Searching for a sign that vinyl’s resurgence is only gaining momentum – and not waning by 33⅓, as was reported a few days ago? Have at this, my LP-loving brothers and sisters: WH Smith is about to start stocking vinyl in 80 of its stores again. It’s something the beloved British high-street staple stopped doing in the 90s, when it seemed that CDs were the future…
As first reported by The Standard , WH Smith store locations that will stock vinyl include Chester, Canterbury, Edinburgh, Gyle and York.
WH Smith – which began life as a news vendor in London’s Little Grosvenor Street opened by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna, in 1792 – first started selling vinyl albums in the 1950s. Interestingly, the company remained under the ownership of the Smith family until the 1970s and (according to Wikipedia) the last the family member left the board in 1996.
Circling back to the vinyl, why is WH Smith doing this now? In December of last year, the British Phonographic Industry stated that vinyl sales had risen for the 16th consecutive year – and better yet, figures showed sales were growing “at their fastest rate this decade”. If you prefer cold hard stats, the report showed an 11.7 per cent increase to 5.9 million units in 2023 – a significant increase on the 2.3 per cent rise the previous year, in 2022.
Smells like teen spirit…
I know, it’s like announcing Woolworths is about to reopen, complete with dedicated pick ‘n’ mix aisle. Only it’ll be me (ripped high-waist jeans; freshly-crimped hair piled on top of my head – not unlike Felicity Kendall’s in my lead image) filling my trolley with 12-inch LPs rather than separate bags of toffee bon-bons and fizzy watermelon slices.
What’ll be Top of the Pops in Smith’s vinyl section? I’ll take a wild guess at Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, Oasis’ re-issued The Masterplan and Fontaines D.C.’s newest Romance for starters.
Want to get on the stacks-of-wax trip but don’t have a means to spin plates just yet? Our pick of the best turntables is a great place to start, including one-box plug ‘n’ play beginner options or something more long-term – see also our guide to the best stereo speakers.
All that’s needed to complete my retro-escapist audio journey is for Apple to start selling my beloved iPod Classic again. But maybe I’ll do as my US colleague suggests and secure my Clairol-crimped hair with an iPod Shuffle instead, before heading down to WH Smith for a crate rummage… happy hunting!