Record shops in London?

Hey I'm going to London soon and I'd like to get me some elpees for me collection. Could you give me some adresses (+Underground stations...) or tell me which ones you like best?
Thanks in advance!

 

There was a thread last year if you haven't yet tried to search. It's not a good vinyl scene in London... though to be fair I only had 4 days last visit.

If you have the time a train trip out to Beanos in Croydon (http://www.beanos.co.uk/) is worth it IMO. It can be very expensive but things have a way of turning up there. And as a plus you get to ride past Battersea Power Station on the trip.

 

Berwick Street off Oxford Street has a few. There are two HMVs on Oxford Street though! Both worth checking. The one inbetween Tottenham Court and Oxford Street tubes is the big store, but the other one has some cheap deals going on (certainly in DVD including music.)

Berwick Street is easy to find from the larger HMV. Go out of the shop, turn left and it's either your 1st or 2nd right after that. There's a few shops down there including Sister Ray who sell new and used vinyl. If you keep going there's more second hand places of varying quality, be careful because after a while you'll end up in the seedier part of Soho.

If you want an idea of what you can find at Sister Ray they have a website: www.sisterray.co.uk

There's also Beano's in another part of London - can't remember where it is though. You can also track them down via the web. A google search on record shops and London may be useful as well.

All the best

- Mike

 

Quite a few of the Berwick St shops have gone. There is only a couple left.

 

A new one has opended though.

I was there last week

 

You will do far better in your native Paris than in the UK. Much better prices and loads of UK vinyl as well. When wifey and I went to Paris (my first ever European trip) for our honeymoon in 1996, I said to the stars: "If I can only find one record, let it be a UK mono Pepper." It was the FIRST record I found at the FIRST store I visited. NM too. Price: $11.00 (55 Francs in those pre Euro days).

Any people wonder why people love Paris.

 

Music Exchange near Notting Hill Gate - huge numbers of old CDs, fair amount of vinyl.

Tim

 

Do not. I Repeat ,DO NOT waste your precious time in London looking for records. It is beyond a waste of time . If you happen to walk by one of the few remaining stores on the way to something more meaningful , go have a ten minute look. Thats all it will be worth.

 

That's a bit unfair. One of the shops gets some exlusives for vinyl pressings.

 

I've been several times to London and I agree it's not what it used to be at all, 10 years ago it was an incredible experience to go record shopping in London, nowadays it can be frustrating because many shops have closed down specially in berwick street which used to be the paradise for many record collectors, the prices have gone up too-----------

I think Amsterdam or Berlin are better places to go now for that purpouse and from what I've been told paris too.......

I'll be again in London within a few days and I'm looking forward to going to this new record shop in berwick street and of course I'll pay a visit to Beanos in Croydon, fortunateley it hasn't close down finally although is much reduced in size.

 

The new record shop is small. Sister Ray has moved to the indie shop at that used to sell new vinyl. Sister Ray were responsible for the Billy Nicholls vinyl repress (some tracks on it that are not on the CD, although I gather one CD bonus track missing from the vinyl! :thumbsdn: )

People are right in saying it's not what it was - but if you're there why not look? As I said, try google with record shops and London (and get a decent tube ticket as well.)

 

JB Records in Hanway street (Tottenham Court Road tube) has some nice vinyl, but like everything in London you will pay a premium for it!

It's a shame that the Fopp on Tottenham Court Road has closed down. They would occasionally have some nice vinyl. Before I had a turntable at the beginning of this year they had a copy of Summerteeth by Wilco sealed for 13GBP. Turned it down because although I was thinking of getting a tt I had it on CD already so thought I didn't need it. You probably know how much this goes for on Ebay! You live and learn.

Tom

 

Paris is gorgeous. It apparently also has the largest Virgin Megastore in Europe. It would still be gorgeous without any record shops.

 

Fopp closed down full stop. ( <-- see!)

 

I agree on that Paris is a great city..........

 

Don't focus on the negative guys focus on the positive.

When will you be in London? There is a record fair happening on Sept 29th which should be good.

As for record stores it depends what you are looking for.

If you want dance/dub/house/soul you got quite a few places all around Berwick Street. I work around here and have noticed a lot of shops closing but on the other hand there are still shops around. Rents in these parts are not cheap.

Sister Ray is good (they sold 15 tonnes of vinly last year) for new stuff as well as classic stuff but is all new releases. They carry pretty much every type of genre. Maybe some used stuff.

Just off of Berwick there is Sounds of the Universe which has a lot of soul/jazz/r&b/hip hop/latin, etc. Link: ttp://www.soundsoftheuniverse.com/ If all you are looking for is classic rock type stuff I would avoid this shop.

There are 2 used record stores on Berwick as well which I can't recall the name of but would be worth checking out if you are in the area.

Berwick Street is accessible via a short walk from Oxford Circus or Tottenham Crt Rd stations. Use streetmap.co.uk to print out maps of these streets.

The Shop in Hanway St is good too. Haven't been there for a while. Actually there are 2 ships on Hanway. BEst tube for these is Tottenham Crt Rd.

As for other parts of London, there is a Notting Hill Music Exchange which will have a fairly good selection. Here is a link some great shops in this area. Intoxica is a good one: http://www.mynottinghill.co.uk/nottinghilltv/bars&music-list-records.htm

Here is a link to Intoxica: http://www.intoxica.co.uk/ they carry a wide range of music.

But if you are here on the 29th of Sept go to the records fair: http://www.vip-24.com/

If you have loads of time try Beanos but I always thought they were far to expensive. More so than other shops.

Eddie

 

Yeah must admit I was disappointed the last time I was down in London, Berwick St was a favourite haunt. Now no more.

Never been up to the Notting Hill end for secondhand stuff but it looks like I will give it a try next time I am down.

 

even with no record stores at all, London is my fav place in the world...........

 

The great thing over here I find IS the fairs. Get the Record Collector magazine for the month you're here and check the listings for London and surrounding areas.

 

Just to clarify, there's nothing dangerous about going through Soho - in fact it can be quite interesting......

Seriously though - it's perfectly safe around there.

 

It does get seedy though. Watch out for women enticing you into bars - I have heard about this being a financially expensive error of judgement. Honestly, I have only genuinely heard about this.

 

Well, yeah - don't take what any of the hookers and pimps say at face value!

Just smile nicely and continue on your way to the next record store

Anyone know the name of that music shop just up from The White Horse on the left as you are about to go through the "archway" (ie Raymond Revue Bar - or whatever it's called these days) to Berwick Street market? It has to have the most disorganised stock of any store I've ever been in!! In my experience there's nothing of interest in there so I wouldn't bother wasting your time trying to find anything.

 

seriously I've never seen anything dangerous in the soho......I'll keep my eyes wide open next time I'm there

 

Indeed. I did VERY well at a VIP fair in 2003.

 

Interesting thread. I'll be in London on layover to South Africa on Wdnesday. I have seven hours. Is it viable to make a run downtown on the train and check a few of these places out or would i be screwed with the travel time and security at the airport?