Today, we reach the penultimate day in our series of articles previewing Record Store Day – it’s tomorrow, April 18 – with a pair of pieces.
Firstly, Eamonn Hamilton of Brighton indie-rockers Brakes tells us about record stores in Stroud; then, we’ve a look at the shop scene in Sheffield.
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Eamonn Hamilton of Brakes on Stroud record stores…
There are two record shops in Stroud – Trading Post and Kanes.
Trading Post is at the top of town, and I’d go up there after school, hunt out the records I wanted to buy on the Saturday, and hide them in the easy listening section so that no one else would get them first. Everyone would be there on the weekends, it was like a daytime youth club, and we all shared a love of obscurities: 13th Floor Elevators, The Vibrators, Sarah Records, et cetera. My favourite album was ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’ by The Brilliant Corners.
Kanes opened more recently, and it’s another gem. I went in last week and got an early Mills Brothers album for 99p. Very happy. Kane himself is something of a local legend and really supports good bands. I try to go in at least once when I’m back.
Find Kanes online HERE. Get yourself a free download of Brakes’ ‘Eternal Return’ by clicking HERE
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The ground in Sheffield is pretty fertile when it comes to musical creativity. Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Human League, Cabaret Voltaire and Rolo Tomassi are all owing to the cultural encouragement of this Yorkshire city. Our man on the spot exposes the foundations of a thriving music scene: the local music retailers.
Tristan Parker on Jacks Records and Record Collector…
Tucked away in an unassuming courtyard off a trendy city centre street, the only way you’re likely to encounter Jacks is through a lucky stumble or word of mouth (of which there’s plenty), which makes it all the more rewarding when you get in there. The long and narrow functional space is a no-frills affair that serves one purpose only: to sell records. Owner Ian Gadsby explains the shop’s ethos: “The only policy is we don’t do classical and we don’t do dance. We cover punk, metal, independent – those sorts of areas.” Indeed, punk and rock aficionados take note – there is much for you here.
Initially selling only second-hand vinyl in its 1990 inception, the shop has now switched to stocking new items alongside these, as well as introducing online sales and operating as a ticket agency for local venues. The shop’s original focus on vinyl, however, still remains. Though there are a few CDs amongst the racks, it’s all about the wax in here. Ian chuckles when I ask if he thinks there’ll always be a place for vinyl: “They’ve been trying to kill it off for 20 years, but it’s still around, so I guess in that sense there’ll always be a market for it.”
So, have there been any particularly valuable slices of vinyl that have entered the premises? “We’ve had a couple of copies of the ‘Please Please Me’ black and gold stereo [label] album, which sell for about a thousand each.” Cue impressed whistling.
And it wouldn’t be right to discuss Jacks without mentioning Ian’s infamous – how to put this – straight-up demeanour, which has caused many a grown man to weep over the years. A not-unfounded reputation (numerous friends looked at me in terror when I told them I was interviewing him), but in all honesty, he’s actually a thoroughly decent chap once you get chatting. And no, he didn’t bribe me with free music to say that. Though if he’d offered, I would have been spoilt for choice.
Since it opened in 1978, Record Collector has long been a Sheffield institution. Being blessed with prime retail positioning in the heart of the student district, for an independent record shop it’s unusually (though not uncomfortably) big, though even this doesn’t hint at its selection of 20,000 CDs and a staggering 50,000 vinyl releases (a small selection of which are sold in an annexe adjoined to the main shop).
Unsurprisingly, its music policy is pretty broad, as wonderfully enthusiastic owner Barry Everard explains: “We’re inclusive. If it’s interesting or relevant or rare, we may stock it. Essentially, if you like music we may have something for you, and that’s the policy I’ve always adopted.” To be honest, ‘may have’ is endearingly modest – Record Collector pretty much has it all. Name a genre and it’ll be there, from dub to Americana, blues to electronica, hip-hop to psychedelic rock – if there’s even the faintest whiff of alternative to it, it’s in.
Though it feels a cliché to write it, Barry seems a man who genuinely cares about the music he sells, and is willing to stick to his principles over chasing dollar – an ethos which has successfully transferred to the very fabric of the store, as he explains: “This is the sort of shop where you can come in and hopefully be inspired by what you find, and maybe you’ll stumble across an album you’ve never seen before that could change your life.”
Essentially, Record Collector is one of those increasingly rare venues where you can happily spend the best part of a day (or in my case, most of a three-year undergraduate degree) joyously sifting through stacks of music, finding both revered bands and new, random nuggets of inspiration, leaving the shop feeling a little happier than when you entered. And when it comes down to it, that’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it?
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Find Record Collector online HERE.
Find Jacks online HERE
