Shopping for Music in the North West of England
Rock is Dead…according to Music Week. In 2010 only three, what they would class as ‘Rock’ songs were in the Top 100 sellers. A ‘massive rock band’ like the Arctic Monkeys they say has not broken ‘The Chart’ since 2006. But exactly how relevant is “The Hit Parade” in 2011? Gone are the days when […]
You’ll no doubt have heard the (not entirely surprising) news that troubled HMV is to close 60 of it’s stores following a big dip in Christmas trade. Can it really all be due to the snow, competition from online sales and teenagers file-sharing? I like buying records, you like buying records (otherwise why are you […]
You may have already noticed that Cassette Tapes are back, in a small but beautiful way. Before you Vinyl disciples start getting all upset about hiss, wow and flutter that’s exactly why tapes are making a comeback. A lot of experimental soundmakers and bands are using the medium specifically to capture the unique, fuzzy, lo-fi […]
Record Store Day was, by all accounts, a triumph. I popped out early on to distribute some Record Shop City leaflets to the queue outside Piccadilly just before opening time. Amazingly, the queue was snaking around the block as far as Beatin’ Rhythm records and I soon ran out of the 100 or so leaflets […]
We often get asked whether we’ll cover shops outside the Manchester region. Well, for now we’re keeping it local because that means we can cover the area in depth and we visit all the shops in person in order to review them properly for you. However, if you’re looking further afield then try www.indierecordshop.org which […]
The Piccadilly Records newsletter is always worth a read every Monday morning as Philippa and the team tell you not only what has arrived in the stock room, but the ongoing fortunes of The Manchester Stingers WFC and suggestions for a top night out in Manchester and so forth. Given the rate at which certain […]
I did a double take walking down Church Street this lunchtime. There now stands a pile of rubble where the bookstall and ramshackle old Church Street Records once ‘stood’ in its own lopsided, weatherbeaten way. In its place will be some new market stalls which, to be fair, is infinitely preferable to more flats or […]
This week our man Carl paid a long overdue visit to Eastern Bloc, up in the Nothern Quarter. The place is a bit of a Manchester institution and amazingly this year sees its 25th Anniversary. We’re pleased to report that Eastern Bloc is still enthusiastically feeding the dancefloors and bedrooms of the North West with […]
Dispatches from the field…massive stock of near mint Disco, Boogie, Funk and Soul sevens have just come into King Bee Records. We are talking serious artillery here, on a quick scan perhaps a 1000 7″s. All points covered Lowrell, Norman Connors, Patrice Rushen, O Jays, Creative Source, MFSB, Eddie Kendricks. You get the vibe I’m […]
Quick flick through the “just in” racks of Vinyl Revival today and someone has clearly got rid of their Poco collection. About 5 albums all in fairly good nick retailing for around a fiver each….and not a drop of barbecue sauce on any of them! All early to mid 70s and if country rock is […]
