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Whatever Happened to Record Shops?

Brixton Hatter said:
There's an interesting passage in the book about how Our Price really tried to look after their customers. Apparently the founder of Our Price had been in an independent shop and witnessed the musical statto working in there being really nasty/rude to customers who came in asking for uncool/commercial stuff like Phil Collins or whatever. He decided that he'd always try to treat his customers properly and not look down his nose at people because of their musical taste - does this chime with your experience iRobot?
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Worked for them in 1994 and it was just a bland corporate chain
 
BlackArab said:
Fuck sakes! Is MASH still going? I bought 'Strings of Life' there, I'm genuinely stunned as I think about this every now and then but always assumed it had gone years ago.
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:D Yeah, I think the shop is still there, last time I went in there were some pretty ugly larey clothes in there, but the record shop (cupboard) is gone!

Stephen-Lawrence_28_436402a.jpg

Rest in Peace
 
stephj said:
Yeah, the book of High Fidelity is good. Never actually watched the film, I guess I was a bit disappointed that it was re-set in Chicago rather than say on Caledonian or Essex Road!!! ;)
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Good secondhand shop on Essex Rd still... Forget the name... Retro something or other.
 
ska invita said:
:D Yeah, I think the shop is still there, last time I went in there were some pretty ugly larey clothes in there, but the record shop (cupboard) is gone!
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I think I'll pop in next time up for old times sake, if only the memories. Lillywhites might get a look as well :D
 
ska invita said:
Good secondhand shop on Essex Rd still... Forget the name... Retro something or other.
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Flashback - not checked that place out.

I used to go to Haggle Vinyl regularly on Essex Road at one point... picked up some good stuff there over the years although the guy that runs it can be a little lacking in customer service skills at times :hmm:

Bitd, I used to love both Music Power on Green Lanes too.
 
stephj said:
Yeah, the book of High Fidelity is good. Never actually watched the film, I guess I was a bit disappointed that it was re-set in Chicago rather than say on Caledonian or Essex Road!!! ;)
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Went to see it in the cinema and grumbeled and moaned through the whole thing, but maybe it isnt as bad as all that. The bits in the record shop are fun - everything else is pretty dire i think.
 
ska invita said:
You know what I think they've ruined Lilllywhites - i remember it being a pretty good shop, but it all feels very bargain basment now. I think its a reflection of sports goods = sweat shop goods
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I remember going there about 83/84 after a school trip and buying a pair of Pumas. Grey leather with a white stripe, gawd I wore them till they fell off. Possibly my intro into casual. Happy days indeed.
 
Bristol wise, I spent a lot of time in Tony's Records on Park Street and Replay near the Bus Station. Worked in HMV as well as Our Price. But can anyone remember the reggae shop on Picton Street run by DJ Derek's mate.
 
BlackArab said:
anyone else remember Stock, Aitken & Waterman's 'Roadblock'?
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IIRC, they put it out as a white to build up underground support, before eventually outing it as a SAW production??

PWL did put out some nice, if on the more commercial, techno and house releases in the early 90's, but had some involvement in a few hardcore bits too:

http://www.discogs.com/Family-Foundation-Xpress-Yourself/release/33434
http://www.discogs.com/Bug-Kann-The-Plastic-Jam-Made-In-Two-Minutes/release/395531

(I reckon that Hitman & Her show from the Eclipse in Coventry had something to do with it ;))
 
stephj said:
IIRC, they put it out as a white to build up underground support, before eventually outing it as a SAW production??
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yep also apparently put out rumours of it being a 'lost' rare groove recently re-discovered, I'm sure it was done to fool/expose dj snobs at the time. Quality tune all the same time, I played it for years.
 
porno thieving gypsy said:
No mention of Mr Bongo's :confused: That was a great record shop :D
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yes, fantastic place for hip hop and jungle (and tony scratch pervert doing the odd gig there). lots of 2nd shops like reckless and rhythm, lots of label shops liks choci's, lots of new vinyl shops like wot i can't remember, i look at all this vinyl and wonder how it all got here....:hmm:
 
toblerone3 said:
You mean Flashback. Quite pricey though. I reckon they must have picked up much of the stock from the other shop on Essex Road the one upon which Hi Fidelity is based.
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you mean the one owned by the really creepy guy who looks like the Hitler-look-alike from Spark's dad? doubt he's on many child-minding lists ;)
 
BlackArab said:
yep also apparently put out rumours of it being a 'lost' rare groove recently re-discovered, I'm sure it was done to fool/expose dj snobs at the time. Quality tune all the same time, I played it for years.
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who was that uk DJ who claimed to have had a copy of the 'original'?
haw haw haw :D
 
stephj said:
IIRC, they put it out as a white to build up underground support, before eventually outing it as a SAW production??

PWL did put out some nice, if on the more commercial, techno and house releases in the early 90's, but had some involvement in a few hardcore bits too:

http://www.discogs.com/Family-Foundation-Xpress-Yourself/release/33434
http://www.discogs.com/Bug-Kann-The-Plastic-Jam-Made-In-Two-Minutes/release/395531

(I reckon that Hitman & Her show from the Eclipse in Coventry had something to do with it ;))
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they did a phenomenal remix of sonia 'i'll never stop' which is just the vocal over a loop of lil louis fench kiss. larry sherman of trax records even bootlegged it on his 'record review' label.

pete waterman's a funny guy. would love to see some old videos of hitman+her.
 
I haven't lived there since it did close, but somewhere I really miss every time I go back to Nottingham (I was at Uni there) is Selectadisc. Many a Saturday afternoon spent in there searching, and some true brilliance I found. Luckily, just round the corner down a strange alleyway is the joy of Rob's Record Mart, which is still there. Almost totally unorganised, and requiring quite a high level of bodily flexibility to navigate, it is the eighth wonder of the world.
 
I remember the first Virgin record shop opening here next to Biba. Records in cardboard boxes and hippies downstairs, sat on cushions, with earphones on, listening to The Pink Fairies. Flared, velvet loons were all the rage. :D
 
chico enrico said:
i used to like Fat Cat in monmouth st. always got the latest chicago/detroit stuff in and were nice guys who ran it.
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Anyone know a shop just round the back of picadilly circus/far end of soho - house, broken beat, hiphop, nu soul - havnt been in there in a long time - hope its still there. I think the main guy there was called JP I seem to remember. Was that Fat Cat? Wheres Monmouth Street?
 
ska invita said:
Anyone know a shop just round the back of picadilly circus/far end of soho - house, broken beat, hiphop, nu soul - havnt been in there in a long time - hope its still there. I think the main guy there was called JP I seem to remember.
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That's Vinyl Junkies isn't it - Berwick St?
 
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