Lost record shops

[Pabmusic]

'My' Farringdon Records was the one by the National Portrait Galley in London, just off Charing Cross Road. Floor-to-ceiling stock, very knowledgeable staff who could get you any available recording & always had some surprising bargains. A veritable Tardis of a shop

Yes...I remember it well. Who knows, we may have unknowingly met there! I can still associate particular LPs (it was always LPs then) with particular shops.

[Acavus]

Orchesography in Cecil Court, as mentioned. The backbone of my early LP collection.

Slightly grumpy Kiwi there. What was he called?

Verismissimo, I seem to remember there were two of them called, appropriately, David and Jonathan. I think David was the grumpy one, and Jon was somehow linked with Dance Books a couple of doors away.

Just to add a couple more names into the mix: there was Covent Garden Records which started in a basement next to Covent Garden tube station before moving to 84 Charing Cross Road, and the MDC branch in South Kensington run firstly by Ron and then by John. I went in there one lunchtime (I worked at the Natural History Museum so it was my 'local') and Ron was in deep shock - Elton John had earlier walked in and spent £3,000 on classical CDs, including the entire stock of Ring cycles, during the course of about fifteen minutes.

[vinteuil]

'My' Farringdon Records was the one by the National Portrait Galley in London, just off Charing Cross Road. Floor-to-ceiling stock, very knowledgeable staff who could get you any available recording & always had some surprising bargains. A veritable Tardis of a shop

... was that the tiny one in the street (Irving Street?) linking the south-east corner of Leicester Square with Charing Cross Road? A rather strange father-and-son set-up, I thought, but very knowledgeable... got my big Scarlatti Scott Ross box there, among many others, many others... happy memories of nipping up from Whitehall in the lunch break - and to Orchesography etc in Cecil Court... happy days...

Now it's nearly always amazon...

[Karafan]

For me - the Classical Record Shop (Graham Bennett and a colleague ran it) in the Merrion Centre, Leeds and the good old Bauermeister bookshop on the George IV Bridge in Edinburgh. Fine shops, both, and much missed.

K.

[salymap]

I worked in Charing Cross Road, GtMarlborough St, Bedford Street, Long Acre,etc,etc, Not all different jobs, music publishers moved a lot. I Remember Imhoff, the little shop in Newport Court, Gramophone Exchange and Mart, it was called. Loads more. And wonderful bookshops in Charing Cross Road,Cecil Court etc.

[Tony Halstead]

Anybody remember the AVGARDE GALLERY in Manchester, Brasennose Street? Run by the knowledgable and infinitely courteous Denis Baxter - who is now, by the way, the Vice-President of the Manchester and Lancs Family History Society.
I used to work there, ( the AG) as a schoolboy of 17, on Saturday afternoons.
Other Manchester shops where I spent far too much money were 'RARE RECORDS' in St Ann's Square and of course GIBBS somewhere fairly close to the town centre. (sigh... )

[PJPJ]

Orchesography in Cecil Court, as mentioned. The backbone of my early LP collection.

Slightly grumpy Kiwi there. What was he called?

I miss that shop - and also some of the other Cecil Court ones forced out by enormous rent increases.

[amateur51]

The old Gramophone Exchange (GramEx) in Wardour Street London was a regular lunchtime haunt, almost exclusively classical second-hand LPs.

There could sometimes be a bit of an ugly stramash if two of the more 'enthusiastic' customers spotted the same LP but the staff were pretty experienced at dispute resolution ("It's his, Sir" "How do you make that out?!" "Because I said so, Sir" :winkeye). It closed and re-surfaced in Lower Marsh near Waterloo Station but I've never been.

And I think that Cheapo-Cheapo in Rupert Street has gone too - classics at the back, nothing more than £2, some brilliant bargains I've had from there - two dreadfully grumpy men and a very friendly woman ran it She used to call me "darlin'" which was fine until I discovered that she called every male customer "darlin'".

[Roehre]

Our annual holiday often took place in Rhos-on-Sea so Llandudno was the cultural mecca of my teens but I didn't spot the Kavern, roehre - what did it sell?

The Kavern (at the far end of Mostyn Street (the main street ) seen from the centre at the left) sold pop, popular and jazz (two long double rows) and classical (one long double row). I bought quite a lot of unexpected Chandos, EMI, DGG and Lyritas there. Closed some three years ago, approximately the same time as a horrible HMV opened just two hunderd yards or so nearer the town's centre (which is struggling itself now, thank goodness )

Do you recall Sumner's restaurant & Sandbach's cafe with their home-made sweets?

Don't mention those

[Roehre]

Classical Longplayer

To me, it symbolises the decline of Canterbury itself. Very sad indeed.

Yes of course. I should have looked at one of their distinctive green plastic bags with golden letters to know that

[Tony Halstead]

Classical Longplayer

Jilly, the nice lady who used to work there, can now be found at Crowther's shop in The Borough, Canterbury.
They have a good stock of CDs, expanding all the time.

[mathias broucek]

The old Gramophone Exchange (GramEx) ... closed and re-surfaced in Lower Marsh near Waterloo Station but I've never been.

And I think that Cheapo-Cheapo in Rupert Street has gone too - classics at the back, nothing more than £2, some brilliant bargains I've had from there - two dreadfully grumpy men and a very friendly woman ran it She used to call me "darlin'" which was fine until I discovered that she called every male customer "darlin'".

You should give Gramex a try. Good stock, cheap prices and everyone (staff and customers) very opinionated.

I remember Cheapo. It filed classical records by period/geography (e.g. "19th Century Czech/Slavic") which makes far more sense than alphabetical by composer.

[Serial_Apologist]

The old Gramophone Exchange (GramEx) in Wardour Street London was a regular lunchtime haunt, almost exclusively classical second-hand LPs.

There could sometimes be a bit of an ugly stramash if two of the more 'enthusiastic' customers spotted the same LP but the staff were pretty experienced at dispute resolution ("It's his, Sir" "How do you make that out?!" "Because I said so, Sir" :winkeye). It closed and re-surfaced in Lower Marsh near Waterloo Station but I've never been.

Gramex (Lower Marsh) - was there the last time I checked, about 2 years ago. I went to check up on 2nd hand jazz stuff and their stated willingness to take 78s, but found all their stuff to be CDs, and the friendly old chap running the place just said they did not take shellac. By far the best collection of 2nd hand classical CDs anywhere, tho I guess one paid a lot more than at an open-air festival or our local flea market. Hadn't known Gramex to be the descendents of The Gramophone Exchange, which I visited in the 1960s, picking up what is probably now highly valued "Presence de la Musique Contemporaine" mono albums (Vega) of then-avant-garde music.

[cloughie]

I'll start with the old skool (pre-takeover) Farringdon Records - my favourite was Cheapside with the wonderful Tony in the basement.

Bought many an LP from their mailing-lists packed with recent deletions and overstocks. Violet May's, an excellent second-hand shop, Cann's, Bradleys and Wilson Peck were Sheffield's specialist record outlets at the time.

[Barbirollians]

Ah Bradleys I remember as a student buying the complete EMI Furtwangler Beethoven symphonies from them on Fargate in a dark cherry coloured box. Never much liked Wilson Peck as a shop bought most in the then very well stocked HMV on Pinstone Street .