Hot Chip star Joe Goddard has praised the role of independent record shops in British music.
Record Store Day has been and gone. Taking place on April 17th the event was a huge success with limited edition singles going on sale from shops across the UK and beyond.
In Glasgow, fans queued for up to an hour outside of Monorail in order to grab the latest releases. Run by Stephen McRobbie of The Pastels, the shop had bands and DJ sets throughout the day.
Speaking to The Guardian, Hot Chip star Joe Goddard explained his love of independent record shops. “I started going into record shops when I was about 14. It was quite a daunting experience, because we were following the older boys from school to shops such as Beggars Banquet in Putney, south London (now closed), and we didn’t know where to begin.”
“One of the things that used to happen when I started going into record shops at that age, such as Black Market Records in Soho, is that, because you’re just a kid, they would try to sell you records that no one else bought because they weren’t very good” he recalled.
“Then you’d get wise to it and learn to judge your own taste. Soon I was going three times a week, and I still spend hundreds of pounds in record shops like that to this day.”
Continuing, Joe Goddard argued that a good record shop can inspire entire music scenes. “What indie record stores offer is the people behind the counter: they get to know the taste of their customers, and you can respect their wisdom and knowledge.”
“The experience of forming a relationship with the people who work in and frequent shops such as Phonica in Soho is hugely important – entire bands have been formed after meeting in the right record shop. Entire genres have started by a great record being passed from one person to another.”
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