A MUSIC enthusiast is getting in a spin again and hoping to bring record fairs back to Witney.
Kevin Cheesman, from Milton-under-Wychwood, is organising the town’s first record fair in more than a decade.
He hopes the renewed enthusiasm for vinyl sweeping the UK will mean fellow music-lovers turn out for the turntables.
The record fair will take place at the Langdale Hall on Saturday, March 28, and Mr Cheesman said he hopes it will be the first of many.
He said: “Vinyl records have been in the background for quite some years, but there has been a massive vinyl resurgence and a massive upsurge in sales.
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“People love it because of the sound.
“CDs were a bit clinical and one advantage for the old boys is they say they can still read the words on the sleeve.
“A lot of youngsters of 17, 18 or 19 are also now buying vinyl. It’s selling better than it has done in 20 years and a lot of bands are now pressing vinyl.”
Mr Cheesman, now 57, worked in publishing for 30 years before deciding to ditch his day job and devote his time entirely to buying and selling records.
The grandfather-of-three said: “I had had enough of driving up and down to London for work last November and decided to make the records a full time thing.’’ Gary Smith who owns the independent record shops Truck Store in Cowley Road, Oxford, and Rapture Records in Witney’s Woolgate shopping centre, is creating a vinyl section at the Witney store.
He is converting the second floor into a vinyl-only boutique, selling a major selection of vinyl .
Mr Smith said: “We’ve been here for 11 years and I’ve never known a record fair in town.
“Sales have been going up and up, and there’s a real interest in old and second hand vinyl.
“Customers enjoy the feeling of actually owning something rather than just downloading it on their phones.
The record fair at Langdale Hall runs from 9am to 4.30pm.
Admission is free.
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