Hey Londoner’s, need your inputs!

I will spent the Xmas break in London, UK and would like to do some used vinyl shopping.

What would be your top 5-10 shop suggestions for a prog rock and rock listener looking for 70’s classics ax/bx vinyl pressings?

Cheers!

 

Well, my main suggestion would be to try and find a time machine, because high rents and changing tastes mean the record shop scene in London is a pale ghost of what it was 20, even ten years ago.

However. There are places you can go, keep in mind some shops close altogether over the holiday season so best phone ahead.

You have a depleted Berwick Street in central London - two smallish stores now, Sister Ray and Reckless Records.
There is the infamous Record and And Tape Exchange in Notting Hill, now rebranded:
Records & CDs
You have the Rough Trade shops:
Stores – Rough Trade
You might want to try Rat Records in Camberwell, I am trying to find out if they are open this week:
Rat Records, Camberwell - buy and sell second hand records, albums, cds

Previous discussions:

On a quest for ONE special record in London
London record stores and what to get??

 

Flashback has 3 branches, all of which are worth a look.

Like all the other London stores, the bins can be quite picked over, and whatever is worth having will likely be priced higher than the highest price on Discogs, but it’s still worth a look!

 

I feel like previously people have suggested heading out of central London to zone 6 for a much more fun experience, but I can’t think where was suggested right now.

The only one I can think of is The Record Store in Amersham, which has a decent stock but also the usual prices - except when they have one of their 50% off all second-hand record days, which are well worth attending!

 

I was in London as a 19 year-old some decades ago. I went to a place in Camden Town -- "Rock On Records".

I'd imagine that they're long gone, but they were somewhat fa back then. I'm wondering how long they lasted.

(Supposedly it's where Elvis Costello binge purchased a sh#tload of Stax and Motown 45's as a precursor to the redirected and reworked studio sessions following Armed Forces. Those sessions created Get Happy.)

 

Yes, I forgot to mention Camden. In my book a dreadful stew of bewildered tourists and desperate local trendies and thrillseekers, long past it's heyday.

So, bah, and indeed - Humbug!

But still...

Top 10's: Record Stores in Camden | Love Camden

 

What about the markets at Spitalfields ?

Vinyl Market

 

Yikes! What the hell happened? It reminds me of the gentrified, tragically hip areas of San Francisco.

 

Fopp Records close to Cambridge Circus/Shaftesbury Avenue does loads of new vinyl, along with a great range of CDs, DVDs and books. It's probably my record store of choice in town because prices are good too.

 

I think the main ones have been mentioned but I didn't see Greenwich. As it's a great tourist destination, there are about 3 record stores within minutes in the town centre. Also the markets normally have a record stall too. Lots of food, history, riverside walks, lovely park, observatory, museums, old buildings galore....and some record shopping too. Nice You can get a train a couple of stops from Charing Cross, or the Docklands light railway. Lots of the big red things pass through too!

 

Not much to add here, except to say that although Rat Records in Camberwell is a bit out of the way, my tripa there have never disappointed. Get there for 1030 on a Saturday morning, if you can, for their new stock sale.

Also out of the way, but good, is Alan's Record Shop in Finchley. A small shop that is actually overflowing with vinyl, and more than a few buried gems. Alan himself is a good man, as well.

 

I find the Music Store in Greenwich far too over priced .... especially their CDs

 

True...but it's Greenwich....so if you're a tourist no better place to visit eh? There's a smaller but overflowing, slightly grotty one in nearby Lee High Road. Been there for years. Boxes and crates all over. But I think I'd rather have a nice lunch and walk around Greenwich Park

 

Wow, thank you all. I have more than enough suggestions to keep me busy for a while!

I will put that on a map and see how it fares with the rest of our tourist journey.


Merry Xmas!

Daniel

 

Avoid Camden - if you do go, bear in mind that the last 20 years have seen it become a destination almost entirely subservient to tourists. No good record shops either. All gone as the major brands moved in. I live up the road in Kentish Town/Tufnell Park and almost never go to Camden.