New 12-part series celebrates UK independent record stores

A new 12-part series celebrating independent record stores in the UK has launched online, with the trailer now available to view. 

Spearheaded by Record Store Day and Classic Album Sundays, the second season of ‘Behind the Counter’ will see a new episode drop weekly until Record Store Day 2022, which is set for Saturday 23rd April. 

Stores showcased this time include Black Star Records, New Forest; Essex’s Intense Records, Loafers in Halifax, Bradford’s Record Café, Resident in Brighton, Some Great Reward in Glasgow, Manchester’s Vinyl Revival, and Wax & Beans in nearby Bury. London addresses Lion Vibes, Peckham Soul and World of Echo will also feature. 

Shining a light on the owners and staff that keep these institutions running, the idea is to spotlight what independent record stores mean to their local communities at a time when vinyl sales continue to climb. In 2021, wax outsold CDs for the first time in 30 years in the US, with a 51% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, in the UK, 5million vinyl records were sold in the same period, marking a 30-year high.