Top 5: Cool vinyl releases for Record Store Day 2021’s second drop ft. Happy Mondays, Gorillaz, Black Sabbath & more

Record Store Day returns for its second ‘drop date’ this Saturday 17 July meaning there’s tonnes of limited and exclusive vinyl releases to get your hands on. Here at Manchester Wire, we’ve pulled together our top five records to grab this weekend and it’s a right mixed bag – including an iconic film soundtrack, Happy Mondays remastered and more…

1: Happy Mondays – Hallelujah 12″
Electronic music producer Ewan Pearson takes on Happy Mondays’ classic Hallelujah with a new, darker synth bass mix. This 12″ also includes the legendary club mix by Andrew Weatherall and Paul Oakenfold – plus the original track remastered.

2: Gorillaz – The G Collection 6 LP set
This vinyl box set contains six Gorillaz studio albums from 2001 to 2020, including Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), Humanz (2017), The Now Now (2018) and latest release Song Machine.

3: Black Sabbath – Master of Reality purple LP
Black Sabbath’s third studio album Master of Reality complete with first edition original sleeve, 1970s replica poster and pressed on purple vinyl. This one’s a numbered limited edition release of the 1971 record.

4: Ash – BBC Sessions 1994-1999 bright pink vinyl
Ash present a limited edition of 1000 numbered copies on hot-pink vinyl of 12 classic tracks and covers specially commissioned for BBC sessions by Steve Lamacq and the late, great John Peel. This Record Store Day exclusive has never before been released.

5: OST – Ocean’s Eleven Limited 20th Anniversary black & red ‘roulette wheel’ vinyl
Blending composer David Holmes’ electronica jazz-funk with old-school orchestral artists like Percy Faith and Quincy Jones – the soundtrack to the 2001 thriller Oceans Eleven makes its vinyl debut on its 20th anniversary. Spun on Cornetto, red and black “roulette wheel” vinyl and limited to 2500 copies – this release comes inside a jacket and printed inner-sleeve featuring production stills from the film.

To find out more about this and future Record Store Day events, their releases, participating stores and more, head to the official Record Store Day website. Meanwhile, you can find a list of participating Manchester record stores below…

• Vinyl Exchange, 18 Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JN
• Piccadilly Records, 53 Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JR
• Vinyl Revival, 5 Hilton Street, Manchester, M4 1LP
• Wilderness Record Store, 9 Egerton Crescent, Manchester, M20 4PN

Please note – Not all stores stock all releases. Contact your local store to find out if they’ll have what you’re after. You can check the full release list, all participating stores, and more details here.