A Lovely story of Leonard Cohen

Viva-Vinyl                      *Please support this wonderful and worthy enterprise*

63, Queen Victoria Avenue, Hove, East Sussex BN3 6XA
07900 191324
andy@viva-vinyl.com; @vivavinyl
Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm
Established 2017

Stock: Vinyl, Pre-owned, Coffee, Food, Memorabilia (including art produced from vinyl records)

Brian and Julie Rosehill have opened a wonderful vinyl café in a residential area of Hove. It is the last place you would expect to discover somebody selling vinyl. The shop itself though is hard to miss. With a window full of vinyl curiosities, it stands out like a beacon.

The reason for the unusual location soon becomes clear. Co-owner Brian has Parkinson’s disease and the shop is only 80 meters from his house, so his wife, Julie, is able to push him the short distance in his wheelchair.

Brian and Julie are a couple of amazing characters and you have to admire their entrepreneurial spirit and resilience. Life has not always been kind to them but what they have achieved is remarkable.

After his diagnosis 26 years ago, Brian was forced to give up his job in health care. The couple decided to set up their own business working from home selling gift vouchers, and within a few years The Voucher Shop was a staple name in the incentives industry. They sold the business a few years ago for a six-figure sum, and Brian has since been investing some of those profits into expanding his already enormous vinyl collection.

The couple started selling some of Brian’s surplus vinyl at record fairs and dealing on eBay. By now Brian had too many records to accommodate in the house so he hired a lock-up. While chatting with a local estate agent, who told them that he had an empty shop to let for only £50-a-month more than cost of the lock up, the idea for Viva-Vinyl was born.

Brian and Julie decided to make the shop a meeting place for the community by creating a vinyl café. Julie has created a unique and quirky atmosphere by incorporating a range of vinyl related products including vinyl design cushions, bowls, magazine racks, cake stands and clocks.

You will find an extensive selection of Leonard Cohen vinyl as he is Brian and Julie’s favourite artist. They are such fans that they once planned a holiday based on the hope of bumping into him.

Over 40 years ago they decided to holiday in the Greek islands with the idea of travelling over to Hydra where Leonard lived, in the hope of bumping into him. Hydra is a tiny island that does not even allow cars. Upon arrival, they headed to the nearest taverna where, to their amazement, they found Leonard sitting at a table feeding his baby beside him in a pram. Brian and Julie ordered some food and waited for an ideal time to introduce themselves.

Suddenly, Leonard started to leave, Brian and Julie quickly paid the bill and followed him out. They were too shy to go up and speak to him, so as Leonard pushed the pram through the winding streets of Hydra, Brian and Julie followed at a distance. Leonard became aware he was being followed, but each time he turned around to check, Brian and Julie would look away pretending they were not stalking him. Leonard upped the pace, clearly wanting to get away from this couple, and on this extremely hot day Julie and Brian were virtually jogging up the hill to keep Leonard in their sights. Leonard turned off the path into his house, leaving the duo frustrated they had not spoken to their idol, but pleased that they had at least seen him.

In 2013, Leonard was playing the Luca International Blues Festival in Italy and Brian and Julie had booked into a top hotel nearby. They were waiting to take the lift to their room and when the doors opened, Leonard Cohen was standing there. “It’s you,” exclaimed Julie. Leonard indeed confirmed it was him. After all these years “Hallelujah” - they could finally chat to him. Leonard could not have been nicer and was happy to pose for a photograph with the couple, which is now a treasured possession.

Viva-Vinyl is a lovely shop with a welcoming atmosphere. If in the Brighton and Hove area do make the effort to visit. A percentage of the shop’s profit is donated to the Parkinson’s Society to assist their work in finding a cure can be found for this awful disease.

In 2017, Brian took a nasty fall while delivering flyers to advertise the shop. He spent six months in hospital recovering. Afterwards, his surgeon admitted that he did not think Brian would pull through. By opening this shop, and surviving a life-threatening fall, Brian has proved that even Parkinson’s can’t defeat his spirit and determination to offer vinyl lovers a place to visit in Hove.

Taken from the book 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. It is released on 13 April on DVD and is available in record shops. Distributed by Proper Music.

 www.thevinylrevivalfilm.com

@Revival_Vinyl

For film screenings and talks contact Graham at graham@lastshopstanding.co.uk

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