Announcing a #TimsTwitterListeningParty special series for National Album Day

Monday 21st September - To mark this year’s National Album Day, a very special series of Tim Burgess’ Twitter Listening Parties will take place in the lead up to, and on the day itself (Saturday 10th October), with the aim of engaging music fans of all ages and genres with a selection of classic and well-loved albums.

Tim Burgess’ Twitter Listening Parties have been something of a digital phenomenon since his decision to increase the frequency of the parties during lockdown to near-nightly events, with over 500 listening parties archived to date so far from artists including Blur, Pixies, The The, Roisin Murphy, Biffy Clyro, Liam Gallagher, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, New Order and more.

Kicking the National Album Day series off on Monday 5th October at 8pm (UK Time) will be an exclusive Twitter Listening Party with Midge Ure of Ultravox, who along with Tim, will be taking fans through the classic album ‘Vienna’, which is being reissued as a deluxe 40th anniversary box set especially for National Album Day.

On National Album Day, Saturday 10th October, will be a series of Twitter Listening Parties between 3pm-10pm (BST). Keep an eye on National Album Day @AlbumDayUK and Tim’s Listening Party @LISTENING_PARTY socials for more details! The full schedule is below...

Monday 5th October
8pm: Ultravox - Vienna

Wednesday 7th October
7pm: Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms

Thursday 8th October
8pm: Bonnie Tyler - Faster Than the Speed of Night

Saturday 10th October
3pm: Toyah Willcox - Anthem
5:30pm: Marillion - F.E.A.R
7pm: Matthew Wilder - I Don't Speak The Language
8pm: Blossoms - Blossoms
9pm: La Roux - Supervision

With a simple format - stream or play the chosen album at the allocated started time and follow Tim and the relevant artists as they tweet along - the parties are a chance to look back and celebrate some of the best-loved albums from the past four decades. Listeners can ask questions and share their thoughts on each album using the official hashtag and handles #TimsTwitterListeningParty @AlbumDayUK @LISTENING_PARTY.

Following each party, the Twitter conversations will be archived on timstwitterlisteningparty.com where over 500 of the listening events are documented.

The #TimsTwitterListeningParty special will be one of the highlights in a series of online and other special events being organised in the week leading up to National Album Day and on the day itself – full details will be announced shortly.

National Album Day is now in its third year and will this year celebrate the Eighties with a range of artist ambassadors supporting the campaign including Billy Ocean, Blossoms, Carol Decker, Jazzie B, Kim and Marty Wilde, La Roux, Psychedelic Furs, Shakin’ Stevens, Toyah Willcox and Ward Thomas. National Album Day is organised jointly by record labels body the BPI (The BRIT Awards and Hyundai Mercury Prize) and the Entertainment Retailers Association (Record Store Day), and is supported across the BBC with highlights available to listen to on BBC Sounds, along with the UK’s recorded music industry including AIM and other trade associations, retailers and digital/streaming platforms, and partners including Classic Albums Sunday – who this October celebrate their tenth anniversary.

Watch out for more exciting announcements for National Album Day over the coming weeks!

With the album already at the fore of the UK music calendar, following the shortlist announcement of the 2020 Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ and in anticipation of the forthcoming Record Store Day Drops, National Album Day creates another opportunity to engage with the much-loved format. Based on Official Charts data 154 million albums or their equivalent were purchased, downloaded or streamed in 2019 – up 7.7 per cent on the previous year, and even during the first six months of a Covid-hit 2020, album-equivalent sales have risen by 6.8 per cent. The format does particularly well on vinyl – with over 4.3 million LP sales in 2019 following 12 years of consecutive growth – and even the humble cassette, the quintessential 80s format, is now finding favour again, with over 130,000 projected sales for this year – the highest sales since 2003.

In the past two years, National Album Day has been supported by a diverse range of artists and musicians including Lewis Capaldi, Mark Ronson, Elbow, Paloma Faith, Alice Cooper, Novelist, Tom Odell, Mahalia and Orbital among many others, and has hosted a variety of events and activities including Classic Album Sunday and Tape Notes events, in-store artist appearances, record store promotions, and two Network Rail exhibitions in major cities across the UK.

Keep track of the National Album Day website for more news, events and exclusive Album Day activities to be announced in the coming weeks. Much more to come!