A Guide to the Vinyl Record Shops of Scotland
Scotland has some of the best independent record shops in
the UK. The well-designed Assai and Thirteen record shops in Dundee and Edinburgh are a
welcome addition to the independent scene. Following the closure of One Up
Records in Aberdeen in 2015, the city was left without an independent record
shop. Aberdeen has gone from famine to feast with the recent openings of three
completely different types of record shop: Chameleon, Maidinvinyl and Spin Vin.
It is worth making the detour to Mo’ Fidelity in
Montrose. For the more adventurous, take a trip over to Orkney to visit Groove
Records, one of the most magnificent and exciting record shops in the UK. It may
seem a long way to go, but you will be rewarded with fabulous scenery and, if
you plan your visit to coincide with one of Orkney’s many music festivals, a
wonderful weekend is assured.
>>>>>>>>>>>
Assai Record Shop
33,Union Dundee, Angus DD14BS
01382 738406
Monday 9.30am-5.30pm
Tuesday 10am-4pm
Wednesday-Saturday 9.30am-5.30pm
Sunday 12-4.30pm
Established 2015
Stock: Vinyl, In-stores, Merchandise, T-shirts,
Turntables
Also at 1, Grindlay Street, Edinburgh EH3 9AT
Assai Record Shop IN Dundee, is one of
the most aesthetically pleasing record shops in the UK.It originally opened in Broughty Ferry before moving to the city centre.
The owner Keith Ingram, who grew up in the area, worked
at HMV before starting the successful online music retailers HTS Scotland Ltd.
He had been sitting behind a screen since 2004, running an online business when
he met up with Andy McLaren, who had been working in the iconic Groucho’s Record
Store of Dundee for the previous 13 years. Groucho’s only stocks second-hand vinyl, and Keith
realised that there was a demand for a shop in Dundee to sell new product.
In 2017 Assai opened a new branch in Edinburgh in the
building that formerly housed the McAlister Matheston classical music shop.
162 Union Grove, Aberdeen, AB10 6SR
01224 467892
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10am-5.30pm
Thursday 10am-7pm
Saturday 10am-4pm.
Established 2014
Stock: Vinyl, Pre-owned, Art, Furniture
One of the most unusual record shops in the UK, Chameleon
stocks new vinyl alongside the very best in designer Scandinavian furniture,
contemporary lighting, glassware and art prints. You can pick up an £8,000 sofa
or the latest indie vinyl release. The shop is located on the outskirts of the
city centre, where it gets little passing trade while still attracting curious vinyl
fans from all over Scotland.
Concorde Music
*The shop named after a plane,
but which has lasted longer*
15 Scott Street, Perth, Perthshire PH1 5EJ
01738 621818
concordemusic.com; info@concordemusic.com
Monday-Saturday 9am-5.30pm
Established 1967
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Pre-owned, DVD, Merchandise,
Turntables.
If it was in the USA, Concorde Music would be known as a
Mom and Pop record shop. A family business, the shop is owned by Garry and
Hazel Smith with their son Craig working there too, and caters for everything a
music fan could want.
The shop was purchased by Garry’s parents Rena and Norman
from Sir Jimmy Shand, who owned it with his family. Jimmy, an accordion player,
was known as The King of Scottish Dance Music. His most famous composition was “The
Bluebell Polka”. Richard Thompson, the English folk musician who wrote “Don’t
Sit on my Jimmy Shands” on his 1991 album Rumor
and Sigh, was a big fan. Under the Shand family’s ownership, The Music
Shop, as it was then known, was primarily a musical instrument shop. Rena and
Norman transformed it into a record shop. They renamed the shop Concorde, after
the supersonic aeroplane, which was deemed the future of travel. If you named a
record shop on the same principle today, it might be called Driverless Car
Records. Or maybe not. It is ironic that Concorde Music has lasted longer than the
then-futuristic plane it was named after.
With the retirement of his parents, Garry took over the
running of the shop. He attributes Concorde Music’s survival to the
family’s willingness to diversify and try something different. During the punk
era, they stocked bondage gear and converted part of the shop into a changing
room. It could be a bit of a shock for some of their more conventional
customers, coming in to buy a classical record, to be confronted by a spikey-haired
punk, emerging from behind a curtain, trying on his tartan bondage trousers.
Garry recalls the golden age of record retailing in the 1980s
when, for winning a sales-based competition with the record label Pye Records, he
and Hazel were flown out to Cannes where they stayed in The Carlton for a
luxury weekend. In those days, he might have up to seven sales reps from the
record companies in his shop on a Thursday afternoon, all vying for business.
How times change. In the last two years, according to Garry, only one rep from
a record company has ventured up to Perth: yours truly, as part of my day job
for Proper Music Distribution.
Over the years, Garry and Hazel have had plenty of
competition in Perth, but have managed to outlast HMV, Our Price, MVC, Virgin,
Goldrush, Menzies and The Poparound. They can be proud of being, literally, the
last record shop standing in Perth.
Europa Music *The shop saved by the generosity
of Scotland’s vinyl buyers*
10 Friars Street, Stirling, Stirlingshire FK8 1HA
01786 448623
europamusic@btinternet.com;
@Europa_Music
Monday-Saturday 9.30am-5.30pm
Sunday 12-5pm
Established 1976
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Pre-owned, Merchandise, In-stores
Europa Music was originally opened by Adrian Wightman at
the height of the 1970s punk boom, when it was one of seven music retailers in
the small town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Adrian named the shop after his
Lotus Europa car. The current owner, Ewen Duncan, acquired the shop in 1982.
Ewen is one of music retailing’s great survivors. When he
took on the shop, business had already started to decline due to the impact of
the miners’ strike of 1974. The Central Lowlands of Scotland depended on the coal
industry and the pit closures had a devastating effect on the local economy,
which suffered a further blow with the closure of the nearby Carsebridge Distillery
in 1983. In 1992, Ewen moved Europa Music eight miles west to the much bigger
town of Stirling.
Ewen was ahead of his time. While hundreds of record
shops were reducing the space given to vinyl at this time, he opened a specialist
vinyl room attached to the back of the shop. In October 1995, Ewen was awoken in
the night by a phone call from the police, informing him that the shop was on
fire. The front of the shop survived, but the vinyl room was destroyed. The
insurance did not cover the stock, a significant omission, given that its
retail value was £250,000.
Arson was suspected, but nobody was arrested for it. The
people of Stirling rallied round, and a campaign was launched to save the
town’s record shop. With the help of local builders, family and friends, the
vinyl room was rebuilt and an appeal went out through local media for donations
of vinyl. Dozens of people called in to donate their vinyl records, including
one gentleman who drove up from Edinburgh with a magnificent collection which
included an original copy of the White
Album by the Beatles. Ewen was incredibly touched by such support, which showed
how much a record shop can be appreciated as part of the local community.
By 2006, business had improved so much that Ewen
advertised for an extra person to work in the shop. More than 200 local
youngsters applied. Ewen whittled it down to a shortlist of 10 who were then
all entered in a music quiz to decide who should get the job. Ewen included one
trick question: Name the members of Girls Aloud. Anybody who got all five
correct had their application automatically turned down! The standard of the
candidates was higher than Ewen had expected, and he ended up taking on three
of the applicants, two of which, Alastair and Ali, still work In Europa Music today.
The shop has made the most of
the vinyl revival. “On Record Store Day, we took
more money than during the whole month of December,” Ewen says.
With more than 10,000 pieces of vinyl on sale in the
vinyl room, Europa Music should be the first shop on your list, if you are a
vinyl fan in Scotland. This wonderful shop does not get the publicity it
deserves. You can take a virtual tour of the shop via a video on YouTube: type
in “Europa Record Store Walking Tour 24”.
Grooves *The UK’s most northerly record shop*
17 Albert St, Kirkwall, Orkney, Northern Isles KW15 1HP
01856 872239
Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm
Established 1990
Stock: Vinyl, CDs, Pre-owned, Art Gallery, Books, DVD,
Coffee, Food, Licensed Music Venue, Toys
Visiting Grooves, the most northerly record shop in the
UK, is an adventure. It involves flying to Aberdeen before changing to a much
smaller plane for a short flight to Kirkwall. I was told it could be a bumpy,
turbulent flight and was advised to take a travel sickness pill. Should I take
the ferry then, instead? “Oh no, that
is 10 times worse.”
After a pleasant, not-at-all turbulent flight, passing
over many of the smaller islands, I landed at Kirkwall airport, an experience
as far removed from arriving at Heathrow as I could imagine. The luggage was
placed on the runway - no queuing at the baggage carousel - and as I walked to
the terminal, I noticed a double rainbow in the sky. What a welcome.
The bus journey into town was an ornithologist’s delight.
The island was teeming with seabirds and geese, and a flock of swallows flew in
a V-formation overhead. The bus contained even fewer passengers than the plane.
The driver asked why I was visiting. I said I was there to meet the owner of
the most northerly record shop in the UK. “Oh, that will be Neil Stevenson then,” he replied.
I stopped for a coffee in an Italian café called Lucanos.
The only other customer was a gentleman named John Ross Scott who turned out to
be the editor of the local newspaper. I told him I was there to meet the owner
of the most northerly record shop in the UK. “That must be Neil Stevenson,” he said. By the time I left the café I
had been told so many tales about Grooves by John and the café owner Francesco that
I almost felt I had enough material for this part of the book without a
contribution from Neil!
Grooves has moved location seven times in its 27-year
history, though I am confident they have now found a permanent home.
Neil’s two great passions as a young man were music and
film. Although there had been many record shops which had come and gone in
Kirkwall, none had catered for his own taste in heavy rock. He recalled one
shop that, when you ordered a record from them, would commit the sacrilege of
writing the customer’s name on the record sleeve.
Neil incorporated a video hire business into his record shop.
He had been hiring videos from a shop in the town which charged a membership
fee and closed at 5pm each day. Grooves allowed customers to rent without
having to join a club, and stayed open until 8pm. Soon enough, business was
booming.
Over the years, videos were replaced by DVDs and Neil discontinued
the rental business to concentrate instead on selling product. Every few years
the shop would run out of space, and each time Neil would find larger premises
slightly nearer the centre of town. By his sixth such move, the business had
hit an upward curve. Even so, many people thought he had lost his marbles when
he chose to move into a shop next door to Woolworths, his main rival for
selling music and DVDs.
It turned out to be a shrewd decision. Woolworths
purchased all their stock through a buying team based in their Head Office,
which was then scaled out to all the branches in the country. Neil matched
Woolworths on price on whatever promotion they were doing and although on some
lines he was hardly making a profit, he soon established a reputation for never
being undercut by the chain. And being an independent gave him the freedom to
do his own promotions which Woolworths, as part of a chain, could not match. Not
only was the local population naturally supportive of a local business, music
fans had no reason ever to buy music from Woolworths. Neil was not on the Woolworths
management’s Christmas card list.
Neil had long been aware that Kirkwall lacked venues for
young bands to play and an independent gallery for local artists to showcase
their work. So in 2016, he took a gamble and bought the historic Old Town
Library, which had closed down, and boldly added a music venue, an exhibition
space, a café and a toy shop to Groove’s core activities as a music retailer. Although
there were plenty of excellent places to eat in the town, Neil thought it would
be fun to include a licensed, record-themed café where fans of music and art
could chill out for a while. As for the toy shop, Neil wanted to revive the
happy memories of his childhood when visiting a toy shop did not involve a
journey to a huge warehouse on a soulless trading estate.
The concept of Grooves is magnificent. I wish there were similar
places on the UK mainland but sadly, right now, this place is unique. Perhaps somebody
reading this, will recognise that their town has an unused historic building
that could be transformed into an arts and entertainment centre, based around a
community record shop. I was the first music sales rep to visit Grooves in 27
years of trading, but I can guarantee it is worth a journey to Orkney to be
inspired.
Le Freak Records
159 Perth Road, Dundee, Angus DD2 1AR
07539 473932
Tuesday-Saturday 11am-8pm
Sunday 12-5pm
Established 2017
Stock: Vinyl, Pre-owned, In-stores, T-shirts
“Le Freak’s soul and disco
collection could melt the most frozen of hearts,” says Jack Le Feuvre, who
co-owns the shop with his brother Tom. Named after the
1978 hit by Chic, Le Freak Records is housed in a bright yellow building which
some would call eye-catching, others garish, but none would fail to notice.
Love Music
34 Dundas Street, Glasgow, G1 2AQ
01413 322099
Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm
Sunday 12-6pm
Established 1996
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Pre-owned, Tickets, In-stores
“Without
Record Store Day, I don’t think we’d be here. It came along at a very good time
and it is a very big part of getting the vinyl revival going. It made people
appreciate collectability and taught a new generation the excitement of
coloured vinyl or a picture disc.” Sandy McLean
- Love Music
Love Music is the first shop to visit in Glasgow,
as it is only a 30-second walk from Queen Street station. As well as all the
latest new releases and classic back catalogue you will find a fine selection
of records by Scottish bands.
Despite his Scottish name, the owner Sandy McLean is originally
from Nova Scotia in Canada. He came to Scotland on a gap year nearly 40 years
ago, landed a job in a record shop and has spent his life in music retail.
Sandy is a champion of new music. He took over what was previously
the Glasgow branch of Avalanche Records and changed the name to Love Music. He
has survived the bad times and describes the days when three independent record
shops a week were closing as “a whole industry just going down the plughole; a
case of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” Luckily, the independent
record shops were thrown a lifeline in the form of Record Store Day.
“Without Record Store Day, I don’t think we’d be
here,” Sandy says. “It came along at a very good time and it is a very big part
of getting the vinyl revival going. It made people appreciate collectability
and taught a new generation the excitement of coloured vinyl or a picture
disc.”
Love Music has embraced Record Store Day from the
beginning and is always looking to do something different on the day. Pride of
place in the shop is a working pinball machine which customers are welcome to
use. On Record Store Day, Sandy set out to find Glasgow’s own Pinball Wizard.
He invited three-time Scottish Pinball Champion Eric Ridley down to the shop to
compete against budding pinball participants. Anybody who beat him received a
special RSD prize.
Sandy goes the extra mile for RSD, setting up a stall
with complimentary tea and cake and even
providing a bag-minding service, so customers do not have to carry around their
purchases all day.
Maidinvinyl Records
Rosemount Viaduct, Aberdeen, AB25 1NE
07864 547203
Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday 11am-5pm
Sunday 12-4pm
Stock; Vinyl, Pre-owned
Maidinvinyl Records was delighted to
move from the shop’s old premises located inside a gym, thus putting an end to
the many jokey requests for records such as “Pump it up” by Elvis Costello,
“Physical” by Olivia Newton-John and “Stronger” by Kanye West.
The shop moved to larger premises in Aberdeen, close to
the Central Library in 2016.
You are more likely to meet Liz and Aileen, as well as the shop’s
beautiful, musically-named dogs Mojo and Lemmy. Effervescent Liz is a whirlwind
of enthusiasm, ensuring that few people leave the shop without making a
purchase.
Mixed Up Records
18 Otago Lane, Glasgow G12 8PB
0141 357 5735
mixedup98@gmail.com; mixeduprecords.com; @mixeduprecords
Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm
Established 1998
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Pre-owned, DVD
Mixed Up Records, located a stone’s throw from the university
in the West End of Glasgow, is easy to spot thanks to its distinctive, sky-blue
frontage. The shop, owned by Pete Ashby, sells mainly second-hand vinyl and
with bargains starting at £1, it can cater for students on the tightest of
budgets.
Mo Fidelity Records
128 Murray Street, Montrose, Angus DD10 8JG
01674 675379
neilmcl.afc@gmail.com; @MoFiRecords
Tuesday-Saturday 10.30am-5.30pm
Established 2017
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Pre-owned
Situated in the
beautiful seaside town of Montrose, Mo Fidelity Records is worth a diversion
for anybody travelling between Dundee and Aberdeen. The shop owned by Neil McCloudis
easy to find thanks to its bright yellow and black design.
As a youngster Neil
had two ambitions. To appear in Starsky& Hutch and to open his own record
shop. Pleased to say he achieved one of them
Montrose
was a place close to his heart with many of his family living in the town it
was a place he frequently visited. It was on one of these visits that he met
his fiancée Lynsey McMillan. For the first few years they were together they
were toing and froing between her home in Montrose and Glasgow where he was s
working for the Citizens Advice Bureau.
He always spent almost as much time in record shops in Glasgow as he did
at work.He was such a permanent fixture in Love Music that owner Sandy gave him
a part time job.
Neil
felt it was fate that he was destined to open a record shop in Montrose and
told Lynsey, half-jokingly that he was going to quit his job, move to Montrose
and open a record shop. “Don’t be stupid”, Lynsey responded, with a couple more
expletives thrown in for emphasis.
A few years later he was made redundant,
so the time was right to fulfil one of his ambitions. The apprenticeship Neil had served with Sandy gave him the confidence
to go for it. He has not looked back.
Neil
still hase a Starsky cardigan just in case David Soul or Paul Michael Glaser
get in touch
Monorail Music
97 Kings Street, Kings Court, Glasgow, G1 5RB
01415 529458
Monday-Saturday 11am-7pm
Sunday 12-7pm
Established 2002
Stock: Vinyl, CD, DVD, Pre-owned, In-stores, Merchandise,
Tickets
“I think the future for vinyl’s amazing just now, there’s
never been so much coming out, I’ve been doing this for twenty-two years now
and it seems better than it’s ever been.” Dep Downie - Monorail Music, Glasgow
Monorail Music is one of the best record shops in the UK,
an idyllic musical sanctuary in which to while away the hours. While you are
unlikely to find records by chart bands, you will discover the best in new and
indie vinyl. It helps that the Mono building is situated under a railway arch,
and that there is a superb vegan café, called Mono, within the arch (I can
highly recommend the Banh mi, a baguette filled with crispy tofu, salad, basil
and chili) and an in-house microbrewery. These added attractions make Monorail
Music the perfect place for fans to meet. Who cares if your friend is late when
you can wait for them in such a superb environment?
Glasgow has always been an energetic music city, but Stephen McRobbie, Dep Downie and John Williamson felt it was missing a great record shop, which they set out to provide. Both Stephen and Dep had spent time working in fondly remembered record shops in the city, Stephen at John Smiths and Dep at Missing Records. Stephen is guitarist and singer with the Pastels, one of the most influential Scottish bands of the last 30 years thanks to albums released on three of the most credible labels: Creation, Rough Trade and Domino.
The three men shared the belief that the future was vinyl
and time has proved their judgement to be sound. Their idea was that the shop
would not be a strictly retail experience and that by taking a more
community-based approach, they would make people feel part of it.
With Stephen at the helm, Monorail Music was always going
to have close relationship with the local music community. Teenage Fanclub,
Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai and many others have all supported the shop. They
have a close relationship with Mono next door, and often the two businesses collaborate
on events. As well as a fabulous selection of indie music the shop is the place
to go for fans of metal. Russell Elder is the shops resident metal expert
ensuring they stock a comprehensive range of the genre.
The shop has organised a monthly film club at the Glasgow
Film Theatre and has invited famous names including Alex Kapranos from Franz
Ferdinand and Vic Godard to pick out their
most treasured cinematic gems. I attended one enjoyable evening and was left
with the impression that many people attend the Film Club purely on the
reputation Monorail has for picking out interesting films.
Monorail is a beautifully-curated shop with wooden
browsers run by a group of passionate music fans who want to share their love
of new music. There is a consistent theme
running through the internet reviews for Monorail: time and again, people say, “Great
service”.
Some Great Reward *A must visit for Depeche Mode fans*
520,
Victoria Road, Glasgow, G42 8B
01414
234141
Wednesday-Sunday 10am-5pm
Established 2018
Stock: Vinyl, Cake, Coffee
Glasgow’s Southside has a rich musical heritage with
musicians such as Fran Healy, Bobby Gillespie, Jim Kerr,
Charlie Burchill and Creation Records founder Alan McGee all growing up there. Despite
these illustrious connections it has always been a weak link in the record
retailing landscape of Glasgow. I am delighted to report that Some Great Reward
has changed all that. A bright, new, airy vinyl café, it is named after the owner
Olly McFadden’s favourite record, the fourth album by Depeche Mode, released in
1984.
Olly bought his flat from Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub,
who was leaving to go to Canada, and who kindly left his piano behind. A few
weeks later Olly was cleaning up when, tucked away in a cupboard, he found a
bundle of test pressings of Teenage Fanclub’s album Songs from Northern Britain. That was some great reward.
Top tip - Check
out the vegan raspberry cake.
Thirteen Records
13Unit Street
Dundee
DD1 4BN
01382 227887
Started by staff who formerly worked at Groucho's one of the most famous second-hand record shops in the UK. Unlike Groucho's the shop stocks new vinyl
Here are some of the funny incidents from times at Groucho's where they kept a book of all funny incidents
How I wish every shop did that I would have enough material for 10 books.
Check these out
C: Do you have Radiohead 'In Rainbows'?
S: Sorry, we don't currently have a copy in stock.
C: Do you know where I'd get it?
What other shops are there in town?
S: What about HMV?
C: How do you spell it?
S: H......M......V!!
___________________________
C: Do you have any flyers?
S: Yes, they're at the door.
C: Where's that?
S: The one you just came in.
C: Where's that?
C: Behind you.
C: Oh, right.
S: (give me strength)
____________________________
Customer on phone:
C: Will I be able to park my scooter outside your shop?
S: Certainly, what have you got out of interest? Lambretta? Vespa?
C: Mobility!
(The times they are a-changing)
___________________________
C: Can I sell you some records?
S: What kind of records?
C: Vinyl ones.
S: What style?
C: Classical music.
S: Classical music?
C: Yeh, like Frank Zappa.
____________________________
Customer selling some CDs.
S: Do you have some ID?
C: I've only got my birthlines.
S: Sorry, can't take them, do you have a bank card etc?
C: No, I've not got any ID. It's not my fault, it's 'cos I've been in jail for
six years.
____________________________
Customer selling DVDs.
C: None of those DVDs have been watched but some have had their
covers taken off because I heard ticking and had to make sure they weren't
bombs!
____________________________
Woman on phone enquiring about 'The Enchanted Forest'.
C: What showing is it?
S: 6.15pm.
C: Eh? The clocks go back next week so that means it'll be 5.15.
____________________________
Customer comes up to counter with a Marvin Gaye CD which has a picture of
Marvin Gaye and clearly says Marvin Gaye on the cover.
C: Who's singing on the CD?
S: I dunno, take a wild guess!
____________________________
Gentleman at the counter.
C: Do you have any wig tape?
S: What? Wig tape? What do you mean? Wigan Casino tapes?
(assuming he noticed he was in a second-hand record shop)
C: No, tape for sticking your wig to your head.
____________________________
Customer on the phone.
C: I want to bring in a couple of CDs and DVDs to sell to you.
Do I have to pay you to buy them?
(now there's an interesting concept)
_____________________________
C: What time is the Damned gig?
S: The doors open at half past eight.
C: Are The Doors playing as well?
_____________________________
After selling a batch of CD's a crusty ginger geezer produces an equally crusty
CD from his pocket.
C: Are you interested in this interactive Limp Biscuit CD Rom thing?
S: Not really.
C: Are you sure?
He then opens it up - there is no CD inside - only a soggy digestive with a
hole carefully crafted from the centre to form a neat fit.
____________________________
S: What's your surname?
C: White
S: With a Y or an I?
C: Just WH
_____________________________
C: What sleeves do you have for 12" albums?
S: PVC or plastic, they're 50p or 10p.
C: How much are the 50p ones?
____________________________
C: Can you settle an arguement? Who was in Wham with George Michael?
Was it Boy George or Elton John?
____________________________
Young lad selling CDs:
S: Do you have any ID that says you're over 16?
C: No, but i've got a fag packet!
_____________________________
C: Got any Enigma? Where's the ' N ' section?
________________________________
C: Do you sell tickets for the
Playhouse ?
S: Who for?
C: For myself...
_____________________________
_____________________________
C: Any information about Reading?
S: No-none yet.
C: When will it be? How much? Will it be held in Scotland this year?
____________________________
Underground Solu’shn
9 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, EH11BP
0131 226 2242
undergroundsolushn.com; info@undergroundsolushn.com;
@Usolushn
Monday-Wednesday,Friday-Saturday 10am-6pm
Thursday 10am-7pm
Sunday 12-6pm
Established 1995
Stock: Vinyl, Pre-owned, Books, DJ equipment
Underground Solu’shn is the best place for dance music in
Edinburgh. Starting out in a dingy old town basement on Cockburn Street, before
relocating to overground premises further down the same street, it began as an “underground”
record shop selling house, techno, disco, hip-hop, funk, soul, jazz and drum
& bass on vinyl. The vinyl format is still an important part of the
business, but embracing new technology they have expanded by stocking the
latest DJ and music production equipment including turntables, mixers, CD
decks, midi controllers, computer DJ systems, software and speakers.
VoxBox Music
21 St Stephen Street, Edinburgh, EH3 5AN
01316 296775
Wednesday-Friday 12-5pm
Saturday 10.30am-5pm
Sunday 12-4pm
Established 2011
Stock: Vinyl, CD, Pre-owned
VoxBox Music was opened by retired teacher George
Robertson and a former junior doctor Darren Yeats. George had been dealing in
used records as a sideline for 25 years and owned a second-hand vinyl stall in
Edinburgh. Darren had become one of his best customers, and the pair became
firm friends despite the father-son sized age gap.
George wanted to
wind down the amount of record fairs that he attended, while Darren wanted a
break from the stress of being a doctor. They bought the premises together and
got the venture off the ground. In 2014 Darren bought out George, after which
he extended the opening hours. He has also installed an original Dansette
record player on which customers are welcome to play any of the records stocked
in the shop.
Running a record shop is easy compared to the long hours and
burden of responsibility he shouldered as a junior doctor. “Work has never been so much fun,” he says.
This piece is taken from the book The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen
Over 220 independent record shops featured in The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen
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.
www.thevinylrevivalfilm.com
It is available on DVD and can also be
watched on Vimeo
@Revival_Vinyl
For film screenings and talks contact Graham
at graham@lastshopstanding.co.uk
Over 100 record shop articles
on this blog - Check them out
The stories of record shops can be heard each week in The
Vinyl Revival Record Shop Podcast.
Also
available on Spotify.
Comments
Post a Comment