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

Although we arguably lean towards indie and rock, we stock all genres, so our customer base is broad both in terms of demographic and musical preference. There’s a fair amount of crossover in taste between myself and my colleagues. Sunday Joe (clue’s in the name) is a repository of alternative and underground music from the last thirty years and Sam (the new boy, having only been here a decade) has a quizzer’s breadth of knowledge, a love of jazz and a penchant for yacht rock. We’ve had a lot of support over the years from a number of locally-based musicians. Notably, the brilliant Nick Harper. Jon Amor, Sam Brookes and the Doherty brothers. We love ‘em all.
We’ve got a fantastic customer base and this has come sharply into focus during the pandemic years. The level of support we’ve received has been heart-warming. When we reopened our doors after the first lockdown, we found that so many of our customers had resisted buying anything for months, saving their wants until we reopened. Special shout out, though, for Friday Night Dave (clue’s in the name) who’s shopped with us pretty much every week for our entire history.

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

Good lord, no! But I can remember the first man in, who delighted in telling me that my business was doomed like every other that had preceded me on that site. Once he’d left, a lovely lady came in, bought a handful of CDs and told me that she had a good feeling about the shop and thought that I’d do alright. Hopefully we haven’t sold the last! Yard Act was one that flew out today.

Do you remember the first record shop you went to? And do you remember the first record you bought?

I bought a few singles but got into albums almost straight away. First purchase was Neil Young’s ‘After the Gold Rush’ and I bought that at a shop called Initial Electrics in my hometown, which had a weird combination of LPs hidden among electrical accessories.
I used to frequent the Moody Blues-associated Threshold Records in Andover when I went to stay with my sister, who lived in a village just outside. Her fella had an amazing record collection and it was through his racks that I did a lot of my early listening. I always used to take great pride in returning from browsing in Threshold with a nugget that he didn’t possess.

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

I don’t get out much, but I’ve popped into Raves from The Grave in Frome a couple of times. That’s quite a cool shop.

What’s your most memorable record store experience?

Almost too many memories to mention. Huge queues turning up for Record Store Day with all of us running on empty having had virtually no sleep the night before. But many standout moments have come courtesy of the in-stores and out-stores that we’ve hosted over the last couple of decades. People still look at us with disbelief when we tell them that Ed Sheeran played for us in the café next door. He already had his first No. 1 album under his belt!

How successful has Record Store Day been for you?

We’ve been participating in RSD since its inception and every year we think we can’t top the previous year but somehow we do. Bigger than Christmas!

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

Right up there has got to be Bowie, Hammersmith 2002. First time he’d played there since killing off Ziggy. Got the impression he didn’t want to come off stage. An artist on top of his game!

What's your all-time favourite book?

Bill Bryson’s ‘Short History of Nearly Everything’. An explanation of life, the universe and everything, accessible to the layman.

What's your all-time favourite film?

Struggling with these questions but have watched The Godfather Trilogy several times over the years, so I guess that’s up there.

What's your all-time favourite record?

Sorry, you might think this is a cop out but I really can’t answer this one. Just too many to choose from.

What would be your all time Festival line up? (past & present)

MilesMuddyMarleyMitchell (Joni that is )Little Feat ( Lowell George era)All acts that I missed but would love to have seen in their primeAlternative Stage:SquidFloating PointsLiminanasVoka GentleWH LungAcoustic Stage:Nick HarperEmily BarkerBillie MartenBirdyBears Den

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