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The Record Shop with a counter made from a Volkswagen Beetle

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 Vinyl Van Brewery Square, 8a Pope St, Dorchester DT1 1GW Tel 01305 459494 https://vinylvan.co.uk   If ever a shop has blown me away at first sight, then it is the ‘Vinyl Van’.   Superbly located in Brewery Square (opposite the Premier Inn, near Dorchester South Train Station) the first thing you see when you enter the shop is the counter made from a VW Camper van (How cool is that) hand-built by co-owner Mark Smith in his garage.   A charming couple Mark and Helen own the shop and started the Vinyl Van in 2019 selling new and preloved vinyl from their VW Campervan at local festivals, events, and markets.   Most of the original vinyl they sold was from Mark’s own vast collection. It was quite apt that the first record they sold was ‘VAN Morrison’s -Too Long in Exile’       Selling from a VW Campervan was great fun except when it was raining but the couple had a taste for retailing.   One of the nice things about doing this job and writing books is so many shops tell
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Happy 100th Birthday HMV

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   GENUINE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE ASKED FOR HAVE YOU GOT? •    No mule you fool – Elkie Brookes – No more the Fool •    Buddy Holly sings the Beatles •    Andy Roo – Andre Rieu •    The Arctic Gorillaz •    The Edison Lighthouse Family •    Barclay James Harvester •    The one sung by the pretty blonde and the guy who jumps about •    The Loneliest Monk – Thelonious Monk •    Coldplay – Parrott Eyes •    My son asked me to pick up the new Limp Wristed CD.   The managerat the Brighton branch of HMV he always encouraged the staff to think for themselves and to put into action anything they thought that would help increase sales.   One busy afternoon he noticed that the Van Morrison section was empty.   Thinking somebody had stolen the whole section he checked with the security staff and quizzed them if they had seen anything.   Nobody had so he started asking the staff.    One young female assistant when asked replied “Don’t worry  they haven’t been nicked I just thought he would sell
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    Last chain standing: the story of HMV   How HMV came back from the brink and learned to love vinyl   It is easy to underestimate the role of HMV in facilitating the vinyl revival. If the chain had not taken decisive action to reverse its earlier (catastrophic) decision to remove the format from their shops, then vinyl sales would be considerably below current rates. Not only did they put vinyl back on the shelves, they embraced the format with gusto, giving the format a timely and much-needed boost.   I had the pleasure of working at HMV Liverpool for eight years during the mid-1980s. They were some of the best years of my life. To work in an environment with fellow music enthusiasts, selling to music fans while listening to new music was my idea of heaven. My previous job had been manufacturing the flavour for cheese and onion crisps, so it is easy to understand why I enjoyed working at HMV so much. These were the glory days of record retailing, when people queue
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