RECORD SHOP CITY

Tag: New CDs

Skeleton Records

Skeleton Records has a long history, opened by John Weaver in 1971 – and described as a patchouli scented Head shop that specialised in rare imports , underground press and hippy paraphernalia. The name of the shop was apparently taken from a Syd Barrett song – If It’s in You (“Skeleton Kissed a Steel Rail”).

Known locally as Skelly’s, the shop has changed locations a few times but is now to be found just of off the main drag on Oxton Road. Climb the stairs and you’ll find two rooms crammed full of Vinyl, CDs and DVDs. In the main space you’ll find the more collectible stuff – a good mix from Classic Rock, Indie, to Jazz, Soul and Funk and plenty of music from Skeleton’s Psychedelic and Prog roots. It’s a mix of 2nd hand stuff, new releases and reissues. The other room is dedicated to the more bargain basement end – shedloads of it – either because it’s a bit ‘well loved’ or in a genre that isn’t so collectible – so this is a place to really get stuck in and get digging. Well worth a ferry across the Mersey.

20/03/2016
Music and Movies Exchange

Moving further afield into Greater Manchester, Tameside we thought was the only GM borough that didn’t have at least one place to buy music, however it turns out we were wrong!

Music and Movies Exchange operate out of a small unit in the Clarendon shopping centre in Hyde. The shop has been trading for 18 years buying and selling CDs, games and DVDs. Our man in Hyde, Tony, tells us he was a DJ for over 25 years (he has our sympathies!) loves his music and he’s now decided to add second hand Vinyl LPs and 45 to the shelves, and his collection is building up day by day and by the looks of things very reasonably priced so you want to make Hyde a stop on your next record buying spree.

Buy Medication Online

17/03/2016
Probe Records

Described by legendary Liverpool music writer Paul Du Noyer as “the semi-official control room of Liverpool music” – it’s probably a bit of cliche to describe Probe Records as a Liverpool institution but…it really is. Founded by Geoff Davis in 1971, Probe has supplied Liverpudlians, nervous students and unsuspecting tourists with their musical needs through good times and bad. In spite of numerous challenges and location changes they are still at it.

Julian Cope’s excellent autobiography ‘Head On’ paints a vivid picture of the scene around Probe during the late 70s post punk era when it was based in perhaps its most iconic location on Button Street near to Eric’s and the site of the Cavern Club – you could expect short shrift from Probe staffers including Pete ‘Dead Or Alive’ Burns and the numerous, sulky scenesters hanging around there. That vibe persists to this day – albeit slightly more world weary. Don’t expect any ‘counter banter’ or advice on the latest new grooves – this is not Piccadilly Records – if you’re lucky you’ll get a smile and a nod of recognition off whichever misanthrope is on duty – but hey, that’s Probe, and I sort of wouldn’t want it any other way.

Probe also has probably one of the coolest looking shop fronts and coolest record bags of any shop in the world. I’m not sure who does their designs but they are a thing of wonder (I’m sure they could make a nice sideline in Tote bags and t-shirts with the designs on if they could be arsed…which they probably couldn’t).

Today, Probe is now in a unit at the front of the Bluecoat Chambers just off Church Street – a prime spot between the hipper end of the city and the Liverpool One shopping behemoth so they get a steady stream of visitors. It’s a small shop but bright and airy and although it doesn’t quite have the historic echoes of the Button St shop I much prefer it to the rather dreary premises they had on Slater Street for many years. There seems to be a large area at the back of the shop which could easily accommodate more stock but instead serves as an office/brew area for the staff to escape from the customers – up front you’ll find a decent mix of Vinyl and CDs – the walls lined with classic reissues, tempting curios, fanzines, highly desirable box sets and other eye-watering treats. To browse the record and CD racks of Probe is to poke around inside the DNA of Liverpool music history – Beefheart, Syd Barrett, Love, and all manner of Fuzz, Garage and Psych and similar Cosmic Scally listening fodder are heavily represented as are local legends like Shack and Half Man Man Half Biscuit (still released on Probe related label ‘Probe Plus’). You’ll find a bunch of new releases, erring toward the more Indie rock end – not so much electronic and dance music but there is a well stocked section of Reggae, Dub and jazzier, funkier stuff too.

Probe does still hark back to the days when Record Shops could be quite intimidating places to visit, and bucks the trend of today where a lot of shops are very chummy and go out of their way to welcome you in. It must also be the most high profile Indie shop in the UK without a website or much social media presence. That said, I have a great affection for it and bought so many great records here in my student days and to be honest whenever I call in I usually end up buying something on the strength of the descriptions on those stickers they put on the records (still written in the same spidery, psychedelic handwriting of old).

Long Live Probe..and as their beautiful record bags state: “still the greatest disaster of them all”.

10/03/2016
Vinyl Revival

Just around the corner from Oldham Street you’ll find Vinyl Revival. They’ve been here since 1997 and sell a mixture of new and secondhand records on CD and Vinyl, plus DVDs. They sell all sorts of stuff but they also specialise in Manchester music from the 1960s to present day – so you’ll find plenty of Smiths, Happy Mondays, New Order etc and a well stocked Factory Records collection so you can fill those gaps in your Stockholm Monsters or Crispy Ambulance collection.

They also do a fine line in Manchester music related reproduction posters, T-shirts and other memorabilia and if you’re visiting Manchester just to do the record shops and soak up some of the music heritage this is the place to get a souvenir of your trip. They also stock a wide range of music on 2nd hand and reissue vinyl – plenty of Punk, Reggae, Soul, Rock, Hip Hop, Electro, House, 50s, 60s and more besides.

28/02/2016
X-Records

A bit futher afield, but well worth a visit is X-Records of Bolton, Lancashire. You can get to Bolton by train in about 15-20 minutes so you could easily do a quick detour during your Manchester record-shopping frenzy. The USP of this shop is its massive stock of back catalogue. There is a database on their website of 67,000 of the items they have. The other half you’ll have to come to the shop to look for yourself. I’m not joking! At one time X-Records was spread over three sites, a Dance shop, a Vinyl shop and a CD Shop which are now all crammed into one place so you almost get three shops for the price of one. They carry a mix of new and second hand stuff and they have pretty much all genres of music spread over two levels, packed from floor to ceiling. Upstairs is given over to DVDs and CDs including Dance and Hard Rock/Metal which is one of their specialisms. X-Records also like to promote local bands and club nights, and local bands can flog their music and merchandise here.

The collection of stuff is vast and if you are looking for a long deleted release they may well have it, probably best bring some kind of knee pads to get down to the lower shelves. They also do a fine line in Rock Memorabilia, particularly the band Kiss. If you need a Kiss Baseball Bat, a Kiss Beach Towel, some Kiss Branded Coffee and a Kiss Flask to drink it from then this is the place. They have probably one of the biggest collections of music DVDs I’ve seen anywhere.

Downstairs in the basement there are Indie, Pop, Folk, Punk and 60s CDs and this is also home to the Vinyl Selection, a lot of which is at crazy bargain prices. As with the upstairs bit you will find lots of long-deleted obscure and rare records down here and plenty of crates to rifle through.

X-Records is well worth a diversion to Bolton and is one of those magical shops that frequently turns up something unexpected.

27/02/2016
Save Records

*** Stop Press ** – Sadly Save Records has now closed it’s stall on Bury Market. A real shame as this was a little gem of a shop. Best wishes and Good luck Maxine!

Save are still trading online, and looks like they’re popping up at Record Fairs so you can follow them on Facebook and shop online here:

https://www.discogs.com/user/Save-Records

Save Records has been on Bury Market since the mid 70s apparently and before that in Rochdale as far back as 1968. Nestling amid the hustle and bustle of Bury’s famous and massive market, this is a small but delightful shop with a surprisingly large stock of vinyl and CD crammed into that small space. There is plenty of good stuff racked up and lots more in crates on the floor and it’s well worth getting stuck in for a proper dig as this is the kind of shop that throws up nice little surprises. I’ve visited a few times and never left empty handed. The prices are very reasonable, the staff are friendly and welcoming, what more do you want?

30/01/2014
Piccadilly Records

Where do you start with this one? As much a Manchester institution as a pint of Holts or Chips n’ Gravy! From its opening days in the shabby Piccadilly Arcade through to the rather grand Brown Street store and its current location on Oldham St. Since 1978 Piccadilly records has served generations of shoegazers, rude boys, anarcho-punks, goths, moshers, skate punks, grebos and every other indie derivative you can think of.

I first went in at the tender age of 12 and got my mitts on a 7″ copy of UK Decay’s “For my Country”. I went in last week and got my slightly older fingers on the new Bibio album. That says it all. From boy to man my money has passed over this counter so many times I wonder if it might have been better to cut a deal and just give them ten percent of my earnings every year. But what returns; first Bauhaus album – check, first Stone Roses single – check, first Devandra Barnhart album – check, and probably nearly a thousand others with a moment of joy attached to each one.

The current shop is a pleasure to visit. Bright, airy and spacious the floor space is taken up with around seventy percent vinyl including a 7″ rack deep enough and wide enough to justify a parking ticket. There are a couple of multi CD listening stations next to the racks as well as three turntables to browse away the afternoon, and a PC to browse the new releases on the website. Right at the front of the shop as you walk in is the ever useful new releases/recommends rack which I consistently fail to pass without picking at least one selection.

Piccadilly is still the champion of all things indie and by that I mean “Indie” in the old independent charts sense of the word; you know Cherry Red, Rough Trade, Cargo, Domino; small labels exploring the outer recesses and hidden nooks and crannies of the great big music machine. Folk, Drone, Psych, Americana, Kraut, Garage, Punk, Emo and Doom are all in evidence yet balanced nicely with a fine and varied selection of House, Disco, Electro, Hip Hop, Nu Soul, Beats, Reggae, Dubstep and our old favourites Downbeat, Weird and Experimental. If you ever wish to meet me, my office is rack 2 and a half Downbeat/Weird section!

New releases and particularly limited vinyl runs are the shops speciality and if if there is an ultra-limited edition to be had, Piccadilly will have it (but be quick!). The Website is updated every week and check the ‘Just in’ and ‘Released next week’ pages over the weekend to decide what to call in for on the Monday.

Step away from the racks sir and the shop also sells a range of magazines, fanzines,T shirts and record bags as well as having a counter full of flyers and events advertised by Manchester miscreants. The staff are great and very approachable, full of enthusiasm for the music and a shared love of the shop and all it gives to the Manchester scene. Each staff member is pretty much a specialist in one of the genres – just get Phillipa talking!! (I’m reliably informed its Andy you want to get talking! – ed) and from my experience and 2000 hours spent in there will happily share and explore your interests as much as their own.

Keep your eyes peeled for in-store events, special promotions and their regular Newsletters.

21/08/2009
Beatin’ Rhythm

* Note that Beatin’ Rhythm have now moved to Prestwich – This review and photos are of their original store in the Northern Quarter Manchester *

This is the absolute Premier store for Rock’n’Roll, 60s Pop, Funk, Doo-Wop, Girl groups, Rare and Northern Soul, Surf, Psych, Rhythm n’ Blues, Film Themes and more. The guys here must have the worlds best knowledge of the Northern Soul scene and this shop is a veritable shrine to the glory of obscure 45s. When you go in you will see photos of previous customers including Keb Darge and DJ Shadow. The heart of this shop is built around the specialist knowledge of Carl, Tom and Derek and it’s all done with true love for the music.

The wall racks of 7″s are divided into categories which range from Christmas Songs to “Uncharted Canadian”. The Northern Soul section is enough to make a Wigan Casino kid weep, and can happily keep me entertained for hours (with the odd fag break). Man, these guys even have an ‘Answer Songs’ category!

The shop itself is a great space predominantly taken up with Vinyl but lots of stuff on CD too. They also have a good selection of re-issued albums near the main door with the particular focus on Northern and Soul compilations; a couple of which are regulars in my box.

Ultimately, Beatin’ Rhythm is testament to the longevity of the 7″ single, and Talcum-powdered dancefloor action. I defy you to go in and not leave without at least one tune you never expected to have or hear. A truly inspiring Manchester institution

04/08/2009