Quentin Tarantino and the number 12 bus

The Musical Box

457 West Derby Road

Liverpool

L6 4BL

0151 263 3845

The Musical Box started off in 1947 as a shop selling toys, model railways,

78rpm records and music boxes. It has always been in the Cain

family. Current owner, Diane, started helping her parents out in the early

1950s. They had bought the business from their Uncle Jack for the astonishing

sum of £500.

These days Diane works in tandem with her son, Tony, and they are a

great combination, with Diane being an expert on country music and

nostalgia, whilst Tony’s field is rock and pop. The shop reminds me of the

corner shops of my childhood in which people shopped for their groceries

and a chat. Whenever I have visited, a steady stream of regulars pop in for

a cup of tea and a gossip. Nobody seems to buy anything much, but the

result is that the shop has a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Diane also works on Radio Merseyside as a DJ and broadcasts her

country show once a week. She has a wealth of stories about the history of

the shop. She fondly recalls how, in the 50s, the store would stay open

until midnight on Christmas Eve to capture all the men who staggered out

of the pubs at closing time needing a last-minute present. At about that

time, records gradually started taking up more space in the shop and fancy

goods were phased out.

The shop established a reputation for being the best country shop in the

North West. Many of their customers were American GI’s based at RAF

Burtonwood Airfield near Warrington. One week a number of airmen

came in and asked for material by a new vocalist, Elvis Presley. Diane and

her mother, Dorothy, had never heard of him and presumed he was a

country and western singer. The next week they noticed on their new

release sheet a single by Elvis called ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, and so decided to

purchase a boxful, as there was such a buzz on this record. On a sunny

Wednesday afternoon their new releases arrived and Diane could not wait

to hear this hot new singer. They put the single on the turntable and could

not believe what they were hearing. “This is rubbish!” exclaimed Dorothy.

Diane agreed, and couldn’t understand what the fuss was all about. Both

firmly agreed that this Elvis chap had no future.

In 1959 The Musical Box opened a second shop, which Diane managed

in Liverpool’s Old Swan district, whilst her parents continued to run the

West Derby branch. Whilst the 50s were exciting times, running a record

shop in the 60s in Liverpool was really something else.

Even so, Diane had some intriguing views of those times, citing that the

A&R departments of record companies had lost the plot. Her view was

that, whilst Liverpool had a few great bands, such as The Beatles and The

Searchers, most of the rest were rubbish. But nonetheless, if you spoke

with a Scouse accent and could play the guitar or sing a bit, you were

inevitably given a record deal. Diane felt annoyed that some great

American music of the time did not make the charts, because they were full

of average music from the Mersey bands.

For Diane, though, the 70s were a golden period for the shop, as she

loved the disco music of the day.

One day Fred, one of her regular customers, popped in and explained he

had £2,000 on him, as he had been left some money by his uncle. Whilst

Fred bought a few LPs, Diane asked him why he was carrying such a large

sum on his person. Fred carefully explained that, as he used the Royal Bank

of Scotland, it took ages to withdraw his money, because it had to come all

the way from Glasgow.

After he left, Diane noticed an envelope on top of the record racks. She

peeked inside and was astonished to find it contained £1,000. “It has to be

Fred’s,” she thought. The next day Fred called in and Diane assumed it was

to ask about his lost money. But no, he just picked out more records.

Eventually Diane asked him if he had lost anything? “No, I don’t think so,”

replied Fred. Diane reminded him that he had brought £2,000 into the shop

the previous day and she asked how much of it remained. Fred checked his

pockets and found that he had only £300. He had not noticed that the money

was missing. Diane gave him the £1,000 and told him to put it in the bank

– it would be safe in there, no matter how long it took to withdraw.

Another regular customer was a Scottish gentleman who had lived in

Liverpool for a long time. It was clear that he missed Scotland, as all that he

bought was bagpipe or other traditional Scottish music. The man was Bill

Shankly, the man who managed the transformation of Liverpool Football Club.

A more recent visitor to the shop was David Guest, whom they found to

be a charming man. Tony, ever the salesman, tried to flog him all of the

Liza Minelli CDs which had been gathering dust on their shelves for years.

David declared that the lady had made only one decent CD – the one he

had produced for her. Word soon got round that David was in the shop,

and several locals called in to have their picture taken with him. David was

most amenable, posing for photographs and signing autographs. Before he

left he spent £90 and told Diane and Tony that they had a great little shop.

Then there was the day when Diane took a phone call from an American

enquiring about a Ringo Starr album and wanting directions to the shop.

Diane informed him that she had the album in stock, would reserve it for

him and that, if he was in the city centre, he should catch a number 12 bus,

which passed their door. “That’s OK,” said the American gentleman, “I’ll

catch a cab”.

“Don’t be silly,” scolded Diane, “That will cost about four quid, and the

bus fare is only 30 pence!”

“No matter,” said the American, “I’ll still catch a cab”. When Diane put

down the phone Tony asked who the caller had been. Diane replied, “Some

American called Tarantino with more money than sense”.

“Not Quentin Tarantino?”

“Yes, that’s him,” said Diane, “Do you know him?” And sure enough, it

turned out to be Quentin Tarantino.

A few years ago the shop was used as a backdrop for the mystery guest

section of A Question of Sport, with Mel C (of the Spice Girls) playing the

part of a shop assistant serving Sander Westervelt, the Liverpool goalkeeper.

(But Diane and Tony’s favourite goalkeeper was David James, who

during his Liverpool days was a regular, and who always had time to chat to

customers.)

The shop has also been featured on an edition of Songs of Praise, during which

presenter Sally Magnuson played a copy of ‘Amazing Grace’ in the store.

On my last visit to the shop I noticed they were running a video sale.

Tony explained that the videos were taking up too much space and that

they just wanted to get rid of them. I was mildly surprised at the price –

‘All videos free’. As each customer was leaving, they were urged to help

themselves to the videos, but most declined. Perhaps they simply could not

believe the offer, but it just goes to show that these days you cannot even

give videos away.

The shop has an unusual bestseller – Vicki Brown’s album Forever. Vicki

was a much underrated singer, who sadly died of cancer in 1991. She was

married to Joe Brown, of The Bruvers fame, and is mother to singer Sam,

who still often belts out the tunes in Jools Holland’s band. Although

famous throughout the continent as a singer in her own right, she was

better-known in the UK as a backing singer. Forever sells well, as the track

‘Look For Me in Rainbows’ is often played on local radio. Vicki wrote the

song during her illness and, although it is a sad song, it also inspires people

to appreciate life.

When I asked Diane if The Musical Box would be one of the ‘Last Shops

Standing’, she reassured me, saying, “We are a quirky shop and all of our

customers are quirky people. So, as long as there are quirky people out

there, The Musical Box will be here for them”. At that moment, as if to

illustrate her point, a man rushed in shouting, “Guess what? I’ve just won

£400 at the bookies, so I’m going to treat myself to some CDs”. A minute

later he had picked out £40-worth and had dashed off again. Tony tried to

remind him that he still had £360 to spend, but the man was off – no doubt

back to the bookies. Another typical day in Liverpool’s oldest record shop:

The Musical Box – a national treasure.

* * *

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.