The first reaction to volume 3 of The Island Book of Records is overwhelming. Manchester University Press are sending advance copies to booksellers so they can see what will be coming out in October 2026 and think about ordering… well… bookseller Freakout Bookshelf had an explosive reaction. Wow
” There are some books that just feel like an event, and this is absolutely one of them. An advanced copy of The Island Book of Records Volume III: 1971-72 by Neil Storey just landed on my doorstep, courtesy of @manchester_university_press and it’s every bit as monumental as the music it documents.
It’s an absolute beast of a book, packed with everything you could want from the legendary Island Records during two wild years. The scope is mind-blowing: 80 albums covered, from Nick Drake, Roxy Music, Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, ELP, Sandy Denny and Mott The Hoople. And for the true collectors out there, it even dives into the albums that never saw the light of day, think Junkyard Angel and Jess Roden’s lost solo record. Pure nerd heaven. The official release date is October 6, so you don’t have long to wait. Trust me, you’re going to want this one on your shelf.
They’ve put some screen grabs of the inside pages from their instagram post…
In this third edition, we are using many more photographs than in the other two volumes because the photographers of the time are letting us to use very rare images that sometimes were taken for album covers and never used.
Photographer Brian Cooke has allowed to use outtakes from Mott the Hoople’ Wildlife album, and also the very first publicity shots he took of Roxy Music. there is a pretty special double spread picture of his that he took from Roxy’s first gig at the Royal College of Art. I’ll just say Phwoar.
