South Yorks: New exhibition celebrates the love of music on vinyl

Thud, Crackle, Pop has been created by Sheffield native Pete McKee and has been supported by, amongst others, Paul Smith, Noel Gallagher, Paddy Considine and Mary Anne Hobbs.

The inspiration behind the show is McKee’s love of music, but particularly a love of playing it on vinyl and the culture surrounding him, and others like him, who buy, sell and play their music on vinyl.

“It’s a celebration of all things vinyl,” said McKee.

“While music is audible, vinyl brings that physical quality to it.”

“The whole process is a performance, from flicking through the racks, carefully pulling the disc from the sleeve, flipping to your preferred side, placing it on the turntable and gently lowering the arm onto the spinning black disc.”

“Hearing the ‘thud’, ‘crackle’ and ‘pop’ before the track begins to play, sitting back with the sleeve admiring the artwork and reading the lyrics.”

“This is my homage to vinyl and the glory of the 12-inch sleeve.”

The exhibition was a huge success in London where it attracted more than 1,000 visitors in two days.

Now, it is on tour with visits to Harrogate and Manchester before finishing the year in McKee’s home city of Sheffield, being based at A Month of Sundays from 22nd November to 23rd December.