This is the No Parlez art project called ZERO PLAN that I started in 2014, a cover version of Rutherford Chang’s We Buy White Albums project. It used to be a cover version of another art project but it seems to be evolving into something much more. I buy copies of No Parlez on vinyl. I have a growing network of Spotters who also pick them up and relay them to me by various means. I sometimes stage an exhibition about it, with a perfect cube of the first 100 copies I ever acquired. I also make a zine called ZERO PLAN that helps unpack the project further. The latest issue of the zine is here - copies aren't for sale but available to swap for stuff, including copies of No Parlez. The zine sometimes has a Spotters League Table too with points awarded for Spots. As of 1 August 2025, the record for having copies tucked away is jointly shared by two York record shops - Vinyl Eddie and Earworm Records both had 12 that I acquired (on the same bumper day!). I met Paul Young (above) and he likes the project. But it's not about him. Or me. It's a kind of peaceful protest against things like Record Store Day, but it's not only that. It's about our amazing little record shops. It kind of explores a space between the avant garde and the popular or everyday, which is a loose theme running through many projects I've been involved with, including Bellgrove Station Billboard Project, tenantspin, The sounds of ideas forming, RAY + JULIE and FOUR WORDS. It's also about the tangibility and fragility of records and their sleeves, inner sleeves, labels, price stickers etc. I have some rules about gathering No Parlez LPs: (1) No online purchases. This is about supporting small record shops and charity shops. (2) Try not to pay more than £4 which is roughly the price it was in 1983 when it first came out. (3) Try to take a photo of it in the shop or chat with the staff about the project and ask if they have any local music. I've also started interviewing some people who were in some way connected with No Parlez to better understand it as an important cultural artefact and in 2023 on the LP's fortieth anniversary, I invited artists, musicians and students to create new sounds inspired by the LP (they were NOT cover versions) - see here. The beauty of ZERO PLAN is that it has zero plan (and is of course, an anagram of NO PARLEZ). It is what it is. I don't know what will happen to the copies or whether the project will ever end. That's not the point. I don't need to know. Current count of the number of No Parlez accumulated is on the main website page. If you like the sound of the project and have a copy of No Parlez, please email and we can chat about a swap or something. You can also follow ZERO PLAN on Instagram , although it is intentionally woven inbetween personal and work content. Meanwhile, here are some pics from the project:

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