Galway, IE | Superquinn, Xtra-Vision and Roches Stores: The shops we loved so much: Pricewatch: They may be gone, but the once household names are certainly not forgotten. Star Records: Back in the 1980s, this Galway record shop had three branches in the comparatively small city. Now there are none and there hasn’t been one for a long, long time. To be honest, we could have named any one of the hundreds of record shops which have shut over the past couple of decades after being swamped by a crushing wave of music in the forms of ones and zeroes and by the online retailing giants that stole their lunch and beat them up in the process. Alongside the aforementioned, there was the Virgin Megastore on Dublin’s Aston Quay, Dolphin Discs, Road Records on Dublin’s Fade Street, HMVs all over the place as well as countless others, big and small, in virtually every town in Ireland. There are some that are still standing – notably, perhaps, Golden Discs – and the sale of vinyl has seen something of a resurgence in recent years but, even so, the days of hanging out in record shops, sifting through the stock, listening to the staff picks and making life-changing musical discoveries by chance appear to be gone forever. Mindlessly scrolling through Spotify playlists is not quite the same thing.
Manchester, UK | Woman finds £930 inside a Carpenters album in a charity shop – hands over the cash, buys the record for £3.50: Hannah Fenwick was browsing through the second-hand vinyl records outside Mind’s charity shop in Stockton Heath, Cheshire, at the weekend when she made a shocking discovery. Old bank notes started fluttering out of the sleeve onto the pavement outside the store, south of Warrington, as Hannah was baffled and initially thought it was Monopoly money. The cash dropped to the ground as Hannah scooped it up and, without hesitating, took all the bank notes straight into the shop with the album. Assistant manager Kate Holt, who was serving other customers when Hannah walked in, was astonished by the find. She started to count out the money at the till, watched by Hannah and the other customers. …”I try not to buy anything new and like buying second-hand. I was just flicking through the records outside the Mind shop and I was quite shocked and perplexed when the money fell out.”
Headingley, UK | Premier League referee Jon Moss reveals all about his unlikely new venture outside football. The Premier League referee has opened a new record store in Headingley. Premier League referee Jon Moss’ unlikely new venture is set to feature on Football Focus. The BBC show’s roving reporter Mark Clemmit paid a visit to The Vinyl Whistle, in Headingley, earlier this week to find out about the top ref’s new record store. The shop opened earlier summer and has proved to be popular – not least because of the man behind it. The feature with Moss, who has been a Premier League referee since 2011, is set to air on a forthcoming episode of Football Focus. At the start of the season, Moss spoke to the BBC about the venture and his love of music. “I wanted to create a record shop that people would be genuinely excited about coming into. I don’t think there’s a better indie section in Leeds,” Moss said. “It’s got a big collection of vinyl records. I’m a big indie fan so it’s primarily indie, dance, jazz.”
Graham , NC | Hi Fi in Graham combines love for beer, records: Elon alumnus is spinning records and sipping suds. When walking into Hi Fi Records in Graham, North Carolina, there are many sights and sounds. Whether it be the wall of records along the left side of the store, the bar to the right with record players emitting rock ‘n’ roll, or the wall of music posters hanging in the back. One thing that is not noticeable, but present, is the store’s connection to Elon University. Jon Guza ’97, a Rush fan and owner of Hi Fi, spent over 20 years at International Inventory Management in the Town of Elon. It was not until 2017 that he and his girlfriend started planning to open the store — Guza was looking for a change. “I was getting a little frustrated at my job because I had been doing it for so long and I just didn’t really feel like … I was growing as a person,” Guza said. “I wanted to do something I could really sink my teeth into.” After choosing a little storefront on N. Main Street, the store opened in January 2019. Guza said that his store combines two things he loves: music and beer. He also said the combination brings in customers with different interests.
Wicklow, IE | Haul of vinyl at the record fair: There was a treat for vinyl lovers at Greystones Rugby Club on Sunday, August 25, with the Greystones Record Fair in situ at the club. Traders with a large selection of vinyl and CDs were there to buy, sell or exchange their wares. There were plenty of browsers, most of whom went away with something special to ad to their collections. There was also tea and coffee for those taking a break from checking out the vast array of records available. Tapes were on offer also, as well as seven-inch singles and much more. Some of the rarities on offer included Springsteen, Neil Young, Thin Lizzy, Bowie, Talking Heads, Dylan box sets and much more. The day was run by Irish Record Fairs who organise similar events all over the country on a regular basis. They have been organising the music, CD and record fair since 1998, for the first six years in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, running three or four fairs annually. They moved on to Filmbase in Temple Bar, and have relocated to the CIE Social Club in Inchicore for the large tri-annual fairs.
Canton, IL | Learning the joys of music: Music filled the air during Thursday’s Tot Time program at Dickson Mounds Museum in Lewistown. The theme for this month was “Music to our Ears.” Canton resident Rusty Ray Reed led the program. Reed showed children a vinyl record and record player and explained how they work. Reed also showed attendees different instruments, including a guitar, ukulele, harmonica and shakers. Afterwards, the children made instruments out of crafts so they can play their own music. Dickson Mounds Museum holds Tot Time the first Thursday of every month at the museum for youngsters and their caregivers.
Ottawa, CA | Music lovers line up for chance at vinyl trove in library fundraiser: Dozens of music lovers lined up Saturday morning for a chance to buy some of the thousands of vinyl records being sold to raise funds for the library network. The records were donated in April to the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library by retired civil servant Yves Pigeon. Buyers rummaged through more than 150 bins looking of at least 8,000 albums, mostly jazz and classical, at the James Bartleman Archives near Algonquin College. The albums ranged in price from as low as $1, to $25 or so for rarities. There was no immediate word on how much money was raised.
