Record Store Day Shops - Day 35 - Intense Records - Chelmsford
Intense Records
33-34 Viaduct
Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1TS
0124534 7372
intenserecords.com;
info@intenserecords.co.uk; @intenserecords
Monday-Saturday
10am-6pm
Established
1999
Stock: Vinyl,
CDs, DJ Equipment, Tickets, T-shirts, Turntables
This shop is easy to visit by public transport, being
located under the viaduct of Chelmsford railway station, which in turn is next
to the bus station. It is an atmospheric location as the shop roof is
constructed of corrugated iron within two arches. The trains pass directly
overhead so the constant rumbles mix in with the music.
Jonathan Smith was always
going to open a record shop. When studying at Chelmsford College, he wrote a
business plan on how to open one. A few years later, studying Business
Management at Birmingham University, he wrote a thesis on “Why people buy vinyl
off the internet”. Both projects turned out to have been instrumental in shaping
his career.
While at university, Jonathan
started organising student nights that gave him the opportunity to test out his
blossoming DJ skills. He moved into a house with four fellow DJs and there was
great competition among them to be the first to get their hands on the latest
vinyl releases.
Jonathan had a brainwave. He
decided to open accounts with record companies, informing them he was a mail
order company. The problem was that record companies would only ship orders if
they reached their minimum order level, which was normally around £50-£75. Jonathan
therefore began ordering extra copies and selling them to his housemates and
fellow students. Soon he had a genuine mail order operation as he was also supplying
his mates back in Chelmsford.
As part of
his course in Business Management, Jonathan was required to set up a pretend
business. But he was already doing it for real. Having based all his coursework
on his experience of setting up the mail-order business, he duly graduated with
flying colours.
Jonathan
bought the domain name www.intenserecords.co.uk and
proceeded to build a website where customers could search and listen to all the
tracks before ordering, and the records would be posted from his office, which
was his bedroom. During the next break from university he returned to
Chelmsford, where he discovered a new record shop had opened. It was not
stocking much drum & bass, which was his forte, so he struck up a deal with
the owner to supply the shop with all the latest drum & bass vinyl.
Jonathan would collect any profits due when he returned during term breaks.
This arrangement continued successfully until he graduated from university and
needed a job.
He persuaded
the record shop owner to go into partnership with him, Jonathan would sell drum
& bass while the owner concentrated on other genres of music. The shop was
divided into two, with both having their own counters and walls to display
their records. Unfortunately, they both had a set of decks resulting in
“counter wars” as they both vied to play their own records. It soon became
clear that Jonathan was attracting a greater share of the customers and that he
had outgrown the shared premises. He thus resolved to find his own site where he
could play drum & bass to his heart’s content.
Jonathan
opened his own shop in December 2003. On a memorable first day he played Santa,
wrapping 50 packages of 12-inch singles in Christmas paper and giving them away
to his first 50 customers. He held a launch party that was a huge triumph, with
more than 500 people attending. It was so successful that after the “launch”
party he had a “landed” party a couple of weeks later.
The Essex
Chronicle came down to interview him for a feature. It was arranged for early
morning. Jonathan had been playing a club the previous evening, so the
combination of excess drink and minimal sleep resulted in the paper printing a
picture of a rather bleary and dishevelled record shop owner to accompany the
piece. The next day when walking to work, he noticed the less-than-flattering
picture on a lamp post. Soon he was to see dozens more as, unbeknown to him,
his mates had printed off 50 posters and fly-posted them all over Chelmsford.
For Jonathan,
the best thing about owning Intense Records is that it was where he met his
wife Jen. She had been a customer of the shop for more than three years, but
always came in with a guy called Pete. Jonathan assumed that they were
partners. One day Jen came in on her own and Jonathan enquired if she was still
with Pete. Jen explained that Pete was just a mate she went shopping with for
vinyl. The rest, as they say, is history.
From 2002
things got tough as record retailing went into a steep decline. Jonathan did
everything in his power to keep the business on an even keel. He was organising
dance parties, running a website, working in the shop and even set up a
separate company running coaches to house parties, although they were never
hired to transport the local Women’s Institute for a day trip to Clacton.
Jonathan also became a DJ on various pirate radio stations producing a two hour show each week featuring his own Top 10 dance chart. He would produce adverts for his shop on the radio and noticed that whatever background music he used on his adverts would immediately become the shop’s best seller over the following weeks.
With business
still slow, he decided to rent out half the shop to another business. Luckily,
he found the perfect tenant. Jen, his wife, had started a merchandise printing
company called Get Customised, and she moved her operation into the shop. In 2013 the shop’s fortunes revived. It was no
coincidence that it was the first year that Intense Records took part in Record
Store Day. As the shop was new to the party, Jonathan only dipped into the many
releases available. He was apprehensive that the music fans of Chelmsford would
not come to a drum & bass shop to buy rock and pop releases. The shop had
its best sales day ever. Many people commented that they had never come in
before because they thought it was only drum & bass. It was a turning point
in the history of the shop. With the new-found customer base that they had
gained, they changed direction and started selling all genres of music.
By 2017,
Jen’s business had outgrown the shop and she moved out to her own offices.
Most people
reading this have probably owned one of her products. In 2015 she was
commissioned to print the official Record Store Day plastic carrier bags and
other memorabilia supplied to participating shops. If you bought a record on
RSD it is almost certain that you carried it home in one of these bags and many
UK record shops have continued to use her services.
Jen’s
departure allowed the record shop to expand and Jonathan has since allocated
one arch of the shop to dance music while the other arch sells a range of
genres. The best time to visit Intense is the first Saturday of the month. That
is when Jonathan organises the Chelmsford Record Fair in The Ale House, a few
doors down from the shop. Live bands and DJ’s play on the day and Jonathan
organises his own burger and coffee stalls.
Intense is an
ideal name for the shop as it describes how Jonathan’s life has been for nearly
30 years. Jonathan and Jen are great examples of how independent record shops
have had to diversify to survive. In this dynamic duo’s case they have
diversified to thrive.
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
Comments
Post a Comment