The Lottery Winners talk vinyl revival: "Music is not disposable, let's keep it forever!"

All this week, we're celebrating 10 years of the Official Vinyl Charts. A format once feared almost obsolete, its renaissance now sees it front and centre in any successful artist campaign.

Nobody knows its importance more than The Lottery Winners, who celebrated the release of their recent Number 1 album KOKO with its very own pop-up store.

Located at the heart of their hometown in Leigh Spinners Mill, the band's KOKO Shop served as a retail and performance space in collaboration with two of their most beloved independent UK record stores; Portsmouth's Pie & Vinyl and Bury's Wax and Beans.

The very definition of a grassroots indie store buzzing with community spirit, the week-long KOKO pop-up played host to performances, a live podcast and, of course, stacks of vinyl.

We caught up with The Lottery Winners' Thom Rylance and Katie Lloyd in Leigh to find out what makes the enduring format so special to them.

You celebrated your release week with the KOKO pop-up shop. What was the response from fans?

Thom: "The pop-up shop was wild. It was so full every single day. It was beautiful to see; there was a lot of love in the room. 

"There’s nothing more special than going to a record store, having a sift through, picking one up and feeling the artwork. You don’t just want that on your phone, do you? Physically owning an album is so important."

Katie: "The whole community came down. People travelled far and wide to come to little Leigh! Someone came from Hungary, somebody came from Denmark."

Thom: "We collaborated on our record store with Pie & Vinyl; a really beautiful independent record store in Portsmouth who also do pies! They’ve been so helpful and lovely – it’s a great shop, you should visit it. 

"Also, Wax and Beans in Bury, who do great food as well! They’ve been so instrumental in helping us, as well."

Your passion for independent record shops is palpable. Why are they so important to you?

Thom: "There are so many great record stores all over the country; Jackaranda Records in Liverpool, Action Records in Preston, Sticky Black Tarmac at Leigh Spinners Mill. 

"I love seeing independent record shops busy. I love seeing people excited for new releases. I love Record Store Day. Music is not disposable. Let’s buy it. Let’s hold it physically. Let’s keep it forever!"

MORE: 10 Years of the Official Vinyl Chart timeline

The store stocked the vinyl, helping you to nab Number 1 on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart. What does the format mean to you?

Thom: "My favourite thing to do is sit at the table, have a meal with friends and put a record on.

"When you make an album, that’s obviously a real creative expression; but then you get this other chance to be creative again with the record. You’ve got a real, 12-inch piece of art that you can customise. You can make the record cool, you’ve got the sleeve notes, the artwork; it’s its own piece of art on top of the album.” 

"If you think about those iconic record covers, they’re almost as important as the album sometimes. I bet more people could tell you The Dark Side of the Moon album cover than could tell you the tracklisting!"

What do you think the future of vinyl looks like? Any predictions?

Thom: "People are really collecting vinyl again. They get excited when a new colour comes out, or a Blood Records version. I’ve seen some really beautiful variants – our friends The Reytons did a beautiful pop-up live album [Clifton Park]. I can’t wait to copy that for the next record!"

Katie: "I’m so glad it’s such a popular format again. Artwork on vinyl just makes the album feel like a complete body of work."

You're certainly embracing the trend yourselves...

Thom: "Well, we've single-handedly brought back vinyl. We're the heroes of vinyl. Nobody else has been doing it! You're going to get Taylor Swift and Charli xcx doing loads of variants of vinyl; different colours and that! Copying us, again. Get your own ideas, Taylor!

"No, it's seriously really good to see."

MORE: The Official best-selling new vinyl releases of the last 10 years

What's your most beloved vinyl record in your collection?

Thom: "KOKO! It’s the best music that’s ever been pressed onto wax!"

The Official Vinyl Albums Chart and Vinyl Singles Chart are published every Friday at 5.45pm. Sign up to the Official Charts mailing list and opt in to 'vinyl' to receive special alerts about Record Store Day exclusives and more. Get the latest vinyl news from Official Charts here.

The Lottery Winners' KOKO is out now.