The Manchester branch had lain dormant since the HMV takeover in February. However the signage was left intact, and still seemed to have stock, fixtures and fittings inside so I did wonder whether negotiations were happening. Sure enough the store twitter feed suddenly sprang back to life a few days ago and Fopp has indeed reopened. It’s a lovely shop on two floors (previously occupied by Piccadilly Records) and had been my go-to place for a lunchtime browse for many years and so I’m mighty pleased it’s back and looking forward to handing my pocket money over the counter.
Some actual good news…Fopp Manchester is back!
Great news. We’ll be in Manchester for a day next month. My wife can hit the Bead shop in Afflecks and I’ll while away the time in Fopp and Piccadilly.
We fancy a bit of a museum visit, any suggestions?
Old Trafford full relics and dead beats.
Joking aside. I’m in no way a Man Utd fan but their museum (I think you can only see it as part of the tour) is fascinating and, unlike most (all?) other clubs, they’ve been fairly constantly winning trophies (so there are replicas etc) since the 60’s so for a football fan it’s a fairly good (if biased) history of English football over the past 50 years.
We’ve been twice now and although I don’t think I’d bother with the tour again, I’d be happy to spend another hour or so in the museum.
It was a joke @johnw, I’m a lifelong Manchester United fan.
Presuming you want to stay in the city centre, Manchester Art Gallery is great. The older fashioned museum is on Oxford Road but the museum of Science And Industry on the other side of Deansgate is fun. I really like The John Ryland Library on Deansgate itself.
Dr Volume will have some better suggestions, I’m sure.
There’s a cracking 2nd hand record and CD shop on the top floor of Afflecks called Vinyl Resting Place worth a poke around if you’re headed that way
See that@SteveT, add it to the itinerary.
Sounds good @Baron-Harkonnen.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I’m a Utd fan and did the tour in the 2000s
I don’t think I’d get away with doing it again! The Science and Industry museum looks favourite at the moment. Many thanks again.
I went to the Mcr science museum years ago and absolutely loved it. Although I am an engineer, and very dull.
Are you ACR fans actually incapable of using the full word “Manchester”? 😉
We had a lovely day in Manc. Visited the Antique Quarter in Failsworth, lots of filled to the brim Warehouses and old Mills. We don’t get these massive shops down south, it was a bit mind boggling.
Then we went to the Whitworth Gallery for the Goya/Hogarth exhibition which was brilliant and thoroughly recommended.
Then on to Fopp and Piccadilly for a bit of light shopping which produced a Billy Childish comp, a early 80s German Synth comp, a Hammer Horror soundtrack comp and the new Black Midi album which isn’t for the faint hearted.
Thanks again for the suggestions.
Excellent news – always my favourite FOPP.. Shall look forward to my next day out. Thanks for the heads up.
See you all there, then.
I’ll be wearing a red Nikki Lauder cap.
…. with blazer and gloves. What a dapper Tigger.
I’ll only have the cap for identification purposes inside the shop. Otherwise, it’s a blue paper fedora for the summer (it matches two of my blazers).
Most people only normally wear a paper hat at Christmas dinner.
Poor fools – what fun they are missing.
It’s very robust paper. It would take a very heavy shower indeed to soften it.
Posh Christmas crackers in your house…
A favourite wallet emptying shop of mine.
Woo Hoo !!!!!
Mr. £50 / month man returns.
Went into HMV in the Arndale a couple of times ……. Walked out completely dispirited.
Yeah, the Arndale HMV still seems to be pushing DVD and Blu-Ray with music relegated up an univiting steep flight of old-git unfriendly stairs with Now Compilations and mainstream pop up front which seems targeted at disinterested teens. Fopp, while essentially the same company is a much more pleasant place with a bit more effort into the curating stock and the way things are laid out and arranged so appeals to CD diehards looking for bargains, younger folk who are into “vinyls”, and people just browsing for inspiration – they seem to accept that their customer demographic is more mature while also keeping it fresh and modern so as not to put off the more curious among the Yoof. Liverpool HMV feels more like a Fopp in style as well, so I wonder if HMV might lean more toward that style of shop rather than clinging to the mainstream.
The Disinterested Teens aren’t interested enough to even set foot in HMV, let alone climb a flight of stairs to get to the music department. Suspect even the Interested Teens would rather get their music online. I doubt you’d see many people under 30 in an HMV branch anywhere, except under-12s dragged in by mum or dad.
Good news to add onto on regular trips up to the Etihad, or occasional work do in Manchester
Great news…..trip into town on Friday methinks…
Thank Clapton there’s some good news. I can add that my local hypermarket in France, E LeClerc, have a lot of tasty jazz albums in the 9€ bin. “Blue Trane” will be mine tomorrow!