Record Store Day Shops - Day 33 -The Record Cafe- Bradford


Record Café

45-47 North Parade, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 3JH
0127 472 3143
therecordcafe.co.uk; info@therecordcafe.co.uk; @TheRecordCafe
Monday-Thursday 11am-11pm
Friday-Saturday 11am-12midnight
Sunday 12noon-11pm
[The record shop is only open until 6pm each day]
Established 2014
Stock: Vinyl, Tickets, Coffee, Ale and Ham

It was a visit to the BBC6 Music Festival in Manchester in February 2014 that gave Keith Wildman a glimpse into what the modern-day record shop could be. Many of the UK’s top vinyl record shops had stalls there. Keith came away from the event determined to open a unique record shop in his home town of Bradford. He decided to combine his love of food, drink and music and distil it down to vinyl records, real ale and charcuterie. Just nine months after he had the idea, The Record Café opened its doors on Bradford’s North Parade, alongside a couple of like-minded businesses who’d been paving the way to turn back the tide of Bradford’s retail decline.
The building is on two floors, with the ground floor bar concentrating on ale. They have four rotating cask beers and seven craft keg lines, three of which are permanent, and around 50 different bottled and canned beers from the UK and around the world. You won’t find shots, alcopops, fruit ciders, vodka or industrial lager here. Instead, they stock real cider and a carefully curated selection of single malt whiskies for the connoisseur, plus a growing range of specially selected gins, as well as a small but quality wine list. You can combine your drink with the finest Spanish cured meats available. Cheese, olives, bread, oil, sherry and all things charcuterie are available.
The menus are a nice touch, as they are attached to original album sleeves. Don’t expect all classics, though: mine was attached to Non-Stop Bacharach by the Sunset Festival Orchestra (whatever happened to them?).



On other tables menus were attached to albums by Bryan Ferry, Simon & Garfunkel and - one that was very apt for a shop that sells charcuterie - the Cure. It got me thinking of other artists whose album covers would be suitable for such a record shop: the Meat Puppets, Meatloaf, Lambchop and Captain Beefheart all seem apt. I had no joy thinking of bands with cheese in their name. The nearest I could get were Edam & the Ants, the Cheeses & Mary Chain and the Brie Gees (maybe you can do better).

Upstairs is the record shop. It is tastefully designed with paintings, by a local artist, of famous British comedians such as Bob Monkhouse and Tommy Cooper on the wall.
There is a comfy chair and a vinyl deck for customers to sit and listen to records before they buy. Keith has picked up some interesting artefacts, and it is the only record shop I know of that has a hog’s head on the wall. Although it is a vinyl shop, it makes an exception for local bands, who have their CDs and vinyl displayed on a separate table.



When it opened, the shop was an instant hit. Being the only vinyl, ham and ale store in the country, it soon received plenty of media attention. The shop was placed in the final three of The Telegraph and Argus’s hospitality and leisure business of the year at their Bradford Means Business Awards in 2015, and recently won Bradford CAMRA’s Pub of the Season for autumn 2015.

Nearly every record shop I have visited will say that the best ever day’s trading for them was the previous Record Store Day. For Keith, though, the best ever trading day was February 15, 2015, the day that his beloved Bradford City played Sunderland for a place in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. The shop is located close to the Bradford City football ground at Valley Parade and a signed picture of the team hangs in the bar. They were on a glorious cup run and had already beaten premiership giants Chelsea.

The shop was packed full of fans from the moment they opened and – once the game was over - until closing time. The atmosphere was fantastic, with both sets of fans mixing happily. This was, as Lou Reed eloquently puts it, Keith’s “Perfect Day”. Not only did the Record Café enjoy it best day’s takings ever, Bradford City won the match 2-0. (Sadly for Keith, the team was knocked out by Reading in the next round.)

Thanks to the Record Café’s unique combination of wares, there have been several bemused customers who have thought that the records are just there for show. Keith’s greatest satisfaction is when people who come in for a pint leave with a bag full of albums.
Keith was inspired to open his own record shop by Record Store Day and BBC Radio 6 Music. People thought he was mad to open a vinyl, ham and ale store. His initial plan was to open in time for Record Store Day 2015 but, in the event, the shop opened five months earlier. So it was a bit of a tear-in-the-eye moment for Keith when Record Store Day eventually came around and they had people queuing outside. 



Keith’s favourite saying is “If it is worth doing, do it well”. The cheese, the ham, the bread and the olives are all top of the range. Combining it with vinyl to browse through ensures that a visit to the Record Café is a memorable experience. In 2017 and 2019 The Record Café was named Bradford Pub of the Year by CAMRA. 


Over 220 independent record shops featured in The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen



Available at your local record shop or online at http://smarturl.it/vinylrevival

Look out for the film based on the book. The Vinyl Revival'  which is released on Record Store Day  April 13th. The film comes free with the album The Vinyl Revival. Only available in independent record shops on RSD



Check out the trailer








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