An imported vinyl record is a pressing made in one country and brought into another for sale, often marked with an “Import” sticker. They could arrive in the UK for many reasons - perhaps the album hadn’t yet been released here, or at all, or maybe the overseas version offered better sound, packaging, or artwork. Certain pressings, especially from Japan or the US, became sought-after by collectors for their quality and unique variations. Today, those “Import” stickers are a small but fascinating reminder of a record’s journey across the globe.
While the UK has an eclectic variety of records to offer, artists will often release their albums across a range of countries. These foreign pressings will often have different nuances to them, and can be highly collectable.
Why are records imported to the UK?
Records which have been imported can end up in UK shops for many different reasons. One of the most common reasons was down to albums being released on different schedules in different countries, or sometimes even never being released in a location. Therefore, records had to be imported to meet local demand.
Records were also imported because certain pressings - particularly Japanese - are highly regarded for their pressing quality. This also happened in the other direction; sometimes, pressings from local distributors were more expensive, so it was more cost-effective to bring in imports from other countries.
Ultimately, there are many reasons records may have been imported, and any 'import' stickers that remain are an interesting look into the history of record sales across the world.
How Can You Tell A Record Has Been Imported?
When purchasing records new, records which have been imported will have an import sticker on them, which declares they have been brought in from another country. However, these are frequently lost to time, so when purchasing second hand, these stickers may not exist. We do see them occasionally, as seen in the image below, and these stickers will often be listed as a comment below the listing.
I have a record made in another country, does that mean it's been imported?
Not necessarily. Especially with more modern records, their pressings are sold across Europe, and are often pressed in Germany, and sold across mainland Europe as well as in the UK. They will sometimes have multiple catalogue numbers on the back of the sleeve, or refer to multiple countries by the barcode.
If you are purchasing a record second hand, it may have been pressed in a different country, but this still doesn't mean it is an imported record. We see records come in from outside of the UK on a daily basis, often purchased from people who have lived, or holidayed in another country and purchased records while they were there. These will often have text on the sleeve or record label stating the country of manufacture. Alternatively, the sleeve may have information written in a different language, or the artist's songs may have been translated. Blondie were famous for this, their records being released across continents, with their lead singer, Debbie Harry, singing the lyrics in Spanish and French.
Imported Records At Atlas Records:
Because many import stickers have been lost over the years before records get to us, it is hard for us to tell whether something was originally an import. Japanese imports are fairly common, as Japanese pressings tend to be vastly different to their European counterparts. In some cases, there will not be a European equivalent to a Japanese pressing, making them highly sought after. At time of writing, we have a Japanese import of The Clash's 'Pearl Harbour '79' LP, which comes with a magenta wraparound, exclusive to this edition. It also has bonus inserts written entirely in Japanese. On the front cover, it as an import sticker, which shows us that it was brought over to the UK to be sold here.
Are Imported Records More Valuable?
When they were originally pressed and sold, imported records may have been sold at a cheaper rate, because they were often surplus supply. Now we're seeing them being sold second hand, their prices are dependent on demand for the artist, and how readily available the pressings are. For example, The Clash's record pictured above is in a higher demand than the U2 record pictured below, so their price points differ.
If you'd like to get your hands on an imported record, keep an eye on our new arrivals page, where we add new records daily, and on Facebook and Instagram, where you can see some of our top picks from our website.
