Punk icon and all-round legend Henry Rollins has admitted to having more than a mild addiction to vinyl records. A self-described “vinyl cat lady”, Rollins buys at least one record every day and takes time out whilst on tour to hit up his favourite brick-and-mortar spots.
Apparently that includes Melbourne’s beloved Greville Records, which is also a haunt favoured by esteemed UK singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. Harvey recently hit up the Prahran record store with good mates Mick Harvey and Bruce Milne, founder of legendary Aussie label Au Go Go Records.
Rollins, meanwhile, stopped by Greville as he makes the rounds of his current Australian tour (check the dates below) to buy up some vinyl from two superb homegrown acts. In a photo shared by the Greville Records Facebook, Rollins stands with releases by Metronomes and Taipan Tiger Girls.
In a March instalment of his regular column for LA Weekly earlier this year, entitled ‘I Went All the Way to Australia to Get a Thee Oh Sees Record‘, Rollins not only detailed his visit to two of Australia’s best record stores, but described his ardent love for Australia.
“I was so happy to finally be in Australia,” Rollins, who’s made more than 30 trips here, wrote of his first visit Down Under back in 1989. “That afternoon, I decided I wanted to visit Australia as often as possible. I have never reacted to a country this way before or since.”
“The last few days here in Sydney, I feel like I have won the lottery. I am where I am supposed to be,” he said of his most recent trip, which saw him linking up with Rice Is Nice operative Julia Wilson and hitting the town for some “food, caffeine and vinyl”.
The duo first hit up Repressed Records in Newtown, where Rollins was introduced to the likes of “Nun, Tyrannamen, Thigh Master, Red Red Krovvy, Brando’s Island, Terry, [and] Cured Pink, to name a few” by store co-owner Chris Sammut.
The two spent the rest of the day “hitting store after store”, including “the very sturdy Red Eye Records”, which Rollins described as “Well stocked and assiduously curated, it is a mandatory visit”.
Henry Rollins Australian Tour Dates
Thursday, 22nd September 2016
Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
Tickets from ticketmaster.com.au, phone (08) 8443 5255 or in person at all Ticketmaster outlets.
Friday, 23rd September 2016
Perth, Regal Theatre
Tickets from regaltheatre.com.au or phone (08) 9388 2066
Saturday, 24th September 2016
Perth, Regal Theatre
Tickets from regaltheatre.com.au or phone (08) 9388 2066
Sunday, 25th September 2016
Margaret River Cultural Centre
Tickets from artsmargaretriver.com or phone (08) 9758 7316
