Record Shop Story #8: Jumbo Records, Leeds
Speak to any vinyl junkie in Leeds, and they'll ask if you've been to Jumbo. Opened in 1971, there's a reason that this shop has become a Leeds institution
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Life often pivots on the smallest of moments. For music fan Nick Fraser, one of those moments was over Sunday lunch just over ten years ago.
His wife, Justinia, had invited a friend and her husband, Adam, over for food. Adam worked in Jumbo Records and Nick got chatting to him about the shop – one of his favourite weekend ‘treats’ in Leeds, when back from working away.
Adam mentioned that Jumbo’s founders and long-time owners, Hunter and Lornette, were retiring and looking to sell up – or else close the shop.
‘Adam was a bit worried about it, and I’d had a couple of glasses of wine,’ Nick tells me. ‘So I said, without any real thought, “Well, I’ll have a chat with Hunter. I’m interested.”’
‘I met Hunter for a beer, and he asked me what my plan was for the shop. I said I don’t have one… but I love the shop, love the culture, and what it stands for. I said I thought it should be maintained, and I’d find a way to keep it going.’
Hunter told him he was too late. A deal was already on the table to sell Jumbo to another leading indie store. ‘But as it turned out,’ Nick says, ‘that didn’t happen. So Hunter came back to me.’
Nick, who’d worked in IT for most of his career, was on the verge of realising a self-proclaimed ‘silly dream you tend never to do anything about’ – buying a record shop. And a Leeds institution to boot.
‘Bizarrely, I’d always said to people that one day I’d own a record shop. I love everything about them. I even remember saying, ‘“One day, I’ll own Jumbo,”’ Nick continues. ‘A record shop felt so different to the day-job world of corporate change programs, quarterly results meetings and stock prices. Suddenly, that dream was becoming a reality.’
Jumbo Records’ long history in Leeds
Not many indie record shops have been going for 53 years, only changed hands once, and kept the same logo throughout. Jumbo has done all three.
It’s a unique and much-loved part of the Leeds music landscape, with particularly strong associations with the city’s reggae and punk scenes of the 70s and 80s. Wherever I go in Leeds to ask about record shops, I’m met with ‘Have you been to Jumbo yet?’. It’s clear that this is a must-visit.
Started in 1971 by Hunter Smith and his wife Lornette, Jumbo was originally established off the back of Hunter’s mobile disco business, Jumbo Mobile Discotheque. It’s moved around a few times from its first home in the Queen’s Arcade, landing in its current spot in the Merrion Centre in 2017.
Outside, it doesn’t look anything special – just like any number of other retail units in this central Leeds shopping centre. But any vinyl hunter knows that appearances can be deceptive, as indeed they are here.
Inside, a warm nostalgia kicks in, as Jumbo feels a bit like an HMV store from a couple of decades ago. It’s spacious to wander around, has loads of vinyl out front and behind the desk, and a decent selection of CDs, books and magazines. Plus a ticket desk. Yep, a ticket desk that hasn’t yet been usurped by Ticketmaster, Dice and Songkick. Remember those? Jumbo mainly sells tickets for gigs in independent venues around Leeds.
It feels like an indie version of the bigger record shops we used to find in every city centre. It’s neither part of the ‘new wave’ record shops that often focus on vinyl’s hip factor, nor one of the dustier ‘digging dens’ where you may unearth a diamond in the rough. Instead, Jumbo focuses on shifting new vinyl and CDs, in high-street quantities.
Well curated vinyl selection
Initially, I’m not sure what to make of Jumbo. There’s a long rack with an A-Z of all the usual acts you’d expect to find on vinyl – The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Taylor Swift etc. It’s useful and well stocked, but not unique.
However, in the more specialist sections, Jumbo shows its strength of curation. Flipping through the jazz, soul, reggae and electronic sections, I’m struck by how easily I could get carried away in here. There are loads of classic albums, as well as less familiar ones. Many are labelled with lovingly handwritten staff recommendations. Looking for some hi-fidelity Blue Note ‘Tone Poet’ releases, or a rare Arabic funk compilation? Jumbo’s probably got it – and at pretty competitive prices, too.
Refreshingly, Nick says they ‘don’t play games’ with prices, instead applying a consistent mark-up across the store. ‘We’re acutely aware that vinyl’s becoming more expensive. It’s debatable whether it’s a luxury item or not, but it comes after paying the electricity bill, doesn’t it? So we know that we’ve got to price in a certain way.’
The current Jumbo crew
Nick doesn’t take personal credit for Jumbo’s strength in depth. Jumbo’s other eight staff – Adam, Matt, Kelsey, Jack, Aidan, Spike, Martha and Sally – all do their share of ordering. Like journos on a paper, they all work different beats – making sure Jumbo stays across everything that’s new and interesting, or replenishing those evergreen must-haves.
The journalism analogy doesn’t end there, as Jumbo also publishes its own print magazine twice a year, produced entirely by the staff. From exclusive band interviews to painstakingly researched and compiled genre ‘top 20s’, this free mag is designed to help customers find the best new music. One of the staff, Martha, also sends out a weekly newsletter of handpicked new releases. It’s another nice touch that makes it easier to discover new music.
Nick tells me that, although he’s the owner, he wants the team to feel like Jumbo is their shop – that they can make of it what they want, as long as it’s sustainable. People like Sally, Adam and Matt have worked there for more than 20 years – they know the customers better than anyone, and are the beating heart of the record shop.
A hub for small, personal gigs
One of the main reasons Jumbo moved to its current location in the Merrion Centre was the larger shop giving more opportunity for in-store events – of which there are plenty.
‘I really enjoyed the two most recent in-stores with Emily Barker and Bess Atwell,’ Nick says. ‘And the recent English Teacher set was terrific, too. They came on and did an acoustic-y set. It was a really interesting presentation of the songs. As a local band, they’ve played in the shop three times. Now they've really found their audience – it’s brilliant to see.’
Nick points out that they’ve had so many great in-stores over the years, but have only recently started videoing them. Staffers Kelsey and Aidan take the lead on organising them and putting them on Jumbo’s Youtube channel.
‘We’re not quite in the Tiny Desk league, but we’re filming everything now,’ says Nick. ‘It’s just really good fun and means we don’t lose those amazing performances.’
‘I love the in-stores, they’re just so personal. You’ve got an artist stood here, you’ve got an audience a metre away in front of them. They can interact. If the guitar isn’t in tune, it doesn’t matter. They can have a laugh about it.’
I leave Jumbo with the sense that Nick’s two-reds deep offer to buy Jumbo a decade ago was all about preserving moments like this. It’s a big shop, and it sells a lot of records. But it’s clearly about so much more.
In London, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham, you have Rough Trade doing the same kind of thing as Jumbo, on an even larger scale. But Leeds is proud to have had Jumbo since 1971. And based on my visit and chat with Nick, it looks like this treasured Leeds indie will be around for a good while yet.
Run-out questions
Do you remember the first record you bought? ‘Not exactly, but I loved all those compilations, like K-tel, Good Vibrations, Top of the Pops (the covers albums that cost 39 pence!). I think the first proper album I bought was Tonic for the troops by Boomtown Rats.’
Which record shops inspired you? ‘All sorts! If I’m away on holiday, I’ll be looking to see if there’s a record shop and I’ll go in and see what they’re doing. Whether it’s in Lisbon or Vancouver, or wherever I’ve been lucky enough to go, I’ll check out the record shops – I’m interested to chat with the people. And obviously in the UK I do the same. I really like Resident in Brighton – I've got an affinity with Brighton because I was brought up around there.’
What’s on your want-list? ‘I’m definitely not a “must seek out the first edition of XYZ” kinda person. That’s not for me. Much as I enjoy old favourites, and finding artists you never appreciated the first time round, I like to listen to a lot of new music being produced today. There’s such a range of new artists trying to get their music out there, being really brave and pushing forward. All I’m really after is good music, ideally well recorded.’
What was the last gig you went to? ‘John Francis Flynn was absolutely brilliant at the Brudenell Social Club earlier this year. And Calexico last November in Manchester were great – I’d never seen them live before.’
Sleevenotes
Where to find it
Jumbo Records, 1-3 Merrion Centre, Leeds LS2 8NG
Paid parking nearby. Nearest train station is Leeds (a 10-minute walk).
Mon - Thurs 9.30am-5.30pm | Fri & Sat 9am-5.30pm | Sun 11 am–5 pm
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