National Album Day has revealed several brand new artist champions for 2024, including Catherine Marks, Jeff Wayne, Liam Fray from Courteeners, Nova Twins, Jazzie B of Soul II Soul and Travis.
They will join the already announced Shed Seven for this year's National Album Day, which is set to return on Saturday, October 19, 2024 and will celebrate great British groups.
The newly appointed album champions will be involved in a series of promotional activities around National Album Day.
Presented in association with official broadcast partner BBC Radio 2 and now in its seventh year since launching in 2018, National Album Day sees the music community come together to celebrate and promote the art of the album.
Catherine Marks (pictured) said: “I’m so honoured to be a part of the 2024 National Album Day. The album, as a form, is how I fell in love with music. While I remember singles on the radio or music videos on a Saturday morning, albums were a world I get lost in – they are how we forge deep connections with the artists we love.
“Albums allow artists to stretch out creatively and dig deeper into what they’re trying to say. I love being a part of helping artists build their album worlds – inhabiting a studio and capturing, forever, a special moment in time. As music consumption becomes more single-driven, it is even more important we celebrate full-length albums, the incredible people who make them and the amazing studios where they were made.”
“The power of an album is a true art form, enjoyed for generations,” said Jeff Wayne.
Liam Fray, frontman of Courteeners, said: “I’m honoured to be a champion for National Album Day. When I started making music, I didn’t dream I’d write enough songs for an album... I thought it would be a couple of riffs with my childhood friends, coupled with some bad rhymes from my phone. But then, as you develop, and grow, you realise it could, with some luck and a lot of hard work… be an album. The album is the canvas, and every corner should be painted. The album tells the whole story that the singles entice you with. In the age of immediacy singles belong to the ear… But the album belongs to the heart.”
The album, as a form, is how I fell in love with music
Catherine Marks
Nova Twins – Amy Love and Georgia South – said: “We’re so excited to be part of National Album Day! Albums have meant everything to us for as long as we can remember. They’re more than just music, they connect you to the artist. Once you fall in love with an album it becomes yours forever. Even in today’s fast-paced, short-attention era, the album is the truest reflection of an artist’s craft. This is why they should be celebrated.”
National Album Day is also partnering with Black Story, an initiative dedicated to celebrating iconic UK Black music and addressing the underrepresentation of Black artists in the industry.
In collaboration with Universal Music Recordings and Warner Music’s Rhino label, the campaign will honour Black artists who have shaped the music landscape but often remain underappreciated. It highlights artists who laid the foundations of their genres.
As part of the campaign, nine classic Black UK music albums will be re-released on vinyl, including Soul II Soul’s legendary 1989 debut, Club Classics Vol. 1.
Jazzie B said: “When we made Club Classics, we knew we could blend in all sorts of influences like hip-hop, lovers rock, pop, dub and soul and funk as that’s what the people we saw around us had in their record collections – a little bit of everything. Because we made our own music to play on our sound system we were free to do that and they embraced it, so this is a triumph for them as much as it is for the Soul II Soul collective.”
In a statement, Travis said: “We're delighted to be champions for the 2024 National Album Day. As a band we've always believed in the album as an art form.
Since its launch in 2018, National Album Day has been supported by a broad range of artist champions, 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 Gabrielle, Declan McKenna, Tricky, Nuno Bettencourt, Shola Ama and The Corrs were the album advocates.
National Album Day is organised jointly by the BPI and ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association (also behind Record Store Day).
The event is supported across Radio 2 and BBC Sounds, and is backed by the wider recorded music community, taking in UK record labels, AIM, PPL, managers and other trade associations. It is also supported by independent record stores and specialist chains including HMV and online retailers and digital services including Amazon, Spotify and YouTube.
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