Category Archives: A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined

Kirksville, MO | Wow, America’s oldest record store is in Kirksville, Missouri: When I first saw this, I did a double-take. But, I’ve discovered it really appears to be true. America’s oldest record store is in Kirksville, Missouri. Wow. I have to give Only In Your State some mad props for being right about this one. I admit I doubted them, but it appears their claim is correct. They named Rinehart’s Music and Video in Kirksville, Missouri as the oldest location of a record store. They’re not wrong. Their official Facebook page (and the Only In Your State article) says they opened as a record store in 1897. In those days, it was just phonographs, but technically that’s still a record. Remember that date. If you Google “oldest record store in America”, you’ll see many places that make that claim. Parade Magazine claimed it was George’s Song Shop in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Vinyl Lives agrees. It opened as a record store in 1932. That’s 35 years after Rinehart’s so they lose.

Chicago, IL | Farewell to Dave’s Records: Photos from the final day of the beloved Lincoln Park shop capture a sliver of the community that Dave Crain’s passion for vinyl drew together. In August 2009, I moved into a three-bedroom on Clark a few blocks north of Fullerton, with no clue about Lincoln Park’s cultural position in Chicago. I had grad-school classes in Evanston and the Loop, so the neighborhood seemed to make sense—it was more or less in between the two. …That December, I discovered the storefront windows of a nearby record shop. In an eclectic display of Christmas-themed album covers, I spotted a record by King Diamond, who was pictured in his trademark corpsepaint, thumbing his nose, sticking out his tongue, and cozying up to a reindeer with ribbons in its antlers. The disc was a 1985 12-inch called “No Presents for Christmas,” and the shop was Dave’s Records. Nothing else in the neighborhood spoke to me the way it did.

Nottingham, UK | Take a look around an 80s Nottingham record shop opened by Depeche Mode: Vinyl, cassettes, CDs – and a bunch of happy shoppers. The way we listen to music has changed so much as the decades have worn on. But that hasn’t stopped beloved old formats having a revival – vinyl sales are back in the millions, and last year cassette tapes enjoyed their best sales since 2003. If you’re hankering for a time without on-demand streaming, then take a look at the gallery below. HMV on Lister Gate opened in 1986, with a bunch of pretty special guests. Depeche Mode cut the ribbon with a gaggle of eager devotees. Plenty turned out to see one of the defining synthpop bands of the 80s with cameras, pens and albums in hand. Other photos show the HMV at Christmas, in full colour. They were busy days as people looked for last-minute gifts for loved ones—compilation album, anyone Take a look at the gallery below to explore HMV Lister Gate as it was in 1986. Let us know what you remember?

Norwich, UK | Norwich shops’ joy as demand for records continues to grow: City record shops have spoken of their joy after vinyl became the UK’s second most popular form of physical entertainment. More people bought vinyl records than Playstation and Xbox games in 2022 according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) with only Nintendo Switch games outselling wax. And Norwich’s many record shops say the industry has continued to grow since the vinyl revival started around 2008. Some store owners have even gone as far as to say the ever-increasing demand for records has kept them in business. Andy Tillett, who has run Press to Play, in St Benedicts Street, for more than 20 years, is one of those who says vinyl keeps his business running. He said: “I sell a lot of vinyl, it’s definitely a growth business. “I don’t know how they work out which formats are the most popular but vinyl has certainly kept us going.”

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Kalispell, MT | Spinning vinyl and building community: For Bernard Jones, Slow Burn Records is more than just a place to buy music: it’s a hub for Northwest Montana’s vibrant music scene. “As much as it’s about the vinyl records, it’s more about having a safe haven for artists,” Jones said. “People are excited about it.” Jones is the general manager of the record store in Whitefish, which replaced local favorite Spanky’s and Gus after the shop closed its doors in 2021. When Slow Burn’s owners Mike and Dyan Colby heard Spanky’s planned on closing, the couple purchased the storefront and set out on revamping the space. Records of all genres line the bright storefront, which is decorated with bespoke furniture, instruments and neon signs. Customers can pop in a record at one of the store’s six listening stations, which allows music lovers to explore the wide-ranging collection. Jones said he has seen a renewed interest from young people in the old-fashioned way of listening.

Bristol, UK | Get to know: Collector Cave. Its true that vinyl is still an alive and kicking musical medium. Whether you’re a casual listener or a DJ, chances are that you or someone you know simply can’t get enough of those black waxy 12 inch discs. Yet, somehow, record stores themselves aren’t having the best luck of late. When Collector Cave was forced to close its doors in the Vintage Market at the bottom of Stokes Croft last year, it was a massive blow for the vinyl community. Easily one of Bristol’s top digging spots, you could guarantee with almost 100% certainty that you could go in there with a tenner and, with a keen ear, come out with two or three scorchers. However, all was not lost. The start of a new year brings with it new beginnings for the cave, as they open their new store, just a touch further up from the previous stomping ground, on Cheltenham Road, next to the Cloak and Dagger. I managed to grab them for a chat as they enter their first full month of business in the new gaff. We reminisced on the old store, looked into the future, and talked ice cream flavours.

AU | ‘So sad:” Aussies react to closure of iconic music retailer Sanity: The closure of iconic Aussie retailer Sanity has prompted a debate about whether physical stores are still needed in the streaming era. Iconic Australian music and entertainment retailer Sanity was there for vinyl records and cassette tapes, and for CDs and DVDs, but despite hanging on for so long, its stores have been unable to survive the streaming era. Earlier this week the company announced it was closing its physical doors and moving to become an online-only store. In response, Australians saddened by the news are sharing their fond memories of the chain, which opened its first Sanity-branded store in 1992 in Doncaster, Melbourne, but has a history that dates back to 1980. “This was the place I’d buy my CDs and CD singles from when I was a teenager,” one man from Canberra said. “I loved going in and seeing the top 20 albums of the week and the option of putting on the headphones to listen to an album before buying it. Thank you Sanity.”

Middlesbrough, UK | Turning tables: the UK’s new vinyl manufacturer riding the music revival: For the past year a Middlesbrough pressing plant has been helping artists make records, and there is no sign of demand slowing down. It only received its first pressing machines on Christmas Eve last year, but Press On Vinyl is well on its way to becoming the biggest manufacturer of vinyl records in the UK, already churning out about 3,000 a day and hoping to double that next year. The popularity of vinyl has soared in recent years – 2022 is expected to be yet another year with the highest sales since the early 1990s – and manufacturers have been unable to cope with demand. Taylor Swift’s Midnights has sold 80,000 copies on vinyl, more than any other album this century, helping to increase vinyl sales above those of CDs for the first time since the 1980s. “The demand for vinyls has increased dramatically in the last eight years, and existing plants haven’t managed to grow in tandem with it and new plants haven’t been able to set up in time,” said David Todd, who co-founded Press On Vinyl, in Middlesbrough, with Danny Lowe.

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AU | Iconic music retailer Sanity to shut its bricks and mortar stores for good: For decades it’s been the port of call for kids grabbing their first CD, but now Aussie music and entertainment retailer Sanity is closing up its physical doors. Sanity was founded by business heavyweight Brett Blundy with just a single store in 1980 called Jetts, in Pakenham, Victoria. It sold vinyl records and cassette tapes. By 1992, the brand relaunched as Sanity with the first outlet under that name in Doncaster, in Melbourne’s north-east. The company was purchased by Ray Itaoui 13 years ago. Now, as online shopping – particularly for music – takes an ever-larger share of the market, Sanity has announced it will close its 50 physical stores by the end of April this year, in line with their respective lease expiries.

AU | So Long, Sanity: A Tribute To Iconic Music Chains: As another icon shuts its doors for good, we revisit HMV, Brashs, CC Music, Fish Records, Trax and more. …Record stores – retailers that sell recorded music in all its forms – have been around for as long as recorded music itself. In Australia some of the first were sheet music retailers like Allans Music, which also sold LPs, EPs and singles; most also selling musical instruments, parts and novelties – picks, strings, metronomes and that piano necktie or pencil set your music teacher pretended they liked every year. Music retailers were not just important for punters, but also for musicians. Of course, these were the libraries where eager students could take lessons home, but also where ‘hit parade’ music charts were distributed and literally made; so they were fundamental to the way Australian music history and its success has been understood.

UK | UK music consumption up again, as British artists fill top ten of 2022: Music consumption in the UK was up again in 2022 – or so says record industry trade group BPI in its customary end-of-year stats pack focused on how much music was streamed by and sold to British consumers in the last twelve months. Based on its crunching of Official Charts Company data, the BPI reckons that 159.3 billion audio streams occurred on digital music platforms in the UK last year, up 8.2% on 2021. This means that, in the average week, more than three billion audio streams are being played by British consumers across the various music services. Good times. If you do the magical (and only slightly mysterious) maths that equates streams to album sales, streaming accounted for 86.1% of recorded music sales last year, in terms of units rather than cash through the till. As for the other 13.9%, that comes from the sale of downloads, CDs, vinyl and cassettes, of course.

Sleaford, UK | Meet the married couple running a ‘half and half’ shared shop: It’s divided right down the middle. A married couple has fulfilled their dreams by taking over each half of a high street, selling records on one side and unique vintage fashion on the other. Paul and Andrea Clarke have set up their venture in a former tattoo parlour on West Gate in Sleaford, hoping to bring something new to the town. Paul, 61, runs Vinyl Resting Place, a creatively-named record shop that is crammed full of more than 4,000 vinyl records, ranging from essentials like The Beatles and The Clash to top-sellers Harry Styles and Taylor Swift, and seemingly everything in between. Andrea is on the other side of the wall, with a dark, Alice in Wonderland-themed clothes shop called Crimson Rabbit, that specialises in vintage and retro-style clothing. The clothes, which span from authentic Victorian handbags to 90s/Y2K fashion and celestial jewellery, aren’t separated by gender and she took inspiration for what to stock from her life spent in the trendy city of Manchester.

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Newcastle, UK | Newcastle’s Beyond Vinyl To Close: Newcastle record shop Beyond Vinyl will close in March 2023. The shop opened five years ago, and has made its home on 88 Westgate Road in the North East city. Building a loyal customer base, Beyond Vinyl has endured time, tide, and the odd pandemic or two, but it seems that the shop will be forced to close this year. In a note to customers, Beyond Vinyl confirmed that it will close in March, due to “the current climate.” Urging local councils to support high street retailers and independent businesses, Beyond Vinyl say: “They are the heart of the local community and make Newcastle the best city in the UK.” Beyond Vinyl intend to continue trading online, with their website receiving a full overhaul and redesign—get involved.

Colorado Springs, CO | Music lovers find joy in new Colorado Springs record shop: Shawn Mayo had a hand-sketched drawing hanging on his refrigerator of the dream record shop he someday hoped to own. Twenty years later, he brought his drawing to life. Mayo and business partner Drew Morton opened Tiger Records last month, marking the inception of Colorado Springs’ newest record store among nearly a half dozen others, such as Earth Pig and What’s Left Records. The shop, tucked into a strip mall at 1625 W. Unitah St. on Colorado Springs’ west side, features an array of vintage vinyl, new releases, sound systems and rock memorabilia, such as posters and stickers. “I have been in the record business since 1985,” Mayo said. “I have worked for many record stores, most notably Independent Records here in town, for 23 years I worked for them.” But in March, Mayo said he was laid off from his job at Independent Records. Mayo saw it as an opportunity for him and Morton, a friend and record hunter, to start their store after they had acquired a treasure trove of records from a longtime collector.

Cleveland, OH | Cleveland’s Blue Arrow Records Releases Debut from L.A.-Based Experimental Group 1X4X9: Band features former Clevelander Gregory Wooten. Several years ago, renowned designer, collector and musician Gregory Wooten stopped in at Blue Arrow Records to peruse the Collinwood record store’s terrific vinyl collection. A former Clevelander, Wooten was visiting his parents and decided to take a day to dig for albums. At the time, he had built up what he calls a “crazy collection” of defaced album covers and was about to publish the book Marred for Life!: Defaced Record Covers from the Collection of Gregory Wooten. He was looking to add to it and asked Blue Arrow owner Pete Gulyas if he had anything “squirreled away.” “He had a box in the back, and it completely blew my mind,” says Wooten via phone. “At that point, I had about 1,000 defaced albums. I was bugging out because Pete had so many great ones. They weren’t for sale, but I couldn’t resist asking him if I could get just one.

Knighton, UK | Sound of music set to be heard even more in town: Juke boxes, records and vintage items—the owners of a new Knighton shop are determined to bring the sound of music to the area. Mark Owen and Claire Williams opened Diesel Records shop on High Street recently. The couple have traded in records for about 12 years, both online and in retail, and they have had a few shops in South Wales. But when they moved to Knighton in the summer, their new home also came with a shop downstairs. As well as picking up some vinyl, shoppers can also browse through antiques, vintage items and collectibles in the adjoined Rebel Vintage part of the store. The couple run both shops side by side. Mark runs Diesel Records and it not only sells vinyl LPs but also 78s, singles, cds, cassette tapes and memorabilia, including T shirts, American number plates, one-arm bandits, pinball machines and juke boxes.

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Sanford, ME | Bull Moose’s Sanford store to close in early 2023. What to know about their next location: After 25 years of being a source of music, movies and more for fans of mainstream and alternative entertainment, Bull Moose is closing its Sanford store and relocating to Biddeford. The company announced on Dec. 15 that it will be leaving the Center for Shopping on Route 109 in South Sanford and will be moving into the space previously occupied by Nubble Books at Biddeford Crossing on Route 111 in early 2023. Bull Moose President Shawn Nichols said he and his company are “thrilled to be part of the Biddeford revitalization.” “It’s a vibrant community in which Bull Moose can continue to foster our commitment to the arts and to the community,” Nichols said. Bull Moose opened its Sanford location, the smallest in its 11-store chain in Maine and New Hampshire, in 1997.

Lichfield, UK | New vinyl record shop opens in Lichfield: It will sell a range of records, CDs and cassettes. A new vinyl record shop has opened in Lichfield. Stylus Records is selling new and used vinyl, CDs and cassette tapes at its shop in Minster Pool Walk after taking a five-year lease on a retail unit. The record shop is based in a 647sq ft former yoga studio just off the pedestrianised Bird Street in the city centre. It overlooks the Minster Pool and the cathedral beyond. The arrival of Stylus Records in Lichfield has been received extremely positively according to commercial property consultants Burley Browne. Now the owner has big plans for the year ahead. Owner of Stylus Records Tim Balderstone said: “I have been looking for the right space for my business for some time, and when David contacted me to advise me of this opportunity, I knew that with a little bespoke TLC it was perfect for my dreams of opening a record shop in Lichfield.”

Avondale, IL | Bric-A-Brac T-Shirt Fundraiser Will Support Avondale Record Shop’s Rebuild After Burst Pipe: Bric-a-Brac’s owners have teamed up with local artist Ryan Duggan on a T-shirt fundraiser. Shirts cost $25 and are now available for pre-order. Neighbors looking to help Bric-a-Brac recover from a burst pipe flood that destroyed thousands of the Avondale shop’s records can do so by buying a special-edition T-shirt or two. Bric-a-Brac’s owners have teamed up with local artist Ryan Duggan on a T-shirt fundraiser. Duggan’s “wet from above” shirts each cost $25 and are now available for pre-order. T-shirt sales will go toward rebuilding Bric-a-Brac, which suffered damage and lost cherished inventory when a frozen pipe burst in the ceiling of the record shop on Christmas. At least 3,000 records were destroyed in the flood, along with other inventory such as books and VHS tapes, said co-owner Nick Mayor, who runs the record and collectibles shop with his wife, Jen Lemasters. Mayor said they’re especially heartbroken over the loss of the shop’s entire soundtrack collection…

Belmar, NJ | Drop Local Receipts at Lofidelic Records for the chance to win Beach Badges: Drop off receipts between Jan. 3 and Jan. 8. Since November 25, TAPinto has been sponsoring a “Shop Local for the Holidays” campaign, and giving away seasonal Belmar beach badges. Beach badges will be awarded to the three people who supported the most Belmar & Lake Como businesses between November 25 and December 24 2022. The winners are chosen by the number of receipts they have, not the total amount of money that they spend. One receipt is permitted for each store. Lofidelic Records, the vintage record shop, will be collecting the receipts between January 3 to January 8. Lofidelic Records just opened their brand new location at 905 Main Street, Belmar, and the receipts should be dropped off on one of those days between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Complete and attach the “Shop Local for the Holidays” form when you drop off your receipts in a sealed envelope. Ensure that the receipts are paper. First Place will receive four seasonal beach badges; Second Place will receive three seasonal beach badges; and Third Place will receive two seasonal beach badges.

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US | More Than 2.2 Million Vinyl Albums Sold In One Week In The US: The week of December 22, 2022, vinyl album records hit a sale of 2.2 million making it the largest number of vinyl albums sold in a week. Luminate has been tracking music sales since 1991 and 2022 was the year where numbers went sky high. According to Billboard, ” That marks the single-largest sales week for vinyl albums since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. It’s also only the second time in the modern era that weekly vinyl album sales have exceeded 2 million.” The first-time vinyl album sales exceeded was last year, the week ending December 23, 2021. Vinyl album sales were up 2.1 million last year. Inspired by holiday shopping vinyl album sales went up which allowed their number to reach to the millions. According to Billboard, “sales grew 46.7% during the holiday season. Vinyl album sales made up 57% of overall album sales in the United States in the week ending December 22 and 63% of all physical album sales.”

UK | Vinyl outsells CDs in the UK for the first time in 35 years: For the first time in 35 years, vinyl sales have beaten the sales of CDs in the UK. 2022 will be remembered for a lot of things, but the confirmation of vinyl’s resurgence to the top of the listening pile will be one more reminder of the year. The year’s best-selling vinyl was perhaps no surprise for those paying attention but is a sign that records are no longer restricted to the desires of music purists. The advent of streaming platforms has been a double-edged sword for the music industry. It has heralded a widespread proliferation of music as a necessity in our everyday lives; it has allowed an increase in the discovery of new artists and provides us with accessibility that was previously reserved for science-fiction films. However, it hasn’t all been plain sailing.

Valdosta, GA | For the Record: Ashley Street Station opens vinyl shop: For the last two years, memory lane was the only trip many people were taking, and Hole in the Wall Records Shop has flourished into a nostalgic destination. Having run Ashley Street Station, a live music bar, for the past 11 years, owner Bryan Gay said opening an adjacent record store just “made sense.” “We are a music bar. My father, my relatives are all musicians. One of the reasons we did a music bar here was because there weren’t a lot of musical, touring acts coming through and then that bled into the record store. We didn’t really want to do the record store at first,” he said. With the closure of Valdosta staple Red Door Records in late 2017, Gay wanted to keep that community alive. “It was more important for Valdosta to not, not have a record shop, and that was where that conversation came in with Jordan (Ganas) of Red Door saying they weren’t gonna open up. That means the city wasn’t gonna have a record (shop). and that’s where me and my head bartender sat down. We were like, ‘Can we do this?’ That’s where we started building the idea because we didn’t want to go backwards.”

Snohomish, WA | New record shop in Snohomish is homegrown: Stargazer Records in the Historic District had a soft opening earlier this month as the only new and used record store between Lynnwood and Bellingham. But why records when digital download is so accessible? Father and son co-owners Derek and Mark Florian of Snohomish have been in the vinyl record collection scene for many years. It all began when Derek Florian was cleaning his garage and stumbled upon his old records. They gave them a listen, and Derek remembered why he preferred the sound of vinyl over digital. “The sound quality is so much better. Sometimes when artists go into a recording studio, the background instruments and details aren’t heard as well on a digital download. They come out better when played on a record or Hi-Fi,” Derek Florian said. With COVID shutdowns, he noticed an upward trend in the vinyl industry. “During the pandemic, people were stuck at home, and they began to drop the needle again…”

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‘The vinyl business is only going to grow. At the moment it’s where Mp3 players were in the ’90s.’ Vinyl records are one of the music industry’s biggest comeback stories. Once on the verge of being relegated to history’s list of obsolete technology, sales of the format are now thriving in the streaming age and growing in major markets. In the US, for example, according to the RIAA, mid-year revenues (on a retail basis) from vinyl albums grew 22% to $570 million, while vinyl’s share of the physical market increased from 68% to 73%. In the UK, as of September 2022, year-to-date, vinyl albums generated retail revenues of £80.9 million, up 12.2% YoY, according to stats published by the Entertainment Retailers Association. Indeed, vinyl has become so popular with music consumers that manufacturers are coming under increased pressure to keep up with growing demand. One company that believes it has the solution to long lead times in the vinyl manufacturing space is UK-based elasticStage.

Lincoln, RI | In an age of streaming, Kangaroo CDs & Tapes still giving customers something to hold onto: It’s a June night in 1997 and the Wu-Tang Clan just released their new album, “Wu-Tang Forever.” Two-hundred eager customers line up at Kangaroo CDs & Tapes on Mineral Spring Avenue for the store’s midnight release of the album. There’s just one problem – the town of North Providence does not allow midnight sales. Store owner Linda Bowen recalls the police arriving on the scene that night to shut it down. As she remembers it, she didn’t realize the late-night release would be an issue, but the police “were nice enough to let all the kids in line pick up their CDs and tapes.” In today’s world of Spotify and various other music streaming services, Bowen doesn’t encounter situations quite like that one anymore. But she’s still making sales and serving customers at the storefront that’s been a well-known part of the local community since it opened in 1989.

Phnom Penh, KH | Musician archives classic vinyl records: Keo Sinan, a former musician, has kept 401 vinyl records which date from the 1940’s to 1975 safe for more than 50 years. Recently, the 78-year-old told The Post about his last wish. For more than 20 years, he has dreamt of opening a small museum in his hometown in Baray district in Kampong Thom province, to display the music of the Kingdom’s “Golden era” for the next generation. Sinan was born in 1944 in Svay village of Baray commune and district, Kampong Thom province. He currently lives in Boeung Samreth village of the same commune. In his long life, he has been blessed with six children and 20 grandchildren. He spoke to The Post at a November 30 launch party for Khmer edition of the graphic novel The Golden Voice Queen, which tells the tale of famed singer Ros Serey Sothea. “Today I have 401 records of songs from the 60s and 70s, with about 900 songs. Most of the songs are by Sin Sisamuth, Ros Serey Sothea, Pen Ron, Keo Sokha (Keo Montha’s young sister), Nov Narin and a few other singers,” he said.

Duluth, MN | Globe News, landmark store in Superior, changing ownership: A landmark Superior collectible store—along with its iconic sign—has been sold to new owners who plan to maintain all its nostalgic charm. Globe News owner Tom Unterberger announced last week that he has sold the historic building at Tower Avenue and Belknap Street along with all its contents to a partnership group headed by a longtime customer. Unterberger and his wife, Jill, purchased the building with the help of his parents in 1982 and slowly converted its corner newsstand into a retail store filled with books, music, trading cards and a wide variety of vintage gifts. The store will officially change hands Jan. 1. …Globe News includes a used record store called the Vinyl Cave and a backroom filled with comic books, sports memorabilia, compact discs and trading cards. A front section features new and used magazines, DVDS, books, greeting cards and gifts among other things.

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Cleveland, OH | Iconic Cleveland Heights record store closing doors after 55 years in business: Record Revolution opened in 1967, influencing music and culture on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights. Rob Love started working at Record Revolution as a teenager in 1987, eventually becoming a partner in 2005, now forced to close the store after the holidays. “I’ve been very emotional thinking about it,” said the 49-year-old co-owner. “I don’t know if it’s sunk in 100% yet but I have enjoyed all of the fans and customers that have come by and visited and shared their stories of what Record Revolution means and meant to them.” Bands have credited support from Record Revolution for helping make them famous, and it was consistently voted best record store in Northeast Ohio. But it was about more than records. “I call it a lifestyle store,” said Love.

Beltsville, MD | Route 1 Is Home to D.C.’s Only Woman-Owned Vintage Record Store: The only fully woman-owned record shop in the D.C. area is on the Route 1 corridor. Located at 11011 Baltimore Ave. in Beltsville, Sonidos! Music & More first opened in October of 2019, but it had to shut down briefly during the coronavirus pandemic. Owner Claudia Mendiola-Durán told the Hyattsville Wire that the record shop got its start when she mentioned to her friends next door at Atomic Music about her idea. “I’ve been friends with the guys at Atomic for many years, and when I mentioned that I wanted to open a shop of my own, they offered to clear out a space they were using for storage so I could rent it out,” she said. During the pandemic, Sonidos continued selling via mail order, but the brick-and-mortar sales continue to be unpredictable. Still, she says she’s optimistic about the future of physical media, even as streaming services have taken off.

Belfast, IE | Oh Yeah Music Centre to auction extremely limited edition version of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over). In December 2020, the Oh Yeah Music Centre, a registered music charity in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter, was gifted one of only fifty limited edition acetates (number 44), hand-cut at Abbey Road Studios, of the 2020 Ultimate Mix of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon & Yoko One, first released 50 years ago, in December 1971. The gift came with the instruction from Sean Ono Lennon “to sell, auction, raise money to help your charity or to fund your Christmas party.” The Oh Yeah Music Centre has been an ‘open doors to music’ since 2007 so it was decided that the most fitting way to honour this incredible gift was to reinvest it in a programme of support for emerging talents. Charlene Hegarty, Talent Development Manager, said: “We are incredibly grateful and excited to make available to the public a piece of iconic music history. The best part about it is that every single person who enters the raffle to win the collectible vinyl will be doing their part to support future creative generations—which cuts to the core of what Oh Yeah is all about.”

Books that express album art with a different vibe: Two volumes of Mark Goodall’s Gathering of the Tribe coffee table books that are “A Companion to Occult Music on Vinyl.” The first two volumes of author Mark Goodall’s “companion to occult music on vinyl” are with us at last, and if you like your coffee table draped in gloriously obscure, full color album covers, with exploratory notes and explanatory text, then these really are the books for you. Notionally, you could say these releases are tied into the on-going folk horror boom that preoccupies so much of the British (and elsewhere) underground these days; to do so, however, would be to overlook the allure that albums of this nature have long held for vinyl hounds and crate diggers. They are slim volumes — eighty pages in one, 100 in the other — but what they lack in weight, they make up with heft. And both serve not only as fascinating studies of their chosen themes, but will certainly give your vinyl wants list something to think about as well.

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Astoria, OR | New record store opens downtown: The Lonely Crab is on Commercial. In the summer of 2019, Chris Lamb’s record store — and 30 years worth of collected records — burned down in a fire. Lamb recalled losing Avalon Records, a well-known shop in downtown Bellingham, Washington, as a devastating experience. “I was about to come into my own. I was about to pay it off to the old owner. Store was doing good. And then, a literal needle scratch scene change,” Lamb said while making the noise of a record scratch. Lamb, originally from Yakima, Washington, worked at record stores since high school and was unsure if he ever wanted to sell vinyl again. But after moving to Astoria and trying his hand at a few other jobs, Lamb was ready to get back in the game when an opportunity arose. In November, he launched The Lonely Crab Record Shop on Commercial Street. The new shop offers new and used records of all genres, record players, posters and other related items.

Lincoln, NE | Leading Off: The renaissance of vinyl isn’t lost on a Lincoln record store owner: Back in the early 1990s, whenever Syracuse teenager Travis Mannschreck had a few bucks in his wallet and a few gallons in his gas tank, he made the short journey to Lincoln. His destinations were usually Twister’s or Homer’s, the locally owned Lincoln record shops that attracted teens from all over. “Those were the the places to go,” said Mannschreck, who’s now a 46-year-old Lincoln resident and father of two. That’s the inspiration to First Day Vinyl, the new- and used-record store Mannschreck opened Dec. 1 at 7301 S. 27th St. “There was a little nostalgia on my part, wanting to recreate the Twister’s and the Homer’s of my youth,” he said. “They were all nice big stores that you could get lost in and spend a ton on time in. “This is my attempt to recreate that for the younger generations.”

Wickford, UK | Famous Wickford record shop visited by McFly, Busted, Shakin’ Stevens, Chas ‘n Dave to close after more than 50 years: ‘There comes a time you’ve just got to say enough is enough. I’m going now.’ A record shop in Wickford recognised around the world by for its outstanding collection of vinyl, which has been visited by some of the biggest names in music, is finally due to close after more than five decades of success. Adrians Records was opened in 1969 in Wickford and owner Adrian Rondeau has finally announced the doors will close next year as he readies himself for retirement in Norfolk. It’s the record shop where McFly singer Danny Jones mooned thousands fans from the upstairs windows after the high street was closed off for the band’s record signing for their single ‘I Wanna Hold You’ in 2005. It has been visited by Chas ‘n Dave, Shakin’ Stevens, Busted, Culture Club, Wilko Johnson, Pete Burns, Danny Osmond, Depche Mode, Alvin Stardust, Alison Moyet and Erasure—plus more which have been lost to time.

Elgin, MN | Elgin’s first coffee and music lounge shepherds in customers to learn more about jazz: Elgin has a new coffee shop in town and it also serves as a music lounge where people can listen to and bring in their own records to be played. Elgin’s newest business, Jazz Shepherd, may be the place for you to relax with a cup of coffee and listen to any jazz record spanning all the way back to the genre’s inception in the 1910s. Daniel VanEijl, has been collecting records since 1991 and has “shepherded” in over 14,000 vinyl records in the last 31 years. The name Jazz Shepherd comes from VanEijl titling himself “a shepherd of records”. VanEijl has also spent the better part of a quarter century as a DJ. With a vast record collection — and DJ gigs becoming less frequent due to COVID-19 — VanEijl needed to find a new home for his collection and share it with people. “The idea was I needed to have a cafe where I was going to play my records, hang out with people’s music and talk about music. We originally planned not to be in a small town, but because we own the building we jumped into opening in Elgin.”

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Silver Spring, MD | Joe’s Record Paradise Stars on ‘Pawn Stars Do America’ Joe’s Record Paradise is featured on the latest episode of the History Channel show Pawn Stars Do America, according to an Instagram post from store owner Johnson Lee. “We are on the new episode of Pawn Stars Do America,” Lee wrote on Instagram. “We made a deal at the D.C. filming then Chumlee and crew came by the shop. Fun stuff.” In the episode, titled “National Treasures,” “Rick, Corey, and Chum are heading to our nation’s capital. The patriotic pals will call on some trusted experts to help lay down the law for good deals. In between the event, Chum and Corey get carried away in a massive mansion, and Rick considers a million-dollar memento from a pivotal piece of America’s past.” The episode premiered Wednesday night and can be viewed on the History Channel’s website. Joe’s Record Paradise is located at 8700 Georgia Ave. in downtown Silver Spring.

Melbourne, AU | ‘Sad news:’ Melbourne says goodbye to an iconic venue and record shop: After almost three decades of operation, Basement Discs will be closing down its brick and mortar store. Hidden away beneath the Block Arcade, Basement Discs was a place to get away from the chaos of the city, listen to intimate live performances and get your hand on an exciting new record. This week, Melbourne music lovers were sad to hear that the cherished venue will be closing its doors. Husband and wife duo of Suzanne Bennett and Rod Jacobs, who are co-owners of the shop, cite pandemic-related financial difficulty as the reason for shuttering the storefront. Although they say it was “never a money making venue” and “a labour of absolute love”, recent years were the final straw for the store. They hadn’t been able to make even half of their pre-pandemic profits. With a move-out date set for January 31, the couple says they hope that the final few weeks will be full of live music and customers coming to pay their respects.

Dallas, TX | Team Behind Spinster Records Opening Vinyl Listening Lounge: Ladylove Lounge and Sound is expected to open in Oak Cliff in spring of 2023. A vinyl record listening lounge featuring late-night bites and craft cocktails is coming next spring to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff. Ladylove Lounge & Sound will focus on great music and a great sound experience. “It will be an awesome place to hang out, listen to music, and celebrate all that is music, vinyl, and performance,” said David Grover, owner. Grover and Ladylove co-owner and manager, Kate Siamro, both of Spinster Records, hope to open the lounge in the spring of 2023 in the former space of Dallas Grilled Cheese Co. at 310 W. 7th St. in Dallas. Jimmy Contreras of Taco Y Vino is developing the Ladylove menu of small, shared plates. “It will be craft cocktails, and we will have performances, live music from time to time with vinyl record deejays every night,” Grover said.

AU | Australian Record Industry Pioneer John McDonald Dies At Age 88: John McDonald, one of Australia’s great music industry pioneers, has died at age 88. McDonald was the owner of Melbourne record store Disc Shop in Bourke Street when he founded Sparmac Records with radio DJ Ken Sparks. John was the mac in Sparmac, Ken the Spar. One of his employees at the store was a very young Colin Hay, later of Men At Work. Sparmac had almost immediate success with a stable of artists including Robie Porter, Rick Springfield, Daddy Cool, Healing Force and Gerry & The Joy Band. The label’s first hit was Robie Porter’s ‘Gemini’ in August 1970. The big one came in 1971 with the eighth Sparmac Record ‘Eagle Rock’ by Daddy Cool. It is now considered one of the greatest Australian hits of all-time, so loved by Elton John that it became the inspiration for his song ‘Crocodile Rock.’

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Manchester, UK | New record shop, Haunted Dancehall, opens in Manchester: It’s named after a 1994 album by Sabres Of Paradise. Manchester has a new record store. Haunted Dancehall has recently opened in the city on Pollard Street East. It takes its name from a 1994 album by Sabres Of Paradise, the project of Andrew Weatherall, Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns. It sells both new and used vinyl, and will be open from 11am-8pm between Tuesday and Friday, and 2pm-8pm on Saturdays. You can scan through some of the new records that the store has for sale, and order online, via Haunted Dancehall’s website. Earlier this year, a new mobile record shop opened on a canal boat in East Yorkshire.

Minneapolis, MN | Now Open: Disco Death Records: Records, coffee, and film collide in Uptown. A new coffee-record-film shop sprouted up in Uptown last August, on 26th just off Lyndale, around the corners from CC Club’s wooden patio and French Meadow. Let us set the scene: Walking through the glass door at Disco Death Records pulls you to a different space and time, somewhere a little older and a little wiser. Plants sit on sunny shelves, a refurbished church pew welcomes visitors to hangout behind wooden tables, round mid-century lights guide a path to an all-manual Victoria Arduino espresso machine gleaming on the counter. The words Photo Lab shine bright in the back hall, 1960s French music plays from a record player behind the counter, and there are records for sale everywhere. …“We’re not gatekeeping at all. We’re literally trying to make everything as accessible and fun and different as we possibly can,” Eckerson said as he eyed the store’s jazz collection of records sitting nearby. “We want everyone to feel welcome to come in and talk about anything—coffee, records, or film.”

Mansfield, OH | Fat Dog Vinyl brings record collecting back to Mount Vernon: The first record Phil Hicks collected was KISS’s “Alive!” in 1975. It was wrapped and waiting under his Christmas tree. Now Hicks and wife Jennifer are living a dream he wasn’t sure would ever happen. He remembers seeing his first live show during a Journey concert at Blossom Music Center for $10 a ticket. It became a lifelong interest. “I didn’t think I’d open my own record store one day,” he said. “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Fat Dog Vinyl, located at 7 North Main, where the former Mount Vernon Brewing Company previously resided, has hundreds of records to choose from. The genres include rock classics, smooth jazz hits, soundtracks, new wave rock, pop and metal. “People have been blown away by the diversity,” he said.

Bend, OR | Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree At Smith Rock Records: Santa loves a physical media comeback. Trust us, your teen will want a CD in their stocking. Cassette tapes, vinyl, CDs — oh my! Sure, we could just text a Spotify link to share our favorite song or album in this day-n’-age, but I’m sure I’m not the only one in this town who remembers that one record that one person gave you that one time as a gift — that moment sticks with us over time! …So, where my fellow music fanatics at?! It’s now December (holy sh*t) and Christmas is in three weeks! So I’m here to preach to you — whatever year you were born or however old the one you need to get a gift for is — that you should give the gift of music and hop on this physical media comeback. What better way than to shop local at what might just be the coolest spot in town…

Jackson, WY | Annual Jackson Hole record sale returns this Saturday: Jackson’s vinyl enthusiast Matt Donovan is back with his collection of hundreds of records for sale, that range in price from two dollars to standard new record prices. In conjunction with the Jackson Hole Book Trader, the annual Jackson Hole Record Sale will start Saturday, Dec. 10 during regular business hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and continue through the holiday season. According to Donavan, vinyl records accounted for one-third of all physical media sales in recent years and continue to gain popularity. Without a true record store in Jackson Hole, this is inarguably the most concentrated access to vinyl records in the area, with a selection of artists and titles curated through the year specifically for this event, he says. “It’s a chance to stock up on classics, with a diverse selection of new and current titles as well,” Donovan said. Jackson Hole Book Trader also has a smaller selection of vinyl year-round.

Madison, WI | Agrace selling vinyl from collection of more than 45K records: Record collectors and music lovers alike will have the chance to add to their collections this week while also picking up items with ties to Wisconsin’s recording history. Jim Kirchstein, the founder of Wisconsin-based Cuca Records recently donated his entire collection of more than 45,000 records to Agrace to help the organization raise money. Kirchstein created his independent record label in 1959 and is said to have “captured the sound of Wisconsin in the 1960s.” Thousands of songs and LPs by Wisconsin and Wisconsin-adjacent musicians were recorded at Kirchstein’s studio in Sauk City, Wisconsin until the early 1970s. Officials with the organization said it took days to gather all of Kirchstein’s records. “It took three days and many hands to collect the full donation of records and transport them to our store,” Agrace pack up and pick up manager Robert Washburn said.

Hermosa Beach, CA | A spin down Music Lane—Studio Antiques keeps the vinyl tradition alive: The resurgence of vinyl records in the past decade can be attributed to everything from kids going through their parents or older siblings record collection, to scenes in movies such as Jack Black’s hilariously condescending record store clerk in the “High Fidelity,” and last year’s “Licorice Pizza,” which was the name of a Southern California records store chain known for a super friendly, and knowledgeable staff that knew their music, and would talk endlessly about what bands the customers should be listening to. Interest in vinyl recordings is so high now that there’s a bi-annual celebration, Record Store Day, every April and November to celebrate independent record store. …Their collection of used LPs is almost certainly the largest in the South Bay.

Burlington, MA | Bookworm’s Dream: Burlington Used Book Superstore Always Changes Inventory: If you’re looking to snag some good reads on the cheap this holiday season, if you’re in Burlington or Middleton, you may be in the right place. The Used Book Superstore is offering large percentage sales on all things books, movies, merchandise, and more. WBZ’s Matt Shearer had to go and check it out for himself, and spoke to the owner, Bob Ticehurst, who quite literally built the store from the ground up to what it is today. “This has definitely grown a lot since I started it in my parents’ basement. It was taking over the whole basement, then it was taking the stairs up to the basement, then it was taking up my bedroom— so it was time for me to get out of there,” Ticehurst said. …The UBS’ vinyl record collection gets refreshed every Saturday morning, something people will line up for weekly to try and score a hidden treasure at just $4 apiece. “Somebody found the White Album of the Beatles, they said it was over a thousand-dollar copy of it, based on the condition,” Ticehurst said.

The White Lotus’ Emmy Award winning soundtrack is now on vinyl: Get the White Lotus experience from the safety of your home. WRWTFWW Records has announced a vinyl release of the soundtrack for HBO tv series The White Lotus. Created by Chilean-born composer, arranger, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist Cristobal “Cristo” Tapia de Veer, the soundtrack has found popularity online with its distinct sound. De Veer’s work for The White Lotus has won two Emmy Awards. The White Lotus, now in its second season, follows the lives of a varied cast of wealthy guests at the fictional White Lotus hotel chain as they face conflict, mystery and interpersonal drama. The limited edition double LP comes on white 180g vinyl, housed in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve with OBI and double-sided art print, and is available in a choice of three artwork variants—taken from the series’ opening sequence.

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Manchester, UK | New record shop Haunted Dancehall opens in Manchester: The store launched last week in Wellington House across from the Ashton Canal. A new record shop has opened in Manchester. On Monday, November 28th, Haunted Dancehall launched on the second floor of Wellington House, an industrial space across from the Ashton Canal. The shop stocks a range of electronic music, mostly focussed on the dance floor. There’s a mix of new and second-hand records, as well as reissues. Haunted Dancehall takes its name from the 1994 album of the same name by London trio The Sabres Of Paradise, AKA Jagz Kooner, Gary Burns and Andrew Weatherall. The shop bears no relation to the new Dublin festival. Haunted Dancehall will open from Tuesday through Saturday. Browse the shop via the website.

San Francisco, CA | Open, divine portal: Dark Entries label launches record store in Tenderloin: Josh Cheon’s acclaimed outfit specializes in dark and synth-y sounds; now it’s got an IRL outpost in the TL. SF’s Dark Entries label specializes in releasing and re-releasing dark and/or synth-y sounds from decades past as well as today, but the musical excavations of label honcho Josh Cheon go beyond lost goth and other shadowy dance floor classics, though there are plenty of those. (It is named after a Bauhaus song, after all.) The label has championed such obscurities, at least to the US, as cult ’80s Argentinian darkwave act Euroshima, underground Mexican synth-pop acts, experimental poetic Greek electronic music from Dark Entries muse Lena Platonos, gender-swapping dream pop, and, perhaps most famously, the unreleased work of San Francisco electronic dance music wizard Patrick Cowley, who passed from AIDS 40 years ago. There’s even fizzy Italo disco and vintage gay porn soundtracks in the Dark Entries portfolio.

South Bend, IN | South Bend Record Show holds last event of 2022: If you’re looking for treble, you found it as The South Bend Record Show holds its final event of 2022. Vendors from five Midwestern states filled 88 tables with thousands of vinyl records, CDs, memorabilia, and more at the Gillespie Conference Center in South Bend. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., hundreds of people came to talk about music, add to their collection, or find a music lover’s perfect holiday gift. Event organizers tell 16 News Now they love helping people start and add to their growing collections. “We have people who come here who have thousands and thousands of records, getting to the point where it’s really hard for them to find something they still need, and we get people who walk in the door for the very first time,” South Bend Record Show Owner & Organizer Jeremy Bonfiglio said. “They just got a turntable. They’re just learning about what it is to have vinyl and how to play it, who are buying their very first records, and everything in between. So, it’s a really wide mix, which makes it a lot of fun.”

Atlanta, GA | New vinyl listening bar aims to be a source for creativity in Atlanta: At Ponce City Market on a Saturday evening, it’s hard to miss the tiny store that’s designed as a living room. Warm hues of brown abound. Art, magazines, and Ghia — a brand of non-alcoholic drinks — fill the back of the store. Speakers, incense, clothes and other items compose the front. Stacks of vinyl records and a sofa encompass the middle. Erykah Badu’s “Time’s a Wastin’” blares in the background. There’s a lot going on in the small yet inviting space. And, upon a first glance, it’s tough to decipher what exactly is going on. But the store’s appeal is rooted in its mystique and its soothing atmosphere. “We wanted it to be kind of homey in a sense … but everything is for sale,” said Kim Alex Hall, co-founder of Console by 2ndbdrm. Located within Ponce City Market’s Citizen Supply, Console by 2ndbdrm is a new vinyl listening bar that also sells furniture, incense, non-alcoholic spirits and other items. The space had a soft launch on Nov. 25 and 26, but it officially opened on Sat, Dec. 3.

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Birmingham, AL | Where To Find Classical Vinyl Records In Birmingham AL: There are several places in Birmingham, AL where you can buy classical vinyl records. One option is to check out the local record stores such as Alabama Music Awards, Seasick Records, and The Vault. Another option is to look for online retailers that sell classical vinyl records. A few good options include Discogs, Amazon, and eBay. Finally, you can also check out some thrift stores or garage sales in the area as you might be able to find some classical vinyl records for sale. 10,000 Hz Records is a funky new record store in Opelika. At Seasick Records, an intimate show can be held on a stage. They have a wide range of vintage albums that will satisfy your curiosity. There’s something for everyone, from Taylor Swift’s The Head to The Heart to MIA’s The Light. Mobile Records offers low prices and an excellent selection of records.

Melbourne, AU | Vinyl in revival as young listeners splurge on old mediums: In Victor Milazzi’s aptly named Vinyl Revival store in Fitzroy, Melbourne, a record renaissance is underway. While baby boomers long ago sold their extensive record collections for CDs, the twenty-something audience is rediscovering the joys of vinyl records, spurred by a quest for sound quality and a desire to support artists. Milazzi was one of few who kept his record collection, initially selling records from an upstairs studio in North Carlton in 2010. While this retail operation still exists, it’s the hipsters browsing along Brunswick Street that are his main clientele. The retailer not only sells records, but turntables, amplifiers and speakers. The store’s vinyl stash, all new and repressed, come in original cover designs including David Bowie’s Brilliant Adventure, Nirvana’s Nevermind, and The Cure’s Wild Mood Swings. And what would a cred record store have if it didn’t include INXS’ live recording from Wembley Studio or Duran Duran’s Future Past, complete with a couple of intertwined fluorescent figures on the front cover?

Jackson, MS | Vinyl is king during Central MS Record Convention: Millenials and Generation Z weren’t around when vinyl records ruled but today industry insiders say they are the force behind album sales. Saturday, the crowds attending the Central Mississippi Record Convention will be packed with teens to seasoned collectors in search of new and old vinyl. “Vinyl’s back? Vinyl never left,” said Arden Barnet. Friday the concert promoter was preparing for the Central Mississippi Record Convention where vinyl is again king. Sales are bolstered by the young generation’s peaked interest in LPs and 45s. According to Variety Magazine, over 19 million records were sold this year. “The kids are buying vinyl. There’s this resurgence, this obsession with owning a product rather than streaming,” said Barnett. The 61-year-old, a record collector with more than 10,000 albums, was just hours away from the start of the fifth annual record convention.

Madison, WI | Agrace to sell collection of over 45,000 records: Vinyl collectors can browse a large collection of vintage records at a retail pop-up shop in Madison next week. Agrace is hosting a sale of more than 45,000 records. The collection was donated by Jim Kirchstein, an electric engineer and founder of Cuca Records. Kirchstein founded Cuca Records in 1959 in Sauk City and recorded thousands of songs and LP records until the early 1970s. The independent record label is said to have “captured the sound of Wisconsin in the 1960s.” Kirchstein’s record collection includes rock, country, jazz, blues and American genre albums. Robert Washburn, Agrace pack up and pick up manager, said it took three days to collect and bring the records to the store. “We are honored that the Kirchstein family chose to give their treasured collection to Agrace and grateful we can help get their records into the hands of many other music lovers,” Washburn said.

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Paso Robles, CA | Traffic Records opens second location in Paso Robles: This past weekend, local business Traffic Records opened a second record store in Paso Robles. Traffic Records opened its first location almost five years ago in Atascadero. Store owner, Manuel Barba, tells KSBY it was time for them to expand, in hopes of offering the classic vinyl experience to even more people throughout Northern San Luis Obispo County. Their record selection ranges from rock n’ roll to classical and everything in between. “You can hold them, you can smell them, they are lovely,” said Barba. “They sound incredible. We have been fed this convenience for a very long time with streaming and having the world at our fingertips, in our pockets, on our cell phones. I think people want to get back to a simple aspect of listening to music and enjoying their media.”

Baton Rouge, LA | Longing for an LP? Baton Rouge’s record stores have plenty of options: Music aficionados know it — vinyl isn’t dead. Over the past few years the venerable long player has staged a comeback, surpassing CDs to once again become king of physical music formats. While vinyl can be found scattered throughout Baton Rouge, including at thrift shops and, especially, antique stores, there are main four record stores in the Baton Rouge area that boast impressive collections for sale. Though prices vary wildly — rare vinyl can be worth hundreds, while banged about records can be found for as little as $2 — be prepared to pay in the $20 range for a standard, easy to find album.

Lincoln, NE | First Day Vinyl: Lincoln’s newest record shop: For months, Travis and Emily Mannschreck have been planning and preparing First Day Vinyl. The store opened on Dec. 1, offering a wide range of vinyl for all interests. Travis Mannschreck said he wanted to open a store that brings together his favorite things: the Lincoln community and music. “The reason I have a bigger space is to re-create that experience I had as a kid of discovery and walking in and having so much to see,” Travis said. The goal was to design the store for the Lincoln community. The Mannschrecks asked others what they would like to see in the store to cater to Lincoln’s music tastes. They also plan to make First Day Vinyl a space that accepts local musicians and gives them the ability to share their music with the rest of the community by bringing in local vinyl for sale.

Aberdeen, UK | Aberdeen record shop Cavern announces closure after 25 years of spinning vinyls. The Belmont Street shop, sandwiched between Siberia Bar and Hotel, has closed for good. The news was announced by Spin Aberdeen who left a cryptic comment about the closure. A record shop in Aberdeen which touched the hearts – and ears – of many in the city has closed its doors for good. The Cavern in Belmont Street announced a 25 per cent firesale after announcing that the shop, which sold old and new vinyls, was closing its doors permanently. The news was revealed by bar and record shop Spin Aberdeen on Thursday. A post on Facebook stated: “Sadly after 25 years the Cavern is closing, not that we wanted to, but thats another story. Lots of great bargains to be had on all genres of vinyl.” The shop is believed to have been the longest-established record shop in Aberdeen. The news comes amid a planned development with the shop’s neighbours, Siberia Bar and Hotel. The famous vodka bar firm is set to move into the vacant premises next to The Cavern, the former Melt Sandwich Shop.

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