Hangin' Around

Debaser · 27 May 2005, 08:29

With reference to something Dark said.....

Is it a right of teenage passage to hang around record shops...not HMV or Virgin you understand, but the cool little (usually dingy) independant
Mine was Sanctuary on Park Street , Lincoln. Met my first 'not from school' boyfriend there - ooooh he was tres cool - spent an absolute fortune eventually there but usually it was just a place to look great, laugh at the straights and cadge cups of coffee.

Bev who used to work there would decorate all those brown cardboard single sleeves, then lovingly remove them to place them in their correct sleeves once a purchase had been made.

Now sadly a crappy kebab shop.

Black Biscuit · 27 May 2005, 08:33

I take it that this was before eBay, Amazon.com and free downloads from www.limewire.com then?

I had a ball getting free songs off the LimeWire site (even if I never figured out how to burn them onto a CD after I'd stored them on my computer) but now it seems I can't download anything until I cough up the fee for a full membership.

Debaser · 27 May 2005, 08:35

Black Biscuit wrote:I take it that this was before eBay, Amazon.com and free downloads from www.limewire.com then?

Naturellment - I am an old fekker. Somehow hanging round somewhere in cyberspace seems somewhat bizzare not to mention sad

smiscandlon · 27 May 2005, 08:47

I didn't really 'hang around' record shops. Mainly went there to, you know, buy records.

But I did take a lot of time browsing.

27 May 2005, 09:25

Mainly the various stalls in Affleck's Palace for me. Now unfortunately irredeemably trendified.

sisxbeforedawn · 27 May 2005, 09:45

I spent a lot days and nights hanging around Probe Records, which was very dingy

remember seeing Ian Astbury and Hussey hanging about there as well.

oh and the White Star, the Grapes and Flannagans

Gottdammerung · 27 May 2005, 10:26

I used to hang around the one in the indoor market in Ayr when I was about 15.. guy had the first Suicide album on vinyl and after hearing that, that was it...

Also got my first Sisters bootleg out of there. The 83 Paradiso gig on CD, way back in 1992 and it was a couple of years old already then by the looks of it - had to save for a month to get it mind...

memories...

Debaser · 27 May 2005, 11:26

After leaving school and spending more time in Nottingham city centre rather than attending college in Newark...I spent a long time hangin' around Selectadisc (when there was only one!), lusting after a guy who also 'hung around' PHWOOOAR...I got him too

Yay fer me!!!

MrChris · 27 May 2005, 11:46

I spent many an hour hanging around Spinadisc in Northampton, and mooching around the Grosvenor Centre. I bought my first Sisters 12"s and E.P.s there - I can still remember the excitement of bringing that lovely blue sleeve of the Body and Soul 12" home, not knowing what any of it sounded like. Alas, none of the girls mooching around at the same time ever noticed me. This could be because I was eleven inches tall and hidden behind the record. Or it could be because I smelled.

Planet Dave · 27 May 2005, 11:47

markfiend wrote:Mainly the various stalls in Affleck's Palace for me. Now unfortunately irredeemably trendified.

Ah, for the glory days of Afflecks Palace.

Last time I went there was still one decent record shop kicking out the jams. The old underground market on Market Street (now a Tesco

) was another favourite, as was the tremendously pokey little upstairs place half way down Oxford Rd. Always blasting out Starsky & Hutch type tunes that could be heard the second you got off the train at Oxford Rd station.

Upon moving to Leeds, Bad then Vinyl Addiction were the places to stock up on Sisters tapes and cds. There's only Replay I ever go in now. Speaking of which, I'm off to sign on later in town, so it would be rude not to.

27 May 2005, 12:07

Sh1t yeah, I'd forgotten the underground market!

paint it black · 27 May 2005, 12:12

Vinyl junkie i was. hence 3000 or so now

local was a dingy but very cool place called Shocks. Like so many, sadly departed and gone. had a cracking invite only closing down party. basically take anything you want

. famed for knowing personal tastes and ordering no obligation on your behalf, oh and giving you promo's and stuff

other than that, memorable stores

afflecks, vinyl exchange and a rather cool secondhand place near the sasha hotel - manchester

probe and quiggens (sp?) - liverpool

pink panther - carlisle

record collector ?? - sheffield

there were many more

Planet Dave · 27 May 2005, 12:19

Where's the sasha hotel?

I've just remembered Powercuts, also just off Oxford Rd. Most of the vinyl had a tiny clip out of the sleeve, but at the prices they asked for stuff who cared!

aims · 27 May 2005, 13:01

paint it black wrote:probe and quiggens (sp?) - liverpool

Quiggins was in a spot of bother recently, being served with a compulsory purchase order so that they could expand the Bluecoat Triangle or whatever the hell that area's called. Don't know if they've actually got around to moving out yet, I kind of grew out of the place - Grin is covered with 13 year olds and Cyberdog is a tad too pricey.

Probe, as far as I know is still alive and kicking, albeit at a different site opposite The Palace. However, since my Dad's turntable only does one speed, I've never really looked too hard in real Record stores.

sisxbeforedawn · 27 May 2005, 13:18

[quote="paint it black"] probe and quiggens (sp?) - liverpool
[quote]

Yup bot in Liverpool, the original Probe is now a Ted Baker

and has now moved to Wood Str. it lost all its character when it moved

it's just not the same

Extremes was always well better than the palace and quiggens

Black Biscuit · 27 May 2005, 13:21

I partied hard on New Year's Eve, 2000, coz I knew I wouldn't be here on New Year's Eve 3000.

Does this fit into the general theme of this topic??!?

If only you knew what was going on around here....

boudicca · 27 May 2005, 15:17

Me and my fuzzy ginger-haired friend Susan (who's now off being a marine biologist somewhere) - who I led down the path to rock and roll until she went and discovered plankton

- we used to go to "Lost In Music" in DeCourcy's Arcade (one for the Weegies) on a regular basis.

We didn't exactly "hang around", but well... we were there every f**king weekend.

God, 7 years ago now... Good times. I miss them.

emilystrange · 27 May 2005, 17:10

sisxbeforedawn wrote:
paint it black wrote: probe and quiggens (sp?) - liverpool

Yup bot in Liverpool, the original Probe is now a Ted Baker and has now moved to Wood Str. it lost all its character when it moved it's just not the same Extremes was always well better than the palace and quiggens
absolutely. went to the newish probe on my last visit. just not the same..
mr strange's 21st bday present was Â£50 of probe vouchers. tehy only had them in Â£2's.. it took ages to stick on the card..

you were a grapes regular too????

the palace was an upstart place, imo

Dark · 27 May 2005, 19:03

Very well, Debaser has sparked the memories.

When I first started going to town, I went to MVC because their prices were about two quid below HMVs. Then I went to HMVs because they had a ton more, it was much darker than MVC and the music was loud.

I then found an upstairs record shop called Sonic Sounds which rocked. Small, but tons of cheap CDs, and a vinyl section too. The guy speaks a bit strangely there, really fast, with a quick "Yeah, yeah" between sentences. Too much speed, I guess.

Then I found Planet Of Sound, very far down the High Street, where there was almost nobody around. I went in there once or twice, and on one visit, bought the Body And Soul EP, admiring it for days afterwards. I then bought a couple more Sisters things from there. The owner, Vince, later noticed I was in there every weekend, and so I became a regular, and the shop became my unofficial hang-out.

Even now, he gets almost no custom on Saturdays, and I still go there. He likes a chat even if I don't buy anything, and if there's a song he's never heard before, I've yet to find it.

He's introduced me to Japan too. Great lot they were.

So there we go. He likes my band, even if only about 10 other people do.

andymackem · 27 May 2005, 19:19

Volume Records, next to the smelly pizza place round the back of the Milburngate Centre in Durham. Never pulled there, but given my appalling hair-cut and total lack of social skills that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The Volume chain was big in the NE, but vanished years ago. There's still a record shop on the site, but it's not _mine_ in the same way.

Pet Sounds in Newcastle (they had three seperate premises at one stage, Old Eldon Square was 'the one' for me) was another haunt, but spoiled by some shocking taste in football. Would have minded less if there'd been any interest in the game pre-Keegan, but I really dislike plastic mags. They had the best range of bootleg t-shirts, though.

Couple of stalls on Durham Market (both no more) taught me that you can't make money from your tape collection if you keep buying more and more new ones.

But most of my formative experiences, musically speaking, came hanging around the school annexe as a skiving sixth-former. Not many places where you could hear Bolt-thrower, the Nephilim and Shostakovich in swift rotation. Not in Durham, anyway!

A bit worried at the number of people noticably younger than me who are getting nostalgic. If you're still at school you cannot possibly be nostalgic. It's one of the rules.

Andie · 27 May 2005, 19:47

sadly i doubt anyone reading here will know the record shops that i frequented in Edinburgh...

my fave was Bruce's Records when they had only one in Rose Street (a punks 7" coloured vinyl heaven)...they expanded to three and then suddenly closed...

others included the original Virgin Records store on Hanover Street which could fit into my livingroom (bought my first Cramps single there...Garbageman), Vinyl Villans on Elm Row for second hand collectables, Ripping Records on South Bridge where i used to buy and sell serious collectables and autographed stuff...they also sold gig tix for the local flea pits...during the 90's Avalanche Records in the Southside and Fopp on Cockburn Street seemed like good places to spend my time

before going to the pub

smiscandlon · 27 May 2005, 21:15

boudicca wrote:"Lost In Music" in DeCourcy's Arcade (one for the Weegies)

Aaah. Just round the corner from Glasgow Uni so I was in there maybe a couple of times every week for four years...

Brideoffrankenstein · 27 May 2005, 21:37

I used to hang around at a record shop called Spindrift after I had finished my saturday job and immediately spend all the money I had just earnt making sandwiches on any new music I could get my hands on

Black Alice · 27 May 2005, 22:48

Likeandymackem we went to Pet Sounds in Newcastle, and the one in Old Eldon Square was the one we frequented.....don't know about the dubious football (I was too busy coming down to notice that the town was interested in that sort of stuff)....but we spent most Saturday afternoons zoobing out on the green so it was just a short stumble away.......

.......if you were there you know what I'm talking about. (Old Eldon Square green getting pissed in the sun, followed by the Gearbox at the Mayfair

).

Ah, those were the days!

The Mayfair (and therefore the Gearbox) has long since vanished, and the green is now over-run with chavas

eastmidswhizzkid · 28 May 2005, 00:29

i must have spent a vast part of my time between the ages of 12 and 16 lurking around Revolver,Ainsleys,St.martins Records,HMV(which sold new stuff) and Cank St,Oddity,Boogaloo and Archers(second hand) in leicester.of these only HMV remains.of course this was in the halcyon days of vinyl when you could spend hours browsing all your fave bands' entire back catalogue at differing prices before deciding what to buy,and from where.now its not even possible to find 99% of what i'ld like to buy anywhere(except online)so what was once an inexpensively enjoyable passtime is an utter nightmare.

when "this corrosion" was due to be released i found out the monday morning distributer's route around the different stores so as to be at the first one when it opened(so was probably the first person in the city to buy it-in all formats;by 9.15am the day of its release.an enormously important event back then!)