For most folk that knew me throughout my formative years it was no great surprise when I started working in a record store. Little did I know when I walked into Our Price in the Sauchiehall Street Centre for my first day, in November 1988, that I would still be working for them almost 14 years later. Going to record stores had always been a big part of my life since I started buying records in the early 80s, but to work in one was something else. By the mid-80s all my spare money was being spent on music. I did a paper round in my early teens to finance my burgeoning vinyl habit, before moving onto a part-time job in a well known EK chip shop in order to buy what I was hearing on Kid Jensen and John Peel's radio shows. No Saturday was complete without a trip into Glasgow to visit the many record stores the city had to offer at that time. First stop was the Virgin Megastore on Union Street, followed by Lewis's, Listen, A1 Sounds (in the Savoy Centre) and my trips to listen to the latest reggae releases in Ital Riddims on the corner of Buchanan and Sauchiehall streets. For anyone not aware of Lewis's, it was a department store on Argyle Street with a lavish food hall and a great selection of vinyl. The Virgin store was a great place to hang out and people watch as it was where all the punks would gather on a Saturday afternoon. In my hometown of East Kilbride we were very lucky to have the wonderful Impulse records, where along with all the latest records, you could also buy t-shirts, badges, patches and posters. By the mid 80's I had almost moved in due to being there so often.
As the 80s progressed I tended to shop more up The West End in the likes of Echo and John Smiths on Byres Road, as well as Rat Records and Fopp in the city centre. Today Glasgow is home to the likes of Love Music, Mixed Up, Missing, LP Records, Oxfam Music on Byres Road and the ever-excellent Monorail alongside HMV and Fopp and continues to live up to its reputation as a city steeped in music. Gone are the days of queuing outside Impulse for the new Smiths album but the memories of spending my teenage Saturday afternoons in record stores is something I will never forget.
I used to frequent Impulse in Hamilton but much more the Motherwell shop. I did prefer Round Sounds in Wishaw when it was open as it had more of the house and acid house tunes in the late 80s, Impulse always seemed slightly of the pace in regards to dance music.
ReplyDeleteI never really got heavily into the acid house tunes Drew so Impulse was perfect for me. Perfect place to pick up the latest indie releases from the likes of The Mary Chain, The Smiths and James.
DeleteAh the good old days when every reasonable sized town had at least one record shop
ReplyDeleteTempo Tapes in Mearns Shopping Centre would have been one of my first followed by the likes of Echo, Missing and Virgin
Although Glasgow and Edinburgh are still well served with record stores it's a pity that most towns in Scotland are bereft of one these days. We were vey lucky back in the day CC that most towns had at least one decent record store.
ReplyDeleteEast Kilbride! There's this guy named Roddy Frame that's from there. Do you know him?
ReplyDeleteDon't you hate when people do that? Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I haven't had a go-to record store most of my adult life, but a teeny shop opened up here in Seattle a couple of years ago that is geared to my tastes exactly. It's as if it was curated just for me. Nothing but little indie labels from around the world. Each time I stop by I can go through the entire stock in about an hour. Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I'm not a praying man, but I would get religion if it helps that shop survive.
Wish I could say I did Brian, but sadly not bud. Must have been something in the water in East Kilbride back in the 80's with Roddy and The Reid Brothers both producing wonderful music. Still love finding a new record store if I go on a city break. Really good one in Toronto called Soundscapes if you're ever there. Bought quite a few CD's when I was last there a few years back. JC will know it from his many trips to Toronto.
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