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The records shops that shaped our lives

The only option where I grew up was Woolworths. Nice. There was a small HMV two towns over, but I didn't get to go there that often.
Then I moved somewhere with a bigger HMV, but it was still ultimately a bit crap and it wasn't really until I moved to Manchester that I could let rip in Piccadilly, Eastern Bloc and Vinyl Exchange. And by that time Ebay and other online options were available for parting me with my cash.
 
In the 70s, when I were nowt but a lad, Derek Guest's in Bolton served me well - just about all my spare cash went there (or WHSmiths, when it had a decent record selection). When I went to college, Jumbo Records in Leeds saw most of my grant money (remember those?).

When I moved to London, the Record & Tape Exchange, plus the various Camden Market stalls (especially the one that eventually became Sister Ray) took my meagre earnings. When I worked in Birmingham, Swordfish was the place to go. Happy days...
 
Russ Andrews HiFi in Edinburgh, long time ago now.

Great selection of records and one of the few dealers that helped Linn, Naim and Rega into the position they have in the HiFi market today.
 
The record shops for me:

Disc-o-Round, Huntingdon
Andys, Cambridge (Mill Rd, Market and Beat Goes On)
Parrot Records, Cambridge & Canterbury
Garon Records, Cambridge (always a great pot of coffee on the go)
Andys, Peterborough
Our Price, Cambridge on Bridge Street
Richards Records, Canterbury
Dave Radford's stall in the indoor market, Canterbury
Canterbury Rock
Our Price (and then Virgin), Peterborough
 
Record and Tape Exchange on Goldhawk Rd and Notting Hill took most of my spare cash in the eighties. Former has gone and the latter (s) ..... I suppose I find it hard to deal with inflation but to see the prices now for what used to go for 50p is a bit galling. If I had spent on records what I spent on live gigs (or even just the ones at the Clarendon Ballroom/Klubfoot) my record collection would now be humungous/priceless!
 
Crease's on County Road in Liverpool, more music shop than record shop, but it's where I bought my first record, and they used to supply both Liverpool and Everton with their half-time play lists.

My first record buying was here as well, then on to NEMS in Town followed by the new Virgin store on Bold Street during the 70's. Second hand and obscure stuff was always bought at Probe Records (Clarence Street and then Button Street)
 
Beckenham Record Trade Centre (by Clockhouse train station)
Mole Jazz (by St Pancras)
Ray's Jazz (Shaftesbury Avenue)
 
One Stop Records, Berwick St. At the time (1967) probably the only place in Britain you could get hold of the San Francisco imports.

Virgin Record's first ever store above a shoe shop on Oxford St. was bloody good as well.

Chris
 
In Dundee over the years there was Forbes Music, Cathie McCabes, Bruces, I&N, B.G. Forbes, Chalmers & Joy. Then came the Virgin/HMV/Our Price shopping centre types.
Now there's only a shitty HMV but the mighty Groucho's abides.
(No Hi-Fi shop either now:()
 
George's Record Stall in Salisbury Antiques Market. He sold me The Hawk Flies High, Sonny Rollins on Impulse, John Coltrane - Impressions, Blue Monk and Mulligan Meets Monk when at 18 I asked for £20 of records to introduce me to jazz.

I only asked because I had delusions of being a beatnik after reading the Dharma Bums.
 
St.Martins (within spitting distance of where Cymbiosis now sits) and Revolver in Leicester in the late seventies. Having of course checked that Smiths/Boots/Woolies weren`t cheaper first.

..yes I grew up in Leicester too. Ainleys was a favourite of mine and then later as my Krautrock obsession grew the awesome Ultima Thule Shop (sad to see this go). There was also the unique atmosphere of Cank Street Records for secondhand stuff.

Even Our Price in the hideous Haymarket Centre used to have an import bin and I remember buying a rare Roedelius LP from them.
 
Sydney Scarborough's in Hull. The shop for me in the 70's, 80's...bought so many classic records from there.

I agree about Sid's but there was also the Virgin shop for new records .

For secondhand ( kinder to my,in those days, near empty pockets ) a visit every Saturday to the Book and Record Exchange and to Bogus on Princes Ave.

Happy days.
 
Probe Liverpool '77. Every lunchtime. Punk and Reggae, US Stooges stuff from the mid 70's, bought a mohair jumper from Pete and Lyn Burns who knitted them in a tiddly corner of the shop. Pete hung his bones that the Cramps posted to him on the ceiling of the shop. Coolest place on earth just then.
Pete Wylie talking non stop at the counter, always forgetting to find that copy of the Thin White Duke he was tracking down for me.
There's a scene in the film Awaydays where they go into 'Probe' and cannot get served because the staff were too busy chatting. Tells it like it was. Not a business more an institution.
 
Mattdcb

Andys Records in Kings Lynn.....
There was another record shop but can't remember the name!!

The good old days.....

Bayes Recordium near the Majestic Cinema. Many a happy hour spent listening to new releases in there and then hitching back to Swaffham with my latest acquisition.

Steve T
 
Sneakers (full of intimidating Punks ca 1978(, Revolver, Robins (both shops - same slightly older and now faintly ridiculous Punks used to hang ouside the singles store), Gooses, Another one I cant remember the name of but it was upstairs and gave you an extra plain sleeve to go with your 7" purchase sir, Alley Cats (where I repeatedly failed to buy The Residents / Third Reich N Roll aged 15), Record Exchange, Backs, Andy's, Soundclash (source of all my On-U Sound). All in Norwich (1979 - 1985, 1987 - 1991). Only Soundclash is still trading.

Volume, Pet Sounds, Oldhitz. Newcastle (1985 - 87). No idea if any of them are still trading.

Parrot (Cambridge). 1991 - 1996. Gone.

Depth Charge, Track. York (1996 - whenever they both closed). Although neither with much enthusiasm, because 20 minutes up the railway track was:
Jumbo (Leeds).

TBH, post-Norwich, I mostly have better experiences in record shops now than in the past.
 
Driftin' Records in Cheltenham, opened up about 1977, the owner Roger then moved onto Revolver Records in Bristol in 1985 - he was real character, don't know what happened to him ?
Yes, that was a superb shop, with a good range of weird stuff.

I grew up in Great Malvern, where one of the owners of Cherry Red ran a record shop that onluy opened on Saturdays. It amounted to a couple of browser bins of whatever was hip'n'happening in the world of DIY labels. I wasted a lot of time and money in there.
 
Robinsons Records (I think it was on Blackfriars bridge in Manchester city centre)....always smelled musty and nearly all the record sleeves had a hole or cut in them!!!!

HMV under the Arndale was much sweeter smelling, but records were dead expensive.

Sifter in east Didsbury, what a great shop, I still spend tons in there and the owner is a lovely bloke. Still selling vinyl, which suits me just fine.
 


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