The survival of so many UK record shops is something to celebrate. Despite issues such as Covid, rising overheads and streaming options, these emporia continue to provide a valued service to millions of us collectors. Many punters care deeply about record shops, browsing through the racks and boxes, and chatting about music and enjoying the tangible experience of buying a record in-person. But running a record shop is never very easy and, sadly, we have lost many along the way. So, how have some record shops survived and thrived over many years? We spoke to a selection of long-running, successful UK shops, and the answers were both wide-ranging and illuminating.
It's very clear how crucial a love of music and collecting is to successful shop owners. If that sounds obvious, we should always remember that truly great record shops are part of a wider community of music lovers. I'll never forget the first time that I visited Ben's Collectors Records, Guildford. You could tell that Ben Darnton was a music devotee. Indeed, he told RC that he imagines a younger version of himself going into the shop for the first time and says that he prices and purchases his stock accordingly.
Running this splendid shop for 30-plus years, you can see that his thoughtful approach has paid off for Ben.
Jake Travis, at London's Out On The Floor, suggests that you must have a real passion for music and records long before a shop can be established. Out On the Floor has been going for 30-plus years, too, and it was Jamaican music that Jake searched for in the shops of his youth.
For his business partner, Mick, it was punk and David Bowie. As Jake acknowledges, he was bitten by the record collecting bug, something that RC readers will readily recognise.
Denne historien er fra February 2025-utgaven av Record Collector.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra February 2025-utgaven av Record Collector.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
WINDOWS ON THE WORLD
At the peak of their powers in the early 70s, by 1975 there were signs that Led Zeppelin were burning out, and their legendary appetite for excess, not to mention stadium-straddling, mythically charged, epically inclined hard rock, might be waning.
THE ENGINE ROOM
The unsung heroes who helped forge modern music
UNDER THE RADAR
Artists, bands, and labels meriting more attention
45 SHEFFIELD 45s
Continuing our celebrations of RC's 45th birthday and following on from our look at the best 45s to come out of Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Glasgow, we focus on the urbanisation formerly known as Steel City: Sheffield. Close to the (Nether) Edge: Jeremy Allen
Finished Symphonies
In the late 80s, Shelleyan Orphan made rarefied, ravishing, precious (both meanings) baroque pop, all chamber quartet accompaniment and literary reference points, like an 18th century Cocteau Twins.
"BLACK BRITISH PEOPLE HAD SOMETHING TO SHOUT ABOUT"
Breaking new ground for black music in Britain from his teenage years in Matumbi in the early 70s, Dennis Bovell went on to become one of reggae's most highly regarded producers, helping popularise lovers rock. He also played a pivotal role in post-punk's experimental incorporation of dub influences on records like The Slits' Cut and The Pop Group's Y. As new compilation, Sufferer Sounds, reaches back to his early days to compile some of his best early dub plates, Lois Wilson gets the full backstory from one of British music's most enduring forces.
FRENZY REUNITED
Swindon's finest musical export, XTC were also one of the most quietly influential British bands, setting a template for Britpop while pioneering a brand of left-field guitar pop – from herky-jerky invention to consummate craftsmanship – that has spawned many imitators.
Paperback Blighters - The books every record collector should read.
The books every record collector should read. Vinyl, you may have heard, has made a big comeback. In 2022, sales of vinyl albums surpassed compact discs (CDs) for the first time in more than three decades in terms of global revenue, racking up more than $1.2bn.
"Beware the Savage Lure/of 1984..." - David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods.
David Bowie is one of the most venerated musicians ever. But even he had his bad periods. For many, 1984 remains the nadir of his Phil Collins” phase; an artistic/sartonial/tonsorial disaster area. But was it really that awful? Forty years on, Matt Phillips explores Bowie's so-called annus horribilis.
