London, UK | Londoners fuming as HMV on Oxford Street becomes another American candy store: Londoners are reliving fond memories of the old HMV and are not particularly pleased with the presence of the new store. Oxford Street’s iconic HMV store has been replaced with an American Candy outlet, and Londoners are not happy about it. The new storefront bears the remnants of the original, with the words “His Masters” still clearly visible above the new store’s slogan. Sad Londoners took to social media to share fond memories of working or browsing in the iconic music shop, and many lamented the choice of American Candy as a replacement. One user said the change was “an embarrassment” to the high street. Writing on Facebook Daniele D’Amato said: “This is so sad. I used to be a Press photographer and shot so many gigs and signings at this store. We’d have beers in the pub down the side alley before (and after) shows, whilst chatting to all the security fellas who worked here about their day… It was a community. Being part of HMV, looking back, was quite special.
Camberwell, UK | Rat Records in Camberwell to permanently close in June 2022: Rat Records, the brilliant second hand vinyl record shop in Camberwell, South London, has announced that it will be closing for good in mid-June this year. Founded by ‘expert vinyl dealer, collector and music nutcase’ Tom Fisher in an Oxford street market 33 years ago, Rat Records has evolved into a hugely popular record shop in South London. Offering affordable prices, they’ve sold over 1,000,000 second hand records since 1988, adding that they’ve “stuck on 1.3 million plus price stickers, driven 860,000 miles, worn out 17 vehicles (and counting) and found the only known copy of a collaboration between Mick Jagger and John Lennon.” In a Facebook post, the owner said: It is with regret that we need to tell you that the Rat Records shop will close in mid-June. The current lease is expiring and Tom has decided to retire. We will be trading as normal until June, and will keep you updated with more details soon, here and on the Rat Records site. We would like the shop to continue, so if you are interested in purchasing the business name, assets etc, please contact Tom: tom@ratrecordsuk.net
Berlin, MD | Sound Storm Records embraced by Berlin: Vinyl enthusiasts have been flocking in droves to Sound Storm Records in Berlin since its opening earlier this month on the corner of Broad and Gay streets. The new business is the brainchild of Brandon Zlatniski and his girlfriend, Lauren Carlson. “We need something like this in Berlin,” Zlatniski said. The couple was caught off guard by the onslaught of music consumers who surfaced during the shop’s grand opening over Valentine’s Day weekend. “We were kind of blown away,” he said. “We weren’t expecting this overwhelming of a response.” Carlson said a steady stream of customers perused the selections of new and used vinyl on opening weekend. “It feels as if the town has welcomed us with open arms,” she said. Now entering his 30s, Zlatniski became entranced by the music scene during his teen years. “I followed all the bands on Fuse and the Warped Tour, [plus] bought all the music I could find,” he said. In addition to learning to play guitar at a young age, Zlatniski also dreamt of starting a retail record business.
Oslo, NO | Neseblod Records: This record shop and unofficial black metal museum is an ode to Oslo’s heaviest musical export. This unassuming storefront should be a top priority for any metal fan visiting Oslo. A record shop and unofficial metal museum in Norway’s capitol city, Neseblod Records (“nosebleed”) is also central in many regards to the early history of black metal. The record shop, originally named Helvete, was first opened in June 1991 by the late and now-infamous guitarist Euronymous. The term helvete is Norwegian for “hell,” and comes from the Norse hels víti, translating to “hell’s punishment.” As co-founder and guitarist for the early Norwegian black metal band Mayhem, Euronymous was a central figure in the nascent music scene. He was the only constant member from the band’s formation in 1984 until his death in 1993. The basement of this early record store was a gathering spot for many of Euronymous’ friends and bandmates, making the space something of a mecca for black metal enthusiasts.
Nederland, CO | Boogie Records: Vinyl’s not old – it’s new again! Responding to the recent resurgence of interest in vinyl records, Ryan Blackwell opened his first record store in Nederland on 1st Street in the spring of 2019. Selling vinyl records was not what Blackwell set out to do with his life. He invested 20 years of his life in cancer research and also taught biology. But collecting vinyl had been a hobby for five years, and when the desire to run his own business became overwhelming he turned his hobby into a business and launched the first iteration of Boogie Records. The business has now doubled each year. After three years in his original location, the store moved two blocks west to a space twice the size of the first store, “and with plenty of room for more records!” From a beginning that had him asking online for local aficionados to sell him their collections, Blackwell now has a stock of more than 5,000 vinyl records and 5,000 CDs.
Bolton, UK | Real Deal Record Fair comes to Bolton: A huge record sale is going on in Bolton’s town centre for old and new collectors. Each of the stalls offers a wide range of CDs, vinyl records, merchandise, and picture discs. The fairs take across Greater Manchester and beyond with a variety of music to choose from, including Ska, Punk, and Pop. Mark Edwards, who runs it with Paul Rafferty, said: “A lot of young people are collecting, and vinyl has come back. “It’s good how young people see value through records. “It gets them out there rather than them being sat on their computer. “Anyone who still collects or is a new collector is welcome to come and get their fix.”
Manchester, UK | Johnny Marr releases new album and sets off on record shop tour meeting fans: Johnny Marr’s new double album ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’ is released today. In celebration of the new record, today sees Johnny begin a week long tour of in-store signing appearances at indie record shops across the UK. The seven stop run saw Johnny meet fans at Manchester’s Piccadilly Records today, before visiting London’s Rough Trade East and West, Brighton’s Resident Records, Rough Trade Nottingham, Sheffield’s Bear Tree Records and Leeds’ Jumbo Records from February 28th to March 3rd. ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’, which includes the singles ‘Night and Day’, ‘Tenement Time’, ‘Sensory Street’ and ‘Spirit, Power and Soul’ is already receiving extensive critical praise.
