Marillion have announced the latest in their series of deluxe edition box sets. Their 11th studio album, 1999’s marillion.com, will be reissued as expanded as 3CD+blu-ray ‘media book’ and 5LP box sets in June.
Recorded at their own studio, The Racket Club, between December 1998 and August 1999, the album’s zeigeisty title reflected Marillion’s embrace of the internet as a means of communicating directly with their fans, leading to early forays into crowdfunding. The band – at this point Steve Hogarth (vocals, piano, percussion), Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass, guitar, backing vocals) and Ian Mosley – were credited on production, along with Steven Wilson, who assisted on five of the album’s nine tracks.
3CD+blu-ray deluxe edition of Marillion.com
Both variants of the new deluxe editions include a new mix of the original album by Michael Hunter, as well as a previously unreleased recording of the band’s complete set at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London on 20 November 1999.
In keeping with previous sets in the series, the blu-ray is stacked with value-for-money extras. In terms of audio content, the new remix of the album is included in hi-res stereo and 5.1 surround sound (although not Atmos), along with 23 demos and early versions. And there’s also a generous amount of video content – the 98-minute documentary film, Thank God For The Internet; the 16-track Shot In The Dark concert film, recorded at the 1999 Web UK Convention and first released on VHS in 2000 and issued on DVD in 2002; and bonus live tracks.
marillion.com is released on 19 June 2026, via ear Music.
The Charlatans’ 1990 debut album Some Friendly is to be reissued in 2CD and 2LP editions in March – with the 2CD version featuring exactly half as many bonus tracks than a 2CD edition released just four years ago.
A press release states that singer Tim Burgess has “especially curated” the nine bonus tracks on the new edition, yet most of these were also included on a 2CD set featuring 18 additional songs released in 2022.
Some Friendly features The Charlatans’ classic debut single ‘The Only One I Know’ as well as ‘Then’, the follow-up single which reached No 12 in 1990. It’s also notable for instrumental closing track ‘Sproston Green’, which was the band’s regular live closer for decades afterwards.
The album has been newly remastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road, with a new Dolby Atmos mix also available. This mix will however only be available on streaming services Apple Music, Amazon Music and Genie.
2LP white vinyl features bonus tracks
The nine bonus tracks, which include the B-side ‘Taurus Moaner’ in both its vocal and instrumental version, as well as the seven-inch single version of ‘Then’, also feature on the 2LP edition. This is on white vinyl, in a gatefold sleeve. This is the first time an expanded version of Some Friendly has been available on vinyl.
Although the album was released in 1990, the 2CD from 2022 was billed as a 20th anniversary edition. This featured eight songs from Radio 1 sessions for Mark Goodier and John Peel, including ‘You Can Talk To Me’ for Peel, which was a B-side of ‘The Only One I Know’. None of those sessions feature on the new set of bonus tracks.
The songs Burgess has chosen which weren’t on the 2022 CD are the seven-inch mix of ‘Then’, the instrumental version of ‘Taurus Moaner’ and an Edit of ‘Happen To Die’.
The new edition of Some Friendly follows Beggars releasing 2CD and 2LP versions of 1994’s fourth album Up To Our Hips in new artwork in 2024, which included 10 bonus tracks on each edition.
Since then, The Charlatans have released new album We Are Love in 2025, which reached No 8. They will tour during April and May, before playing Forest Fest and Lakefest this summer.
Some Friendly is released on 27 March 2026, via Beggars Banquet.
The SDE Surround Series moves back to the 1980s with Heaven 17’s first two albums, Penthouse and Pavement (1981) and The Luxury Gap (1983), a pair of the most celebrated and influential albums from the early part of the decade.
Both are now available to pre-order on SDE exclusive blu-ray, newly remixed in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround and stereo by David Kosten.
Penthouse and Pavement features the singles ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’, ‘Play to Win’, ‘Penthouse and Pavement’ and ‘The Height of the Fighting’ and as well as being commercially successful (it was a top 20 hit and remained in the top 100 for 77 weeks) the record was almost universally critically acclaimed.
In newly commissioned sleeve notes for this blu-ray edition, The Guardian’s head rock and pop critic, Alexis Petridis, says: “45 years on, Penthouse And Pavement remains a landmark, the kind of album documentaries have been made about, a high watermark from one of pop’s greatest eras, the perfect encapsulation of the surfeit of ideas and innovations that flowed through British pop in the post-punk period”
One of the best-selling albums of 1983 The Luxury Gap features the band’s defining hit single ‘Temptation‘, along with ‘Let Me Go’, ‘Come Live With Me’ and ‘Crushed by the Wheels of Industry’. In his notes for this album Alexis Petridis reminds us that: “Everything on The Luxury Gap was irresistible. It was the kind of album where every track sounds like a hit single… An album that skilfully synthesized the two distinct elements of its predecessor – electronics and funk – into a sound that was simultaneously modern but warm, a firm underlining of Heaven 17’s skill as pop craftsmen”.
David Kosten, who in recent times has impressed immersive audio fans with stunning Atmos Mixes of Propaganda’sA Secret Wish, Fine Young Cannibals’ The Raw and the Cooked and Thompson Twins’Into The Gap, has worked his magic on both Penthouse and Pavement and The Luxury Gap rebuilding the albums in stereo from the original analogue multi-track tapes and then creating highly immersive Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Mixes allowing all the complex arrangements, the dancefloor-focused rhythms and the cutting-edge technology of the time, room to breath in three dimensions. David’s new stereo mixes are also fantastically dynamic and unlimited.
“The best it has ever sounded”
Martyn Ware
I was there when B.E.F. and Heaven 17 founding member Martyn Ware, whose interest in immersive audio goes back 20 years, attended approval sessions, in person, at Kosten’s West London studio. He was mightily impressed, going so far as to say that in Atmos Penthouse and Pavement was “the best it has ever sounded“. He repeated this fulsome praise for The Luxury Gap.
Both Penthouse and Pavement and The Luxury Gap SDE exclusive blu-rays feature SEVEN audio streams of each album, including a full set of instrumentals:
2026 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)*
2026 5.1 Mix (96/24)*
2026 Stereo Mix (96/24)*
2026 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix (48/24)*
2026 5.1 Instrumental Mix (96/24)*
2026 Instrumental Stereo Mix (96/24)*
1981 and 1983 Original Stereo Mixes (TBC)
*Previously unreleased
‘Let Me Go’ from The Luxury Gap
The Penthouse and Pavementblu-ray is #59 in the SDE Surround Series and The Luxury Gap is #60. Both will be packaged similarly to previous editions and ship with a free, collectible SDE Surround Series slipcase. They each come with a 12-page booklet with Alexis Petridis’ new sleeve notes.
Both are limited editions and have a 14 day pre-order window, which closes on Tuesday 24 February 2026. Availability cannot be guaranteed after that date.
Additionally, for fans of 80s synth-pop who may have come to the SDE Surround Series late, almost 3 years after the initial release of Tears For Fears’The Hurting on blu-ray audio (#9 in the series), we are announcing a repress. This disc features 2023 Atmos, 5.1 and Stereo Mixes by Steven Wilson, plus an instrumental version, the original stereo mix and two previously unreleased early versions of ‘Mad World and ‘Watch Me Bleed’. Like the Heaven 17 discs, this repress is available to pre-order for 2 weeks.
Penthouse and Pavement and The Luxury Gap will be released on 24 April 2026, by SDE Records. Pre-order only via the SDE shop using this link or the buttons below.
‘Temptation’ from The Luxury Gap
Tracklisting
Penthouse and PavementHeaven 17 /SDE exclusive blu-ray
‘The Hurting’ in remixed by Steven Wilson in Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (96/24), stereo & Instrumental Mix (96/24). Original 1983 mix in Stereo (96/24)
The Hurting
Mad World
Pale Shelter
Ideas As Opiates
Memories Fade
Suffer The Children
Watch Me Bleed
Change
The Prisoner
Start Of The Breakdown
Previously unreleased bonus tracks (96/24)
Mad World (Mike Howlett Version)
Watch Me Bleed (Mike Howlett Version)
58 Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris / All The Roadrunning
57 The Who / Quadrophenia
56 George Michael / Faith
55 Bryan Ferry / Boys and Girls
54 Thin Lizzy / Nightlife
53 Fine Young Cannibals / The Raw & The Cooked
52 Tears For Fears / Songs From The Big Chair
51 Propaganda / A Secret Wish
50 Frankie Goes To Hollywood / Welcome to the Pleasuredome
49 Elton John / Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy – Still available
48 The Who / Who Are You
47 The Human League / Dare
46 Split Enz / ENZyclopedia Volumes 1 & 2
45 Mark Knopfler / Sailing to Philadelphia
44 Matt Deighton / Today Become Forever
43 De La Soul / 3 Feet High and Rising
42 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel / The Best Years of Our Lives
Welcome to this SDE preview of Record Store Day for 2026. Below, we have highlighted over 25 releases that caught our eye and nearer to the time we hope to bring you the traditional SDEtv video preview. Enjoy…
The lack of vinyl release of a-ha’s eighth studio album, originally released on CD in 2005, has given its title an – unintended surely? – ironic edge over the years. But this year’s Record Store Day will change all that, with a 2LP set remastered by Bill Inglot – the man behind the band’s super deluxe editions – hitting the shelves. Also on the way is a 2CD edition featuring 21 tracks, 15 of which are apparently previously unreleased demos and alternate versions, though the release date and tracklisting are not yet confirmed.
Air / Moon Safari – Live Theatre Herodes Atticus, Athènes (UK, 1000 units)
Air’s 2024/25 reunion shows saw the French duo play their rightly adored 1998 debut album Moon Safari in full. If you missed out, you can ease your woes by tracking down a copy of their first live album, Moon Safari – Live Theatre Herodes Atticus, Athènes, recorded on 29 June 2025 at the Athens Epidaurus Festival in the spectacular setting of the Odeon Of Herodes Atticus, on the southern slopes of the Acropolis, Athens, thought to be the world’s oldest theatre.
Annie Lennox / Live In Central Park (UK, 1250 units)
This 2LP set marks the first time that Annie Lennox’s landmark 8 September 1995 concert at the Summerstage, Central Park, NYC, has been made available on vinyl. First released in 1995 as the VHS …In The Park – with 8 tracks also available on a limited edition 2CD set of 1995’s Medusa – the show captures Lennox during her solo glory years, with a setlist drawing heavily on the much-loved Diva and including a clutch of songs from Medusa, a covers set which drew upon her powers of interpretation. Lennox also looks back to her Eurythmics days with versions of hits including ‘Who’s That Girl?’ and ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’. Live In Central Park will be pressed on red opaque vinyl.
Art of Noise / The Seduction of Claude Debussy (UK, 800 units)
Another vinyl debut – this time for the fifth and final album by eclectic art-pop collective Art Of Noise, originally released on CD, cassette and MiniDisc in 1999. The Seduction Of Claude Debussy was a typically ambitious concept from the group, giving the music of the titular composer a contemporary reworking – all electronic beats, lush arrangements and synth soundscapes – with guest appearances from Rakim, Donna Lewis and, on narration duties, John Hurt. This 2LP set, released by Demon Music, is pressed on translucent blue vinyl, includes the original album and four bonus remixes originally intended for a 1998 12-inch and eventually released on the digital-only 2022 EP Born Again! – their first time on a physical format.
Badfinger / No Dice (UK, 500 units)
Bafflingly, this will be the first vinyl release since the early 70s for Badfinger’s second album, a great leap forward that included the heartstring-tugging ballad ‘Midnight Caller’ and the power-pop thrills of ‘No Matter What’. This release, pressed on orange vinyl, will use the remaster on the increasingly hard to find 2010 CD reissue and follows the 2025 reissue of debut album Magic Christian Music for National Album Day. Let’s hope there’s more on the way from Swansea’s finest.
Bat For Lashes, A Fleet Of Bats: Early Demos (UK, 1000 units)
Natasha Khan’s dazzling debut album is released as a 2CD set this week which includes an extra disc featuring seven previously unreleased demos plus a couple of BBC session tracks. This RSD single LP release loses the live tracks but adds a further three demos – ‘Feathers And Fur’, ‘Two Shadows’ and ‘Missing Time’. Though ‘Feathers And Fur’ is currently a mystery, the other two tracks featured on hens-teeth rare demo CDRs handmade by Khan and given out at shows around Brighton around 2004-05.
Blur / Live At The Budokan (UK, 2000 units)
Blur’s first official live album was originally released as a Japan-only 2CD set in May 1996. Demand led to a mail order-only UK copy, available to Blur fan club and mailing list members. This RSD release will be the first time the set is available on vinyl, a chance for fans to get reacquainted with Blur in their Britpop pomp – thrill to a jetcharged ‘Popscene’, swoon to the lovelorn drama of ‘To The End’, indulge in a lairy knees-up to a brass-heavy ‘Parklife’. The 2LP set is pressed on red vinyl and comes in a gatefold sleeve with gloss finish and exclusive live photos from the band’s 1995 Japanese tour.
Bruce Springsteen / Sea.Hear.Now Asbury Park 2024 (UK, 1750 units)
There are homecoming shows and then there are Bruce Springsteen homecoming shows. Springsteen and the E Street Band pulled out all the stops for their 15 September 2024 show on the beach at the Sea.Here.Now festival, Asbury Park. Previously available as a no-frills 3CD set from nugs.net, it’s back as either a 5LP or 3CD set. Expect a powerhuse set heavy on songs loaded with local significance (‘Growin’ Up’, ‘4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)’, ‘Local Hero’, ‘Jersey Girl’) and rarely performed nuggets (‘Thundercrack’, ‘Tougher Than The Rest’). The entire 30-song set is here, though surely there could have been an effort to make sure that vinyl listeners didn’t have to flip the record during the epic ‘Meeting Across The River’ into ‘Jungleland’?
Camper Van Beethoven / Tusk (UK, 1000 units)
Fleetwood Mac’s sprawling 1979 double-album Tusk is now rightly praised for its experimental tendencies and burnt-out weirdness (Lindsey Buckingham’s tracks) and its melancholy beauty (Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks’ contributions). But back in 1987, when indie darlings Camper Van Beethoven hit upon the idea of covering the entire album, Tusk was still seen as a self-indulgent flop. CBV’s mischievous project fell apart after a few days in the studio but was finally released in 2003. The result is loose and lo-fi, ranging from the blissed-out ‘Over And Over’ to a droning ‘Storms’ and a joyful version of ‘Angel’ that could pass as a lost eels single. Elsewhere, a distortion-heavy ‘Sara’, the beatbox-driven ‘Sisters Of The Moon’ and a yeehawing hoedown through ‘That’s Enough For Me’ are irreverent fun. This will be its first release on vinyl, a 2LP set – one purple and one crystal clear, with an embossed cover.
Catherine Anne Davies & Bernard Butler / In Memory Of My Feelings (UK, 750 units)
This collaboration between Davies (aka The Anchoress) and Butler (currently of Butler, Blake & Grant) was the first release of original material on journalist Pete Paphides’ labour of love label Needle Mythology back in 2020. Back then, the album was a surprise – a collaboration written and recorded in just 15 days and then left to percolate for four years. This new edition has been pressed on heavyweight gold vinyl and, as with the original vinyl issue, a seven-inch single featuring a cover of Madonna’s ‘Live To Tell’ and a version of the duo’s ‘The Patron Saint Of The Lost Cause’ rearranged for harmonium.
The Colourfield / Deception Expanded Edition (UK, 1000 units)
It’s been heartening to see the recent surge of vinyl reissues of the late great Terry Hall’s back catalogue. Last year brought us the RSD 2LP of The Colourfield’s debut, Virgins And Philistines, along with the 2LP ‘Dinked’ Edition of Hall’s underrated second solo album, Laugh. With the comprehensive 5CD+DVD box set The Sound Of The Colourfield on the way, this year’s Record Store Day will see the first vinyl issue of The Colourfield’s deliciously downbeat second album, Deception, since its 1987 release. This 2LP set is pressed on clear 140g vinyl and features the remastered album plus a bonus disc of the tracks recorded during initial sessions for the album at Studio Davout, Paris, taken from the new box set.
David Bowie / Hallo Spaceboy EP (UK, 5000 units)
This Record Store Day, the Bowie camp are turning their attention to 1995’s Eno collaboration 1.Outside with two releases. First up is a clear vinyl, half-speed mastered reissue of the single-LP edit of the album Excerpts From 1.Outside, its first outing since Music On Vinyl’s 2013 pressing. There’s also an EP version of 1996’s ‘Hallo Spaceboy’, which featured two remixes of the 1.Outside track by the Pet Shop Boys alongside a further pair by Soft Cell’s Dave Ball and Ingo Vauk. This version adds an instrumental mix which appears to have been taken from a 1996 promo 12” and a previously unreleased Tim Simenon remix. It’s pressed on neon pink vinyl – but careful when you open it, moondust may cover you,
Frankie Goes To Hollywood / Radio One Sessions 1982-1983 (UK, 2000 units)
The formative years of pop supernova Frankie Goes To Hollywood are explored on this 2LP set of BBC sessions – two for John Peel (24 November 1982 and 3 December 1983) and the 24 February Kid Jenson show – originally released on last year’s 7CD+blu-ray Welcome To The Pleasuredome box set. It’s fascinating to hear the likes of ‘Two Tribes’ and ‘The Power Of Love’ stripped back, before being given the monumental Trevor Horn production job that would make them the band on everyone’s lips in 1984.
King Crimson / Penn State 29 June, 1974 (UK, 1000 units)
Recorded on the US tour to promote Starless And Bible Black which saw the Bruford-Cross-Fripp-Wetton line-up of King Crimson implode, this live set – released here for the first time on vinyl and spanning 2LPs – captures the band on coruscatingly heavy form. The multi-track recording went unreleased until three tracks appeared on the 1992 4CD box set The Great Deceiver (Live 1973-1974) and the whole concert was later released on the monolithic box set, The Road to Red. This release includes a bonus recording of ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’ from the band’s Central Park show two days later.
Labi Siffre’s deft and wise-beyond-their-years songs have recently found new audiences thanks to their appearances on the soundtracks to modern classics The Holdovers (‘Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying’) and Sentimental Value (‘Cannock Chase’). Both of those songs feature on his classic third studio album, Crying Laughing Loving Lying, which will be reissued for RSD as a 2LP set pressed on yellow vinyl. The second disc features eight bonus songs, including the breezy hit single ‘Watch Me’.
Though Lightning Seeds fans have a bunch of greatest hits compilations to choose from, Ian Brodie and co have yet to release a rarities set. That’ll change on 18 April with the release of Quarrelsome Moments: B-Sides and Rarities. Though a tracklisting has yet to surface, a teaser video on the band’s socials is soundtracked by their version of Thunderclap Newman’s 1970 No 1 single ‘Something In The Air’, first released as B-side to their 1992 single ‘The Life Of Riley’. Meanwhile, the RSD blurb promises “alternate mixes, cover versions and two previously unreleased tracks”.
Madonna / The Confessions Tour (UK, 3000 units)
Recorded live at Wembley Arena in August 2006 during Madonna’sConfessions On A DancefloorTour, this 13-track set was originally released as the CD in the 2007 The Confessions Tour CD+DVD set. This is the first time the tracks have been released on vinyl and not just any old vinyl, but starburst pink/purple splatter vinyl. Time to get that mirrorball down from the loft.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark / Archive Vol. 1 (1981-1990) (UK, 1800 units)
Originally released as the Unreleased Archive Vol 1 disc in the 2019 5CD+2DVD Souvenir box, this is the set’s first time on vinyl. The 22-track 2LP compilation offers a plethora of intriguing insights into the OMD’s creative process. These are mainly doodles and half-formed ideas, as titles such as ‘Organ Ditty’ and ‘Unreleased Idea’ suggest (similarly ‘Guitar Thrash’ sounds exactly as you’d expect), but there are gems studded throughout, such as the charming electro-pop of ‘Weekend’.
Peter Gabriel / Sledgehammer (UK, 3000 units)
One for the zoetrope lovers, this 12-inch single features imagery from Peter Gabriel’s era-defining ‘Sledgehammer’ music video, which – when spinning and seen through a smartphone camera set to 30 frames per second – become animated figures. But what about the music? It’s a reissue of the original UK 12-inch single, with the extended version of ‘Sledgehammer’ on the A-side (not the superior John ‘Tokes’ Potoker Dance Mix) and ‘Don’t Break This Rhythm’ and ‘I Have the Touch (‘85 Remix)’ on the B side. Let’s be honest though, anyone buying this is primarily interested in the novelty value of seeing a tiny Peter Gabriel dancing on their turntable. And who are we to deny them that pleasure?
Pink Floyd / Live at LA Sports Arena, 1975 (UK, 1000)
An April 1975 issue of the LA Times revealed that 350 fans were arrested, mostly for possession of marijuana, during the first three of Pink Floyd’s five shows at the Los Angeles Sports Arena that month. In the midst of that stoned chaos, security failed to notice that bootlegger extraordinaire Mike Millard had smuggled in some heavy-duty recording equipment by hiding it in his wheelchair (which he didn’t need). Though Millard’s ethics were questionable, his wily ways led to a legendary bootleg. The tapes were restored and remastered by Steven Wilson and released only on the blu-ray of last year’s Wish You Were Here 50th anniversary set. That paves the way for this standalone release for RSD on either a clear 4LP set or 2CD.
Porcupine Tree / We Lost The Skyline (UK, 1200 units)
It’s that man Steven Wilson again. This time in his day job as a member of prog titans Porcupine Tree. We Lost The Skyline is a stripped-down, eight-song set performed by Wilson and John Wesley at Park Avenue CDs in Orlando, Florida, in 2007. It was released on CD and Netherlands-only LP the following year and was included in the 2024 Fear Of A Blank Planet 5CD+blu-ray box set. Now it’s back, on 180g ‘crystal clear’ vinyl half-speed mastered at Abbey Road.
The Power Station / The Power Mad: Live at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, 21/8/85 (UK, 750 units)
Originally part included in last year’s 4CD set celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Power Station’s debut, this will be the first time on vinyl for this 15-track live set. Original vocalist Robert Palmer had departed by the time the Chic / Duran Duran supergroup came to tour their debut album, but actor and singer Michael Des Barres stepped in. The audience’s reaction during this cover-heavy 3LP set (‘Dancing In The Street’, ‘White Light White Heat’, loads of Duran) suggests that Palmer wasn’t missed too much.
RUNT w/Todd Rundgren / The Necessary Cosmic Frenzy (UK, 500 units)
Here’s the first vinyl release of what is considered Todd Rundgren’s debut solo performance, from 30 June 1971 (some Todd watchers maintain that he’d already played a show at the Troubadour, LA). Previously released on the 2016 3CD set Box O’ Todd, the set – released on translucent light blue vinyl – finds Rundgren backed by The Tomorrow People at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, and was broadcast live on US radio (hence the bootlegs). It’s a little rough and ready but shows Rundgren’s talent while pointing to his future with an early performance of ‘It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference’.
Suede / Coming Up At The BBC (UK, 1750 units)
Suede completists are in for an expensive RSD, what with the Catherine Anne Davies & Bernard Butler album, the clear vinyl reissue of Here Come The Tears, the 11-track set of previously unreleased Antidepressants demos and the rather cheekily-named Coming Up At The BBC. The latter promises a “reconstruction” of the band’s glammed-up 1997 third album using tracks originally broadcast on the BBC, from live shows (including their 1997 Reading Festival headline slot) to sessions for Mark Radcliffe and the Evening Session. The only exception is ‘Picnic By The Motorway’, which comes from their 1999 Roskilde show as no contemporary or BBC version of the song exists. It’s pressed on hot pink vinyl.
T. Rex / Songs from “Marc” (UK, 1000 units)
Hot on the heels of his best album in years, Dandy In The Underworld, Marc Bolan’s six-part Granada TV series Marc began broadcasting on 24 August 1977, putting the T. Rex frontman back in the spotlight and into living rooms around the country. Tragically, Bolan died before the last episode was aired. Music from the series has been released before on CD – on The Marc Shows (1989) and Marc – Songs From The Granada TV Series (1998) – but this release, on opaque orange vinyl, uses a recently discovered quarter-inch tape of material from shows one to four to offer “greater clarity than ever before”. Love to boogie? Get in line.
Talking Heads / The CBS/Columbia Demos (UK, 2000 units)
A companion piece to Tentative Decisions, last year’s Black Friday RSD release of early Talking Heads demos and live tracks, The CBS / Columbia demos features 15 tracks recorded by the then-three-piece in 1975. While press materials claim all of the tracks are previously unreleased, a couple of tracks from the CBS demo session have made it out before – ‘Sugar On My Tongue’ opened the 1992 comp Sand In The Vaseline and the 2003 box set Once In A Lifetime, and ‘I Want To Live’ also featured on SITV – so it’ll be interesting to see if these are different takes. Cut at 45rpm across 2LPs, this set replicates the running order of CD2 of Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live, set for release on 13 March.
XTC / LIVE BOOTS – Live At Emerald City 1981 (UK, 1000 units)
The first of a planned series of XTC “official bootleg” releases (Live Boots), this 2LP set pressed on 200g audiophile vinyl captures the band in the midst of their 1981 US tour. The show was broadcast on US radio station WMMR and has circulated as the misleadingly titled bootleg Fab Foursome In Philly (it was recorded in New Jersey). The band hurtle at breakneck speed through a Black Sea and Drums And Wires-heavy set. Andy Partridge is clearly having a blast throughout, asking the crowd “Are you optimistic?” during a crackling ‘Burning With Optimism’s Flame’ and spitting out the likes of ‘This Is Pop’ and ‘Statue Of Liberty’ with untethered glee. Don’t believe us? Partridge writes in the sleevenotes that “we were tighter than a firefly’s fundament that night, even more astounding was the adrenaline-soaked speed we took every song at”. And he should know.
Record Store Day is on 18 April this year. These releases should be available via participating record shops. If your favourites have not been included in this list, let us know what you are looking out for, by leaving a comment.
Jeff Buckley’s 1993 debut, Live at Sin-é, was initially a 4-track EP. A decade later, a 34-track 2CD ‘Legacy Edition’ was released and a 4LP version followed in 2018. Both formats are reissued by Sony this week (the 2CD is a cheap jewel-case version). The set includes live versions of favourites like ‘Grace’, ‘Last Goodbye’ and Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’.
Artist, producer and immersive audio mixer Steven Wilson has announced a new initiative, a website called Headphone Dust which is a hi-res audio resource that, in his words, “will provide a permanent home for my work to be downloaded in high resolution, 5.1 and Atmos / spatial audio”. In time, he hopes that it might include his work with other bands and collaborations etc.
To celebrate the launch he’s making some exclusive recordings/versions available including Impossible Tightrope: Live in Madrid, a two-hour plus live album that documents the final concert of the European leg of The Overview tour, from last year. The show has been mixed from the multi-tracks in stereo, 5.1 and Dolby Atmos. “There are no plans for any physical release of this recording”, Wilson says.
Steven has also remixed his 2013 album The Raven That Refused to Sing and 2015’s Hand.Cannot.Erase.in Dolby Atmos for the first time. Raven is available now and Hand.Cannot.Erase. is “coming soon”.
Branded as the ‘Definitive Digital Edition‘ the Raven download package includes Atmos, 5.1, Stereo, Binaural versions and extras, such as Jess Cope’s official music videos for ‘Drive Home’ and ‘The Raven That Refused To Sing’ in 4K and the complete The Raven That Refused To Sing studio documentary by Lasse Hoile, also now presented in 4K. Additionally, there’s a selection of demos.
The audio/video downloads are delivered either in MKV or FLAC files/containers and since Atmos playback across various devices is notoriously confusing (particularly the ‘Binaural’ versions on headphones) there’s a useful Playback Guide on the site which first asks whether you are a ‘casual listener‘ (headphones) ‘immersive listener‘ (5.1/soundbar) or an ‘enthusiast‘ (full beans Atmos set-up). The enthusiast is defined as someone who wants “reference quality” audio – which is the equivalent of blu-ray style uncompressed Dolby Atmos in True HD. Whereas via blu-ray audio, you ‘just’ need a blu-ray player, an Atmos-compatible amp/receiver and the appropriate speaker set-up, a TrueHD downloaded file is much more fussy and has more specific requirements.
Talking of blu-rays, fans of the format will be reassured, since Wilson says “I love (and am still committed to) the Blu-ray format, but not everyone has the capacity to play these discs”.
Paul McCartney is to release a soundtrack album as a companion to his impending Man on the Run documentary that explores his “creative rebirth” after The Beatles’ break-up and the Wings era, in particular.
The 12-track album follows hot on the heels of last year’s WINGS collection and features tracks from Paul McCartney, Paul and Linda McCartney and Wings.
Three of the songs are repeated from WINGS (‘Band on the Run‘, ‘Mull of Kintyre‘ and ‘Let Me Roll It‘), two tracks are McCartney solo songs from the beginning and end of the Wings era (‘That Would Be Something‘ from McCartney and ‘Coming Up‘ from McCartney II), a couple of numbers are from 1971’s Ram (‘Long Haired Lady‘ and ‘Too Many People‘), the demo of ‘Silly Love Songs‘ is included (taken from the 2014 reissue of At The Speed Of Sound), and Red Rose Speedway’s ‘Big Barn Bed‘ is on the release, which is the one Wings track that is included, in its standard album version, that wasn’t on WINGS.
That leaves three tracks, all of which are previously unreleased:
Gotta Sing Gotta Dance (from the James Paul McCartney 1973 TV special)
Live and Let Die (Rockshow) (from the 1980 Rockshow film)
Arrow Through Me (rough mix)
The inclusion of a ‘rough mix’ of ‘Arrow Through Me’ is interesting. The original is, of course, from 1979’s Back to the Egg so fans can either take that as a positive hint that the box is coming or think more negatively (if it was coming, Paul would surely ‘save’ this outtake for it). There are short previews this track and the Rockshow version of ‘Live and Let Die’ on Amazon at the moment.
The soundtrack to Paul McCartney: Man on the Run will be released on vinyl and CD on 27 February 2026 via UMe/Capitol. Amazon has an orange vinyl exclusive.
NOW Music will issue the fifth in their occasional ‘Era’ series of themed compilations in March and this new one – called NOWThat’s What I Call an Era (Feels Like) Heaven 1978-1985 returns to a genre that is probably most associated with ‘NOW’, and that is synth-pop.
Spanning an eight year period between 1978 and 1985 this new release offers 80 tracks across four CDs (the usual variants: deluxe hardcover book and cheaper card sleeve) and 43 on the triple LP, coloured vinyl edition.
The 4CD deluxe version of (Feels Like) Heaven 1978-1985
The selections are familiar enough, with many of the usual suspects represented, including Eurythmics, Ultravox, Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Japan, OMD, Soft Cell, Scritti Politti, Tears For Fears, Bronksi Beat, Dead Or Alive, a-ha, The Buggles, Thompson Twins, Sparks, The Human League, Nena, New Order and many, many more.
It has to be said that CD 2 has a pleasing ‘alternative’ vibe, with contributions from Laurie Anderson, Our Daughter’s Wedding, Fad Gadget, The Associates, New Order, Propaganda, Talk Talk, Telex, Yello and others. You can scroll down for the full tracklistings.
NOWThat’s What I Call an Era (Feels Like) Heaven 1978-1985 will be released on 13 March 2026.
Van Halen will celebrate 40 years of 5150 with a new five-disc super deluxe edition, in March.
The 1986 album was Van Halen’s first with former Montrose singer Sammy Hagar on lead vocals – rock legend has it that he was recommended by a mechanic working on Eddie Van Halen’s Lamborghini – and the first without producer Ted Templeman. Engineer Donn Landee and Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones took over on production duties and, though 5150’s embrace of love songs unsettled some fans, it was a massive hit, selling over six million in the US alone.
The 5150 super deluxe includes:
LP and CD1 – The original album remastered by engineer Donn Landee
CD2 – Single edits, extended versions and live tracks originally released as B-sides
CD3 – 12 tracks recorded at their 27 August 1986 concert in New Haven, Connecticut, originally released as the 1986 VHS Live Without A Net (the 2004 DVD release included the whole set)
Blu-ray – The full Live Without A Net film given a high-definition upgrade, promo videos for ‘Dreams’ and ‘Why Can’t This Be Love’
24-page book
Separate 2CD and 2LP versions replicate the tracklisting of the first two CDs of the super deluxe. An Amazon-exclusive green vinyl edition will also be available.
As with previous VH sets, the lack of any previously unreleased material will be a frustration to fans, not to mention the disc which is essentially an edited audio version of Live Without A Net. And of course the studio album is not included as hi-res or in immersive audio on the blu-ray.
Formats galore, but are they offering anything new?
A few of The Alan Parsons Project’s early ’80s albums will be reissued in March. The Turn Of A Friendly Card (1980), Eye In The Sky (1982) and Ammonia Avenue (1984) will each be available on the following formats:
2LP ‘CV 45 Audiophile Edition’ – Half-speed mastered at 45RPM
LP – Half-speed mastered available as either black/coloured 180g vinyl
CD – Expanded and remastered with four bonus tracks
The 2LP sets were done at Abbey Road by Miles Showell and use hi-res transfers taken from the original tapes. They’re pressed at Optimal with 180g black vinyl housed in poly-lined inners with numbered obi-strip
Additionally, the official APP shop offers each of the albums as limited-edition, single LP coloured vinyl half-speed mastered editions. Also, the first 500 orders of any vinyl edition ships with a numbered art print of the corresponding album.
The early ’80s adventures of The Alan Parsons Project saw more symphonic pop-prog studio wizardry from Parsons and Eric Woolfson with a trio of their most cohesive – and most commercially successful – albums. As you’d expect, this means that reissues have been frequent over the years.
TheTurn Of A Friendly Card has been well served of late, first with Sony’s 2015 box set and then with Esoteric’s 2020 deluxe edition (including the album and a plethora of bonus tracks on CD and a Blu-ray audio disc), but this will be the album’s first standalone release on wax since Music On Vinyl’s 2011 pressing. That Esoteric set was the gold standard in terms of bonus tracks, with Woolson’s songwriting diaries, demos, rough mixes and backing tracks that make the four previously released tracks on the new CD feel downright stingy.
Recent editions of the multi-million selling Eye In The Sky include 2017’s super deluxe, a lavish (and sought-after today) 35th anniversary set including 3CDs, Blu-ray audio, 2LP and a 7” flexi-disc. Meanwhile, five years later the album was given a 2LP 45RPM Mobile-Fidelity Sound Lab pressing. Again, the bonus tracks on the new CD set are old news to APP fans.
Ammonia Avenue was also given the deluxe, multi-format treatment by Esoteric in 2020, but – as with The Turn Of A Friendly Card – this will be its first standalone vinyl pressing since Music On Vinyl released a single LP edition back in the early 2010s.
The Turn Of A Friendly Card, Eye In The Sky and Ammonia Avenue are out 27 March via Cooking Vinyl
Mark Knopfler and American singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris’ collaborative2006 studio album, Allthe Roadrunning, will be reissued on SDE exclusive blu-ray audio in April, to mark the album’s 20th anniversary.
The 12-track long-player was a top 10 hit in the UK and reached the top 20 in the US and features the singles ‘This Is Us’ and ‘Beachcombing’.
The forthcoming blu-ray – the fourth Knopfler-related album in the SDE Surround Series – features a 2026Dolby Atmos Mix by Guy Fletcher, an exclusive instrumental version of the album, also in Atmos, as well as the original stereo mix. Additionally, the blu-ray continues a previously unreleased 5.1 mix, by Chuck Ainlay, from 2006.
Audio streams on the SDE exclusive blu-ray:
2026 Dolby Atmos Mix (48/24)
2026 Dolby Atmos Instrumental Mix (48/24)
2006 DTS-HD 5.1 Mix (48/24)
2006 Original Stereo Mix – 2026 Remaster (96/24)
This All The Roadrunning release is a region-free blu-ray audio and is #58 in the ongoing SDE Surround Series. It will be packaged similarly in a clear amaray case and ships with a FREE, collectible SDE Surround Series slipcase. At the artist’s request, there may be some availability of this blu-ray on his UK store (without the slipcase).
This is a limited edition and has a 14 day pre-order window, which closes on Monday 16 February 2026. Availability cannot be guaranteed after that date. Pre-order via the SDE shop using this link, or the button below.
All the Roadrunning will be released on 17 April 2026 via UMR/Mercury. A 2LP vinyl edition has been announced for Record Store Day 2026, which is on Saturday 18 April.
Tracklisting
All The RoadrunningMark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris/SDE exclusive blu-ray audio
Album in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Atmos Instrumentals, 5.1 DTS-HD & Hi-Res Stereo
Beachcombing
I Dug Up a Diamond
This Is Us
Red Staggerwing
Rollin’ On
Love and Happiness
Right Now
Donkey Town
Belle Starr
Beyond My Wildest Dreams
All the Roadrunning
If This Is Goodbye
57 The Who / Quadrophenia
56 George Michael / Faith
55 Bryan Ferry / Boys and Girls
54 Thin Lizzy / Nightlife
53 Fine Young Cannibals / The Raw & The Cooked
52 Tears For Fears / Songs From The Big Chair
51 Propaganda / A Secret Wish
50 Frankie Goes To Hollywood / Welcome to the Pleasuredome
49 Elton John / Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy – Still available
48 The Who / Who Are You
47 The Human League / Dare
46 Split Enz / ENZyclopedia Volumes 1 & 2
45 Mark Knopfler / Sailing to Philadelphia
44 Matt Deighton / Today Become Forever
43 De La Soul / 3 Feet High and Rising
42 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel / The Best Years of Our Lives
Peter Gabriel has made available the second single from his forthcoming album o/i.
‘Put the Bucket Down’ is available first in its Bright-Side Mix by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent and a Dark-Side Mix by Tchad Blake will follow later in the month (on the new moon, to be exact).
The song’s foundation is a mid-paced funk groove and it runs for nearly seven minutes. There’s plenty of production flourishes, a strong piano-based chorus section, a horn break and lots to enjoy.
Gabriel explains that the ‘bucket’ is “all the crap that goes around our head all the time”, with the idea being that putting the bucket down is how we find a way forward. He also revealed an intriguing “show” concept:
“As a side project, I am working on a show with the brain as the central core and there are a number of songs, some on i/o and some on o\i that will be part of that. This is one of those and it’s a point in the narrative where we can both read and write thoughts and the person singing is not sure whether he has his own thoughts or not. Is he inside his own mind or inside someone else’s?” Peter Gabriel
The songs artwork has been created by Tomás Saraceno and three different type of spiders, Cyrtophora citricola, Nephila senegalensis and Holocnemus pluchei. The work is called Cosmic Spider/Web and it’s Saraceno and 12 spiders who are credited with “authorship”.
