Press release 53rd Mega Record & CD Fair Jaarbeurs Utrecht, The Netherlands

The birth of Hip-Hop highlighted at the 53rd Mega Record & CD Fair 18 & 19 April Tintin and other comic heroes on vinyl, Kristoffer Gildenlöw, DJ Collective and live performances

On Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, the Mega Record & CD Fair will take place at the Jaarbeurs congress center Utrecht. At this fair, which is being held for the 53rd time, music lovers and vinyl collectors from all over the world come together to buy records, attend book presentations, see live performances and visit exhibitions. Ben Merlis (USA) presents his latest book Goin' Off the story of the Juice Crew in which he describes the birth of Hip-Hop with a photo expo of these artists. Manuel Decker exhibits his extensive collection of Tintin and other cartoon heroes on vinyl. There are record launches and Meet & Greet with Kristoffer Gildenlöw among others. There is an auction of rare vinyl by Omega Auctions, the Three Imaginary Boys present their Popquiz on Sunday and many DJs will demonstrate all different styles of playing vinyl.

The birth of Hip-Hop with book presentation and photo exhibition by and by Ben Merlis and George DuBose Goin’ Off describes the rise and fall of Cold Chillin’s record label and its collaboration with Warner Bros. Records. It follows the career of recording artists from the label through first-hand interviews with industry players, producers, MCs and DJs: Roxanne Shanté was a fourteen-year-old fighter who spanned the diss record; MC Shan performed a legendary feud across the border with KRS-One; Kool G Rap was a fundamental participant in what the media called "gangsta-rap"; Big Daddy Kane's fast lyrics changed the way people sang or raped; the collegiate Masta Ace tried to raise its community during the height of the crack epidemic; The Genius (aka GZA) was a co-founder of the rap dynasty Wu Tang Clan; and the enigmatic Biz Markie made the world sing along with his hit 'Just a Friend'. The presentation of this book Goin ’Off, the Story of the Juice Crew by and with author Ben Merlis (USA) is supported by a pop- up photo expo by George DuBose. Both days the first 25 buyers of the book can pick out a free print.

Vinyl expo: Tintin on vinyl The French collector Manuel Decker has been collecting vinyl records all his life. At the end of last year he published his reference work Tintin & Les Vinyles in France. His complete Tintin on vinyl collection can be admired there. For the exhibition at the fair, Manuel has supplemented his Tintin collection with some other comic heroes. Think of vinyl LPs from and with Superman, Batman, Spiderman etc. The book TINTIN & Les Vinyles is available at this exhibition and Manuel Decker is personally present for text and explanation. All this near the terrace in hall 12.

Meet & Greet Kristoffer Gildenlöw. Multi-instrumentalist Kristoffer Gildenlöw is best known as bassist in the prog/rock/metal scene with various bands such as Kayak and Pain of Salvation. During the fair he will launch his third solo album on LP and CD entitled Homebound with a meet & greet on Saturday.

Other activities during the fair • The Three Imaginary Boys Pop Quiz powered by TivoliVredenburg. On Sunday, the Three Imaginary Boys from Utrecht present their fabulous pop quiz, which everyone can participate in and there are many prizes to be won, including live concert tickets made available by various sponsors. Start Saturday at 3 p.m. • Omega Auctions (UK) auction around 100 unique vinyl records on Saturday from 2 pm. • DJ Collective demonstrates the many forms of recordings in the classical and modern way with, among others, the DJs Ser- V, DNS, Sueside, Fullscale, Main Street, PP Groenveld, Greg D, Setiono, Yodaw, Phatcase, Sebastian Floris, Maurice Julienne and Portable Scratch Society. All weekend between hal 11 and 12.

53rd Mega Record & Cd Fair April 2020 Jaarbeurs Utrecht Saturday, April 18 from 9 am to 5 pm, Sunday, April 19 from 10 am to 5 pm. Presale by www.recordplanet.nl: 12.50 euros. Entrance tickets at the counter: 14 euros. Children up to and including eleven years free. For more information e-mail to: [email protected] or visit www.recordplanet.nl

______Not for publication: for (more) pictures free of copyright, for interviews or information you can contact ARC, Cas Bosland. e-mail: [email protected] You can download the complete press release and images in 300 dpi at: www.recordplanet.nl/en/press.html Amsterdam Record Convention | email: [email protected] | www.recordplanet.nl | 06 835 666 87