Liverpool, UK | A new record shop is opening on Liverpool’s most famous music street: …“We did the fairs at weekends and that gave us time to do whatever we wanted in the week which we liked. When it was International Beatleweek last year we ran a record fair at Cavern Walks in conjunction with the festival and it was a great success. “JSM who own the building approached us a few months later and asked if we’d be interested in opening a shop and straight away we said no. But they suggested we talk about it and think about it because they thought it would be a great idea to have a record shop on Mathew Street. “By the end of our first conversation, I was kind of agreeing so I spoke to Tom and he thought it sounded pretty good and after a few more meetings we thought, let’s do it. We’ll put our all into it like we do with the record fairs and see what happens.”
MN | New Down in the Valley owners take record store for a spin: In between business appointments, Shawn Bubendorf stopped in to Down in the Valley last week in search of a couple new records. “I just, I like the mix here,” he said. “So they have some new, some old, good selection of both vinyl and CD.” He flipped through the neatly-filled record crates clutching an unopened Sonny Terry record that’s destined for his turntable. “I’ve never seen this one before, it happens to be a blues album,” Bubendorf said. He’s one of the many shoppers seeking out the store for its diverse musical offerings. “I grew up with vinyl,” he said. “I was a CD guy for decades and when vinyl started coming back I dabble.” He’s far from alone. In today’s world of music streaming and viral fads, customers flock to Down in the Valley for media that’s tangible.
Los Angeles, CA | Remembering L.A.’s First Great Record Store, Wallichs Music City: Bing Crosby shopped the aisles, Frank Zappa worked the floor: Before there was a Tower Records, before the Capitol Records building was the Capitol Records building, L.A.’s coolest music-industry hub was Wallichs Music City. Glenn Wallichs opened the record store with his brother, Clyde, at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in 1940. Until Tower Records set up on the Sunset Strip 30 years later, Wallichs Music City was the place to go for concert tickets, sheet music, LPs, 45s, tapes, 8-tracks, cassettes, and musical instruments. It’s where a friend of mine purchased a double neck guitar right off the wall, and where my mother picked up an alto recorder for my second grade music class. Maybe you remember its radio and TV jingle: “It’s Music City, Sunset & Vine!”
HK | How did Jarvis Cocker’s trip to a Hong Kong record shop boost a vinyl revival? The Pulp frontman’s tumble helped boost desirability of the old-school music format, which many in the city now collect as a labour of love. A stumble on a step, a Yorkshire-lilted “ohh noh,” and world-famous Jarvis Cocker clatters down the stairs from The Listening Room. The frontman of 1990s Britpop phenom Pulp is mostly OK, but will headline Clockenflap the following evening a little less snake-hipped than usual, after breaking two ribs in this innocent attempt at returning to ground level after shopping for records. Rob Deal, the owner of the Tsim Sha Tsui emporium where Cocker, then pushing 60, had been browsing before his 2023 accident, says he “felt like burying myself” and feared backlash. And sure, word got out, as it does, but instead of sending hate mail, fans flocked to take selfies at the errant staircase and check out where the singer had been shopping. “It gave us a boost.”
Belfast, IE | New women led radio station to launch in Belfast Radio Starr: It comes from the team behind Belfast’s longest-running independent record store. A brand new radio station is launching in Belfast next month from the team behind Starr Records, the city’s longest-running record store. Radio Starr is set to debut during The Oh Yeah Music Centre’s Sound Of Belfast Festival, celebrating the city’s musical heritage and UNESCO City of Music status. The station will dedicate 50% of its programming to female artists and those from underrepresented or minority backgrounds, promising a “clear and lasting commitment to representation.” The team behind Starr Records—which is helmed by Sinéad Green and Jeff Doherty—promise to bring a blend of music, culture, and “visual storytelling” with the new station, and a focus on showcasing independent artists.
The secret history behind Queen’s News Of The World album cover: The giant robot from the band’s 1977 album cover may have terrified Stewie Griffin but it was created by a respected sci-fi artist… It’s one of the most iconic album covers to appear in the 1970s: a giant robot looms over the landscape. In his hand are two figures, broken and bleeding, two others are falling from its grasp. On on the robot’s face is a mournful, tearful expression…. on his fingers is blood. What has he done? What happened in this futuristic nightmare? This is the image that confronted Queen fans on 28 October 1977 when their sixth studio album News Of The World appeared in record stores. The inner gatefold image continues the story – we see the robot from the point of view of a crowd of panicking people, as the enormous automaton reaches in through the hole in the ceiling of their protective dome. Who’s going to be next to fall foul of the behemoth? It was a far cry from the usual imagery Queen would employ for their records.
Technics waves goodbye to the legendary SL-1200 turntable with super-exclusive Master Editions: A £5000 victory lap for the SL-1200G. Technics is making sure that one of its most iconic series of turntables is going out with a bang. The established hi-fi brand has revealed its new Grand Class SL-1200G/1210G Master Edition special production turntables, which it describes as the final evolution of the iconic SL-1200G series. The SL-1200 line has been a legend for Technics since the 1970s, with many of its successors and iterations, such as the beautifully made SL-1200GR2 and the 2025 What Hi-Fi? Award-winner SL-1300G, passing through our test rooms in recent years. That original ‘G’ line is now ending after 50 years of production, with Technics looking to send its iconic range riding off into the sunset via one last hurrah.
Fargo, ND | Photos: Vinyl lovers come out for Fargo Record Fair: Used records, tapes, CDs and more brought out music lovers hunting for those rare and nostalgic albums to the Fargo Record Fair. To the delight of audiophiles and collectors alike, the Fargo Record Fair returned with a new location in 2025, bringing together record lovers of all ages and backgrounds to shop used and rare vinyl and other music collectibles. Paul Walswick, of Halstad, Minnesota, said he has been collecting records since he was 13. “I’m a little older than that, now,” he said with a laugh. His T-shirt proudly proclaimed, “I may be old, but I got to see all the cool bands.” “Instead of buying, I’m cleaning out my collection and making the wife happy,” said Walswick, who was one of dozens of vendors at the Fargo Record Fair on Saturday, Oct. 25, at Brewhalla—a new location for the event, which took place at now-defunct Fargo Brewing Company in past years.
Manahawkin, NJ | End of an Era Ushers in New Threat to Indie Music: …From the perspective of consumers, this month has marked the end of an era in many ways. The sudden, tragic death of groundbreaking Neo-soul artist D’Angelo at the young age of 51 shook the industry. Not long after, KISS co-founder Ace Frehley took a fatal fall, sending the rock ’n’ roll world into mourning. And, finally, after almost 44 years – and at least 20 years of a slow deterioration – MTV has announced that it will shut down its five music-oriented channels at the end of the year. The flagship station will remain, with a focus on “reality” TV. (Will they rename it RTV? Who knows?) We all saw it coming, but it doesn’t sting any less. On the local front, a big chapter has closed with the final Red Rocker Record Fair, which was held at the Manahawkin Mart Shoppes last Sunday.
Victoria, BC | Explore: Victoria Record Fair; Swan Lake Winter Craft Fair; Salmon Sensation in Sooke: A roundup of upcoming family-friendly events, including the Victoria Record Fair in the Fernwood Community Centre on Saturday. One of the top recurring events in Greater Victoria is ready for launch this weekend, with upwards of 30 vendors offering thousands of vinyl records, CDs, cassettes and music memorabilia for sale in the Fernwood Community Centre gymnasium on Saturday. The Victoria Record Fair runs 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and is a benefit for CFUV Radio 101.9FM. Money raised through vendor fees, admission, and the sale of donated records and CDs will be given directly to the community radio station located at the University of Victoria campus. The hugely popular record fair has raised thousands for the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, the Mustard Seed Food Bank, the Victoria Humane Society, and the Newcomers Fund of St. Nicholas Church, among other organizations.
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