In my younger days, I used to sell rare records via the Record Collector magazine and local music fairs. Every week you'd find me mooching in local record stores - in Birmingham we had Reddingtons Rare Records, The Diskery (still going), Cyclops in Picadilly Arcade (the owner was eagle eyed and would yell across the shop at you if he though you were not treating his records with respect - but he crammed them in the shelves and it was hard getting them in and out of the rack to see what they were!); and just outside Birmingham was Andy Cash's record store: Andy was a gem, we had some great chats - he was so knowledgeable about music, and introduced me to a lot of artists I hadn't heard of before. He sold ex-jukebox singles at 10p each so every time I went in I'd choose 5, songs and artists I'd never heard of, to listen to something different.
John, if you're reading this, I'm reading your book, and it's heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure. I truly believe it's a book that everyone should read (and I don't say that often!)
Raves from the Grave has been a mainstay of Frome's thriving cultural scene for as long as I remember. I'd venture another shout out for The Wrecking Ball in Hull. It combines a record store with bookshop, cafe and upstairs 100 seat venue. Independent, and close to the Minster, it's a boho bastion. On a recent visit, the Minster also had a record fair. On entering we heard a thunderclap which then melted into "Riders on the Storm." Surreal.
In one his books David Hepworth wrote: "The best record shops are like a cross between and an art gallery and a bookie's. Faintly disreputable as well as improving - a potent combination." He may have wound me up no end in his most recent one but that's perfect.
I really liked the bit about Raves from the Grave in Maybe I'm Amazed. This post reminds me that there were quite a few record shops in Belfast when I was growing up - the most reliable for having chart hits in stock was Smyths, on the corner of the main shopping street, Donegall Place, and a Cardiff-like arcade; I also really loved The Gramophone Shop, opposite the City Hall, which was best for Classical but did also have a set of pigeon holes for the Top Twenty singles ... I remember going in with bated breath to see whether the one I wanted would be there or not. It also had music magazine and was the shop where I first, as a student, bought occasional copies of Classical Music magazine. My 20-year-old self would never in a million years have thought I would be its deputy editor for six years - in London. Just like you with the NME. There was another very special second-hand record shop near the university, Dougie Knight's, conveniently located just opposite a station for carrying home heavy plastic bags full of LPs. That's where I found an old copy of Genesis's first album, From Genesis to Revelation, which I still really, really love. A desert island disc if ever there was one because you can't listen to it and feel depressed.
In my younger days, I used to sell rare records via the Record Collector magazine and local music fairs. Every week you'd find me mooching in local record stores - in Birmingham we had Reddingtons Rare Records, The Diskery (still going), Cyclops in Picadilly Arcade (the owner was eagle eyed and would yell across the shop at you if he though you were not treating his records with respect - but he crammed them in the shelves and it was hard getting them in and out of the rack to see what they were!); and just outside Birmingham was Andy Cash's record store: Andy was a gem, we had some great chats - he was so knowledgeable about music, and introduced me to a lot of artists I hadn't heard of before. He sold ex-jukebox singles at 10p each so every time I went in I'd choose 5, songs and artists I'd never heard of, to listen to something different.
John, if you're reading this, I'm reading your book, and it's heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure. I truly believe it's a book that everyone should read (and I don't say that often!)
Raves from the Grave has been a mainstay of Frome's thriving cultural scene for as long as I remember. I'd venture another shout out for The Wrecking Ball in Hull. It combines a record store with bookshop, cafe and upstairs 100 seat venue. Independent, and close to the Minster, it's a boho bastion. On a recent visit, the Minster also had a record fair. On entering we heard a thunderclap which then melted into "Riders on the Storm." Surreal.
In one his books David Hepworth wrote: "The best record shops are like a cross between and an art gallery and a bookie's. Faintly disreputable as well as improving - a potent combination." He may have wound me up no end in his most recent one but that's perfect.
I really liked the bit about Raves from the Grave in Maybe I'm Amazed. This post reminds me that there were quite a few record shops in Belfast when I was growing up - the most reliable for having chart hits in stock was Smyths, on the corner of the main shopping street, Donegall Place, and a Cardiff-like arcade; I also really loved The Gramophone Shop, opposite the City Hall, which was best for Classical but did also have a set of pigeon holes for the Top Twenty singles ... I remember going in with bated breath to see whether the one I wanted would be there or not. It also had music magazine and was the shop where I first, as a student, bought occasional copies of Classical Music magazine. My 20-year-old self would never in a million years have thought I would be its deputy editor for six years - in London. Just like you with the NME. There was another very special second-hand record shop near the university, Dougie Knight's, conveniently located just opposite a station for carrying home heavy plastic bags full of LPs. That's where I found an old copy of Genesis's first album, From Genesis to Revelation, which I still really, really love. A desert island disc if ever there was one because you can't listen to it and feel depressed.