So I was working in Cardiff this week, had a day off and like I always do, went record n book shopping. Finding the city centre shops dull and overpriced and headed out into the more student areas and found D’vinyl (great pun) and it lived up to the title. It’s one of those shops you rarely find these days. Last time I did was a bookshop in Glasgow that was such a mess that you couldn’t find anything.
D’vinyl’s stock was packed in, you had to move boxes to get to stuff, there was a rough alphabetical system but if you just asked the helpful owner what sort of thing you were looking for you would be pointed to roughly the right place. Yet the joy is in stumbling over things that you wouldn’t have normally found. In these days when all shops seem to operate an Ebay level pricing guide it was good to see stuff reasonably priced. I’ll certainly be paying a visit anytime I am in the area. It’d probably worth the 2 hour trip up the M4 on its own
Anyone else got places like this that you can get lost in for hours?
DogFacedBoy says
Fiction Romantic says
Vinyl beats digital hands down as artefact.
Kaisfatdad says
Those pix are a truly joyous sight.
DogFacedBoy says
Oh I bought that copy of Rocket To Russia BTW
Rigid Digit says
Two ways to organise a record shop:
1) Catalogue everything, and place in racks in strict alphabetical order.
The advantage of this method is you can quickly search out stuff on your “Wants” list, possibly finding that long sought after artefact.
2) Pile all the stuff in the shop
By this method, you often find yourself buying more than you intended too, and spending a lot more time in there than originally planned (sorry Mrs D).
There is a lot to be said for Option 1, but I much prefer the thrill of the hunt offered by Option 2.
Carnival Records in Malvern was a sort of hybrid of (1) and (2) and I spent a happy 3 hours in there (Mrs D wasn’t feeling well so stayed back in the hotel – result!).
Closer to home, I can easily lose an afternoon in Henley Records, Sound Machine in Reading, or Music Man further out of the town.
That shop certainly looks like one to add to the “Must Visit” list (time to plan a weekend away in Cardiff I think)
Zanti Misfit says
Who used to to D.O.C Records in North London? There was no filing system whatsoever and records were piled high in teetering towers. The owner would also wedge tightly too many discs in to plastic crates that you’d need a crowbar to get one out. And the place stank of B.O and eggy farts. I think it’s closed down now.
salwarpe says
I love second hand bookshops. There’s a good one in Hampstead – walk from the high street towards the heath and you should find it, and in the centre of St Ives, and there used to be a nice one in Colchester (last time I went, I was on a leash coz of the kids and I didn’t see it, but it might still be there):
You know what I mean – basically a big shitheap of BOOKS
Doesn’t matter where you start, or how the are ‘labelled’ – a pound to a penny, you’ll come out with a big carrier bag or ruck sack of books you never knew you had to read.
And who know? Perhaps yo might even do that – give or take a couple of years…
Gatz says
There is a bookshop next to Putney Bridge so crammed with stock that it always reminds me of what Aziraphale’s shop in Good Omens must have looked like.
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr107/Gatz_photos/image.jpg1_3.jpg
The Good Doctor says
That shop looks great, I like a shop that’s a bit random and crammed full of stuff like that – as others say the fun is looking and discovering something unexpected. I have a bit of a ‘wants-list’ and I could go on Discogs or eBay right now and buy most of what I want but where’s the fun in that? . I
Good that the prices were reasonable – too many shops are laughably overpriced I find, and increasingly bulk out their stock with very expensive re-issues by ‘Music On Vinyl’ et al which kinds of misses the point of ‘second hand’
I could spend hours in X Records in Bolton, and Record Collector in Sheffield (I buy CDs as well as Vinyl and their CD selection is collosal and very cheap..and somewhat against the trend occupies far more floor space than Vinyl), Vinyl Tap in Huddersfield is quite mind boggling, and another really good one is Convoy which is located at an Antiques/Vintage place outside Frodsham called Lady Heys (been mentioned on the blog before – Bob Carolgees knocks out scented Candles from there as well!) – which is a great little shop, full of good stuff that’s reasonably priced (be warned he’s cash only) – I could go on
dai says
Kelly’s Records in the market used to be great. Very meticulous in their pricing. I remember buying stuff there in the 70s and its still there. I think it may have gone the way of pricing based on eBay though. Think you can still get a decent fry up next door for about 3 quid though.
Kid Dynamite says
I was living in Cardiff in the mid 2000s, and I remember Kelly’s being a bit pricey then. Decent shop though, well worth a look if you’re back in the area DFB
ernietothecentreoftheearth says
Some shops will be pricing ‘based on eBay’ ( or, more reasonably, on Discogs) because it is increasingly difficult to source stuff cheaply in the first place. More people are buying and selling vinyl and people seeling their collections expect more having, yes, looked things up on eBay. Shops, of course, are also able to sell things online which gives them access to to far more customers than will ever come into the shop. Some of the online customers will be willing to pay the higher prices. But if they aren’t the prices will ultimately fall.
Chrisf says
I have fond memories of Pandemonium Records in Manchester from when I was a student – an absolute treasure trove of stuff, which for a small sum the owner would tape stuff in his collection for you (great for poor students). I recall getting the Buckingham Nicks album that way (he wouldn’t sell me an actually copy). It was pretty much his collection with some business on the side !
I believe that it closed down and he moved the stock to somewhere in North Manchester but I think I recall that a lot of the stock was damaged in flooding and he had to move out again. Wonder what happened to the vast collection of vinyl?
Tiggerlion says
Water damage!
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/george-davenport-north-manchester-wins-6646471
Locust says
This second hand bookstore in Stockholm takes hours to visit…it’s HUGE, a never-ending labyrinth of books from floor to ceiling. Heaven, if not necessaarily cheap enough to visit very often.
http://www.yelp.se/biz/alfa-antikvariat-stockholm
Kid Dynamite says
Think only @gcu-grey-area will be anywhere near it, but there’s a great second hand shop in Frome (Raves From The Grave, maybe?) that is full of rooms of disorganised vinyl. Went in with the family, looked around and said “tell you what, I’ll meet you in a couple of hours”
GCU Grey Area says
Not just second-hand, kd @kid-dynamite. They have two shops in the same street, one new, one s/h and DVDs. Some great shops in the town, and a pub that brews it own.