It cannot have escaped the attention of anyone that vinyl LPs are starting to slip back into the mainstream good and proper, with Sainsbury’s – a big UK supermarket – starting to stock them, albeit in a fairly limited selection, clearly aimed at that critical fifty-something male demographic.
And as that’s pretty much exactly where the centre of gravity of the Sprout fanbase sits, it can be no surprise that “Steve McQueen” is getting a vinyl re-issue, from Sony Legacy. Release date is June 10th, and should you so wish, you can pre-order it in a number of places, including Amazon, at a hefty £18.99. We’ve come a long way from the time when you could easily get the album for a quid or less in charity shops or boot sales.
Not to be confused with the “180g Audiophile” release from a couple of years ago, MOVLP314, unless they’re using the same stampers. I’m getting no sense there’ll be any sort of promotional campaign, though you never know.
For me, the best vinyl version remains the Japanese referenced last week, but there is a slight frisson at the idea it might be on sale in Sainsbury’s.