NYC's Bleecker Bob's & Southpaw are closing down*

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by eddiel, Jan 27, 2012.

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  1. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    I do have a fond memory actually...sometime back in the mid 1980s I started getting into Thin Lizzy big time and much to my horror, discovered all their stuff (save perhaps L&D and JB) were out of print and not yet issued to cd. I scored mint copies there of Fighting, Bad Reputation, Johnny the Fox. I can't recall what I paid, but considering I was working part time at MacDonald's around that time...couldn't have been that bad!
     
  2. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    Terrible store. Their records are crap and way overpriced.
     
  3. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    The help at both of those stores suck. The guy who runs the vinyl section at Bleecker is a miserable dude. The records on the wall in the upstairs section at Bleecker Street records are way overpriced. Their downstairs section isn't bad.
     
  4. floweringtoilet

    floweringtoilet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Warren, RI, USA
    I would disagree a bit with those that say it is par for the course in NYC. Bleecker Bob's and Colony are two really extreme examples. Other stores in NYC might be overpriced, but not nearly to the same degree. Rent in Manhattan especially is high, so a certain degree of overpricing is to be expected. That said, back during the 80s and 90s I got many fantastic records for cheap that today would cost much more anywhere in the country today. I can't speak to the used record situation in NYC too much as I don't shop there a lot anymore, but the stores I have visited (Academy, Other Music, etc.) while perhaps pricier than they would be at say Princeton Record exchange, do not price their records in the same outrageous manner as Bleecker Bobs and Colony. Those two stores are exceptions, and were back in the 80s and 90s too.
     
  5. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    That cat is about 500 pounds!
     
  6. floweringtoilet

    floweringtoilet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Warren, RI, USA
    Definitely one of my funnier record store adventures.
     
  7. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    No, it shut down about 4 years ago. I ran into the owner last year in NYC. He has no desire to open another shop.
     
  8. Tommyboy

    Tommyboy Senior Member

    Location:
    New York
    It seemed like Revolver was the first place in NYC to get the latest Beatles "grey market" CDs.
     
  9. Vinylsoul 1965

    Vinylsoul 1965 Senior Member

    Yep, was there last year and felt the same way...overpriced...could see that in the heyday it would have been a fun store to shop in.

    Does anyone have any personal vintage photos of these shops? All that google seems to provide are recent ones...that would be interesting to see :)
     
  10. Muzyck

    Muzyck Pardon my scruffy hospitality

    Location:
    Long Island
    I used to make weekly stops at Revolver. I don't ever recall them changing the store name though. I stopped going there when they moved from glass master to mostly homemade digital media. Keith was often sitting behind the counter. I picked up a mono Magical Mystery Tour in "M-" condition for 12 bucks on one visit. I remember bringing it to to the counter and Keith's reaction. He didn't look to pleased about the pricing.
     
  11. Muzyck

    Muzyck Pardon my scruffy hospitality

    Location:
    Long Island
    If we are talking about the same Keith, he posted in a thread on Doug Sulpy's site a few years back that he quit the business and was in Florida after dealing with serious health issues related to diabetes.
     
  12. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Bob's was one of the few places in NYC during the 70's where you could get all the imports coming out of England at the time, and it was a flood of releases. The other place was Discophile on 8th St.. But Bob was always a p***k, and I tried to shop there when Peter Jordan (of the NY Dolls) was there, he was sweet as could be, and always willing to talk about/play music. Here's s quick story: Back when the movie "Decline Of Western Civilization:punk Years" was playing in theatres, there was a scene where Bob was interviewed. The entire audience started booing as one. Not a nice or well liked guy at all.

    And Colony is, was and always will be a rip-off. Used to go there in the early seventies when I was in college, you could walk down 2 blocks and pay $1.99 for something they priced at 30 bucks.
     
  13. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Extra foam for me. :D
     

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  14. joshbg2k

    joshbg2k Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    For some reason he had a NM early copy of Exile on Main St for $15 a year or two ago, which I obviously bought, but other than that the place was a ripoff with no selection.
     
  15. johnlightning

    johnlightning Forum Resident

  16. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    I would say it is Academy and Other Music that are the exceptions, actually.

    Oh Well, Apparently Bob is planning on moving to the East Village, so he's not run out of town just yet.
     
  17. empirelvr

    empirelvr "That's *just* the way it IS!" - Paul Anka

    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    What memories this post is waking in me.

    During the early 1980's I went to NYU and my Saturday ritual was to go into all the record stores trading and buying like a madman.

    I think I bought something from all of them...except for Bleecker Bob's!

    My favorites were Strider, Second Coming, Hedgehog and a place I just can't remember the name...but they sold (only) current promo's for about half the list price of a stock copy. I amassed quite a collection of white label Quiex II pressings there!

    Sorry to hear about Keith's health issues. I rememeber him well. A real character!

    I think Bleecker Bob's and Colony only exist for the tourist trade. They have a "name" and are an attraction much like the Statue of Liberty or Empire State Building. Tourists go there to gawk over how much records are "worth" and make them think they own expensive treasures.

    Colony though, was the only place I ever saw a US mono "The Birds, The Bees. & The Monkees" in my entire life. It was shrink wrapped (with no record inside!) embossed as a promotional copy, and was selling for $50...in around 1977 or 1978. In retrospect, if the disc was in good shape that was a bargain!! :D
     
  18. Daryl M

    Daryl M Senior Member

    Location:
    London, Ontario
    I did find something in Bleecker Bob's once that blew my mind:
    the May 1-15 1976 issue of N.Y. Daily Planet with the Patti Smith
    nude photos in it (cover story). I flipped...and couldn't get my
    $20 out fast enough. I would have paid a lot more for it. I have
    never seen those photos reproduced anywhere else.
     
  19. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    My son was in New York last week and went into Bleecker Bobs to buy me a couple of LPs and he said he overheard one of the staff saying to another customer that they were closing down!

    Can anybody confirm this?

    JG
     
  20. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    More importantly, did your son get the LPs, what are they and how much did Bob overcharge him?
     
  21. Bill Cormier

    Bill Cormier Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malta, New York
    This place always had nutty prices and a very weird vibe...
    Don`t know about it closing.
     
  22. floweringtoilet

    floweringtoilet Forum Resident

    Location:
    Warren, RI, USA
    I thought it closed already. There were a bunch of stories in the NYT, etc. a few months back.
     
  23. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    I have a huge collection and he still managed to get me 3 lps I didn't have in my collection. He was amazed he picked out 3 LPs I didn't ask him how much they cost! I was in it myself years ago and wasn't impressed by the condition or the prices of the LPS.

    Gregg Allman solo LP
    Peter Frampton LP
    Doobie Brothers LP

    JG
     
  24. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    Sounds like you raised him well! Enjoy the records.
     
  25. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Bleeker Bob's...? Meh, who cares.

    Now if Academy or the Jazz Record Center were shutting down, then I'd be upset!
     
    floweringtoilet and Muzyck like this.
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