Ahead of Record Store Day 2026, Robert Plant has been named as this year’s Record Store Legend.
The 19th instalment of RSD is taking place next week (April 18), a celebration of independent record shops and vinyl culture in the UK involving more than 300 stores around the country.
An extensive range of exclusive physical releases will be available on a first-come-first-served basis, with records from the likes of Charli XCX, Muse, Suede, David Bowie, The Cure, KPop Demon Hunters, Paramore and many more. Check out the full list here.
Now, organisers have confirmed the former Led Zeppelin frontman Plant as this year’s Record Store Legend, recognising his lasting impact on music around the world and his ongoing dedication to record shops and new artists.
Speaking at Cardiff’s Spillers Records, Plant said: “Record stores have always been a part of my life. For me, once you get to the physical record it’s because you really want to know and be a part of what the artist was considering. And I know, as a guy who’s been making records since 1966, people want to take home something very special, to enjoy all the elements of what an artist has put together. We want a connection between the music and the art of the whole thing.”
Previous recipients of Record Store Legend include Elton John and Johnny Marr, while Plant himself is part of RSD26 as his EP ‘Saving Grace: All That Glitters’ will be released for the occasion.
A run of release announcements have already come out, including the likes of Bowie, The Snuts and Nilüfer Yanya as well as The Cure, Fleetwood Mac, Divorce, Primal Scream, Bring Me The Horizon & Sigrid and the Manics‘ James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire among those dropping one-off records for the benefit of RSD’s charity partner War Child.
Now, the full slate is out: featuring CMAT, Gigi Perez, Air, HAIM, Olivia Dean, PinkPantheress, RAYE, Rose Gray, Self Esteem, Sleep Token, The Last Dinner Party, Wolf Alice, with many more surprises yet to be revealed.
This year’s Record Store Day arrives with vinyl sales at their highest level in 20 years. The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association report that the market for vinyl records grew by 18.6 per cent, in value terms with over 7.5 million discs sold last year, generating £238million.
Plant, meanwhile, played a career-spanning set for NPR’s Tiny Desk last year, including the 1970 Zeppelin track ‘Gallows Pole’.
The animal rights group PETA also reached out to Plant last year, urging him to temporarily change his name to ‘Robert Plant Wool’. With November considered Plant Wool Month, the push for the name change was done in an effort raises more awareness for plant alternatives to sheep’s wool.
