DJ and entrepreneur Andy Hudson launches No.1 Record Sleeves

No.1 Record Sleeves is the latest venture from Andy Hudson, Founder and Managing Director of the Maximise Group, which has supplied niche printed packaging to global creative industries for over 15 years.

The announcement comes as the vinyl community prepares to celebrate Record Store Day on Saturday April 18 – an annual event that both reflects and fuels the ongoing popularity of vinyl.

UK vinyl sales reached a three-decade high in 2024, growing by 9.1% to 6.7 million units, according to the British recorded music industry’s trade association, BPI.

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Revenue from vinyl has grown by more than 650% since 2014, rising from £19.4 million to £145.7 million – a trajectory that Andy has been watching with both professional interest and personal satisfaction.

Andy said: “”I’ve collected records all my life. So I’ve had a front-row seat to the vinyl revival – long before it showed up in the sales figures. As someone who has spent decades in specialist print and packaging, it felt like a natural step to bring that expertise to an industry I genuinely love.”

No.1 Record Sleeves sits alongside Maximise PM Ltd, which Andy founded over 15 years ago and incorporated as a limited company in 2016.

Maximise is one of the world’s leading suppliers of scent blotter strips and fragrance testing materials, working with manufacturers and retailers in over 60 countries.

Clients include Space NK, Penhaligon’s, Molton Brown, L’Occitane, Perfume Shop & Pernod Richard. In 2019, Maximise were a finalist in the Press business awards.

The move into record sleeves draws on the same strengths that built Maximise: precision manufacturing, reliable UK production, and a deep understanding of the niche markets being served.

1. Andy Hudson DJing as Rocky, Sweat Box club nights, York, 1990s — Credit: [Photographer Hugo Platt / courtesy of Andy Hudson] (Image: Hugo Platt)

For Andy, No.1 Record Sleeves is as personal as it is professional. A dedicated collector and DJ, he co-founded and performed at York’s legendary Sweat Box club nights under his DJ name Rocky, and has been immersed in funk, soul and house music since his youth. That insider knowledge, he believes, gives the business a different quality of understanding.

He explained: “A record sleeve isn’t just packaging. For the people who make and buy vinyl, it’s part of the experience – it’s the first thing you see, and it protects something that genuinely matters to them. We bring the same attention to detail to every sleeve we produce that we bring to everything else we make.”

Clifton-based No.1 Record Sleeves manufactures its products in the UK, offering everything from plain white covers and inner sleeves to fully custom-branded and bespoke designs.

The company says it is built to serve independent artists and small labels as well as larger commercial clients – straightforward to order, competitively priced, and backed by decades of professional print expertise.

For details, go to:  www.no1recordsleeves.com