RECORD SHOP TOURS

I don’t go in for browsing. When I go shopping I know what I want, enter the appropriate shop, buy it and leave. This behaviour flummoxes those members of my family once referred to as the fairer sex, which is why I seldom accompany them on shopping expeditions because the chances are irritability will soon set in from everyone’s point of view. 

        There are, however, two exceptions. I have never been able to pass a guitar shop without, at the very least, pausing to look into the window or, more often than, wandering inside to inspect the guitars hanging from the wall, not necessarily because I want to buy one as I have three pretty decent ones already, but because I simply like looking at them, like some folk enjoy admiring anything of beauty. This is not to say that if I won the lottery next week I wouldn’t buy a few more. After all, as an investment they’re much more fun than stock and shares.

        The other exception is record shops, and by that I mean real shops, not those old High Street megastores that displayed more overpriced t-shirts with band logos than actual records but those independent shops that are often tucked away in side streets and sell what are now referred to as pre-loved vinyl, which means the LPs and even some of the singles on sale are in tip-top condition, housed in plastic sleeves and are often 50 or 60 years old. 

        There are two in Guildford, the nearest city to where I now live, and I know both well. One is neat and orderly, the other a complete mess. It doesn’t matter. Being as how I have so many, I often go in simply to check up on what price their Who records are selling for, which I suppose is a bit like reading the stock market reports in the Financial Times, but once I’m there I’m trapped.

        All of which explains why, back in 2009 when I was running Omnibus Press, I was more than happy to help Graham Jones (pictured above) distribute his book Last Shop Standing, a love letter to the greatest record shops in the UK, all of his which he’d visited personally in his capacity as a founder of Proper Music Distribution. Most of his life has been spent working in and around the world of independent record retailing, and what he doesn’t know about the business isn’t worth knowing. 

        This week Graham was back in touch to let me know that he’s started Record Shop Tours wherein he acts a guide to the best music stores in London. “In the 80s, Berwick Street became known as Soho's Golden Mile of Vinyl,” he says, “and for two decades, I supplied records to the same shops that still line it. I've written three books about the characters behind the counters, but nothing beats seeing them in person. On this three-hour walk, we'll gather at HMV on Oxford Street, then browse Sister Ray, Sounds of the Universe, Third Man Records, and Rough Trade Vintage as I steer you toward vinyl worth the money. Hear stories of music legends along the way.” 

        There is no better guide to the world of record shops than Graham and I am delighted to recommend this initiative of his. You can learn more about it on this website: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/experiences/7318979.