Do Not Eat the Vinyl

**Do Not Eat The Vinyl** (DWT 046) is a single released by TCoS

The Cover art for the standard editionThe Cover art for the limited edition releaseThe vinyl disc for the limited edition release
## Backstory

The song has its origins in a pair of solo singles released by Deborah J in June 2021, both themed around tasty food. Due to studio confusion following the decision to promote Fancy Pizza from B-side for Rosemary Fries to being its own feature release, the two songs were released on the same day, with the latter receiving by far the more radio airtime. Deborah had appeared on an episode of Clom FM's popular “Dalekstravaganza” show, bringing well seasoned chips in the hope of persuading her friend, host Daleks Jones, to play both her new tracks, but since she did not bring any fancy pizza the track of the same name was not played.

In the coming months, however, Fancy Pizza had eventually proven to be the more popular in sales, something largely attributed to the novelty of the vinyl disc being designed to resemble a pizza from above. The only downside to this aesthetic choice was that several listeners, being mercifully free of the ravages of intelligence, attempted to eat the vinyl disc, necessitating in the inclusion of a warning note within the slipcase, cautioning listeners to not eat the vinyl. The image of this paper note, containing simply the message “caution do not eat the vinyl” with zero additional context, became something of a meme within the fandom - with several hardcore fans, who had bought the single before the inclusion of the warning, purchasing a second copy just to obtain an authentic “Do Not Eat The Vinyl” flyer. It became almost a secret shorthand amongst TCoS fans in general and Deborah J fans in particular to have this notice on display.

## The Song

Such was the popularity of the phrase “Do Not Eat The Vinyl” among the fans that the band quickly decided to capitalise on this by writing a track for their Off-White Album with that title, a decidedly fun yet soulful disco-funk number. Unfortunately, "quickly capitalising" became very much a relative term, as the band's output slowed to a crawl throughout 2022, meaning the singles from the Off-White Album did not see release until the later half of 2023. Do Not Eat the Vinyl had been slated to be the third and final of the singles released from that album, but following a mix of legal negotiations with the estate of Jolkein Rolkein Rolkein Tolkein and a flood in the kitchen of Danoftardis' hermitage, Orc Fight Rumble Extravaganza was pushed back, with DNETV taking its place, finally releasing as a single in September 2023. The song proved to be an instant hit, both in its inclusion as an album track in 2022 and with the release of the slightly longer and more bass-heavy single version, with fans still very enthusiastic to have a song named after a fandom meme. Daleks Jones, openly admitting regret in not having played Fancy Pizza back in 2021 when it was first released, celebrated the release of DNETV as a single by playing it concurrently with Fancy Pizza on her show the week of release.

## Artwork

The standard release of Do Not Eat The Vinyl featured an image of Danoftardis in a backroom behind a recording studio – presumably the bands new one following the destruction of the studio in DWT Towers – eating a vinyl record from a box holding Doctor Gamer's record collection, as Deborah and Sparrow look on in concern. The track title is presented in the form of the famous warning note pinned to the wall, with the catalogue number written in felt-tip pen on the side of the box of records. Although Avon and Gamer are not present in person, Doctor Gamer is represented by his record collection and Avon by a picture on the pinboard near the eponymous “Do Not Eat The Vinyl” notice. As an easter egg, and nod to the backstory of the title, a radio is visible tuned in to Clom FM. A special edition release was also made, with a plain white cover showing a slightly altered rendition of the iconic typography, with the inclusion of the band's name at the bottom in a pale grey font. This special release featured Fancy Pizza as a bonus track, and a reproduction of the famous warning note, though again with “TCOS” printed in grey at the bottom, to avoid devaluing the original batch. The Vinyl disc for this special edition could be differentiated from the standard version by the large red lettering printed around it reading “this is not food”.

 Compilation albums
 Live albums
 EPs
 Singles