Had a good rummage in Paihia last week on holidays. First records I’ve bought in over 30…
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Don’t let Tony see that Dire Straits album. 
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Unfortunately it’s not in the best condition, but a very good recording to enjoy nonetheless.
I haven’t bought vinyl since the late 80s.
Me too. Last one ( for me) was Recycler by ZZtop
Thanks for the heads up Graeme, I had completely forgotten that The Vault had opened.
As a Brummie who now lives in the Shires, I dont get into town too often these days, but when I do, my go to would be Swordfish - Ill have to check out The Vault when things open up again.
I do miss a good rummage though, CDs for £1 from the local recycling centre, or a small but really good shop in Stratford on Avon (SJ Records).
I think as someone else mentioned, its the interaction as well as the atmosphere, often hearing a lot of great new music whilst rummaging!
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As one who runs a charity shop that specialises in books and music it is so disappointing to find yet another Dido album in a box of donated stock. What is interesting is how little of some genres of music get donated but when they do come in they are usually better quality.
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All Record Fairs have been cancelled as classed as “mass gatherings”.
I used go to at least 8 a year in York and Doncaster.
Thumbing through box after box of records looking for the elusive bargain, the collection fillers or the whim to just buy something that takes your fancy is a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday morning
Surfing on Discogs and Ebay since last March I’ve have managed to get a few bargains and fill the collection but it’s not the same
Are record fairs all vinyl, or do you get lots of CDs to rifle through too?
My happy memories from Back In The Day are of the big HMV in Manchester, various places in Affleck’s Palace and Kingbee Records in Chorlton. Several of my CDs still have 30-year-old price tags on from those three. You don’t get that with streaming.
Mark
The Premier Record Fairs in northern England are billed as “Record and CD fairs”
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I agree i have a great record shop in manchester. They always have good collections coming in stock.
And the staff are very nice. Aslo hmv manchester always have good offers. I cannot wait to get
Back to normal. Who knows when.
I can’t remember the last time I stepped into a record shop, at least a decade, the last one was HMV in Croydon; DVD box sets and music chart, nothing of interest. There was a good record shop down a side street in Croydon where I did manage to get a few good discs.
Some decades ago there was a second hand record shop in Sutton, Surrey and I used to enjoy looking through the racks of vinyl but the owner was a bit seedy looking and the few times I’d gone with my sister, she said he used to stare at her in a pervy way 
She wasn’t upset when it closed down.
The one overiding memory for me is feeling the need to scrub my hands after leafing through the racks of slightly clammy plastic dust covers on the record sleeves.
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Yes, I’m now really missing my usual monthly tour of the local record shops and also the quarterly visits to the record fairs, both to file through the secondhand crates to see the refreshed used vinyl stock, but also the Indies only racks too, where there’s always something interesting to pick up. Applies to CDs as well.
This is an enjoyable novel, featuring much rummaging:
@AndyP Your message certainly took me back in time! I used to regularly visit Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus to work my way through the record racks in the ‘holy trinity’; Virgin Megastore, HMV and Tower Records. IIRC it was claimed that they were the three biggest record shops in the world at that time. Cost me a bloody fortune!
These days I’m fortunate to have a very good record/book/cake shop just down the road in Letchworth. Great ranges of new and 2nd hand stuff, and the staff are fantastic, so I’m really missing rummaging there!
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Lovely thread @ARCHIE67 . Used to work in Wardour St so it was Sounds of the Universe, Sister Ray’s et al. Had a team based in Croydon so on trips to see them it was Beano’s - amazing what you could find. Had to buy a bigger briefcase to smuggle the finds back home.
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That was a great shop.
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I think it was Penny Lane that I checked out for an hour or two when I was in Christchurch. Came out with an original Ian Carr/Nucleus ‘Labyrinth’.
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I used to really enjoy going record shopping but one of the pit falls of the big vinyl resurgence is that used prices have gone through the roof and as far as Charity shops go so called dealers and eBay sellers with nothing else to do hoover up everything.
It’s one of the frustrations as a collector that within minutes or hours or even months before release dates records sell out only to appear on Discogs or eBay for inflated prices the new Blue Note Classic series that IMO are not great pressings but some are worth the £18 rrp but within hours they are on Discogs and eBay for £30 +.
20 years ago it was a vinyl bonanza. Got most of my collection back then. Less purchases these days.
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