British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. The first standalone issue of Record Collector was published in March 1980, although it originally started as part of the official Beatles magazine The Beatles Book. In September 1979, The Beatles Book came with a record collecting supplement, and the response was positive enough for O’Mahony to launch Record Collector as a separate entity in March 1980.

Uniquely, Record Collector features consisted of both prose pieces on the history of the artist, and detailed discographies of their UK releases. These discographies would provide all the information needed for collectors to pore over, and which enabled them to differentiate between different pressings of supposedly identical releases – catalogue numbers, release dates and distinguishing features of the records and sleeves themselves. In particular, they would also include a valuation of each record, so that dealers and collectors had a springboard to work from. In the pre-internet days, Record Collector was the only way of reaching many genuine collectors and fans across the country.

In 2003, Record Collector became a full colour publication with 13 issues a year.

Magazine covers and features

Kate Bush has been featured on the cover of the magazine on different occasions. Here’s a listing of covers and features:

  • Issue 76 (December 1985): Discography
  • Issue 92 (April 1987): Top 100 rarities
  • Issue 113 (January 1989): The Early Years: the first three years of Kate’s career
  • Issue 124 (December 1989): Discography
  • Issue 152 (April 1992): Collaborations and session work
  • Issue 170 (October 1993): Rarities
  • Issue 233 (January 1999): Discography
  • Issue 262 (June 2001): The Early Years (demos)
  • Issue 317 (December 2005): Top 20 UK collectables
  • Issue 390 (July 2011): Her secret gems
  • Issue 430 (August 2014): Kris Needs interviews & Collectables
Record Collector, issue 76 (December 1985)
Record Collector, issue 76 (December 1985)
Record Collector, issue 92 (April 1987)
Record Collector, issue 92 (April 1987)
Record Collector, issue 113 (January 1989)
Record Collector, issue 113 (January 1989)
Record Collector, issue 124 (December 1989)
Record Collector, issue 124 (December 1989)
Record Collector, issue 152 (April 1992)
Record Collector, issue 152 (April 1992)
Record Collector, issue 233 (January 1999)
Record Collector, issue 233 (January 1999)
Record Collector, issue 317 (December 2005)
Record Collector, issue 317 (December 2005)
Record Collector, issue 430 (August 2014)
Record Collector, issue 430 (August 2014)

Record Collector Presents

In December 2020 Record Collector released a 116 page special entitled Record Collector Presents, with illustrated features about Kate’s career and records as well as articles about various fans.

References

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