Album Day locks in its strongest Icons vinyl run

National Album Day has now set out the full slate of exclusive limited-edition reissues for its ninth edition, themed Icons and fixed for Saturday 17 October 2026. The organisers confirmed the complete list on 18 September.

Among the records headed for physical and online retailers across the UK are Dire Straits’ *On Every Street* as a 35th anniversary edition, The Pretenders’ *Get Close* on 40th anniversary remastered white vinyl, Elbow’s *Asleep In The Back* on 25th anniversary marble vinyl, Kirsty MacColl’s *Desperate Character*, and Bryan Ferry’s *Boys and Girls* on crystal-clear vinyl with a lyrics insert. Label partners have detailed half-speed mastered pressings, coloured variants and anniversary editions drawn from the original masters. Pre-orders opened on the day of the announcement.

A spokesperson for the event said: “It’s appropriate that for this year’s edition of National Album Day, which celebrates Icons, we are presenting to fans our strongest ever line-up of album releases and classic reissues, drawn from across all eras and genres.” No further details on additional Irish-specific editions or in-store events have been released.

Closing statements and debuts

Dire Straits formed in London in 1977 around Mark Knopfler, David Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers. The band were active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995. Their studio output spanned the 1978 debut through *Communiqué*, *Making Movies* and *Love Over Gold* before their huge mid-1980s success. *On Every Street*, released in 1991, stands as their final studio album; the live set *On the Night* followed in 1993. A 35th anniversary edition returns that closing studio statement to the racks for Album Day, long after the group's final years.

The Pretenders formed in March 1978. The original line-up paired founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde with James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers. After the deaths of Honeyman-Scott in 1982 and Farndon in 1983 the band went through numerous changes. Hynde has remained the only constant member. *Learning to Crawl* arrived in 1984. *Get Close*, now marked at forty years and issued on remastered white vinyl, belongs to the chapter that followed, a mid-1980s record from a group already rebuilding itself around Hynde’s songwriting.

Elbow, from Bury in Greater Manchester, adopted their name in 1997 after playing together since 1990. Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter and Pete Turner made *Asleep In The Back* their first full album in 2002. The 25th anniversary marble vinyl puts that debut back into circulation ahead of a catalogue that later ran through *Cast of Thousands*, *Leaders of the Free World* and the Mercury-winning *The Seldom Seen Kid*, and on to *AUDIO VERTIGO* in 2024. Drummer Alex Reeves, long a touring and session presence, became a full member in 2024.

Kirsty MacColl’s *Desperate Character* and Bryan Ferry’s *Boys and Girls* complete the named set in this update. Ferry, long the frontman of Roxy Music, appears here under his own name on crystal-clear vinyl with a lyrics insert. MacColl’s title returns a record from a catalogue cut short by her death in 2000; her work is treated here as legacy rather than as new activity.

What the day still leaves open

The 18 September confirmation gathers those packages as a single published line-up and adds the organisers’ own claim that this is their strongest Icons slate to date.

Shops across the UK will stock the limited runs on 17 October. Pricing has not been disclosed in the materials put out so far. Specialist retailers listed the titles for pre-order from 18 September. Whether any further pressings, coloured variants or in-store events aimed at the Republic will follow remains unknown.

The Icons theme frames the ninth National Album Day as a celebration of catalogue strength rather than new studio work. For listeners who already know *On Every Street*, *Get Close* and *Asleep In The Back* from the original runs, the draw is the pressing detail — half-speed masters, marble, white and clear vinyl, inserts — and the chance to find them together on the day itself. Until organisers or the labels say more about Irish stock and events, the practical next step for fans is the pre-order window already open and the Saturday in October when the limited editions reach the shops.