Give us the background - when and why did you decide to open a record shop

Moving to Brighton 11 years ago from London, we fell in love with the city. When my wife and I met in Montreal at a music festival, our first date was record shopping, My first job after school when I was 18 was working in the Beggars Banquet record shop in South Kensington and when that shut down, I managed three different Our Price shops in London before I joined Cocteau Twins in 1983. Before I got that first job, I spent most of my teenage years in Beggars and in Rough Trade in Notting Hill hanging out and buying 7inch records with every spare penny I had. Was always a dream to have a record shop again one day.

Tell us about your store – what’s the vibe

The Bella Union Vinyl Shop is beautiful. The floor is designed as a homage to the artwork of Heaven Or Las Vegas, a record my band released in 1990 that seems to have remained a favourite for all these years. We love all our nearby local record shops and we don’t compete with them, we complement them. We ONLY sell Bella Union artists apart from an occasional staff or artist-curated record bin, and we host live events, signings, performances, and regular ‘sandwich sessions’ from local artists new to the Brighton scene every Wednesday lunchtime. We sell our own merch, jackets, T-shirts, totes as well as vinyl, CDs and cassettes. Following the demise of the amazing Magazine store, we have also started to stock a rich vein of magazines focusing on marginal interests and supporting those customers looking for something a little bit different. We recently installed a coffee machine and all the staff are barista trained.

CAN YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST RECORD YOU SOLD IN THE SHOP? AND THE LAST?

Me personally? It was The Trials Of Van Occupanther by Midlake. And the last one was Susanne Sundfør’s Blomi.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST RECORD SHOP YOU WENT TO? AND YOU DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST RECORD YOU BOUGHT?

The first record shop I went to on my own was Record Corner and I bought New Rose by The Damned. However, I did go to Woolworths with my parents when I was a young kid and they bought me The Jackson 5’ Get It Together. (Not very good I remember that).

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE RECORD SHOP (APART FROM YOUR OWN!) AND WHY?

I really love MONORAIL in Glasgow. It has a great vibe and is a place to hang, talk, drink, listen and when you time it right, see a band!

WHAT’S YOUR MOST MEMORABLE RECORD STORE EXPERIENCE?

As a manager in Our Price in Kings Road, Chelsea, in 1982 and the day after I’d been promoted from assistant manager to manager, this tall charismatic Irish fella came in and asked for some advice and to listen to some new stuff. Two hours later he walked out having spent £350 and then every month he would come back, and repeat. That was a ton of money back then and bought you a LOT of albums as albums retailed around £5 then! Was incredible after never having sold more than about £50 in one go before! Turns out he was Sinead O’Connor’s manager. That’s probably why she was always broke!

WHAT'S THE BEST GIG YOU'VE EVER BEEN TO?

Joy Division at the Electric Ballroom, Camden.

WHAT'S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE BOOK?

Short Stories by Damon Runyon.

WHAT'S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVOURITE FILM?

King Of Comedy.

WHAT WOULD MAKE UP YOUR DESERT ISLAND DISCS?

I’d need something upbeat, so De La Soul's 3 featuring High and Rising, I’d want something moody so The Blue Nile ‘Hats’, I’d love to have something for the mind, so Apollos and Atmospheres by Eno and Lanois. And something important to sing along to, so Marvin Gaye's ‘What’s Going On.

WHO WOULD FORM YOUR ALL-TIME FESTIVAL LINE-UP? (PAST & PRESENT)

Personal Trainer, The Slits, The Clash, Dirty Three, Explosions In The Sky, Bad Seeds, Ian Dury, Steely Dan, Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty, Beach House, Midlake, BC Camplight, Lanterns On The Lake, Penelope Isles, Plantoid, colouring, The Cure (early), The Banshees (up to Kaleidoscope), Jah Wobble, Pop Group, Associates, Cabaret Voltaire, John Grant, Ezra Furman, Sufjan Stevens, Little Dragon, Big Joanie, Kissaway Trail, Divide + Dissolve, Talking Heads, Television, Patti Smith, Johnny Thunders, Wire, Buzzcocks, Scars, C Duncan, I Break Horses, Prince. That’ll do!

OTHER RECORD STORES