Record Collector has been one of those stable things you can rely on for many years. A bit like Friends definitely being on telly every day. But with the news that Channel Four is getting rid of the ominpresent series, it’s time to take stock.
I guess, what I’m trying to get at is that we shouldn’t take things for granted. Those much-loved yet forgotten gems should be embraced before it’s too late.
I’m not trying to whip up a hysteria about the state of this brilliant music-lover’s paradise. But it’s been well documented in the past year that the local record store is in decline, hell, even the chain music shop (RIP Zavvi). So with that in mind, visit Record Collector.
The store has been around since Barry Everard opened the shop in 1978 and he’s a bit of a Sheffield legend with a penchant for Hawaiian shirts. Full to the brim, the shop is actually two separate premises next door to each other. The larger main shop is chocker with CDs and next door is for records.
I went this Saturday as my brother was visting and I felt he needed to be introduced to this gem of Fulwood Road. He was particularly taken with the second-hand CDs and rooted around for some Frank Zappa that was missing from his collection. Record Collector’s has a great focus on local music too and I’ve bought albums from The Lovers, Neil McSweeney and Monkey Swallows the Universe in the past.
One man was asking the guy behind the counter for his thoughts on a CD he had found on one of the shelves (sorry, I missed the name of it) and he gave an honest opinion, shaking his head and describing it very loud and a bit rubbish. You wouldn’t find an average worker in HMV with a personal opinion on an obscure album and I doubt the CD in question would have even been sold there.
We went to the adjoining record shop where my boyfriend ferretted for 7ins he was missing from his Cribs and Radiohead collection but instead found a Jarvis Cocker single to purchase. It’s an impressive collection of records in this part of the premises, kept under a watchful eye by a geeky-looking worker in one small and cramped room.
Record Collector may feel a tad intimidating to the average joe with a fleeting interest in the latest X Factor winner. However, every person with a healthy interest in music should really think about where we get our CDs from. I’m as guilty as the next person for logging on to Amazon to see how cheap is the latest release. But maybe I’ve been wrong.
Buying from a human being who has been solidly holding together a business for the past thirty years, dedicated to promoting local bands, influencing and introducing people to Funk, Jazz, Rock, Classical, Folk and god knows else should be celebrated and not dismissed because it isn’t necessarily the cheapest option.
So here I make a pledge. I’m going to shop for my music as locally as possible. As Richard Hawley puts it:
“We either have to use them or lose them. These places are the lifeblood of music. You’re not going to find The Velvet Underground or Captain Beefheart in Tesco.”
Hear, hear.
Or hear here.
Well, I knew I was geeky looking I guess.
Odd to read it on the internet though.
