhere else in Derry and if you want to know anything about RSD releases, talk to us.

Cool Discs have been celebrating and participating in RSD longer than any other record shop in the North of Ireland, and was one of a handful of shops throughout all of Ireland who were invited by the organizers to get involved way back in 2008.

This year we have sifted through over 400 releases which we believe will be the most popular and sought after-we have ordered probably around 70% of the list, which you can view at shop.cooldiscsmusic.com.

This years ambassadors are The 1975. They have a ‘live’ album with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra on clear double vinyl. Also, Taylor Swift releases ‘Folklore-The Long Pond Sessions’  and there are exclusive releases from Pixies, Brian Eno, Ocean Colour Scene, Foals, Blur, Stevie Nicks, Sam Fender, Miles Davis, U2, Madonna, Pearl Jam and loads more...…

As always, these releases are LIMITED and are offered on a first come, first served basis in person at our shop on the day.

Spend £60 and into the hat you will go for the raffles (x3)

We will have many, many special offers over the weekend with new vinyl.

With a stock level of over 12,500 titles covering all genres-we also have USED vinyl.

As many of our regulars already know, we try very hard to keep our prices as low as we can and we will regularly be cheaper than online platforms.

If you are unfamiliar with the rules, below is a quick recap:

No phone orders
No reserves
You must visit our shop to purchase
As many titles as you wish, but only one title per customer
We open at 9am and will close at 6pm.

Now, onto other business. Last week saw the release of Parker’s new single ‘Ruin My Life’. It’s available now on all good streaming platforms. Next week also sees them begin a four-date tour around the country, with gigs in Fibber’s in Dublin on the 28th April, Fred Zeppelin’s on the 29th, somewhere that hasn’t been announced yet (as of this writing) in Cork on the 13th May and Queen’s Student Union Bar on the 19th May. Parker can be found on Instagram @bandcalledparker.

This Friday (21st April) also sees Cherym playing in Lavery’s in Belfast, with support from TRAMP and Jock. They can be found @cherymofficial and @thisistramp. 

Also, for those who aren’t too busy listening to their new records this Saturday, don’t forget that Red Eye Pariah are playing Bennigan’s, with support from Yunga. Both can be found @redeyepariah and @yungaband.

Finally, for those that may be reading this from slightly further afield, Bono’s book tour ‘Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story’ is currently running in the Beacon Theatre in New York, featuring accompaniment from Derry’s own Gemma Doherty (of Saint Sister fame). It’s running until the 8th May for those who happen to be in the area. Gemma can be found on Instagram @gemma_doherty_.

Record Store Day is this Saturday, exclusively in Cool Discs. They can be found on Facebook and Instagram @cooldiscs.