Happy 50th Birthday Jumbo Records in Leeds


Jumbo Records

1-3 Merrion Centre, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS2 8NG
0113 245 5570
jumborecords.co.uk; info@jumborecords.co.uk; @JumboRecords
Monday-Thursday 9.30am-5.30pm
Friday-Saturday 9am-5.30pm,
Sunday 11am-5pm
Established 1971
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Books, Exclusive Jumbo T-shirts, In-stores, Magazines, Tickets

Adam Gillison, manager of Jumbo Records describes the shop as “A place where people explore their passion for music and meet other people who share that passion.  Hopefully people come here and get the sense of adventure and fun from music that we do.”

Jumbo Records was established by Hunter Smith, who took the name and logo from his successful disco and DJ business called Jumbo Mobile Discotheque. In the early days, Jumbo mainly sold singles including the big hits of the day, imports and all the latest soul and reggae releases. People would call by to ask for the tunes they had heard on previous evenings, and DJs were encouraged to purchase their records in the store. By late 1973 a full-time member of staff was required to help serve the increasing flow of customers. Enter Trevor Senior, who still works in the shop, being the senior member of the team. Soon after, Hunter’s partner Lornette joined the business to help at weekends. 


A move to the Merrion Centre was completed in 1974 a couple of years before punk took off. Jumbo was in the right place at the right time. The shop broadened the range of genres it stocked, becoming the hip place in Leeds for recorded music.
In 1988, with more space required, they moved to the St Johns Centre, where they remained for almost 30 years. In 2014 Hunter and Lornette took a well-deserved retirement after having guided Jumbo through good times and bad. They left the business in good shape despite all the difficulties surrounding music retail in the early part of the millennium.  They sold the shop to long-term customers Nick Fraser and Justinia Lewis and Jumbo began a new era, still guided by most of the staff who had worked so hard to maintain the shop’s role in the Leeds music scene. In early 2017, that new era was consolidated by a move back to the Merrion Centre, the shop’s current location.
The new shop is bigger and has a small stage for live performances and signings, and a seated area to relax and have a cup of coffee. There is a vast selection of vinyl and CDs that reflect the staff’s wide musical interests, taking in rock, pop, indie, electronica, dance, reggae, country, soul, blues and folk music from around the world. The staff have a non-elitist approach, taking time for everyone, regardless of their musical tastes.

The shop prides itself on its connection to the local music scene, providing a focal point for new releases by local bands, as well as being a place where bands and promoters can advertise their gigs for free. It sells tickets for most of the local venues and many venues in the surrounding area. It is somewhere that a local band can walk in off the street with their home-produced CD or record and get it stocked without any grand media plan or marketing scheme behind it. For the shop’s 45th anniversary in 2016, they teamed up with the Too Pure record label to release a 45rpm record of their own, featuring local bands Post War Glamour Girls and Menace Beach.



One of the secrets of surviving and prospering is creating links with other independent businesses.  Jumbo shares ideas and skills with likeminded traders in Leeds and other record shops around the country. If all record shops keep doing that it should not only ensure that record shops continue in their role, but also that they can contribute to regenerating growth in the country’s town centres. 

Nick and Justinia have a dedicated team running the shop, with manager Adam Gillison and assistant Matt Bradshaw looking after the day-to-day supervision, and an extended group that includes full-time staff members Jack, Sarah-Jane, Marko and Melissa along with part-timers Trevor and Sally (a voice of common sense for 30 years at Jumbo).

  

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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