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The next issue of the mag has been put to bed – the little terror refused to go unless we read it a story, even though it is packed with great ones, and it also demanded a hot water bottle because of the cold nights we’re having. But we’re really excited about it; it’s our Christmas issue and includes a selection of seasonal treats – such as our 31 Xmas songs which shouldn’t drive you to drink, the day Peter Grant played Santa, and Chris Welch’s Rock’n’Roll Diary in which he admits to being a sucker for a Christmas record, the poor deluded soul. Add a huge portion of Deep Purple, heaps of Zep, a glug of flaming Flying Nun, a family get-together with Julian Lennon, and a knees up to R&B and ska, and that makes for a Cool Yule, as Jimmy Smith once had it. And I haven’t even mentioned The Jesus And Mary Chain, who aren’t anywhere near as festive as their name might suggest… it’s in the shops on December 1; subscription copies are sent out earlier. Hope you like it.
Lots of changes in the music biz at the moment; the news is rife with tales about the death of the CD – which will invariably bring about (and I’m talking decades here, I guess) the demise of the CD player. Vinyl, however, is on the rise, and because playing them is a mechanical thing, you will always be able to hear a record long after the digital formats have all been made redundant for… uh, surgical brain mixes or whatever the boffins foist upon us. I’ve been totting up the number of the ads on the stations on my journey into work, and while there are a lot of comedy DVDs advertised, very few albums receive the hard sell. I notice that Lee Evans is being touted as “the new Elvis”. Funny as Lee is, I am not sure I’d want to hear him tackle Suspicious Minds or Blue Moon Of Kentucky (although a lot of comedians start out as singers and a lot of singers are comedians without realizing it). But I’d like to see him try. There was once a music business motto for seasonal marketing called The Gift Of Music. I would say that it’s worth remembering that, and maybe adding a CD or a download of some classic album to a young relative’s Christmas list – they might not be expecting anything of the sort, but the more they hear great music the more they’ll appreciate that there’s more to rock than The X Factor.
Some Record Collector-related events you might fancy coming along to in the next week: I’ll be DJing at the Blues Legacy Festival in Leyton, East London, this Sunday from 2pm onwards: details at the top of this newsletter. Expect to hear Shack, Mac, Walter and Waters; Chess, Stax, Checker and Etta; Pinetop, Mayall, Alvin Lee, lots of R&B, and half a dozen of the best bands on the British blues circuit today. Hope to see you there. And on December 1 from 7.30 to midnight, RC’s marketing man Eden Guin will be pulling his secret stash of Northern soul 45s from his lockup and spinning them at the 3 Blind Mice Bar, 5 Ravey Street, Hoxton, London EC2A 4QW. www.3blindmicebar.co.uk. I’ve DJed there myself and it’s a fantastic intimate dive with a great atmosphere; I’d recommend a visit.
Until next week
Thanks for reading
Ian
Ian McCann - Editor in Chief
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The newest edition of the Record Collector Magazine is on the shelves now. Find out more about amazing subscription savings to be had here.
Here's what you 
will find inside...
The Rarest Album Sleeves Ever!
R.C. Speaks to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull on the release of the luxury edition of Aqualung.
2 Tone: A Chequered History - Posters that helped make the Ska label the distinctive brand it is
Roy Harper speaks to R.C, Lee Dorsey and Dream Theatre - and much much more.
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