12 Hours In London - Record Shops

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by 5th-beatle, May 18, 2017.

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  1. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    The best use of a couple of hours in London is a stadium tour of the new PL Champions, the mighty Chelsea FC. See for yourself where the magic happens and who knows, you might run into a fellow Brazilian in David Luiz, Willian or Kenedy. :)

    Far better than some dusty record shop with some smelly cockerneys!
     
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  2. jmpatrick

    jmpatrick Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit, MI
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  3. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    Their branch in Greenwich is also a fine establishment that has provided me with many slabs of hard to find records.
     
  4. 5th-beatle

    5th-beatle Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brazil
    I was able to convince the airline to postpone my flight for another night (it was their fault that I missed my connections, after all) and ended up spending 48 hours in London.

    I was able to visit almost all of the record stores that you folks recommended and got some 7" singles. The second-hand Beatles-related LPs were more or less the same titles everywhere, and I've got them all already. No real rarities to be found and prices were a bit high (as expected), but the really high prices were being charged by sellers who put tables throughout Portobello Road. I asked about the Sgt Pepper box and got the same reply at all stores: they will have it early next week but are not allowed to sell it before the official release date, as otherwise they will be punished.

    All in all I had a good time in town, as I was able to do a bit of sightseeing as well, including crossing Abbey Road once again and visiting the official shop next door to the studios, which apparently was opened last year. Weather was nice in the mornings and rainy in the afternoons, so not too bad overall.

    Thanks once again everyone for the helpful replies.
     
  5. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I'm pleased you enjoyed your day. London is expensive for Beatles stuff, I guess because a lot of tourists go looking for it.

    Did you buy yourself anything?
     
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  6. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    That one is a favourite of mine. The prices are good there too and some real bargains can be found at times.
     
  7. Graham

    Graham Senior Member

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    Been a Londoner for almost 20 years and grew up nearby in Reading... yet this thread has informed me of Rats Records, Graham's HiFi (I live in Islington yet never heard of it!) and the new Abbey Road shop. Fantastic.
     
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  8. Nice Marmot

    Nice Marmot Nothin’ feels right but doin’ wrong anymore

    Location:
    Tryon NC
    I was just there in January and bought Rolling Stones - Blue and Lonesome. That's a very good area to kill some time in.

    I've also been to All Ages Records in Camden Town, which is another interesting area to kill time in, it's a punk store though.
     
  9. LivingForever

    LivingForever Forum Arachibutyrophobic

    Apparently Flashback's Shoreditch branch is giving away free vinyl today. "Take away as much as you want..."

    I can only imagine what utter junk will be available in that offer!
     
  10. 5th-beatle

    5th-beatle Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brazil
    Yes, I bought several 7" singles at some of the recommended record stores, a few souvenirs at the Abbey Road shop and a few films on blu-ray at the big HMV store.

    I've got to admit that I surprised by the rather small selection of Beatles-related items at most of the shops. When I visited London in 1997 and 2008 there were much more LPs and boxed sets. Not to mention the unauthorized titles, which were plentiful in the past and now are virtually non-existent.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2017
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  11. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
  12. 5th-beatle

    5th-beatle Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brazil
    I actually got a mono "With The Beatles" for £20 back in 1997 in Liverpool (in a NEMS bag different from the one in your link) at a second-hand store close to where the original NEMS store was.

    Prices are crazy these days. For example, I saw the same Beatles EPs being sold at different London locations for anywhere between £20 and £75. Original UK albums were being offered for £125-£300, and I bought those on ebay for less than £50 in the past couple of years.
     
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  13. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Ya, I noticed the prices have increased a lot lately too. I'm lucky, I too was able to finish my collection just before the big jump in prices. Shipping from the UK to Canada has not helped either!!!!
     
  14. 5th-beatle

    5th-beatle Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brazil
    That's true. When I checked the prices at the second-hand London record stores I noticed they were nearly always higher than on ebay, and most of the time there were stickers with very specific details about the pressing.

    I also noticed that new UK items were more expensive than the US editions. For example, the latest "flowers in the dirt" boxed set costs £150, and I've read members saying that in the US it costs a lot less than that. When I asked about the price of the upcoming "Sgt Pepper" box, the employee at HMV (and other stores) said it's going to cost well over £100, maybe even £150.
     
  15. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Ya, too be fair, there are a billion releases of US albums compared to UK. Plus the UK LPs are cooler!!!!
     
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  16. 5th-beatle

    5th-beatle Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brazil
    Back in London with a few free hours this afternoon before McCartney's concert, so I read your all of your recommendations again. Thanks everyone.
     
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  17. 5th-beatle

    5th-beatle Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brazil
    I forgot to mention that I found some good stuff at Rhythm Records and Sister Ray, both on Berwick Street.

    However, a few hours earlier (on a Sunday afternoon) I accidentally stumbled upon several people selling records on tables on a street (that had been temporarily closed off to cars) near Rough Trade East. I was surprised to find original 1960s Beatles UK LPs (black-and-yellow Parlophone labels) being sold for less than £20 (maybe less than £15), which I think very reasonable prices. Certainly lower than on ebay. There were also many original 1970s UK LPs of their solo careers in grear condition for £4 to £10 each.
     
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  18. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Graham Hi-Fi
    Didn’t have much vinyl stock when I popped into have a look a few years back.
     
  19. 5th-beatle

    5th-beatle Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Brazil
    I've been reading about HMV being in financial trouble, so is the store on Oxford Street still open?

    I went there a few times to buy new LPs, CDs and films on blu-ray, as it was the biggest store (with the biggest inventory) that I found. Is it still like that?
     
  20. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Bummer to hear that cosmopolitan London is like that too.
     
  21. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    No!

    The big one closed 2013/2014.

    A smaller one opened ...now defunct.
     
  22. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    Is the multi level store at Piccadilly Circus still there?
    Tower Records I think it was?
     
  23. KaptKopter

    KaptKopter Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Nope, long gone I'm afraid..
     
  24. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    I was there in 93' & the CD range for tons of individual artists was out off this world.
    eg: Muddy Waters for openers & I won't even start on the Jazz level/s.
     
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  25. KaptKopter

    KaptKopter Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    It was one of my favourite record stores as well, as you say, amazing range and great imports. Think Tower Records went into liquidation.
     
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