'Irish Jack' and Hothouse Flowers in Togher for Record Store Day on Saturday

Irish rock band Hothouse Flowers will join Cork acts and the Gurranabraher-based retired postman who inspired The Who’s Quadrophenia for an all-day party in Togher to mark Record Store Day tomorrow (Saturday).

Record Store Day began in 2007 to celebrate record shops, with bands, artists, and record companies releasing limited, one-time-only presses of vinyl records exclusively to independent record shops.

Independent store Musiczone.ie, in Togher, is one of the Cork stores participating in Record Store Day and will be selling bespoke vinyl records, with over 400 new releases, including offerings from U2, David Bowie, Olivia Rodrigo, Blur, The Cranberries, The Rolling Stones, Sinead O’Connor, and more.

The Togher store is also hosting a day of live music, beginning at 11am with critically acclaimed West Cork singer and songwriter Polly Barrett.

Taking to the stage at midday will be White Llama.

At 1pm, local singer and songwriter Caoilian Sherlock will launch his new album, Teenage Jesus, in the store.

If Cajun, bluegrass or folk are your thing, look no further than legendary troubadours Two Time Polka, who hit the stage at 2pm for what looks likely to be a lively session.

The Hothouse Flowers are onstage at 3pm, and the two founding members of the veteran rock band — they celebrate their 40th anniversary together next year — told The Echo they were looking forward to catching up with friends in Togher.

Liam Ó Maonlaí said they were playing the Musiczone.ie ahead of their gig in Live at St Luke’s on Saturday evening.

“We’re going to be playing a few tunes, and singing a few songs, and playing tunes in a record store is something that brings us back to our earliest days, and it’s going to be a blast,” he said.

Fiachna Ó Braonáin said Musiczone.ie would be the first record store to carry their new double vinyl version of ‘Into Your Heart’ and the vinyl version of ‘Let’s Do This Thing’.

Mr Ó Braonáin said he was looking forward to a great gig.

“We always get such a great welcome in Cork, and it’s brilliant to be able to support Ray in Musiczone and to catch up with everyone,” he said.

At 4pm, Gurranabraher-based retired postman Jack Lyons, known as Irish Jack, the inspiration for The Who’s Quadrophenia, will give a talk on his astonishing life.