The Infinite Loop: 10 Hidden Vinyl LP Locked Grooves from Beatles to Jack White

Is your record player broken, or is the artist playing a prank? For vinyl purists, an album's physical format is part of the art. While the run-out groove is typically silent to prevent the needle from drifting, some legendary musicians have used this space to hide locked grooves—audio loops that repeat infinitely until you manually lift the tonearm.

Decoding Vinyl LP Locked Grooves: From Dog Whistles to Infinite Screams

One of the most legendary examples comes from The Beatles in 1967. On the UK release of 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,' they included a high-pitched tone only audible to dogs, followed by a loop of gibberish in the locked groove. Def Leppard took a more aggressive approach with their 1981 album 'High ’n’ Dry.' The record ends with frontman Joe Elliott shouting "No!" forever. While the vinyl version loops indefinitely, the cassette release famously repeated the word 46 times before fading out.

Modern Innovation and Jack White’s Ultra LP

In 2014, Jack White pushed the boundaries of the format with his 'Lazaretto' Ultra LP. It features dual locked grooves; one on Side B plays normally, while Side A actually plays from the inside out, ending in a locked groove on the outer edge. Radiohead also joined the club with 'Kid A,' hiding tones and secret tracks that can only be accessed by bypassing the locked groove mechanism.