The Pastels are to release a 60-minute ‘best of’ tape as part of the first Cassette Store Day
The event, a perhaps tongue-in-cheek nod to Record Store Day but which aims to boost the fortunes of record (and tape) shops, takes place this Saturday, September 7th.

The band, fresh from an appearance at Doune The Rabbit Hole, have compiled a one-off C60 cassette of some of their favourite Pastels tracks. Titled Summer Rain (after the tune of the same name from current album Slow Summits), the track listing ranges from 1995’s Mobile Safari to the current album.

The release comes with download codes (just in case you can’t find a tape deck to play your purchase on) has artwork by Annabel Wright.

The band said of the release: “When we started our group all those years ago, cassettes, like fanzines, were an immediate, easier way into things for us, and many others. It was the perfect, accessible, outsider medium. We of course got lucky and Whaam!, Rough Trade and slightly later, Creation liked our music and wanted to release Pastels records. But how did they first hear us? On cassette of course.”

The tape is available on Saturday in participating Cassette Store Day shops which include Love Music and Monorail in Glasgow, and Edinburgh’s VoxBox and Underground Solu’shn. It will also be on sale next week via Domino Mart.

Summer Rain Tracklisting:

Side one: Illuminum Song / Check My Instrumental / Summer Rain / Boats / Wilderness Theme / Everybody Is A Star / Frozen Wave / Mechanised

Side two: Worlds Of Possibility / Rough Riders / On The Way / Classic Lineup / Yoga / Flightpaths To Each Other / Love, It’s Getting Better / Check My Heart