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Record Shops RIP ...................................

ARSE!

Just got an e-mail from Smallfish in Old Street London saying they are closing the shop next week.

One of the few places covering most of my genres in depth is going.. Will still probably have a web presence though.

This was one of the few record shops / cafes where I could park The Wife with a coffee and a cake whilst I browsed.

This is not good - What do you have to do to stay in business these days?

DS

ITCC - Isolee - The Western Store
 
I'm surprised, Smallfish is usually busy. I suspect the lease is up rather than lack of custom.

-- Ian
 
dss said:
...

Where will it all end = only decent shops in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow?
Click to expand...

and Nottingham ... which actually gives your theory a bit of a boost :)

I seem to remember Brighton being quite well served ... which gives it another bit of a boost.

Mind you if the closers specialise in dance type stuff, there may be a clue there ... its for old farts ;)
 
Spent a month in Christchurch ( NZ ) last week. Went to a suggested shop called Penny Lane ( 463 Columbo St ) and saw a variety of stuff I've not seen the likes of at the big, big Real Groovy store in Auckland.
I only stayed for 15 minutes, and told the guy it will take me three days to do justice to the stock, next time.
This guys stock was amazing , and I don't know how I would categorize it, it was all over the place.
He also has colour photo copies of the 'most wanted' albums on the wall. In NZ, that means Human Instinct, an early 70's heavy rock ensemble . Copies change hands for around NZD 300....
All in all, a great place to waste a few hours.
 
bedford has a couple of vinyl only shops. a friend of mine runs one (ws records) mostly electronica / dj sort of stuff. no idea what the other is called or what it's like though.
 
Big Brother Records, 379 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole. Used to be in Salisbury. Run by Doug who knows his stuff and very reasonably priced.
 
There are still a few around, the Sound Machine in Reading is good for CD and Vinyl and a really friendly atmosphere, Ben's of course in Guilford. I tend to agree about the internet, vinyl is large heavy and takes up room. Why pay for the overheads, just use E bay. Now I know people knock it, but for vinyl it is great. I've never had any problems and sooner or later, whatever your looking for will turn up. You loose the thrill of going into a shop I know, but I can see why it is'nt economic anymore.
 
Paid my last visit to Smallfish (the physical shop) today.

Cafe has shut down already, so no coffee and cake.

But usual success rate, where I went in looking for one specific record, (Troy Pierce - 25 Bitches Vol 1) and found 4 or 5 others I was interested in, and got 4 other recommendations to try as well.

Knowledgable RSA, worked out I would need the latest Wighonmy Brothers release and a some other minimal tech and electronica.

Apparently thier website is having a major overhaul and will feature reccomendations based on your favorites and purchases etc. perahps more focussed than the Amazon type' People would bought this also bought..' type references.

I will have to visit Phonica in Poland Street more, but always after checking in Sister Ray first.

DS

OTD - Various Artists - Reactivate Volume 1 - The Belgian Techno anthems
 
Henry´s in Burton on Trent is always worth a visit for 2nd hand stuff. For very old times´sake ( I bought the single in 1960) I picked up the original Moon River LP by Danny Williams and the Norrie Paramor Orchestra, not to mention Bert and John, In the Land of Grey and Pink etc.
 
crash and jumbo in leeds were where I spent all my saturdays during my youth - think they're still going and selling vinyl (though havent been back for years). There's always the rough trade shops in covent garden and portobello - few others up portobello way as well (pricey from what I remember)
 
I was visiting Chelmsford last week and noticed a sign on the Oxfam shop window indicating that they stocked vinyl. I was pretty gobsmacked to find a fully stocked s/h record shop upstairs alpha indexed by genre. Rather pleasingly they knew what they were selling as the prices weren't cheap (generally around £4-6, but one or two specials at £25) and the staff seemed pretty clued up. Apparently there's a similarly well stocked store in Ealing. Recommended
 
Reading also has a 2nd hand vinyl and CD Oxfam shop.

Only a few bargains and some rarities for me though.

Might suit the middle of the road clientele better.

DS

OTD - Trentemoller - Nam Nam ep
 
Checked out the newly opened "Vinyl Resting Place" over lunch. Holy crap, where does he find this stuff? Shedloads of clean and even brand-spankin' new (as in, sealed and everything) vintage vinyl. Nice prices (cheaper than when I bought them the first time around). Jazz selection is disappointing, but he has pop and rock well covered.

What did I buy?
Kate Bush - Never For Ever ($6.95)
Allman Bros. - Eat a Peach ($8.95)
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine ($14.95, new)
Jeff Beck - Wired ($4.95)
Blow Monkeys - She Was Only A Grocer's Daughter ($3.95)

All the used ones are squeaky clean. Nice.
 
rod said:
Nice one! Tell him to source some more jazz.
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Yeah, I intend to. It was pretty dire - mostly GRP hell. Which is surprising, because his selection of jazz on cd kicks considerable ass.
 
CD shops - even the largest in the world (Tower in Shibuya, apparently) have vanishingly little of anything I find remotely interesting. I spent a few hours looking for something today and came away with a measly 4 CDs (and as I listen I realise that that was pushing it). A depressing experience, to say the least.
The net is an incredible resource for getting hold of (legit) new releases. Eveyone goes on about MP3s, but the variety of good old fashioned media is fairly mind blowing.
LPs are a different matter, although ebay is the the place for classic ethnographic recordings and African pop.
 
A mate of mine has just phoned me from Paris - he´s having a few days there - apparently there are some remarkable 2nd hand vinyl shops there - Crocojazz, crocorock etc. etc. He found out about them from a page called "The vinyl Tourist" ? I believe.
 
I have been informed that Beanos in Croydon is shutting it's doors. However we still have
Rollin Records-West Wickham
Vinyl Resting Place-Shirley
Wanted Music-Beckenham
 
Beanos closing!

Claimed to be the biggest second hand record shop in the world!

I have been there several times, picked up some (expensive) gems.

Another reason not to go to Croydon then!

DS
 
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