By Kelly Malone

The Beatles continue to be a top vinyl seller

Feb 8, 2014 | 3:03 PM

Beatlemania has continued in North America for half a century since the Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show 50 years ago and record sales aren't dropping anytime soon.

As the owner of the Vinyl Exchange in downtown Saskatoon, the Beatles on vinyl is an order that Mike Spindloe has made over and over for more than 20 years.

“It's pretty much constant,” he said.

“There's what is it, like three generations now since they have split up that have all discovered them through various ways.”

Spindloe himself discovered their music early on.

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“I first heard the Beatles through records from my next door neighbour, probably in the late 60s and early 70s,” he said.

“Probably when they already were pretty much done but still very much as popular as they are now.”

It was an instant connection and it influenced the music that Spindloe, who is also a musician, would play.

“I think it's the quality of the song writing. As a musician myself I've learned to play a lot of their songs and I really appreciate how well crafted those tunes are… There is always some little wrinkle in there. Even right at the end of the song they will throw in a jazz chord that they didn't use in the rest of the song so it's a surprise,” he said.

As the owner of a record store for 21 years, Spindloe has seen music trends change but he said an interest in the Beatles remains.

“It has a lot of staying power… What the Beatles had going for them that nobody else had before is two things,” he explained.

“They marked the transition from solo performers with backing groups like Buddy Holly and the Crickets… they were the first real group that came out that had two or three great song writers in the band. And the three lead vocalists, four even you have to count Ringo they gave him a token song every album.”

Spindlowe said that they caused a revolution in music that has not been recreated. He said they also can bring different generations together unlike any other band.

“It seems strange to me because I look back to my parents and the music they listened to and it was of no interest to my generation,” he said with a laugh.

“Now of course they have brought them all back on vinyl so it's come full circle back to 1965.”

When it comes to what he sells the most Spindloe said Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band are at the top closely followed by the White Album.

“But you know Revolver and Rubber Soul are both great albums too. If somebody said 'I'm just going to have one Beatles album in my collection, which one should I have?' That would be a really hard question to answer,” he said.

“They are all great for different reasons and none of them sound the same.”

kmalone@rawlco.com

Follow on Twitter: @KellyGerMalone