The younger record fans turning to older vinyl
The younger record fans turning to older vinyl
Jonathan Holmes - West of EnglandSun, August 30, 2026 at 6:17 AM UTC
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Lucas (l) turned his love of records into a career and now works at Badlands Records in Cheltenham
Younger people are helping the revival of traditional vinyl records, according to record dealers.
Roger Joffe, co-owner of Wanted Records and organiser of the biggest record fair in the South West, held at the Bristol Beacon, said: "The youngsters are coming in and buying trance and dance music but also trad jazz and Duke Ellington."
Joffe believes newer fans find the format appealing and want to hold something physically rather than streaming music.
Around 2,000 record-buyers are expected to attend his next show on 3 October.
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"There's a whole pile of people who have either got everything they wanted or stopped buying, so they drop off," he said.
"CDs came and went in a big way, and lots of people abandoned their records when they were the big thing, but now they're trying to buy their discarded records back."
Joffe said as a result, a lot of 90s vinyl now goes for big money, even for bands which charted at the time, because CDs were more popular.
"A good example is Oasis; their original [vinyl] albums can go for over £200 because there aren't many of them," he said.
Collector to employee
Lucas, 25, from Cheltenham, started buying records when he was 19, and now works at Badlands Record Shop, where he used to be a frequent customer.
His collection of 250 records has "spiralled" since taking a job there.
"There's so much music on streaming, and there's a nostalgia for something you haven't experienced originally," he said.
"Obviously streaming is convenient, but if you buy a record you support the artist and you support individual retail in a way that is more substantial than just listening to playlists.
"I do think young people are more conscious of that fact now."
Thousands of people are expected to attend the next Beacon Record FairYounger audiences
Jacki Harvey, co-owner of Vinyl Realm in Devizes, said much recent trade had been from students who had received money from relatives after passing their GCSEs.
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"There's a big group of young people who want to be different, and not go down the Taylor Swift route, which makes my job really hard," she joked.
"I think a lot of them are hearing things online and then going to buy the vinyl in person, but we get a lot of requests for American stuff, which is hard to find here."
She said her older customers are also downsizing their homes, and she has taken in several collections from customers selling houses to live on the nearby Kennet & Avon Canal instead.
Jacki Harvey said pupils who have just sat their GCSEs are now buying records
Harvey said record shopping is more than just buying; she said the thrill of looking through boxes offers a "switch-off experience" to customers.
She said because of the revival, people selling their collections often expect them to be worth more, but warned there is an oversupply of mass-produced records by popular bands such as the Beatles and Elvis.
She added: "I advise people to put them on eBay and make money that way."
Chris Hawes said popular records have remained broadly the same in recent years
Chris Hawes, founder of Atlas Records near Taunton, said he believed the age demographic for record fans is getting younger.
He said: "I'm 29. Everyone that works for the business is under 32, and there's nine of us."
He said the current best-selling records are those which have always been popular.
"The one exception to that is when a modern song takes things to new heights - Kate Bush is an example," he said.
"When her track was in Stranger Things on Netflix, we saw that sell out overnight."
The most valuable recent sale was a 13-record set by David Bowie, Five Years 1969-1973. Although it was only released in 2015, it fetched over £3,000.
Atlas Records' Top 20 sales in 2025 -
1 - Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon
2 - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
3 - Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
4 - Michael Jackson - Thriller
5 - Pink Floyd - The Wall
6 - The Beatles - Abbey Road
7 - Supertramp - Breakfast In America
8 - Blondie - Parallel Lines
9 - Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love
9 - Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel
11 - Wings - Band On The Run
12 - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
13 - The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
14 - Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.
15 - Dire Straits - Love Over Gold
15 - Pink Floyd - Animals
15 - Eagles - Hotel California
19 - Queen - Greatest Hits
19 - Queen - A Night At The Opera
19 - Kate Bush - The Kick Inside
19 - U2 - The Joshua Tree
19 - Paul Simon - Graceland
19 - David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
*Titles placed at the same number sold equal amounts of copies
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Related internet links
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Atlas Records
Vinyl Realm
Badlands Record Shop
Bristol Beacon Record Fair
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
