Paul Smith sees red (vinyl) for David Bowie’s ‘The Next Day’ LP

When we first mentioned that the Thin White Duke and Sir Paul Smith would be doing a series of collaborative projects in support of David Bowie’s album “The Next Day,” the only fruit of that partnership was an album cover T-shirt.

Now there’s a limited-edition album to go with it. And before you start imagining the pair crooning duets in a darkened pub, rest assured that no music was harmed in the making of this merchandising effort.

What the designer has done is select a vibrant shade of red for a limited-edition vinyl pressing of the album, which will be sold at select Paul Smith boutiques (including at the 8221 Melrose Ave. store in Los Angeles), Smith’s e-commerce site, and a selection of British retailers including Selfridges for $50 (compared with $25.99 for the basic black version at Bowie’s website.)

Colored vinyl is hardly a new phenomenon, (the Flaming Lips and the White Stripes are just two bands whose recent candy-colored LPS come to mind) but special pressings and limited editions can end up being prized by collectors and audiophiles.

Our only question: Why red? We think a spinning vinyl platter tricked out in Smith’s widely recognized signature multi-stripe would have been just the thing to take our turntable up a notch.

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