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Celebrating Marr, as well as local record stores, a plaque for the 61-year old has been unveiled at one of the musician’s regular haunts. Located in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and just a short walk from Afflecks Palace, Piccadilly Records became one of the most important record stores in the country in the post-punk boom that came out of the North West, and has been Marr’s record store of choice for almost 50 years.  

The former Smiths guitarist used the opportunity to highlight just how important independent record shops are, saying, “Going out to a record store, it’s a nice pastime. It’s a part of the culture; if they were to completely disappear, the high street or the city centre would be a much worse off place. There’s something about the presence of a record store. It’s a magical thing. I’ve known the staff in Piccadilly Records for 20 years…this plaque is a very nice thing to be associated with.”

@recordstoreday Announcing @Johnny Marr Official as the official Record Store Legend 2025 This award was presented to Johnny Marr at his favourite indie record shop #PiccadillyRecords by @Record Store Day US and Record Store Day UK for both his influence on music and his unwavering support of indie record shops worldwide. “There’s something about the presence of a record store. It’s a magical thing. I’ve known the staff in Picadilly Records for 20 years…this plaque is a very nice thing to be associated with.’’ – Johnny Marr Marr has consistently championed record stores worldwide across multiple album campaigns and will be celebrating #RecordStoreDay ♬ original sound – Record Store Day UK

Andy McQueen, who has worked at Piccadilly Records for over 30 years, said, “Johnny Marr is our favourite living artist, and his music has soundtracked our lives for over forty years. To be associated with him in this beautiful way; well, the pleasure, the privilege is ours.” Speaking to Mancunian Matters in 2015, McQueen described Record Store Day as “brilliant, saying “It brings in a whole new load of customers. I love the spirit of the day.”

Marr will be one of over 400 artists to be participating in this year’s Record Store Day offerings, releasing an exclusive orange double LP called ‘Look Out Live!’. The album will be a live record, recorded at his Hammersmith Apollo show in 2024, and will be released alongside the countless other records on 12 April. According to the Record Store Day website, the album “encapsulates the magic of the culmination of his 2024 Spirit Power tour”, and features tracks from across his impressive 40 year career. Those include ‘This Charming Man’, ‘Getting Away With It’, and ‘Armatopia’. The full track listing can be found here.

2025 won’t be Marr’s first collaboration with the celebratory event, having previously participated in 2015 with his single, ‘I Feel You’, in 2022 with Vince Clarke’s remix of Marr’s ‘Spirit Power and Soul’, as well as various releases from The Smiths and Electronic.

In February, MXDWN UK previewed Record Store Day 2025, highlighting the most sought after records of this year’s edition. Among them are Taylor Swift’s ‘Fortnight’, an Oasis greatest hits compilation titled ‘Times Flies’, two Charlie xcx records, including her collaboration with Billie Eilish, ‘Guess’, and Sam Fender’s EP, ‘Me and the Dog’.

The Oasis Time Flies Record Store Day UK reissue has landed! We even opened one up to show it off a bit. Available in store from 8am Saturday 12th April, first come, first served!@recordstoredayuk.bsky.social

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— Bear Tree Records (@beartreerecords.bsky.social) 2 April 2025 at 20:05

 For Marr, this isn’t just another trophy in a cabinet full of awards, it is recognition for being part of a wave that has seen the record store revived. In 2024, vinyl sales accounted for £196 million of physical sales, compared to £126 million in CD sales. Considering Marr’s place in post-punk history, Piccadilly Records is a fitting home for his plaque.