It comes after vinyl record sales in 2021 were at the highest they’ve been in 30 years, despite widely publicised issues with backlogs and delays. According to figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), at least five million vinyl records were sold last year which is an 8 per cent increase on 2020. It marked the 14th year in a row that the format has increased sales, with vinyl records making up 23 per cent of all albums sold.

At the time the BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor as quoted in Nova stated “It’s a great time to be a music fan, with wider choice on offer than ever before supported by great value. Thanks to record label investment into new music and talent, fans can purchase and collect the music they most love on vinyl, CD and even cassette, whilst also enjoying access to over 70 million songs to stream instantly whenever and how often they want, in turn enabling a new generation of artists to create music and sustain successful careers in a global market.”

The surge in interest of vinyl is a very intriguing  subject, below is a video discussing this new vinyl revival.

The biggest-selling vinyl album of 2021 was ABBA‘s comeback record Voyage, while Adele‘s huge 30 and Sam Fender‘s Seventeen Going Under also sold big on vinyl. This has been greatly helped by campaigns such as LoveRecordStores, Record Store Day and National Album Day which really rallied sales for independent record shops and specialist chains.

Earlier this year, it was also reported that vinyl sales in the UK look set to overtake CDs. Vinyl albums brought in £135.6million in 2021 (up 23.2 per cent year-on-year) compared to £150.1million in CD sales (down 3.9 per cent year-on-year). On this current growth trajectory, vinyl will be ahead of CDs by the end of this year. It also emerged earlier this month that people born in the Gen Z bracket purchase more vinyl records, than their milennial elders which may greatly explain the increase.

The design of the coin, done by artist Henry Gray, is a nod to several images that are associated with The Who and some of their most well-known characteristics. It includes a mod logo, a Rickenbacker guitar with a Union flag design, all in the shape of a pinball machine, which references both their record-breaking loud performances and ‘Pinball Wizard’ from ‘ Tommy,’ the hit rock opera that they are most recognized by. Lead singer Roger Daltrey was at the Royal Mint to give his approval of the design, striking one of the first ones. He shared his thoughts on the new coin while there, saying, “When I first saw this design, I thought, ‘How imaginative!’ I mean, it just summed up in one visual, The Who. Seeing the way they’re coloured and the technique used to do that is incredibly impressive…it actually feels like quite an honour.”

The range became available yesterday morning (24 May) at 9am, and what a range it is. Collectors can spend as little as £13 for a £5 brilliant coin; or if you want to consider something a little more expensive, you can spend up to £2,315 for a one ounce gold proof coin. There are also five more coins that will soon become available and at the top of that list is a gold proof coin that weighs in at one kilo and will be £68,380 according to Louder. There are only 12 available, so the lucky 12 who purchase it can claim bragging rights of being the ultimate The Who fans. The renowned rock band was honoured by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rolling Stone in their list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and can now add this to their extensive list of achievements.