The Blog
The Needle Drop — stories, guides and records worth knowing
Practical buying guides, pressing notes and stories from the racks at WholelottaVinyl. We cover record grading, collectable releases and the music behind the records, in plain English and with the details collectors need before they buy.
15 OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MIN READ
Matrix Numbers And Dead Wax Explained: How To Read A Vinyl Runout
How to read vinyl matrix numbers and dead wax runouts: EMI's GRAMOPHLTD code, Decca's BUCKINGHAM, Porky etchings, Sterling and Masterdisk stamps — with real copies from our Mansfield crates.
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10 OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MIN READ
How To Spot A First Pressing On Vinyl (UK Buyer's Guide)
How do you tell if a vinyl is a first pressing? Our UK buyer's guide to the labels, catalogue numbers, matrix codes, tax codes and sleeves that give a record away, with real examples from the crates: Free's Highway, Bronco's Country Home and a yellow Parlophone Love Sculpture.
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8 OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MIN READ
Original vs Reissue vs Repress vs Remaster: What's The Difference On Vinyl?
Original, reissue, repress or remaster? Our plain-English guide to what the words mean on vinyl and how to tell which one you're holding, with real examples from the crates: a mono A Hard Day's Night, a Spaceship-label Piledriver and the Jet reissue of Eldorado.
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6 OCTOBER 2026 · 8 MIN READ
ELO's A New World Record Turns 50: The Vinyl Worth Digging For (Please Hold The Line)
ELO's A New World Record turns 50 this month, with a Legacy vinyl reissue due on 16 October. Our guide to ELO A New World Record vinyl: the UK Jet UAG 30017 original, the JETLP 200 reissue, what to check before you buy, and the ELO, Move and Wizzard records in our Mansfield crates now.
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5 OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MIN READ
Songs In The Key Of Life At 50: Stevie Wonder Vinyl Worth Buying In The UK
Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key Of Life turned 50 on 28 September, with a surprise EP and a full-album UK tour starting in Birmingham. Our guide to buying it on vinyl in the UK: the TMSP 6002 first pressing, the bonus EP and booklet to check for, and the Stevie Wonder records in our Mansfield crates now.
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3 OCTOBER 2026 · 9 MIN READ
Janis Joplin On Vinyl: Pearl, Cheap Thrills And The Original Pressings Worth Hunting
Janis Joplin died on 4 October 1970, aged 27. Our respectful buyer's guide to her records on vinyl: Cheap Thrills, Kozmic Blues and Pearl, the US and UK CBS pressings worth hunting, how to spot a first issue, and records from her world in our Mansfield crates.
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1 OCTOBER 2026 · 7 MIN READ
ABBA's Arrival Turns 50: The Vinyl Worth Digging For (Dad Dancing Optional)
ABBA's Arrival turns 50 on 11 October. What to check on an EPC 86018 copy, the singles that made it, and the ABBA vinyl in our Mansfield crates right now.
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29 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 6 MIN READ
New Order Brotherhood Turns 40: The Factory FACT 150 Vinyl Worth Hunting
Forty years after Factory released New Order's Brotherhood on 29 September 1986, here's what FACT 150 collectors look for — the guitar/synth split, Bizarre Love Triangle, the metallic sleeve story — plus New Order 12"s and electronic neighbours in the WholelottaVinyl crates.
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28 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 6 MIN READ
Degritter Mark II: How Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Works (And Why It Matters)
The Degritter Mark II is a fully automatic ultrasonic record cleaner. Here's how it works in plain English, what Degritter's official video shows, why a clean record sounds and grades more honestly, and how to book our new Degritter record cleaning service.
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27 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 7 MIN READ
Elvis Presley On Vinyl: The UK Pressings Worth Hunting (And The Ones Worth Playing)
If you’re looking for Elvis Presley vinyl, here’s the honest news first: most Elvis records aren’t worth a fortune, and that’s brilliant if you actually want to play them. The copies collectors chase are early UK pressings in sharp condition, with the right label, the right catalogue number and a…
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23 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 6 MIN READ
Why Choose Us? How An Independent UK Vinyl Shop Grades Every Record By Hand
WholeLottaVinyl is an independent vinyl record shop based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. We sell second hand vinyl records online and locally, including 7-inch singles, 12-inch singles, LPs and harder-to-find pressings from a wide range of genres and decades. Every record is handled, graded
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23 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 7 MIN READ
Collecting The Smiths On Vinyl: A UK Buyer's Guide
The Smiths reward careful buying because two copies of the same album can look similar at first glance but be quite different once you check the details. The sleeve, the printed inner and the matrix information all matter, although they do not always matter equally. If you are buying to listen.
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23 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 6 MIN READ
The Nimbus Supercut: Why This 1984 Sgt. Pepper Is One Of The Rarest Beatles Pressings
The Nimbus Supercut is a specialist 1984 pressing of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, made as an audiophile edition rather than a standard shop release. It was cut from the original tapes using an all-valve mastering chain, pressed on high-purity ICI virgin vinyl and sold by mail order to read
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23 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 7 MIN READ
Ten Vinyl Records Worth Digging For (And The Stories Behind Them)
Some records are worth digging for because the music still works every time, while others come with a pressing quirk, sleeve detail or backstory that makes the find more interesting. This list brings together ten records with genuine stories behind them, from classic rock albums to 7-inch singles
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23 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 7 MIN READ
Vinyl Grading Explained: What VG, VG+ & EX Actually Mean
A vinyl grade describes the condition of a record and, separately, its sleeve. It tells you what the item looks like and gives you a realistic idea of how it should sound when played. So, what does VG+ mean in practice? Very Good Plus usually means a well-kept used record with light visible marks
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23 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 7 MIN READ
Dolly Parton On Vinyl: The Pressings Worth Hunting Down
If you’re looking for Dolly Parton vinyl, start with the original-era releases rather than assuming every older-looking copy is the same. The label, catalogue number, sleeve finish and run-out markings can tell you whether you’re holding an early pressing, a later budget issue or a reissue.
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23 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 8 MIN READ
Where to buy used vinyl records online in the UK (and how to spot a good second-hand record)
If you want to buy used vinyl records in the UK, start with an independent record shop that grades its stock by hand and shows clear photographs of the actual copy. Marketplaces such as Discogs and eBay can be useful too, particularly for specific pressings, but the quality of listings varies. Whole
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22 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 7 MIN READ
Buy Vinyl Records Online: Inside the Independent UK Record Shop 21,000 Buyers Trust
Buying second-hand vinyl online should be exciting. You find an album you’ve been looking for, spot an affordable 7-inch, or stumble across something completely unexpected. But there’s a worry attached to it, too. Will the record be over-graded? Is that “light surface mark” actually a deep scratch?
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