The rise of the indie record shop
Good news for vinyl lovers - there are more 'mystical portals' on our streets than a decade ago. And I'm setting out to explore as many as possible
In the week that the Chancellor delivered his Budget for the UK economy (don’t worry, I’m not writing about that), one nugget of optimistic retail news stood out above all the political blah-blah. There are now 461 independent record shops in the UK - 122 more than there were a decade ago, in 2014.
Vinyl sales are also up, for the 16th year running, according to the same industry report*, with sales totalling £170m last year.
If you’re reading this, you already know the indie record shop scene is thriving - but it’s great to see the numbers to back this up. And you can figure out your personal contribution to that £170m in your own time - while swallowing hard.
Rack ’em up, pack ’em in
Let me begin by saying that I buy records online as much as the next person - that is, when it’s the best way to get what I’m looking for. Indie store’s own sites, Juno, Discogs, ebay - I wouldn’t be without any of them when I’m hunting down a rarity.
But what I love about the resurgence of physical record shops is what it says about the experience of buying vinyl in person. Flicking through racks packed with records on a lazy afternoon is like a three-course meal to the takeaway fix of buying online.
In a record shop, golden hours slip by. Conversations spark up. Recommendations are offered. New artists discovered for the very first time. There’s a beautiful serendipity to it all that any unashamed vinyl junkie knows all too well.
Liberation through hearing
One of the things that inspired me to start this newsletter was recently reading Richard Russell’s superb 2020 book, ‘Liberation through hearing’.
Russell is boss of XL Recordings, perhaps the most influential and commercially successful UK independent record label of the last 30 years (discuss). He’s also a musician and producer in his own right - as a solo artist and working alongside the likes of Gil-Scott Heron, Bobby Womack and Damon Albarn. If you’ve got even a passing interest in the workings of the music industry, hip-hop and most other shades of modern music, do yourself a favour and buy a copy. Russell’s writing is alive with the power of music to shape culture and change lives.
More ‘mystical portals’ please
A couple of things really struck me in the first half of the book, as Russell recounts growing up in 70s/80s suburban London. He lovingly describes the first record shop he frequents, Loppylugs in Edgware, as a ‘mystical portal’ where he buys his first Beatles and Adam and the Ants records, and where he has landed a weekend job by the age of 15.
By 19, he’d got a one-way ticket to New York and rocked up at legendary NYC record shop Vinylmania to work behind the counter for the next three years, meeting countless producers, artists and DJs along the way (Larry Levan being a regular customer). Coming back to London, and Soho’s own record scene, Russell was soon getting involved with the nascent XL Recordings via hanging out with co-founders Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes at Groove Records on Greek St. The rest you’ll find out if you read the book…
The journey begins
Record shops, then, are not mere vinyl emporiums, designed for whiling away a few pleasurable hours and whittling through your wallet. They’re sanctuaries where like-minded people meet, listen to great music, swap stories and leave happier than when they went in.
That’s what this newsletter’s all about - celebrating the UK’s 461 independent record shops (I could be some time…) and digging into the stories behind them with owners and customers while happily digging through the crates. It’ll be entertaining, enlightening, occasionally useful and probably very expensive (for me at least).
And of course we’ve all got our equivalent of Loppylugs - that shop where we bought our first records that ignited a lifelong passion for vinyl. Confession time, I bought my first 7”s in Woolies, before graduating to the still-excellent Soundclash in Norwich. But that’s another Record Shop Story…
Let me know where you bought your first vinyl, or any record shops you consider a must-visit as I embark on this mad mission!
Footnotes
*Number of UK independent record shops from taken from report by the digital entertainment and retail association (ERA)
Listen to Richard Russell’s ‘Liberation through hearing’ on Spotify Premium.
Check out the epic ‘Liberation through hearing’ playlist on Spotify 👇
The main photo is one of my locals! Tomorrow Records in Portland, Oregon. I am grateful to live in a city with many indie record stores. At last count, there were at least two dozen, but there may be more. I regularly frequent 7-8 of them. I rarely use Discogs and when I do it's only because I have exhausted my search (often spending years looking for it), I really want the LP or I found it for a decent price.
absolutely love this newsletter concept, god speed on your journey! i've been doing the same thing personally here in the states, particularly California where I reside and have been keeping a running list of the Los Angeles ones in general. So wild how many there are and excited to here some great recommendations as I'll be in London for 11 hours in August and def want to hit up one or two.
the first real record shop i remember was called Backside Records in Burbank, CA where I grew up. The store doesn't exist anymore, but i remember going to one in-store performance for RUFIO, which was a pop-punk band. Kids were moshing and crowd surfing up the ceiling lights. it was amazing. Amoeba Records in Hollywood is probably the most well-known shop in LA and it is incredible, but really, it's about the smaller mom-and-pop shops here that stand out.