View Full Version : Record shops in the UK are pants
Mikeandvan
31-12-2024, 20:08
There's a new one opened near me, he must be losing money quickly. Went in there the other day, what a waste of time. I say in the UK, cos I imagine in the US it's quite different. Aeems to be a surfeit of vinyl over there, I see posts on facebook of guys just picking up whole collections completely free.
But back to the UK, over priced scratchy vinyl, shove it, I can get so much better off Ebay, with a money back guarantee against chancers who can't or won't grade properly.
Wakefield Turntables
31-12-2024, 20:31
Firstly, there is no universal grading system, at least one that's not been accepted by all record stores. Your version of a mint might be different to the record shop you visited. Secondly, eBay sellers don't have business rates, gas, electric, credit card machine fees, theft, and a load of other expenses that your record shop owner will have to cover. Thirdly, you don't have to go into the shop, stick to eBay. Personally, I'll support a record shop. I'm a regular patron of WahWah records in Wakefield where I live. I've been going 11 years and I do get extremely good service, in fact I must be a real pain the arse because Alan orders a whole manner of stuff for me and I'd sooner give him a few extra quid in his pocket rather than the some of the scammers on eBay.
There were some amazing record shops in San Diego when I was there, but that was 24 years ago.
If it wasn't for the luggage restriction issues bringing them back, I would have gone a bit mad.
My local shop is like a cave, if you go in the very back you need to use a torch to see what you're looking at. But it is full to the gunwhales with stock. I got hundreds of records there back when I was still buying vinyl.
Mikeandvan
01-01-2025, 17:25
I dunno, I reckon record shops in the UK are grim places, with the usual troll sat in the corner while you browse and walk out without buying anything. It's like there's a huge scarcity of used vinyl, everyone's hoarding it. Not sure why, I only ever play about half of my limited colllection (around 300 records).
I dunno, I reckon record shops in the UK are grim places, with the usual troll sat in the corner while you browse and walk out without buying anything. It's like there's a huge scarcity of used vinyl, everyone's hoarding it. Not sure why, I only ever play about half of my limited colllection (around 300 records).
I'm hoarding mine, it's done better than gold in the last 5 years.
Wakefield Turntables
01-01-2025, 18:19
I dunno, I reckon record shops in the UK are grim places, with the usual troll sat in the corner while you browse and walk out without buying anything. It's like there's a huge scarcity of used vinyl, everyone's hoarding it. Not sure why, I only ever play about half of my limited colllection (around 300 records).
I think your right Mike, most shop's do seem to have a troll in the corner, good observation! I don't people are hoarding it, I think there are more people collecting, so less stuff in the marketplace.
We used to have four very good record shops here - until HMV arrived and pushed them out.
HMV are useless: the staff don't know anything about records, apart from the price (which is obvious by looking at the price sticker!)
Pigmy Pony
01-01-2025, 22:01
Yeah, don't waste your time asking if they have such-and-such record, their stock answer will be if it's not on the shelves they don't have it.
Firstly, there is no universal grading system, at least one that's not been accepted by all record stores. Your version of a mint might be different to the record shop you visited. Secondly, eBay sellers don't have business rates, gas, electric, credit card machine fees, theft, and a load of other expenses that your record shop owner will have to cover. Thirdly, you don't have to go into the shop, stick to eBay. Personally, I'll support a record shop. I'm a regular patron of WahWah records in Wakefield where I live. I've been going 11 years and I do get extremely good service, in fact I must be a real pain the arse because Alan orders a whole manner of stuff for me and I'd sooner give him a few extra quid in his pocket rather than the some of the scammers on eBay.
Well said I support Off the beaten tracks in Louth , Mark the owner is great happy to play in the shop prior to purchase any pre loved records and take back any new records if there’s an issue and always with a smile ..
We used to have four very good record shops here - until HMV arrived and pushed them out.
HMV are useless: the staff don't know anything about records, apart from the price (which is obvious by looking at the price sticker!)
HMV are just a shop with people to stop thefts and take payment for the music bought , in my experience those working in HMV know very little about the music they sell, in complete contrast to small indie record shops or maybe I’m just lucky with my local , who if I ask about something he doesn’t know of is straight on the web finding out about the artist and album, all at the till
Wakefield Turntables
02-01-2025, 08:46
HMV is a merchandise shop, they sell vinyl as a side line.
Mikeandvan
02-01-2025, 22:05
Unpopular opinion:I used to like HMV in oxford st.
The Oxford Street branch of HMV were the worse. If you had to return a record because of poor pressing quality, the people there would always prevaricate, procrastinate and generally quibble. One of the reasons why I started to avoid using them.
Stranraer
04-01-2025, 21:41
If you wanted a big record shop in the West End then Tower Rcords, Piccadilly was the place back in the day.
Absolutely vast with a pretty good spread of niche genres to keep things interesting.
It'd never be considered independant like Sister Ray or Rough Trade but it was family owned and operated.
Great places, and Tower's sorely missed.
Lawrence001
04-01-2025, 22:15
Unpopular opinion:I used to like HMV in oxford st.I used to like it too when I was a student in London but then I only bought CDs there.
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Lawrence001
04-01-2025, 22:19
Well said I support Off the beaten tracks in Louth , Mark the owner is great happy to play in the shop prior to purchase any pre loved records and take back any new records if there’s an issue and always with a smile ..I'll second that, it's a great friendly little shop. I used to go to the old record shop in the 80s for my metal vinyl when I was at school I think it was called The Music Centre.
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If you wanted a big record shop in the West End then Tower Rcords, Piccadilly was the place back in the day.
Absolutely vast with a pretty good spread of niche genres to keep things interesting.
It'd never be considered independant like Sister Ray or Rough Trade but it was family owned and operated.
Great places, and Tower's sorely missed.
Tower in Kingston was good too. I was always on the lookout for reduced stuff and they used to have racks of CD singles at silly prices which enabled me to discover stuff cheaply to educate me. What ever happened to the CD single......oh yeag....streaming.
If you wanted a big record shop in the West End then Tower Rcords, Piccadilly was the place back in the day.
Absolutely vast with a pretty good spread of niche genres to keep things interesting.
It'd never be considered independant like Sister Ray or Rough Trade but it was family owned and operated.
Great places, and Tower's sorely missed.
Agreed! Another very good record shop, specialising in Blues and Jazz, was Dobells at 77 Charing Cross Road.
Closer to home we had a couple of good, independent and very helpful shops: Andy's Records for just about everything, and Dace for Classical. Both have gone - pushed out by HMV; who are IMO absolutely useless.
Closer to home we had a couple of good, independent and very helpful shops: Andy's Records for just about everything
We had great Andy’s in Norwich but my favourite was Bury St Edmunds (where he started, I believe) where I would often find gems at great prices.
One of my brothers was a manager for Andy's, back in the late 1990s.
Andy would send him to the underperforming stores, to sort them out.
He worked at a few of them but the only one I can recall him mentioning was at Ashton-Under-Lyme.
We had one here, I used to get CDs there, they didn't do vinyl. Still got the stickers on a few, did we really use to pay that much for CDs? Especially when you allow for inflation.
rmcin626
05-01-2025, 11:32
We now have a local record shop which is great although I don’t think I have bought anything from them yet, the new stuff is not really to my taste and I think the used stock is overpriced. There are still quite a few record shops in Glasgow, all covering different genres which is good, but my favourite record shop which helped shape my musical tastes was Armadillo Records in Bournemouth, run by Mick and John a great shop with amazing stock, spent far too much time in there in my 20s.
Pigmy Pony
05-01-2025, 11:58
We had great Andy’s in Norwich but my favourite was Bury St Edmunds (where he started, I believe) where I would often find gems at great prices.
Another vote for Andy's Records. We had one in Preston for a few years, helpful staff who knew what they were selling. We used to buy our Glastonbury tickets there, in the days before having to sit on your laptop for hours.
Another vote for Andy's Records. We had one in Preston for a few years, helpful staff who knew what they were selling. We used to buy our Glastonbury tickets there, in the days before having to sit on your laptop for hours.
Yes, remember when you could buy gig tickets from a little booth in the corner?
One of those things that it never occurs to you that it will one day just disappear forever.
Now it's so much easier to download the tickets to your phone - said nobody, ever.
When I went to see ZZ Top at Wembley my mate had the 'tickets' on his phone. We were having lunch and some drinks in 'The Bell' in Fleet Street the afternoon before the gig when he suddenly realised that his phone is nearly out of charge and that he didn't have the charger with him.
Happily there was a shop selling them just a few doors down but that could have been a right pain.
Give me a bit of stiff paper with 'Admit One' on it anytime.
I didn't know Andy's Record shops were spread so far and wide, I thought they were local to Essex. But it is good to know branches existed further afield and the general consensus is they offered a good service. Are they still going?
Regarding used vinyl, way back in the '70s I used to buy vinyl by mail order from Cob Records in Porthmadog in North Wales. I'm pleased to report that the shop is still there, though they have ceased the mail-order side, and now concentrate on CDs and DVDs. I visited the shop a couple of years ago and bought a couple of LPs.
I didn't know Andy's Record shops were spread so far and wide, I thought they were local to Essex. But it is good to know branches existed further afield and the general consensus is they offered a good service. Are they still going?
Full timeline here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy%27s_Records
Wakefield Turntables
05-01-2025, 15:07
We had an Andy's in Wakefield. Used to be a great shop, I remember them doing something similar to HMV where they used to sell merch, usually massively overpriced like a framed 7" single for 2 grand :eek:
We had an Andy's in Wakefield. Used to be a great shop, I remember them doing something similar to HMV where they used to sell merch, usually massively overpriced like a framed 7" single for 2 grand :eek:
Yes, the same happened with the branch in Chelmsford, a few months before it closed. I was not impressed!
Mikeandvan
05-01-2025, 21:47
I used to like the exchange shops in London, Notting hill, Camden and Soho, used records, got some there that went under their radar.
Pieoftheday
06-01-2025, 11:15
We had an Andy's in Wakefield. Used to be a great shop, I remember them doing something similar to HMV where they used to sell merch, usually massively overpriced like a framed 7" single for 2 grand :eek:
J.A.T and EGS were my favourites. in wakefield, HMV was pretty good too. I vaguely recall Andys in wakefield but can't picture it in my head, was it in the Ridings?
willbewill
06-01-2025, 13:56
There are some good shops in South Wales selling a mixture of new and used. My favourites are:
Tangled Parrot in Carmarthen, Swansea and Hay on Wye
Bay Records in Swansea
The second 45 in Llanelli
Tom's records in Hay on Wye
Haystacks in Hay on Wye
There are a few in Cardiff as well but I haven't been there recently.
We also have regular record fairs
Regarding the US, I'm regularly in Florida, in fact I am at the moment and yes the stores are pretty good here too. Have built up a friendship with one store owner and he charged me $20 for 7 used records the other day all in reasonable condition.
Mikeandvan
06-01-2025, 20:04
There are some good shops in South Wales selling a mixture of new and used. My favourites are:
Tangled Parrot in Carmarthen, Swansea and Hay on Wye
Bay Records in Swansea
The second 45 in Llanelli
Tom's records in Hay on Wye
Haystacks in Hay on Wye
There are a few in Cardiff as well but I haven't been there recently.
We also have regular record fairs
Regarding the US, I'm regularly in Florida, in fact I am at the moment and yes the stores are pretty good here too. Have built up a friendship with one store owner and he charged me $20 for 7 used records the other day all in reasonable condition.
Used to go to Spillers back in the 80s, for my 60s compilations, and that guy in the market, he was ok. Ah, just remembered, some guy had a little stall in Jacobs antique market near the station, I used to run ahead of my mates to see if any under the radar rarities turned up, they sometimes did.
Lawrence001
09-01-2025, 01:29
I used to like the exchange shops in London, Notting hill, Camden and Soho, used records, got some there that went under their radar.Did you ever go to the discount basement. When I first moved to London I think everything was £1 but after a year or two they were 10p or was it 10 for a pound? Lots of junk and scratched to f*** records but happy hours spent there picking up quite a few nice ones for a couple of quid total.
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Lawrence001
09-01-2025, 01:31
One of my brothers was a manager for Andy's, back in the late 1990s.
Andy would send him to the underperforming stores, to sort them out.
He worked at a few of them but the only one I can recall him mentioning was at Ashton-Under-Lyme.
We had one here, I used to get CDs there, they didn't do vinyl. Still got the stickers on a few, did we really use to pay that much for CDs? Especially when you allow for inflation.Wonder if he went to Grimsby? I bought a few records there, it had a good thrash metal section (like they actually had one [emoji23]).
It was usually busy when I went from Louth on a Saturday or in the school hols so maybe it didn't need help.
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Mikeandvan
10-01-2025, 23:00
Did you ever go to the discount basement. When I first moved to London I think everything was £1 but after a year or two they were 10p or was it 10 for a pound? Lots of junk and scratched to f*** records but happy hours spent there picking up quite a few nice ones for a couple of quid total.
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No I didn't bother. waste of time. Didn't need to in the camden branch as the clueless staff used to knock out rare jungle 12" at cheap prices, in mint condition too, even though they had them categorised!
Wakefield Turntables
11-01-2025, 11:16
J.A.T and EGS were my favourites. in wakefield, HMV was pretty good too. I vaguely recall Andys in wakefield but can't picture it in my head, was it in the Ridings?
JAT used to be up by the bus station, they had an excellent arcade in the back as well. Here you go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nhvOt4HUEs it still existed well after they stopped selling records they had a lockup on Balne Lane, the company is now dissolved( I think).
Andy's records used to be on the bottom level of the Ridings shopping centre, near AV-A-Gander (remember them)!!!!
Anyway we have, Hell Raiser Records, WahWah records, several second stores in the Ridings, numerous charity shops and if your are extremely stuck for choice HMV (famous merch shop). We also have Vinyl Tap in Huddersfield, and many ace shops in Leeds (10 minutes on the train) with Jumbo Records, Crash Records, and probably one or two others. I could very easily spend a months wages on vinyl over a weekend if I went into Leeds/Wakefield looking for vinyl. Blessed really!
Pieoftheday
11-01-2025, 11:29
JAT used to be up by the bus station, they had an excellent arcade in the back as well. Here you go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nhvOt4HUEs it still existed well after they stopped selling records they had a lockup on Balne Lane, the company is now dissolved( I think).
Andy's records used to be on the bottom level of the Ridings shopping centre, near AV-A-Gander (remember them)!!!!
Anyway we have, Hell Raiser Records, WahWah records, several second stores in the Ridings, numerous charity shops and if your are extremely stuck for choice HMV (famous merch shop). We also have Vinyl Tap in Huddersfield, and many ace shops in Leeds (10 minutes on the train) with Jumbo Records, Crash Records, and probably one or two others. I could very easily spend a months wages on vinyl over a weekend if I went into Leeds/Wakefield looking for vinyl. Blessed really!
I've seen that video:) went to school with the lad with the long blonde hair behind the counter. I didn't know there was a HMV still in town
I've seen that video:) went to school with the lad with the long blonde hair behind the counter. I didn't know there was a HMV still in town
The old boy in the flat cap checking out the CDs! What year would this be? Late 1980s?
Pieoftheday
11-01-2025, 12:45
I'm guessing 1988, I think there's another video of him in EGS records also I Wakefield
Hard to believe its getting on for 40 years ago.
Wakefield Turntables
11-01-2025, 13:46
I've seen that video:) went to school with the lad with the long blonde hair behind the counter. I didn't know there was a HMV still in town
It's in Trinity Walk. I completely forgot about EGS, I bought my first ever record from there! I forget to mention we also have Criminal Records in Ossett which is an amazing place.
Pieoftheday
11-01-2025, 13:48
It's in Trinity Walk.
:)
Pieoftheday
11-01-2025, 13:51
Hard to believe its getting on for 40 years ago.
I was 18 and could move without anything hurting, happy days:cool:
I was 18 and could move without anything hurting, happy days:cool:
lol, I was 20 and at university, very happy days.
They used to have some fantastic record fairs there and all I had to do was walk a hundred yards from my room to the SU where they were held.
Ofc I was a poxy student with zero money so I had to limit myself to two albums a week.
Pieoftheday
11-01-2025, 17:00
It's in Trinity Walk. I completely forgot about EGS, I bought my first ever record from there! I forget to mention we also have Criminal Records in Ossett which is an amazing place.
Andrew, do you recall the record shop/stall upstairs in the indoor market? It was mostly 2nd hand stuff with some bootleg stuff aswell,
What a trip down memory lane this thread is turning out to be. :)
Wakefield Turntables
11-01-2025, 18:26
Andrew, do you recall the record shop/stall upstairs in the indoor market? It was mostly 2nd hand stuff with some bootleg stuff aswell,
Yes it was called Slipped Disc and was the first stall on the top of the steps to the left. Yep, I have a good memory. :eek: Pity I can't remember what I did last week!!!!!
Wakefield Turntables
11-01-2025, 18:27
What a trip down memory lane this thread is turning out to be. :)
Yep, some great shops back in the day.
rigger67
11-01-2025, 20:39
Interesting thread.
I worked in music retail for a long time, first at Our Price as a sales assistant/singles buyer, then later as a store manager for Tower, then an independent called Essential Music, then Fopp.
I also worked for Virgin on Oxford Street when I was a student, forty years ago.
Tower, towards the end, was a badly run operation but it was a really fun place to work. The people there were passionate and knowledgeable without being snarky about it, I found, from top to bottom. The head office team in London were great, really very good at what they did but the overall strategy of the global company was slow to adapt to the changing marketplace and that's what caused their downfall IMHO.
The independent shop was where I had the most impact, personally, as I could really drive the business like it was my own.
I ordered a lot of stock from Benelux, where most pressing plants seemed to be in Europe at the time and that meant good prices providing you ordered enough stock to get free shipping.
Being a jazz/soul/blues head, we carried a lot of artists and titles that weren't that well known initially like Popa Chubby and Joe Bonamassa and we were very successful with it until the streaming thing really bit. I jumped ship to Fopp who opened two stores in my town, ending up running both. Another good place for bargains but even they got caught owing too many people too much money - a common downfall in retail, period.
I do miss it but I wouldn't want to work somewhere like HMV now - too much "merch" and those awful "pop" figure things .. they're just shite.
And the price of vinyl is ridiculous.
I still buy CDs, records and tapes but usually from Discogs or independents - one in Romsey, near me and the rest usually in Soho.
I did just spend last weekend in Lille and visited the large FNAC store there for the first time in twenty years.
It was glorious back then with listening posts that allowed you to scan the barcode of ANY CD in the store and hear it instantly - what a system. I spent so much money there back then.
Now it's still pretty good but a tenth the size in terms of the music it sells. I spent £60 there last week, buying two jazz LPs and a four or five CDs.
I also visited Furet Du Nord and picked up another half dozen CDs, this time for thirty quid.
It was mostly French rap and latin stuff that I wouldn't have found over here ..
I think for any record shop to survive they need to ditch the attitude and be real about the music, the passion and the customer.
You can't pose or look down your nose at people any more.
Humility goes a long way in any service industry.
Think of your favourite pub or restaurant and it's the same thing .. you go back not just for the drinks and food : you feel part of something.
That drives repeat trade.
If you're a "troll" behind the counter, pretty soon the sun will rise and you'll be turned to stone ..
What an excellent post!
I have bought records from Tower Records, Virgin, Our Price and Fopp, and with the exception of Fopp, complete satisfaction.
Sadly bookshops, if they are not careful, will go the same way. All the independent bookshops here have closed and now only trade on-line. That's OK if you know exactly what you want, but browsing is half the fun of it, and there is now no one to advise you and make suggestions.
We do have a Waterstones here. Fortunately they are not too bad, the staff generally are knowledgeable, and will get a book in for you if there isn't one on their shelves.
rigger67
12-01-2025, 08:38
Bookshops are a good parallel there, Barry :)
When you find a good one or one with the genre you love (sci-fi for me) then it feels like striking gold.
I like the way certain record shops have copied their in-store coffee shop idea and even modified it slightly by selling alcohol or - in one case - pies.
Nothing wrong with a bit of diversification.
In retail, there's two types of store : general availability, passer-by type affairs such as supermarkets, convenience stores, etc and then there's what's known as the "destination shop" which is what specialists are, so if you can add a second or third reason for someone to come you'll generate a lot more footfall ..
I currently work for The Healthy Pet Store and two thirds of our business is frozen raw meat (minced and bones, offal, chunks, etc) for dogs. We also sell wet/dry for dogs and cats and a huge range of quality toys, harnesses, accessories, etc.
We are the very definition of a destination. We hardly ever have anyone just wandering in because we're in a secondary location that's already "out of town" (we're in Totton, a small town outside Southampton) but that's fine because it keeps cost down which is incredibly important right now.
The way we do it is not just by banging the drum for raw, but also by offering only the best quality dog food, period - all our kibble is at least 70% meat, for example.
This weekend we had the monthly "puppy natter" where anyone can come in for a chat, a treat and a bit of free advice with a local dog trainer.
You've got to offer something else other than just good products, good staff and a delivery service (ours is national, BTW !)
My role is back of house, running the logistical side of things, but when I do go on the shopfloor I can't help engaging : there's always a dog or three and they just beg for attention (literally, sometimes :D) and it's fun !
Stranraer
13-01-2025, 22:15
This is getting proper specific now.
How about Staff We Have Loved ?
Back in the 80s I would call in on the smaller of the two Our Price stores (the tiny one) in Reading in my lunch break.
There was a New Romantic kinda kid on the counter who was always up for a chat so I shopped there as a preference.
Same town but the 00s, manager of Fopp, Scottish lad, would always put records aside if he thought I'd like them (I can't bear selling them to" Neds" :) ) and who recommended I go see a band called The Earlies one night. Feckin' brilliant !!
There's a lad in HMV Leicester today (James / Jase ? summat like that) who's always recommending cracking off the radar music too.
It ain't how it was but there's still enthusiasts working the counters up n down the country. It's worth risking a conversation every now and then to find out who's on your wavelength that you'd like to spend your hard earned with.
Stranraer
13-01-2025, 22:23
Oh, and Bev who had the indoor market in Reading where we'd get pre-release and promo albums cheap.
God I loved that place.....
Mikeandvan
14-01-2025, 00:09
I went into this 'dance' record shop once in Soho, the music was too loud so you had to point to whatever record you wanted, and the staff/DJ would hand it to you, so you could listen to it. I unfondly remember some place in Wardour st, where the fuckwit staff member totally ripped me off when I sold some 12"s, in among them was a £100+ record as I later found out, and they gave me a pittance, fucking scum!! And this silly bitch in there had some attitude, like you cannot smile, you absolutely cannot smile, it was funny! There were better shops, Fatcat in Covent garden, where I was warmly accepted into the fold, because I bought some fatcat releases, I found it odd the staff were friendly, only after did I realise it was also the Fatcat base of operations (a late 90s label specialising in quirky post techno).
My first regular record shop was a stall in Newport market, some old punk called Simon, I used to buy 'Mod revival' records there, probably the naffest genre known to humankind, which I look back upon now and shudder. Remember going back there 20 years later, and he remembered me, 'your tastes have changed'! And again another decade on and his old punk mate holding the fort, 'timewaster' he muttered to another stall holder, as I browsed but did not buy.
rigger67
14-01-2025, 18:06
Fopp were a Scottish company so a lot of their staff moved south as they opened new branches.
As for the Soho ripoff, was it Wreckless Erics ??
I had a similar experience but not quite as bad as yours .. and you're spot on about the attitude. Too cool for school, some people ..
As for Fat Cat, I have very fond memories of them as a wholesaler. They'd buy up and distribute pallets of stock from the majors (Warner, Sony, etc) and they never knew what they'd be getting, just an amount of CDs.
Then they'd work their way through it and every Monday fax/email that week's "list".
I'd get in early to check the email and call them on the dot at 8am to place my order - it was the only way to get the good stuff.
It was usually ex-chart returns from the big supermarket chains and would include anything in the Top 20 album chart but also loads and loads of great compilation, usually for a pound a pop or £2 if they were doubles.
We'd then mark these up at a fiver or £7 and everyone was happy.
I even got to a gig in London courtesy of Fat Cat. Jamie Lidell at some uber-trendy little venue. On the guest list, free booze and food, all that because of Fat Cat.
I guess he'd been on their label before his break ..
The guy who owned the company was Asian, I think, and really laid-back but totally on it in terms of running the business. Nice guy.
Happy days, eh ?
Mikeandvan
14-01-2025, 21:13
Fopp were a Scottish company so a lot of their staff moved south as they opened new branches.
As for the Soho ripoff, was it Wreckless Erics ??
I had a similar experience but not quite as bad as yours .. and you're spot on about the attitude. Too cool for school, some people ..
As for Fat Cat, I have very fond memories of them as a wholesaler. They'd buy up and distribute pallets of stock from the majors (Warner, Sony, etc) and they never knew what they'd be getting, just an amount of CDs.
Then they'd work their way through it and every Monday fax/email that week's "list".
I'd get in early to check the email and call them on the dot at 8am to place my order - it was the only way to get the good stuff.
It was usually ex-chart returns from the big supermarket chains and would include anything in the Top 20 album chart but also loads and loads of great compilation, usually for a pound a pop or £2 if they were doubles.
We'd then mark these up at a fiver or £7 and everyone was happy.
I even got to a gig in London courtesy of Fat Cat. Jamie Lidell at some uber-trendy little venue. On the guest list, free booze and food, all that because of Fat Cat.
I guess he'd been on their label before his break ..
The guy who owned the company was Asian, I think, and really laid-back but totally on it in terms of running the business. Nice guy.
Happy days, eh ?
I don't think Lidell was on fat cat, he released stuff with Cristian Vogel, as part of Super collider on Loaded records before his solo stuff, which I didn't follow tbh. The shop in soho ? Shit can't remember, quite a long standing one though, might still be there.
rmcin626
14-01-2025, 22:21
Fopp were a Scottish company so a lot of their staff moved south as they opened new branches.
As for the Soho ripoff, was it Wreckless Erics ??
I had a similar experience but not quite as bad as yours .. and you're spot on about the attitude. Too cool for school, some people ..
As for Fat Cat, I have very fond memories of them as a wholesaler. They'd buy up and distribute pallets of stock from the majors (Warner, Sony, etc) and they never knew what they'd be getting, just an amount of CDs.
Then they'd work their way through it and every Monday fax/email that week's "list".
I'd get in early to check the email and call them on the dot at 8am to place my order - it was the only way to get the good stuff.
It was usually ex-chart returns from the big supermarket chains and would include anything in the Top 20 album chart but also loads and loads of great compilation, usually for a pound a pop or £2 if they were doubles.
We'd then mark these up at a fiver or £7 and everyone was happy.
I even got to a gig in London courtesy of Fat Cat. Jamie Lidell at some uber-trendy little venue. On the guest list, free booze and food, all that because of Fat Cat.
I guess he'd been on their label before his break ..
The guy who owned the company was Asian, I think, and really laid-back but totally on it in terms of running the business. Nice guy.
Happy days, eh ?
The Fopp shop in the west end of Glasgow was a great shop in the early days.
Favourites are World of Echo in Columbia Road and BBE in Helmsley place. Also Sound of the Universe in Broadwick Street and Alan’s Records in East Finchley.
The HMV store in town closed last September. They were pretty useless, however I don't think there is any other record store here now; so will have to shop online.
Pigmy Pony
21-01-2025, 17:30
The HMV store in town closed last September. They were pretty useless, however I don't think there is any other record store here now; so will have to shop online.
For used CD purchases I recommend Music Magpie via Ebay. I've bought dozens from them and never had a problem with service or the items. When looking for a particular CD I filter the search "Lowest price" first, and MM are almost always just that.
Thanks Steve. I was aware of Music Magpie, but never used them. It's good to hear of your reassurance.
I was a bit hasty in claiming there are no record shops nearby - I did a bit of research and found Intense Records. It's a small outlet but the staff there know wnat they are talking about, and best of all they have used LPs for sale at sensible prices.
Lawrence001
22-01-2025, 23:34
I went into this 'dance' record shop once in Soho, the music was too loud so you had to point to whatever record you wanted, and the staff/DJ would hand it to you, so you could listen to it. I unfondly remember some place in Wardour st, where the fuckwit staff member totally ripped me off when I sold some 12"s, in among them was a £100+ record as I later found out, and they gave me a pittance, fucking scum!! And this silly bitch in there had some attitude, like you cannot smile, you absolutely cannot smile, it was funny! There were better shops, Fatcat in Covent garden, where I was warmly accepted into the fold, because I bought some fatcat releases, I found it odd the staff were friendly, only after did I realise it was also the Fatcat base of operations (a late 90s label specialising in quirky post techno).
My first regular record shop was a stall in Newport market, some old punk called Simon, I used to buy 'Mod revival' records there, probably the naffest genre known to humankind, which I look back upon now and shudder. Remember going back there 20 years later, and he remembered me, 'your tastes have changed'! And again another decade on and his old punk mate holding the fort, 'timewaster' he muttered to another stall holder, as I browsed but did not buy.Why are the staff clueless when they knock out rare 12" cheap (as per your earlier post) and scum when they don't pay you the fair value, isn't that just you being clueless? Or alternatively are you also "f*cking scum" when you go in and clear out the underpriced 12"s?
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Mikeandvan
23-01-2025, 21:56
Why are the staff clueless when they knock out rare 12" cheap (as per your earlier post) and scum when they don't pay you the fair value, isn't that just you being clueless? Or alternatively are you also "f*cking scum" when you go in and clear out the underpriced 12"s?
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LOL, something got up your nose chum?
Went in a record shop round here at the weekend, not been in there before. Had a bit of banter with the owner and a couple of punters, all very friendly.
You need to move oop north Mike. Well, north midlands anyway.
Mikeandvan
23-01-2025, 22:58
Went in a record shop round here at the weekend, not been in there before. Had a bit of banter with the owner and a couple of punters, all very friendly.
You need to move oop north Mike. Well, north midlands anyway.
Well, they were London shops, so like everywhere else in London, you know............Some of dance record shops back in the 90s were quite intimidating.
The Black Adder
25-01-2025, 14:54
I've just returned from HMV in Meadowhall, Sheffield. It's just full of tat made in China.
And the vinyl selection, although not too shabby, the prices are on average £15 more expensive than online.
Can we still call HMV a record shop? It seems to be getting more and more desperate in its existence. It seems busy but the checkout staff seem to be twiddling their thumbs quite a bit.
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rigger67
25-01-2025, 18:20
I've just returned from HMV in Meadowhall, Sheffield. It's just full of tat made in China.
And the vinyl selection, although not too shabby, the prices are on average £15 more expensive than online.
Can we still call HMV a record shop? It seems to be getting more and more desperate in its existence. It seems busy but the checkout staff seem to be twiddling their thumbs quite a bit.
Sent from my BBC Microcomputer 32K
I read an article about the business maybe a decade ago and it stated that 40% of HMV's turnover came from headphones that year ..
Pieoftheday
25-01-2025, 18:31
I've just returned from HMV in Meadowhall, Sheffield. It's just full of tat made in China.
And the vinyl selection, although not too shabby, the prices are on average £15 more expensive than online.
Can we still call HMV a record shop? It seems to be getting more and more desperate in its existence. It seems busy but the checkout staff seem to be twiddling their thumbs quite a bit.
Sent from my BBC Microcomputer 32K
Off topic Josie, did you get your Honda?
Pete The Cat
29-01-2025, 09:33
I miss the whole experience of being able to go record shopping any time. Being able to spend two or three hours going from shop to shop, starting at A and flipping through the racks to Z, then on to Various Artists….the smell of the poly sleeves and hearing a few new things along the way.
Nothing bettered Selectadisc on Market St Nottingham. It was like a doorway to another world.
Whether new or second hand, for me buying records stopped being good value a few years ago. Yet the market doesn’t seem to be adjusting so there are obviously folks out there prepared to pay. I’m not sure who they are though. The thread mentions HMV a few times - very few people I’ve seen going into HMV buy the records, they just look at them like they’re in a museum.
Grading on eBay is a lottery. You get amateurs who don’t understand the detail and put “very good” against anything, or pros who put “VG+” because they know that’s the point at which things sell. The ads are full of cop-outs eg I can’t play test/I’m not a professional/it might sound different through your stylus. Doesn’t skip seems to be their hallmark of quality.
If I can afford it I tend to buy Japanese pressings from specific importers. As a broad generalisation it seems to me that they have a better culture when it comes to taking care of things and to grading, and the quality of sleeve and vinyl is usually impressive.
Back in the day it seemed to me that most households had a record player. Today it’s way out of reach to many. Old man shouts at cloud...
Back in the day it seemed to me that most households had a record player. Today it’s way out of reach to many. Old man shouts at cloud...
Civilians all moved to CD once you could get an Amstrad tower with a CD player for £100.
Then they all went to Napster. That was what killed the whole scene, really. Everything for nothing. Can't count how many people would go on about that to me back in the day. I thought then it would be the end for the record shops.
Vinyl's a wealthy man's sport now. Niche market, niche prices.
Sadly, I can't disagree with that.
rigger67
30-01-2025, 08:18
I’ve seen going into HMV buy the records, they just look at them like they’re in a museum
Great line, Pete.
I don't even bother going in when I see an HMV store as I feel like I've been round those particular exhibits too many times ...
I think the last time I bought a CD in HMV was 2001 - I was wandering round, and something was playing on the store sound system which caught my ear. I went up to the counter, and spoke to one of the lads and asked him what was playing. He handed me the case of "The Bees - Sunshine Hit Me" which I perused, then duly asked for a copy and paid, no doubt with another handful of CD's as 2001 was my CD buying zenith.
I got home, put the CD on, and it was nothing like what was playing in the shop! Now I actually did like the album (and have subsequently bought their following releases) but it most definitely wasn't what I was expecting - and I will never know what was actually playing on that fateful Saturday afternoon!
Stranraer
30-01-2025, 15:11
Sunshine Hit Me was released March 2002 Alex, same day as Original Pirate Material by The Steets.
Any chance it was that ?
Would've made quite an impact on a lot of music lovers on first listen.
Well that's my bad memory! I thought it was 2001! :lol:
I do have The Streets - Original Pirate Material, so no, that wasn't it, though I may well have bought them on the same day? But as you rightly say, a big impact at the time. I bought the follow up, A Grand Don't Come for Free - but none since - maybe I should investigate!
Thanks for helping though, David. :)
Well that's my bad memory! I thought it was 2001! :lol:
After 2000 it just all blurs into one.
Never got into The Streets but British rapping in general just doesn't work for me.
So what was the record you heard in HMV? I'm intrigued.
So what was the record you heard in HMV? I'm intrigued.
No idea, Barry, and never will - but it certainly wasn't the one they said it was!
Stranraer
31-01-2025, 22:40
Never got into The Streets but British rapping in general just doesn't work for me.
I had the good fortune to stumble across them at Glastonbury a few years back.
A rare beautiful evening, warm at dusk and they we playing pretty much a makeshift stage in a random spot, about three foot off the ground.
There were mic probs for a while but they just carried through it to about 200 folk.
A really mellow vibe, one of my favourite ever gigs entirely by accident.
Pete The Cat
05-07-2025, 19:36
As well as record shops being pants, I'm getting to the end of my tether with online dealers. By dealers I don't just mean individual sellers oin eBay, but outfits with a reasonable volume of sales and feedback.
Out of the last ten albums that I've bought:
one sent me the wrong copy from their stock
one sent me a mono version when their advert was for a stereo version
one said they don't have it in stock - I've had several like this in the past, it seems quite common for Discogs vendors to take orders on goods that they don't have and then try to order them from wholesalers
one 'NM' had a highly visible scuff that clicked across the entirety of a track and they tried to offer me 50% back
I'm glad to be at a stage where I've got most of the records that I really want since it's becoming a gamble.
The consistent exception is dealers in Japan, where the service and grading can be relied upon.
Old man yells at cloud.
Japanese getting it right again.
I was in the record shop today, it was quite busy. As usual I was the oldest person in there by some margin.
Several female twenty-somethings buying vinyl. I had a look at what they were buying but I didn't recognise any of it. Might be new-ish stuff, or old stuff I never heard of.
I stopped buying vinyl ages ago. I now only buy CDs, usually from charity shops, but sometimes from Amazon.
I stopped buying vinyl ages ago. I now only buy CDs, usually from charity shops, but sometimes from Amazon.
I'm the only one in there buying CDs. Not bought a record in years. Last record I bought is still in the mailer, never even opened it. Might have bought it in about 2017 but it could be before that.
rmcin626
06-07-2025, 08:45
I still buy vinyl, and we now have a record shop in the town, although I will go in for a browse most of the stock is not to my taste, they also have quite a lot of used records which are a bit overpriced, but it is good to have a local shop, my last purchase was a Talking Heads RSD release.
We have a record shop in town, but their prices are high. The staff are however very knowledgeable about music, unlike the HMV shop which recently closed. There, all the staff (usually students) were pretty useless: the only thing they could tell you was the price (which was written on the LP anyway).
rmcin626
06-07-2025, 08:59
Our shop also sells guitars and guitar strings etc and lots of tee shirts, too be honest I haven’t spoken much to the staff who are all quite young, but it is good to have a local shop again.
Maybe it's just me but I've never felt the need to consult with the staff in a record shop. I usually know what I'm after (if I can remember).
Not really sure what useful information they can offer, even if they aren't poxy students, which they often are.
I think the only times have been when they've been playing something that's caught my ear and I've asked them what it is. Even students can give you that information as mostly they can read what's on the record label.
Pigmy Pony
06-07-2025, 09:19
Maybe it's just me but I've never felt the need to consult with the staff in a record shop. I usually know what I'm after (if I can remember).
Not really sure what useful information they can offer, even if they aren't poxy students, which they often are.
I think the only times have been when they've been playing something that's caught my ear and I've asked them what it is. Even students can give you that information as mostly they can read what's on the record label.
Unless it's a '45', then they'll get seasick trying to read the label. You could suggest they read the record sleeve instead, but if they are genuine poxy students all the records will be in the wrong sleeves.
Pete The Cat
06-07-2025, 13:08
Shazam is one of the few mobile apps that I think are really worth having. Any time I'm out somewhere and hear a piece of music that I want to know more about Shazam almost always knows.
Pigmy Pony
06-07-2025, 19:57
Shazam is one of the few mobile apps that I think are really worth having. Any time I'm out somewhere and hear a piece of music that I want to know more about Shazam almost always knows.
Shazam is great for that, I wouldn't be without it.
So many times in the olden days I'd be driving somewhere, and when arriving at my destination I'd have to stay in the car until the song on the radio had finished. Only to have it segue into another song :doh:
And often useful for identifying music used on some telly programmes.
Depends what you want from a record store.
Discogs is brilliant and if I want something specific I'll go there.
For new issues and pre-orders I go to Juno.co.uk
My favourite physical stores are World of Echo and BBE. They deal in specific genres and have their own labels.
BBE is also a bar and nightclub and just the coolest place, also next door to one of the best restaurants in London.
I used to browse at Alan's Records in East Finchley, but haven't been in for a few months. People travel there from all over.
Will pop into one of my favourite stores next week, Souffle Continu in Paris. Similar to World of Echo but 10 times the size.
The thing about BBE, WoE and Souffle Continu is that they sell a lot of vinyl that is not available digitally or online. Some of it can be sampled on SoundCloud etc. but sometimes it's in-store recommendations or a bit of pot luck.
Also a thumbs up for Honest Jon's (Kings Cross and Portobello Road). They sell stuff I might otherwise buy online, but they do carry a lot of interesting stock and it's a nice place to browse and make an impulse purchase.
A store selling only regular stuff that you can get online is going to struggle, unless there is a social element, and you don't get that at HMV in a Luton shopping mall.
I just like the ritual of going to the record shop and having a browse. Doesn't matter to me if I could just buy it on line instead.
But like you say, it's not a good business model to only sell easily available stuff in a physical shop.
I just like the ritual of going to the record shop and having a browse. Doesn't matter to me if I could just buy it on line instead.
But like you say, it's not a good business model to only sell easily available stuff in a physical shop.
Specialist stores of those with a decent mix of quality used and new are easier to browse. Places like Flashback, except the staff seem uninterested.
Slightly further afield, Tokyo and Osaka are great fun. HMV in Osaka is worth a visit because it operates an independent label with some good reissues. Disk Union's jazz department in Tokyo is very impressive, used items are all immaculate as you would expect for the Japanese. My son was in Tokyo and narrowed his vinyl shopping down from an initial list of 200 stores. He bought me some vinyl in Seoul from a store that seemed to be the size of Wembley stadium. There are a lot of Japanese pressings not released outside of Japan, reissuing them is one of BBE's things, has been for decades, and others are popping up, favourites include Hiroshi Yoshimura and the eternal Haruomi Hosono.
Specialist stores of those with a decent mix of quality used and new are easier to browse. Places like Flashback, except the staff seem uninterested.
Slightly further afield, Tokyo and Osaka are great fun. HMV in Osaka is worth a visit because it operates an independent label with some good reissues. Disk Union's jazz department in Tokyo is very impressive, used items are all immaculate as you would expect for the Japanese. My son was in Tokyo and narrowed his vinyl shopping down from an initial list of 200 stores. He bought me some vinyl in Seoul from a store that seemed to be the size of Wembley stadium. There are a lot of Japanese pressings not released outside of Japan, reissuing them is one of BBE's things, has been for decades, and others are popping up, favourites include Hiroshi Yoshimura and the eternal Haruomi Hosono.
'Slightly further afield' - meaning the other side of the planet, lol.
I only buy CDs since about the last ten years but it doesn't surprise me that the Japanese and the Koreans are doing it better than we are.
Last time I was in Tokyo, about 12 years ago, I was amazed at the stock the HMV store had at the time. Almost 'maxed' out my credit card buying CDs (actually a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. :lol:).
Last time I was in Tokyo, about 12 years ago, I was amazed at the stock the HMV store had at the time. Almost 'maxed' out my credit card buying CDs (actually a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. :lol:).
I remember when I started working in sales, first time I ever had any excess money in my life. Went in HMV and spent £270. Be about £500 today.
'Slightly further afield' - meaning the other side of the planet, lol.
I only buy CDs since about the last ten years but it doesn't surprise me that the Japanese and the Koreans are doing it better than we are.
I suspect because vinyl and CD never went out of fashion to the extent it did elsewhere. On the other hand, they are massively into ringtones.
Disk Union has separate stores for different genres and they are huge.
There's a shop in Columbia Road that specialises in used Japanese imports, but the quality of the used stock has proven very disappointing. It's half record shop half wine shop.
https://idle-moments.com
I suspect because vinyl and CD never went out of fashion to the extent it did elsewhere. On the other hand, they are massively into ringtones.
Disk Union has separate stores for different genres and they are huge.
There's a shop in Columbia Road that specialises in used Japanese imports, but the quality of the used stock has proven very disappointing. It's half record shop half wine shop.
https://idle-moments.com
Interesting shop, selling Klipsch speakers too.
Colin2040
12-07-2025, 16:19
If you get an opportunity Grooves in Kirkwall is a great shop. Good service good choice of new and old plus reasonable trade in prices. If you are up that way worth a visit
Mikeandvan
20-07-2025, 17:52
Even Ebay in the UK is pants compared to Europe and the rest of the world (mainly US and Japan).
rigger67
20-07-2025, 19:25
I hardly ever buy new vinyl now - I'm not paying £30 for an album, it's crazy.
I find myself entering record shops hoping that they sell used as well as new stuff.
If they do, I'll have a look.
If they have a bargain section - crates, usually underneath the main stock bins - then I'll be in there for a while.
If they don't, I'm generally out of there within a few minutes.
Happened exactly like that in Poole yesterday afternoon. I went next door to the model shop and bought a new kit instead :)
(A 1/72 Hasegawa Mig-27D for a very reasonable £13)
I hardly ever buy new vinyl now - I'm not paying £30 for an album, it's crazy.
Quite! Especially as new pressings are invariably inferior.
Mikeandvan
20-07-2025, 22:51
The covers too an many new albums are shite. Just buy originals or later pressings.
Pete The Cat
21-07-2025, 07:48
A lot of folks accept high prices as being partly due to cost of production, rent, staff, running costs etc, and they are obviously a part of that. However they forget that demand is the other part. If people weren't prepared to pay prices that are 'too high' then the prices would fall. Business is always testing customers. Walk away with your head held high.
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