...well, probably around 1979... the first dedicated record shop I was in was probably Caroline Music in Ann Street, Belfast. it felt like a pretty bohemian, enticing, esoteric place - not unlike the place in the Hi Fidelity film.

It was run by one Kyle Leitch, who later went into record distribution and national singles buying for Woolworths during the 80s's. Kyle's now a good pal and we have endless fun discussing his role as the 'real' 'Godfather of Punk' in Belfast. Local character Terri Hooley - who ran the Good Vibrations shop/label in Belfast from the late '70s onwards - has more or less made a career out of being 'the Godfather of Punk'. And the very best of luck to him (in fact, there's a biopic on him currently being filmed).

The irony is that - as Tel well knows - Kyle was running a record shop selling huge volumes of punk records two years before he was! Caroline Music probably sold three times as many Good Vibes label singles as the Good Vibes shop itself did (I can only recall being in the shop once in that era - it was a bit off the beaten track, and quite forbidding to a kid!). But truth should never get in the way of a good bit of mythologising.

As for me, I never bought punk records at all! I think reissues/imports by Jethro Tull and Arlo Guthrie would have been my earliest purchases...

...but that was when you could get a pint of bitter for less than 2shilling, 10p to you kiddies!

I bought my first single, the Stones `Paint It Black`(6s 8d) at Rothery`s,
St. Helens and first album `Rubber Soul`- £1 13s 6d or 16 pints!!! Vinyl is a bloody bargain these days compared to what we kids had to pay then.

Rotherys was like your first record shop `itfc`, a department in an independant pre Comet/Dixons electrical store. They had small booths where we used to go at lunch from St. Helens College and listen to new releases. The shop had a very good range of music, soul, Motown and the stuff I was into West Coast music, Doors, Airplane, Quicksiver MS.

They also had a room in the back where you could listen to entire albums before choosing to buy or not, it was a very enlightened place, what was not to like?

The Cross is the bit in the middle of Gloucester where Eastgate, Westgate, Northgate and Southgate streets meet. In the picture, you're standing on Southgate Street, looking towards the Cross.

Our Price was on the corner of Eastgate Street and Northgate Street. Eventually it turned into a Virgin or something. It wasn't romantic, independent or cool. The downstairs, where the albums were, was poky and smelled strongly of damp. But god, I spent hours there.

Later, it was Concepts in Durham. That *was* independent, romantic and cool, but not because it was trying to be the latter two. It was run by a tall, rangy fellow called Dave who knew us by name and would give us new releases a couple of days ahead of time. We heard "OK Computer" before anyone else. Dave sold me on the Beastie Boys, I remember. I've always been grateful.

was at the Diskery in Birmingham. In its first incarnation that I remember it was in Digbeth and a little bit of a trek from the town centre. The owner was a right miserable bastard but you could always exchange your old records so it meant a continual circulation of stuff. Later it moved to the Burlington arcade which was more accessible even if the owner wasn't. By this time it was competing with a newly opened Virgin Records in Corporation street that had aircraft seats with headphones and good looking girls behind the counter.These days Birmingham City Centre has one independent Swordfish which gives the impression of being on its last legs and 2 HMV's. I visited Rough Trade East yesterday for the first time - the place was buzzing and the prices are not cheap yet it seems incredibly successful. I think there is still room for Independent Record stores if they get their marketing right. Record Store day proves the interest is there - keep the unique stuff coming out as Rough Trade does and get some local live bands in the store. It can work.

were made at King Discs in Greenford (pictured here in 1981)

Between 1978 and 1986 they had a few bob off me.

I remember in about 1970 accompanying my friend Eddie (who was an unreconstructed mod and a big Motown fan, especially the Four Tops) to NEMS in Liverpool, Brian Epstein's famous emporium, (which was actually a furniture store and is now, sadly, a sex shop) to buy the Tops' latest 45. Resplendent in his pristine dark brown mohair two-tone two-piece suit and Ben Sherman - record buying was an occasion in those days - Eddie strutted up the counter, leaned on it, fixed the female assistant with his coolest moddiest expression and said 'I Can't Help Myself'. Amazingly, she didn't bat an eyelid...

My record shop of choice was Skeleton, the 'head' shop that did second hand stuff, bootlegs (sorry, 'imports') and smelt strongly of patchouli. I've written about Skeleton at length here before so won't bore you again. If you're down at one of Those London mingles, speak to Carl - he knows it well.

But Skeleton wasn't the first. The first was Beatties department store, at the bottom of Grange road. It had a pretty decent selection for a department store - I clearly remember flicking through the racks and seeing 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh' and Juicy Lucy's 'Get a Whiff of This' in and amongst the James Last and the Mantovani.

But all my early purchases were from Beatties, usually using record tokens rather than cash.

Imagine
Who's Next
Trilogy
Pictures At An Exhibition

Were the first, I recall.

probably made in the upstairs record department of Turner's Electrical Store, Bridlington, and the local Boots and Woolies. Certainly remember buying Squeeze and the Farmers Boys in Turners and a Best of the Bonzos in Boots, to which the Sales Assistant muttered to a colleague 'never thought we'd sell that'.

As I got more into '80s Indie and travelled a bit further for purchases/college, Sydney Scarborough in Hull and Red Rhino in York became regular haunts. Sydney Scarborough in particular was where you could pick up those singles that came in paper and plastic rather than proper sleeves - such as the Soup Dragons and The Shop Assistants. Billy Bragg and my Ukrainian John Peel sessions came from Red Rhino. And many, many a purchase from 2nd hand record shops and fairs in Leeds, Hull and York. Now I can't remember the last time I went to either, or what I would look for if I did.

Harry Hayes Record shop on the Fulham Road, 1977, where I purchased my first LP £3.99 full price. I later found out that Mr. Hayes, who owned and ran the shop, was a well-respected jazz musician, he guested on This Is Your Life when George Melly was on it, he always wore a suit and tie, looked at me rather disapprovingly when I took my Ramones LP, the debut, to the counter.

First record ever purchased with my own money was Solid Gold Easy Action T-Rex at WH Smiths in Ilford High St.. The second was She by Charles Aznavour for me Mum..woulda hated that to have been my first..

Serious record buying comenced at Downtown Records and Opus 1 both in Billericay High St.. then a little later at Record Mart (which is still there) in Southend On Sea and Moondogs in East Ham.

...South Street, Eastbourne. They sold singles, not in the original paper sleeve, but in a thick cardboard sleeve with the shop's name on and a transparent plastic window for the record label.

Since you ask, my first single was Apache by The Shadows, Columbia DB4484.

... Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane and my first LP, four years later, was Electric Warrior, both bought in The Spinning Disc on Chiswick High Road.

Probably bought my first single in there too.
Small world.

No groovy, independent Head Shop for me.

WH Smiths record dept in Burgess Hill, when I was about 7 or 8, I think. Two Beatles singles in generic green reissue sleeves: "Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby" and "Get Back"/"Don't Let Me Down" (obviously, I'd seen the movies on telly at Christmas). 59p each!

That paragraph dates me in so many ways...

was Clarkes in my hometown in Lincolnshire. My aunt worked there, which I found a bit embarrassing when I was in the shop. My first 45 purchase of my own choice was "Itchycoo Park" by the Small Faces. My mum gave me the money, I can't remember how much but I believe it was 1968. I do remember singles being 7s 6d but have no idea when that was. One time I went in to collect a record I'd ordered, I think I was about 11 or 12, and it hadn't arrived, but my aunt helpfully said, "Oh, your dad's order is in." It was "Try To Remember" by Nana Mouskouri. I didn't want to be carrying that uncool record around, but I didn't have any choice because here was my aunt handing it to me in a brown paper bag with "Clarkes" printed in black on the front. Obviously, I ran into the local bully boys on the way home and they had a field day. I don't think "wanker" was common currency in those days, but whatever the 1970 equivalent was echoed in my ears all the way to my front door.

The Left Legged Pineapple

and

Castle Records

R.I.P!

We got the Aristocrats soundtrack there. I don't remember the shop lasting long.

Then, a gift shop cum record shop called Acorns opened in the Fryern Arcade. I spent a fortune there between 1977 and 1981.

Downstairs at Sydney Scarborough's in Hull, is where I used to buy most of my records - including ordering Joy division's Transmission, and the Human League's Being Boiled on the same day.
But it was probably Regis Records on Holderness Road where I bought my first records. They used to have listening booths. They were also opposite my dad's shop, where he sold some records as well as TVs - but before I can remember. First record I remember buying is Back Home by the England 1970 world cup squad (b/w Cinnamon stick - I didnt know what Cinnamon was for years).

in Palmers Green. They also sold electrical goods and guitars. I think I got my first guitar there aged 13. The first single was 'When You Walk In The Room', by the Searchers.

I'm pretty sure that this became Opus Records in the 1970s.

Palmers Green had loads of interesting places to wander for a kid - a department store (Evans & Davies), music stores, camera stores, toy stores, antique/bric-a-brac, cafes. At one point it had 2 cinemas - The Queens and a Gaumont within about 100 yards of each other. There may even have been a third cinema, but I may be mistaken.

were the two main record shops in Oxford. Both musical instrument shops, but upstairs at Acott's and downstairs at Taphouses were the records departments and many, many happy hours were spent there listening to records in the booths, having to make a big, big decision on what to spent your hard-saved 32/6 on. Very, very happy days!

I believe Tony Blackburn opened it in the 60s. When I got there in the 80s it was situated in the dampest corner of 'Penn Place' which was immortalised in this beautiful postcard:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daviddb/202887979/

The windows were plastered with posters, as was the inside. They had a cool picture of yoda and 2/3 arcade machines including, at one time, Battlezone. There were racks of vinyl and I recall eyeing the 'Frog Chorus' picture disc but never bought it (I was young at the time so cut me some slack).

Mid 80s it moves onto the High Street (taking the place of the toy shop) and as my tastes became more discerning I gradually began to realise what a poor selection of records they had. To be fair I think maybe they just stopped keeping up with the times but they must have been pretty poor buyers as there was rarely anything there that you would really want. By the end there was loads of discounted stock that you wouldn't even want at 1/10th of the original price. And the service was really lacking with the owner seeming to look down her nose at anyone daring to hand over their hard earned cash.

Only thing I can say in their favour was that they were good at allowing you to put first dibs on the displays so maybe 12 months later you could be the proud owner of a large cardboard cut out of 'Vigil in a wilderness of mirrors' or some other chart storming release. They loved Marillion in there.