The Unluckiest record shop owner in the world - Derricks in Swansea
Derricks
Music
221 Oxford
Street, Swansea SA1 38Q
01792
654226
derricksmusic.co.uk; info@derricksmusic.co.uk;
@DerricksMusic
Monday-Saturday
9am-5.30pm
Sunday
11am-4pm
Established
1956
Stock:
Vinyl, CD, Tickets
Derricks Music
was started in Port Talbot by Derrick, the uncle of current owner Chris
Stylinaou, as an electrical store that stocked a few LPs. Like other shops in
the 1950s and 1960s, they found that selling records was more lucrative than
selling electrical goods, so the family opened a second shop in Port Talbot
selling only records, which was said to be the first record shop dedicated to
pop and rock music in Wales.
In 1968,
Port Talbot was being re-developed and one of the Derricks shops was due to be
demolished, prompting the family to move their record retailing business to
Swansea. Like many stores which have survived the recent downturn, a
fundamental reason why they are still standing is that Chris owns the building
which they trade from. One of his shrewdest moves was to rent out space for a
cash machine, which is neatly embedded in Derricks front window, making it
super-convenient for customers who have just acquired a bunch of crisp new
notes to spend some of them in the shop.
Derricks is
also kept in business thanks to sales of concert tickets and the success of Swansea
Live, an event organised by Chris which takes place in the city centre every
August. With more than 20 bands playing across three stages, it attracts large
crowds to the city and gives up-and-coming local bands the chance to play to a
large audience. This is what record shops do: they support the local music
community.
Chris
inherited the record shop after Derrick passed away in 1985. He has been ably
assisted over the years by his longtime assistant Sian. It is worth a visit to
Derricks to hear the banter between the two of them, even if you have no plans
to make a purchase. Chris has several claims to fame including being Welsh Junior
Surf Champion. He can often be seen surfing the waves off the Gower Peninsula. Many
years ago, Elizabeth Taylor cooked him chips one evening when he visited his
friends Alan and Richard, the sons of the late Graham Jenkins who was Richard
Burton’s brother. Richard and Elizabeth were visiting, and the Oscar-winning
actress cooked the evening meal.
One claim
to fame Chris wishes he did not have is that of being the unluckiest record
shop owner in the world. His run of bad luck started in 1998 when he was the
victim of a violent robbery. At 8.00am he was preparing the shop for opening
when he heard a knock on the back door. When he opened the door Chris was confronted
by two men brandishing a gun. They attacked Chris, tied him up and then cleared
out what money he had in the till. They then dragged him up the stairs which
resulted in a serious wound to his leg as a metal strip ripped open his shin.
The burglars threatened to shoot Chris unless he revealed the code to access
the safe. After emptying the safe they locked him in the cupboard. With blood
pouring from his wound Chris knew that he needed to get to a hospital soon. The
cupboard he was locked in was where he kept his tools. He managed pick up his
saw and cut through his ties. He then used his hammer to smash his way out of
the cupboard and called the police.
After
visiting the hospital, Chris spent the next day being questioned by the police
about the break in. His leg-wound took a long time to heal leaving him with a
large scar that reminds him of the awful experience. Sian demonstrated her
supreme sales skills, even under such troubling circumstances. While the shop
was shut that day, she sold CDs to the police investigating the crime, some of
whom still come in to the shop to this day.
More bad
luck occurred not long after. During a heavy storm the drains blocked, and the
shop was flooded. The floor was ruined along with the vinyl kept in boxes under
the racking.
On another
occasion, when scaffolding had been erected to enable repairs to the building,
another gang of burglars gained access to the shop by climbing up and smashing
the upstairs window.
Disaster
struck again when Chris became violently ill after eating a meal of prawns. He
was sick for weeks and lost all the hair on his body except for a small patch
on the back of his head which turned from black to white. He had suffered
mercury poisoning and is still being treated for the effects of it to this day.
Things
could hardly get any worse. Or could they? In 2014 Chris’s neighbours started
building an extension on their house. When their builders dug into the ground it
caused the foundations of Chris’s house to drop, making the whole structure
unstable. Huge cracks appeared in the walls and ceilings. The council, fearing that
the house could collapse at any point, ordered Chris and his family to leave
immediately. For the last few years, they have lived in temporary accommodation
while builders are trying to secure his house. He is beginning to wish they had
knocked it down and he could start again.
In January
2018, I wrote to Chris to ask if he minded me referring to him as “the
unluckiest record shop owner in the world.” I did not hear back for a week. He finally
called to apologise for the delay in replying. He had been laid up in hospital,
following a heart attack.
A week
later there was an earthquake in the UK. The epicenter was in Swansea. My
immediate thought was that it was bound to have struck underneath Derricks.
Thankfully, the shop had been left unscathed – by the earthquake, at least.
However, the builders had left a tap running over the weekend and the house had
flooded. And his wife Vicky had just written off
her car in a crash.
I am glad
to report Vicky was unhurt. And that Chris has made a full recovery from his
heart attack. Through all this misfortune, Chris remains philosophical and has never
lost his enthusiasm for running the shop as it evolves with the times. “Music is not life and death,” he says. “It
is here to make the bad times better - and the good times even better.”
This
hard-working man deserves some good fortune. Fingers crossed for the future,
Chris.
The books of Graham Jones are available in record shops or online. The latest book The Vinyl Revival and the Shops that Made it Happen has been turned in to a film. It has just been released on DVD and is available in record shops or online. Distributed by Proper Music.
Each week I record The Vinyl Revival Record Shop Podcast. It contains lots of funny tales from the crazy world of record retailing. It is also available on Spotify.
Twitter: @Revival_Vinyl
My blog has over 100 features on record shops and vinyl.
grahamjonesvinylrevival.blogspot.com
For film screenings and talks contact Graham.
As the person who has visited more record shops than any other human, I often
get asked my advice on buying turntables. I always say do not purchase a budget
model. What is the point of buying one that costs the price of a few
albums? The sound will not do the recordings justice. For a long time, I have
recommended Rega Turntables as they are superb quality
at great prices. They got more brownie points for sponsoring 'Record Store
Day' and manufacturing limited editions just for record shops.
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