Tell us a little bit about your store? What's the vibe?

We’re strictly a vinyl only shop here, selling most genres in both new and second hand records. It’s very laid back here, which is how we like it. We champion independent labels and bands first and foremost. Josh, Ben and Bek who work here are great, they work really hard and they all like different types of music, so that is really good, we have good-tempered rows about music. We’ve had a good few famous customers come into the shop. John Grant was the best but most embarrassing, his credit card didn’t initially authorise when he went to pay for his records!

Can you remember the first record you sold in the shop? And the last?

The first record we sold in the old shop was a copy of Royal Blood’s first album. We’ve just sold a copy of the new Teenage Fanclub record, so that would be the last at the time of writing.
The most memorable purchase was a customer who came in off the street on Christmas Eve 2014, we’d only been open two weeks. He was in the shop for about an hour and spent just over £1000 on records! That’s when I knew this was all going to work out…..

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 was Harlequin Records in Pinner (where I’m originally from) when I was 5. I was with my Uncle Peter and he bought me ‘January’ by Pilot on 7” for my birthday. I still have it. Growing up, record shops were a huge part of my life, my cousin Steve and I used to spend all Saturday in record shops in the West End of London. When I got a job at HMV on Oxford Circus in summer 1989, it was a massive thrill being on the other side of the counter.

What is your favourite record shop (apart from your own!) and why?

My favourite record shop of all time is Other Music in Manhattan, NYC. I’ve been lucky enough to go there a fair few times. The staff were meant to be a bit intimidating in there, but I loved it. Sadly they closed in 2016. I’m a big fan of Sister Ray in Soho too, I’ve shopped there for over 30 years.

What’s your most memorable record store experience?

Serving Robert De Niro at the counter at HMV Oxford Circus will stay with me for the rest of my life. I was shaking the whole time!

What's the best gig you've ever been to?

The Stooges playing all of ‘Fun House’ at Hammersmith Apollo, August 2005.

What's your all-time favourite book?

I think I’ve read ‘The Real Frank Zappa’ by Frank Zappa at least 30 times.

What's your all-time favourite film?

Too many to choose from, but Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese is probably the film I’ve watched the most.

What would make up your desert island discs?

Aretha Franklin – ‘I Say A Little Prayer’
Tom Waits - ‘Martha’
Super Furry Animals – ‘Ohio Heat’
Spiritualized - ‘I Think I’m In Love’
Beastie Boys – ‘Sure Shot’
Kraftwerk – ‘Trans Europa Express’
The Who – ‘I Can See For Miles’
New Order – ‘The Perfect Kiss’

Who would form your all-time Festival line-up? (past & present)

The Stooges, David Bowie, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, Spiritualized, Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Can, Tom Waits, Super Furry Animals, New Order, The Fall, Kraftwerk, Beastie Boys, Sons Of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming – that’s a line-up that I would happily camp in a field for!

What's your all-time favourite record?

The record I always go back to is ‘Fun House’ by The Stooges. I listen to it at least once a week.

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