DESTINATION: OXFORD

Simon Berkovitch, takes a punt on Riverman Records – a haven for classics of all kinds

To paraphrase Nick Drake – from whom this exquisitely curated record shop takes its name – “We’ve gone to see the Riverman, hoping he’s going to tell us all he knows…” Meet Riverman Records’ owner Andy Tucker, a man with 15 years of running record shops under his belt. “I’ve always been a musical obsessive,” he admits. He was in punk bands in the late-Seventies and ran cult Cardiff label Z Block: “but then life got in the way, and I ended up with a proper job,” he says.

Fast forward to 2007: “I was made redundant, got a decent pay off, and decided to take a year out. I volunteered at my local Oxfam, which was a dedicated music shop, and the idea that running a record shop might be viable slowly began to take shape.” Andy was living in London, but ready to embark on a new adventure. “Trawling online listings, I noticed a record shop for sale in Henley-on-Thames [Henley Records, subsequently renamed The Groove]. I went to see it, agreed terms with the owner, and kicked off my new career. I had that shop for fi ve years, before moving to a larger one in Henley for another seven years. When the lease was coming to an end, I had to decide if I wanted to renew or try somewhere else.”

Henley-on-Thames’ loss is Oxford’s gain. “Oxford had always been appealing,” admits Andy. “It’s a large university city, but it really had only one record shop, Truck. I managed to fi nd an empty shop for rent and began the process of moving thousands of records, fixtures and fittings.”