National Album Day announces music legends Shola Ama and The Corrs as the two new artist ambassadors, alongside Gabrielle, Declan McKenna, Tricky and Nuno Bettencourt. National Album Day, held on Saturday 14th October, will celebrate the 90s this year and 75 years of the album format. National Album Day is presented in association with official audio partner Bowers & Wilkins and official broadcast partner BBC Sounds.
BRIT Award winner, Shola Ama is known for her soul and R&B sound. Making herself known in the industry in 1995, Shola released her biggest single ‘You Might Need Somebody’ in 1997 and followed with her debut album ‘Much Love’ that year. Shola has also earned various prestigious accolades throughout her career including a Brit Award for Best British Female and two MOBO Awards. Since then, Shola has created three more albums and recently released her newest R&B single ‘Not Us’.
Shola Ama says “Overjoyed to be an ambassador for NAD celebrating the 90’s. The late 90’s was Such a great time for British music, especially for UK Soul and R&B , and now just over 25 years since the release of my album “ much love “ it’s been really nice to get the chance to revisit some songs and memories from that time and celebrate the album with a vinyl release – I love that vinyl is coming back into fashion .”
Originally from Dundalk, County Louth in Ireland, The Corrs are a Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes. Starting their career gigging in local pubs around Ireland in 1990, the renowned band has gone on to release seven albums, including their platinum selling album ‘Talk on Corners’. After performing all over the world, the band is now sharing their pop rock and folk tunes with thousands as they tour Australia and New Zealand later this year.
The Corrs say “We’re delighted to be ambassadors for this year’s National Album Day to celebrate the art of the album! Forgiven, Not Forgotten was our debut album originally released 28 years ago back in 1995. Its release came at such a special moment in time for us and it’s been a real pleasure revisiting the memories as we’ve put together this special limited edition recycled colour vinyl.”
Now in its sixth edition, National Album Day sees the music community come together each year to celebrate and promote the art of the album. This year’s 90s theme will look to shine a light on a profoundly rich decade for music and album making that skipped between Britpop, Dance and Hip Hop; gave us national treasures Take That and global phenomenon the Spice Girls; and saw diverse genres ranging from dance, house and techno to R&B, rap and reggae and to grunge and industrial rock, among many others, rise to reach their full cultural expression – in the UK and globally.
National Album Day is again presented in association with official audio partner Bowers & Wilkins and official broadcast partner BBC Sounds, and will pay tribute to artists who tell their stories behind these significant and influential bodies of work. Artist ambassadors tied into the theme – both those that came to the fore during the 1990s and current new and emerging talent that are inspired by its music; specially reissued albums and new releases; and promotional events and other activities will be announced in due course alongside further updates.
Since its launch in 2018, NAD has been supported by a broad range of artist ambassadors, including Kylie Minogue, Joy Crookes, Sharleen Spiteri, Lewis Capaldi, Mark Ronson, La Roux, Elbow, Paloma Faith, Blossoms, Alice Cooper, Novelist, Tom Odell, Mahalia, Toyah Willcox and Jazzie B. Last year Franz Ferdinand, India Arkin, KSI, The Mysterines, Sam Ryder, and The Staves were the latest talents to add their voices as passionate advocates of the long player.
Typically benefitting from around a week-long build up, NAD has hosted a variety of activities such as listening events with album platforms including Classic Album Sundays, Pitchblack Playback, The Record Club, Tape Notes and Tim’s Listening Party; live performances; in-store artist appearances and record store promotions, street art murals; and album sleeve artwork exhibitions.
Renowned audio brand, Bowers & Wilkins, continues its support for National Album Day as official audio partner. Built on a passion for music, Bowers & Wilkins has been on an unrelenting pursuit of the highest quality listening experiences for music fans for over 60 years, always delivering sound that remains true to how the artist intended their album to be heard.
National Album Day announced an extensive list of exclusive 90s albums on 13th September that are being released or reissued on vinyl and CD to coincide with this annual event celebrating the art of the album.
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