ONCE out of fashion and seemingly only appealing to men of a certain age wanting to relive their youth through nostalgia, it seems the tables have turned for vinyl records which are enjoying a surge in popularity once more.   Last week saw history being made with more albums purchased on vinyl than digitally downloaded, with £2.4 million spent on physical records and just £2.1million spent on downloads, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association.

Independent record shops in south Essex certainly welcome the boom in sales, while leading supermarket chains Sainsbury’s and Tesco are also cashing in by stocking vinyl records once more.

Richard Onslow has owned South Record shop, in Queens Road, in Southend for three years.  The 35-year-old owns vinyl records himself rather than CDs or downloads and is delighted by the resurgence. However, he added: “It is no surprise, it has been building for the last few years. I think people are tired of downloads that they don’t actually own. You can touch and hold a record and that is much better. Records look much better than CDs as well.  “Although downloads are quite cheap generally, because there is no overhead, a new vinyl album can range from £14 to £25.

“You see bands putting vinyl out more than CDs these days, especially new bands but it does really depend on the fans of the band. Our customers tend to be male and aged between 20 and 50. But now you see teenagers and women coming in, which is great.”   Sandra Bennett has been the manager of Fives Records in Leigh Broadway since she left school 35 years ago and has seen vinyl records go full circle.

She said: “When I started we only sold vinyl records and then introduced CDs and DVDs but in the last three years we have had to make more space for vinyl and its half our shop now “Vinyl always has been popular and where it used to be just men, we now get women and younger people. Sales are increasing and it partly because with Christmas, people are asking for vinyl as presents. People just like vinyl – it looks better, feels better, the packaging is better and it sounds better.”

Carl says resurgence will continue if price is right ONE record shop owner believes sales of vinyl will keep growing if the prices don’t increase too much.  Carl Newsum, who has owned Billericay’s Slipped Discs/Brown Sugar since 1988, believes vinyl is here to stay.  He said: “Vinyl is on the up, sales are becoming bigger and bigger.

“I think it is nostalgia for a certain age group - I get why they still buy it, but it is also popular with youngsters, and I am not sure why.  “When i started in 1988, CDs were around £10 and they still are. Vinyl went for £5 to £6 but now you could pay anything from £18 to £35.

“But they are more of an artwork than CDs and people don’t seem to think they are expensive.  “Every Christmas I think vinyl sales will peak, but it’s still getting bigger.  “Although if prices keep rising it will kill it. Manufacturers need to make them cheaper and more accessible to maintain the format’s popularity.”