Lost record shops of Glasgow

[MOLLY]

Anyone remember Glorias record bar on Battlefield Road close to Langside Bus garage?I think it might have been Tom Russel (late night rock show fame)who owned it? I also think it moved to Mount Florida early 70's.

Yes I remember Glorias. I was looking in the window in 1968 where a copy of the Jimi Hendrix album Electric Ladyland was displayed. All those naked ladies on the cover. I was actually looking at something else when an old lady went by going tut tut. I was then thinking something else ,,,, but she was close !!

[Mori]

Creative Scotland




Support your local record store this Saturday for Record Store Day. Taking place on the third Saturday of every April, independent record stores from across the country and worldwide, will celebrate with performances and special appearances. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products have been made exclusively for the day.

Frightened Rabbit are releasing a special limited edition cassette with The Twilight Sad and Domino are set to release an EP of Franz Ferdinand covers with Debbie Harry, ESG, LCD Soundsystem and Peaches taking on tracks from the band's Tonight LP. See the World Record Day website for the full list of special releases.

Metallica officially kicked off the first Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and now its celebrated across the globe. Special performances and events are taking place at record stores across the country so make sure you head along and show your support:

Glasgow

•Love Music Glasgow - live performances from Admiral Fallow, Pearl and the Puppets (solo acoustic set), Woodenbox With A Fistful Of Fivers, The Zips, Stephen Flavahan, Aaron Wright, For Abel, Mr Kil and The Hollows.
•Monorail - live performances from Frightened Rabbit, Palms, Iain Shaw and The Membranes, Dj sets from Gerry Love (Teenage Fanclub), Paul Thompson (Franz Ferdinand) and Russell Elder.
•Rubadub - Dj sets from Instra:mental, Koreless, The Blessings and Stephen Brown.

[karlynking]

Great thread, im currently doing a study for my Masters degree on vinyl consumption in Glasgow. If you would be interested in taking part please email me at [email protected] or check out my blog http://www.karlynking.wordpress.com. Thanks!

[vinylscot]

Someone upthread mentioned Southside records in Shawlands Arcade.

This is basically just a shop full of charity-shop calibre vinyl, with anything decent stuck up on the wall at inflated "but the book says that's what it's worth" prices. The staff know little (if anything) about what they sell, and slowly but surely, since it opened, their stock of "bargain books"-type books and DVDs has increased, to the point where it probably now outweighs the vinyl.

I suppose you might come across something decent, but I've yet to find one decent 7" single in good enough condition to consider buying. Their LP stock is also now so badly thumbed that most of what is on show is worthless (OK, maybe 20p on a good day).

They don't appear to buy, despite the sign in the window - I have seen a number of guys with decent records turned away. It's pretty obvious they stock the shop by buying large bulk lots, most of which is, as would be expected, rubbish.

I presume the "good stuff" is in just as bad condition, as the records on display up on the walls rarely change - I presume nobody buys from them.

Also, while the shop was new, Charlie Hayes of the Record Exchange along the road was sometimes seen in the shop with one of his hanger-ons. (The rather garish, painfully amateur signage and interior decor have his hallmarks) I'd hate to think he was in any way involved with Southside Records. As far as I am concerned, that would be enough reason, on its own, to totally boycott he shop.

It's a pity, because there is definitely room for a decently run, well advertised shop in Glasgow.

Unfortunately, neither Southside Records nor Record Exchange fit the bill.

[PaulK]

Think it was me who mentioned Southside records. Been in a few times recently and as you say there's little there of interest at a decent price. Spent a while two weeks back and after a while the assistant told me everything was half price for the next 30 minutes. Still didn't find anything worth buying. The racks were full of the same stuff that was there several weeks ago.

[vinylscot]

Paul, thanks for confirming my thoughts.

I don't understand how shops like this can survive. I've been in there maybe a dozen times, usually for 10-30 minute rummages, and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen anyone buy anything! It won't be much of a loss when it does disappear.

Much the same can be said about that horrible eyesore along the road, the DVD and CD Exchange. I'm quite sure full days go by sometimes without anyone entering that shop. The "Sale" signs are obviously in breach of trading standards, etc., given that this "sale" has now been going on for over a decade!

For anyone not familiar with these "sales", the owners price their second-hand stock at prices usually higher than you would pay for new copies, then graciously deduct £1, or even sometimes £2 from these rip-off prices, to give their unsuspecting victims the illusion that they are getting a bargain. Even at these "reduced" prices, most of their stock can easily be had cheaper (often considerably so) from other sources, not just Amazon, eBay, etc., but even HMV, Fopp and the supermarkets.

There is not even the consolation of an enjoyable experience to make it worthwhile shopping here; I've rarely come across a ruder, more disinterested, and humourless shop-owner as this owner. As with "Southside Records" it is a mystery how this outlet has survived so long.

I know of at least one reputable dealer who considered opening on the south side, but who was put off because he didn't want associated with the Exchange shop. And I can't for the life of me understand why the neighbours have not complained about having this odious pile of manure on their doorstep - it must affect their property values - I feel sure the council could do something.

The sooner these two monstrous carbuncles are driven out of business the better - then maybe we could attract a decent dealer to the area.

[robertpool]

On looking through this thread some contributors had mentioned that records were being sold in Electrical, Radio and various other types of shops. One of the reasons for this was that from the late 1950's through to the mid 1970's the largest distributor of records, outside of London, was based in Glasgow. The company was Clyde Factors (Electrical) Ltd based at 79 Washington Street. They were the largest distributors in Scotland of Records, Toys, Prams, Radio, Electrical, Audio and Video products. They were a strictly 'Trade Only' company and when shop keepers came to buy electrical, radio goods etc they often went to the 'Record Department' and bought popular records of the time. I recognised almost all the old record stores names as they were all supplied by Clyde Factors, a company l worked for, for 23 years. Clyde Factors supplied every major company in Glasgow including Frasers, Arnotts, Lewis's, F.W.Woolworth, House of Clydesdale, Stepek, E.W.Hutcheson, Glens, Robertsons, Goldbergs and all the other big names at the time. The family run company started 1901 as Philip Woolfson, Importers & Silversmiths, Main Street, Gorbals then moved to the Trongate (where McDonalds currently occupies) in 1912. The company diversified into others businesses; Clair’s Ltd, Woodland Road; Philip Woolfson Leisure Ltd, James Street and Clyde Factors (Electrical) Ltd, Washington Street also located in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Manchester. They finally ceased trading in 1995. And so ends today’s Glasgow Business history lesson, thank you for your attendance.

p.s
Two of the company’s record reps were members of the JSD Band, a highly successful band in the 1970's, Jim Divers and Colin Finn.
Bobby

[dimairt]

"And so ends today’s Glasgow Business history lesson, thank you for your attendance."


Will we be having an exam?

Durachdan,

Eddy

[Dexter St. Clair]

And you've failed for not noticing "the JSB band"

Unless Robert was referring to this mob



I'm sure he meant

[robertpool]

oops, sorry. I did mean the JSD Band as in Jim Divers, Sean O’Rouke, and Des Coffield. Some years later l went with them to the reunion concert at the City Halls .... support band was 'Three Dog Night'

Bobby

[the researcher]

The department stores like Lewisis and Arnot simpsons used to have their own internal record stores did they not ?

I remeber the Lewisis one for deffinite not too sure about arnots.

The old Woolworths @ Paisley road toll as well i think had a record store.

Arnotts had one. Even M&S sold their own brand CD's for a while.

For a time in the eighties if Woolworth's did not stock your single it would and could not be chart entry. I think Tesco's sell a similar proportion of Chart CD's.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=412350&in_page_id=2

M&S also sold films on video tape with their branding on it as i have a norman wisdom film and it has marks and spencer printed on the sleeve

[neilmc]

M&S also sold films on video tape with their branding on it as i have a norman wisdom film and it has marks and spencer printed on the sleeve

M&S had a no-quibble returns policy in those days.

[the researcher]

M&S also sold films on video tape with their branding on it as i have a norman wisdom film and it has marks and spencer printed on the sleeve

M&S had a no-quibble returns policy in those days.

in other words if your vcr chewed the tape you could still take it back and get a replacement

[War Baby]

Does anyone remember a terrific wee record shop in the 1960's, which was situated opposite Bain Square at the Barras, on the right hand side of the Gallowgate as you go towards Glasgow Cross? I used to go in there a lot during the sixties and rumage about for hours, looking at the L.P records and buying the latest re-recordings of 1920's American Jazz bands.

The owner of the shop was a Mr Stanton, and I think he arranged gigs for Jazz bands around Glasgow, and it's possible he was fairly well known to the Jazz world. I would hear him on the phone to people. I think he had something to do with organizing Jazz band gigs on boats sailing down the Clyde to the old holiday resorts in the early sixties. And I am sure he also mentioned something about discovering Lonnie Donegan when he was unknown,
and getting him the guitar spot in Chris Barber's Jazz Band.

Does anyone recall the shop and Mr Stanton?

[Deram]

First post on this forum. I've just spent an afternoon I should have been working reading through this great topic!

I always feel that I'm just slightly too young to have lived through the halcyon days of Glasgow record shops, but then I need to remind myself that 41 is hardly young.

Apologies if they've been mentioned before, but a few shops jumped into my memory filed under the "if only I knew then what I know now" category - I would have been buying up C-86 indie dross instead of pulling out rare prog and psych albums and singles for buttons. Anyway, I don't know the names of any of these - just places I went into a few times in the mid-80s...

There was a shop in the basement of the Virginia Galleries (beside the militaralia shop) which looked like a kinda 50s boutique and only sold singles - 60s things and Postcard kinda gear. Was maybe run by a guy connected with that scene - Loudon? It struck me as really bizarre that a shop wouldn't sell albums or 12"s - and of course now I realise... they were RIGHT!

Also, at the St. Georges X end of Woodlands Road (might be Grassroots now) there was a shop which sold disco equipment (I remember they had huge "Orange" amps and speakers - massively unfashionable then, massively fashionable now) and through the back there was a record room.

AND, on Dumbarton Road between Comet and Partick Station there was a secondhand shop (so not West End Records). I didn't particularly like secondhand records, I was looking for, like, y'know, NEW stuff. DOH!!!!