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 Rock
and Pop: Record Shops
Rummaging
through London's best music havens
- Funk soul brother or hardcore punker?
Check Out LondonNet's lowdown on the best record shops in town...
PROBABLY the nearest the casual record buyer would come to understanding
the minds of dedicating musos is by watching Steven Frears' hit
film High Fidelity, based on the novel by Nick Hornby. There's
a scene early in the film where record shop owner, Rob, talks
about his customers. "I get by because of the people who
make a special effort to shop here, who spend all their time
looking for deleted Smiths singles and 'original not re-released'
- underline - Frank Zappa albums." The serious music buyer,
the SMB, is more likely to be found rummaging with brow-furrowing
concentration through the racks at a small independent shop than
the monochrome megastores. If you feel youself nodding in agreement
then chances are you'll need to check out LondonNet's record
shop guide pronto! Read on...
Central London
Rough Trade, was, and still is, the quintessential model
of all independent record shops. RT was a second hand shop-which
later developed into a label- set up in 1976 by Geoff Travis.
While the label, responsible for spawning the Smiths among others,
went into liquidation in 1991, the shop became a thriving business
and the bastion of independence. Tucked away in Neals Yard, Covent
Garden, this shop is a must-visit for the SMB. It's also spearheaded
a culture with its regulars being a mixture of hippies, dreadlocks,
scuzz rockers and fanzine writers.
Many of the best shops are
clustered together on Soho's Berwick St, just a few minutes walk
from Oxford Circus tube. Here you'll find Selectadisc, Reckless,
Sister Ray, Mister CD and Music And Video Exchange.
 First, on the left is Selectadisc
which stocks all the current big sellers, a decent vinyl selection
and new releases from off-kilter bands, as well as a pretty good
back catalogue section. Prices range from about eight quid to
a few over a tenner for new releases. Back catalogue can be cheap,
though if it's a classic LP and there's few in stock you may
end up paying the same as chainstore prices.
Further on is Reckless
Records. A shop which  is on first name terms with
limited 12 inch singles, Reckless is pretty damn good at sourcing
rarities and even has a separate shop for soul and dance. Those
after guitar-based rock would find it in their interests to have
a good rummage through Reckless' racks. Like most independent
shops they've got separate sections on US indie, some of which
goes under label headings such as Domino and Matador.
Just across the road is Sister Ray, another good stop for second
hand stuff. Arranged alphabetically and well priced, with separate
metal ambient and trance sections, singles atat the front and
new releases neatly filed on the left as soon as you walk in,
the SMB can't go wrong here. Sometimes difficult to manoeuvre,
it can get a tad frustrating during busy hours but it's still
well worth investigation. Tourists are likely to be happier milling
around Mister CD. With all the
latest chart CDs and older popular stuff it's usually rammed
at the weekends. Most chart albums don't go for more than a tenner
and there's a separate metal section as well. Down in the basement
CDs go for as little as £1. Be warned though, don't expect
to hear music here - the footie's usually on.
Second hand buyers should check
out the ubiquitous  Music And Video Exchange which has
branches in Soho, Camden and Notting Hill to name a few, and
is crammed full of music bods at the weekends. With a slacker
style ambience and DIY ethic, MAVE is, unlike some select shops,
devoid of muso snobbery. Their madcap pricing policy means you
can go in and find some stuff reduced a week later, but the range
of stuff (bags of promos) is pretty exhaustive.
Wandering around Soho, it's
quite possible you may stumble into the aptly named Cheapo
Cheapo Records. A belter of a tiny shop found located
on Rupert St that has cheesy vinyl and oddball stuff hidden amongst
its dusty shelves. An assortment of second hand vinyl, Cheapo
Cheapo might resemble a jumble sale inside but you can lose yourself
for hours.
Funk Soul Brothers should head off to Mr
Bongo on Poland St (just off Oxford St), for a good mix
of hip hop, funk and Latin underground. BM Soho on D'Arblay St is well stocked on every
style of dance music you can think of - along with plenty of
listening decks as well. It's quite likely you'll stumble across
Steve's Sounds by accident
whilst wondering around Tottenham Court Road - a cheap 'n' cheerful
outlet where brand new CDs (and stacks of releases over the last
year) go for affordable prices. No wonder it's so popular!
Jazz
 Jazz enthusiasts probably
don't need telling of the two specialist jazz shops. Ray's
Jazz shop in Covent Garden reigns supreme in blues, gospel
and world as well as jazz. Mole Jazz
in Kings Cross offers a good selection and reasonable prices,
as well as a second to none mail order service.
North London
North of the Capital, well
Camden Town to be precise, you'll find yourself among the trendiest
music buyers. Camden, home to many of London's toilet venues
such as the Dublin Castle (Blur kick-started their career here)
and The Monarch, should quite rightly be flourishing with good
record shops. And it  doesn't
disappoint - there's Rhythm Records
for cool new releases, whilst if you see any scary looking goths
disappearing down into what looks like a cellar they'll be entering
the depths of Resurrection,
which specialises in black metal industrial and goth. Resurrection
regulars are most likely to a) in need of a long-overdue trip
to the hairdressers, b) have king-sized chunky boots - so mind
those feet! and c) wear any colour as long as it's black. Inverness
St, opposite Camden Market, is privvy to a good mix of shops
such as Shakedown Records, Sounds That Swing (think 50s, 60s) and
Vinyl Addiction, the latter, the name of which says everything
about their business.
West London
Heading west towards Portobello
Rd in the very trendy Notting Hill you'll come across a wide
range of outlets including the first Rough
Trade shop for lo-fi gems and punk, Intoxica for re-issues
and obscure vinyl, and the near legendary Honest
Jon's for the latest reggae hip hop soul and r'n' b.
If you're after a quirkier shop, rumour has it that the owners
of Minus Zero, a sixties obscurities
heaven, run their shop somewhat different to other record owners.
Minus Zero is owned by two men who then fell out. Consequently
they own half the shop each and, allegedly, have a curtain pulled
across the half that was closed if only one of them turned up
to work.
South London
 Finally, heading South of the river,
the quotient of record shops down Sarf London matches that of
its Northern counterpart, especially in soul and reggae. Ones
worth checking out are Soul Brother in
Putney while Record Corner
in Balham is one shop dedicated to sweet soul music, with current
releases and old classics available. Word on the street has it
that Dub Vendor in Battersea
is a reggae fan's paradise. With more imports than you can shake
a head full of dreadlocks at and a comprehensive back catalogue selection, you can always be sure
to find it well stocked with vintage classics. But for the collector
of all collectors shops the SMB might have to come right to the
outskirts of London to Beanos in
Croydon. The self-proclaimed biggest record collectors shop in
Britain, Beanos spans three floors, and caters for varying degrees
of taste, from 60s pop, beat music and hell, even that old dinosaur
of rock: prog. Frankly there's enough here to send the SMB into
spasmodic fits.
Catherine Chambers
Those shops in full.....
Central London
Rough
Trade
16 Neals Yard, Covent Garden, WC2H 9DP
Tel:020 7240 0105
Nearest Tube: Covent Garden
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm
Sun 1pm-5pm
Website http://www.roughtrade.com/
Order on-line? Yes
Selectadisc
Records
34-35 Berwick St, W1
tel:0207 7343297
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
Mon-Sat 9.30-7am
Reckless
Reccords
Soho (Rarities)
26/30 Berwick St)
tel: 020 7 434 3362
Nearest tube: Oxford Circus
Mon-Sun 10am-7pm
Website: http://www.reckless.co.uk
Order on line? Yes
Sister
Ray
94 Berwick St
Tel 0207 287 8385
Nearest Tube: Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road
Website http://www.sisterray.co.uk
Order on-line? Yes
Opening times Mon-Sat 9.30am - 8.00pm
Steve's
Sounds
20 Newport Court
0207 437 4638
Mon-Sun 10.30am-7.30/8.00pm
BM Soho
25 D'Arblay St
tel: 0207 439 2403
Order on line? Yes
Website:
http://www.bm-soho.com
Mon-Sat 11.00am-7.00pm
Mister
CD
80 Berwick St
020 7 439 1097
Mon-Sat 11.30am-7.00pm
Visit website...
Music
And Video Exchange
Soho
95 Berwick St
0207 434 2989
Opening times 10am-8pm daily
Website http://www.musicandvideoexchange.co.uk
Order On Line? Yes.
Mr
Bongo
44 Poland St
tel:0207 287 1887
Mon-Wed, Fri 11.30am-6.30pm Thur 11.30-7pm
Sat 12.00-6.30pm
Cheapo
Cheapo Records
53 Rupert St
(020) 8437 8272
Opening times 12.00am-10.00pm
Jazz
Mole
Jazz
311 Gray's Inn Road
020 7 278-8623
Order on line? Yes
website
http://www.molejazz.com
Mon-Thur, Sat 10pm-6am, Fri 10am-8pm
Rays
Jazz Shop
180 Shaftesbury Ave,
Mon-sat 10am-6.30pm Sun 2.00-5.30pm
North London
Reckless Records (Soul Branch)
79 Upper St, Islington
tel: 020 7359 0501
Nearest Tube: Highbury + Islington, Angel
Mon-Sun 10am-7pm
Vinyl
Addiction
6 Inverness St
0207 482 1114
Mon-Sat 11.15am-7.15pm
Sun 12.00pm-7.00pm
Music And Video Exchange
Camden
229 Camden High St
020 72671898
Opening times 10.00am-8.00pm daily
Website http://www.musicandvideoexchange.co.uk
Order On Line? Yes.
Sounds
That Swing
46 Inverness St
0207 267 4682
Mon-Sun 12.00pm-6.00pm
Shakedown
24 Inverness St
0207 284 2402
Mon-Sun 12.00pom-6.00pm
Resurrection
228 Camden High St
Tel: 0207 813 2917
Mon-Sun 10.30am-5.30pm
Rhythm
Records
281 Camden High St
Tel:0207 267 0123
Mon-Thur 10.30am-6.30pm
Fri 10.30am-7pm, Sat, Sun 10.30am-7.30pm
West London
Intoxica
231 Portobello Rd
020 7 229 8010
website: http://www.demon.co.uk/intoxica/index.htm
Order on line? Yes
Mon-Sat 10.30am-6.30pm, Sun 12.00-4.00pm
Rough
Trade
130 Talbot Road
Tel: 0207 229 8541
Nearest Tube: Notting Hill Gate
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm
Sun 1pm-5pm
Website http://www.roughtrade.com/
Order on-line? Yes
Soul
Brother
1 Keswick St
020 8 875 1018
http://www.soulbrother.com
Mon-Sat 10.00am-7.00pm
Minus
Zero
2 Blenheim Crescent
London W11 1NN UK
Tel/Fax: (020) 7229 5424
Fri,Sat only 10.00-6.00pm
Honest
Jon's
276 & 278 Portobello Road
London W10 5TE
tel: 0208 969 9822
Mon-Sat 10pm-6pm, Sun 11.00am-5pm
Music And Video Exchange
Classical
36 Notting Hill Gate
0207 229 3219
Rock/pop/indie
38 Notting Hill Gate
0207 243 8573
Singles Shop
40 Notting Hill Gate
0207 792 9393
Soul And Dance Exchange
42 Notting Hill Gate
0207 221 2793
Fulham
480 Fulham Road
0207 385 5350
Opening times 10am-8pm daily
Website http://www.musicandvideoexchange.co.uk
Order On Line? Yes.
South and outer London
Dub
Vendor
274 Lavendor Hill
Battersea
tel: 0207 223 3757
Mon-Wed, Fri, Sat 9.30am-7.00pm
Thur 9.30pm-7.30pm
Beanos
7 Middle St
Croydon
Tel:020 8 680 1202
Mon-Fri 10am-6pm
Record
Corner
27 Bedford Hill
Balham
0208 673 6130
Mon-Sat 10.00am-6.00pm
Of course there may be other
shops that we may not have stumbled across or in blind ignorance
neglected to mention in our list! If you know of an ace little
record haven that is worthy of mention, please bend our ears!
recordsfeedback@londonnet.co.uk
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