This year’s National Album Day will celebrate 80s music

Latest National Album Day set to celebrate the influence of 80s artists

National Album Day is back – and its third incarnation is themed around 80s music.

Celebrating a resurgence in 80s pop culture, the third National Album Day takes place on Saturday 10 October and coincides with a host of reissues including material by Duran Duran, The Stone Roses, Talk Talk and Paul Simon.

Ambassadors for this year’s event are La Roux, Toyah Willcox, Billy Ocean, The Psychedelic Furs and Blossoms. Billy Ocean explained: “As bodies of work, albums allow us to tell stories, express deep emotions and take people on imaginary journeys over the course of a number of individual songs that are connected to each other. In my opinion, some of the greatest albums ever made were concept albums, such as Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles – how would it be possible to bring those ideas to life without crafting them into a whole album? The enduring popularity of those albums, and their continued influence on newer artists of today, truly is testament to how important the album is.”

La Roux, who has cited the 80s as a major influence, added: “The album is changing but will never lose its power, it is still the best way to get to know an artist. The 80s was such an incredible period for the album and birthed a lot of sonically seminal albums, it’s been a very inspiring period for me because of that.”

Toyah Willcox explained: “I’m supporting National Album Day because it is important that future generations do not miss out on the fantastic experience of listening to a whole album of songs… A culture could be lost if listeners never experience how life-changing it is to discover a hidden gem not deemed worthy of being a single by a record company, ie Bowie’s Lady Grinning Soul on Aladdin Sane. When I heard this song I felt the artist was speaking directly to me. Listening to an entire album is enriching and allows the listener precious time to connect with creativity. Albums are akin to a great book, a great party, a brilliant day in the park…they are the whole meal.”

Post-punk icons, Psychedelic Furs, whose comeback record Made Of Rain was recently awarded the Best New release award in Issue 64 of Classic Pop said: “We love the album because it pushes you to listen to songs which you might not otherwise hear, and which may be even better than the radio-friendly songs that brought you there. It gives you a chance to more deeply explore the artists’ world and what they have to say besides the sometimes rather simple single lyrics . An album often has a flow and a cohesion that may have had a lot of thought and effort put into it.”

National Album Day is organised jointly by record labels body the BPI (The BRIT Awards and Hyundai Mercury Prize) and the Entertainment Retailers Association (Record Store Day), and supported across the BBC with highlights available to listen to on BBC Sounds, along with the UK’s recorded music industry including AIM and other trade associations, retailers and digital/streaming platforms, and partners including Classic Albums Sunday – who this October celebrate their tenth anniversary.

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Keep up to date with all the latest news on the National Album Day website.