Black Sedan Records, 127 Oxford Rd. Promo poster, free with LPs, 14 x 30in.

Design by OK Dave.

Mike Davison writes:

Robinsons Records Singles Catalogue No.1, August 1977.

Singles ranged from 70p to £1.25.
Postage was 15p for 3 singles.

It has 22 pages in all (including blank inside cover).

Ron writes:

Thought of by some as the best record shop in Stockport, sadly missed.

Annie writes:

Adam Ant's autograph, obtained at the main record stall in the underground market on Market Street in Manchester, Dec 12 1979. Can't recall the name of the shop - it was the one on the longest run of wall, if I recall it right. I'd gone to buy a single (not an Ants one though) and he was behind the stall chatting away, promoting Dirk, I think (and looking pretty good in his pre-popster days, I should add). Had a nice chat with him, including about the drawings on his single sleeves, got my bit of paper signed 'Muchos Regardos' and went away quite impressed.

Artefact uploaded by Dubwise-er:

I usually side with Napoleon B. when it comes to notions of shopkeepers but as dealers went ,this shop was better than most, with bootlegs aplenty. They were opposite Band On The Wall and covered the waterfront of most musical stylings. Guesstimating '80.

In 1981 Grass Roots bookshop - a place where you could buy political and left-of-field books, or get info on a variety of community activities, - started selling albums on the label Rough Trade, later home of The Smiths.

Taken from City Fun, September 1981.

Advert for Pandemonium Records, Oxford Road.

Taken from City Fun, September 1981.

The fondly remembered Collectors Records, Market Street.

SHAUN S SAYS –

There were two stalls I particularly recall in there. One was a geniune collectors stall (I think they had a sister one in Blackpool as well) ,and one sold bootlegs (vinyl & tapes) Remember getting lots of Joy Division stuff from there. I got a picture disc of 'Ideal for
Living'' for £12 which, back in 1983, was a lot of saved pocket money! Those were the days.

DJ SAYS –

This was the entrance half way down Market St. The other entrance was smaller and had the leather shop and Oasis by the stairs. I think there was another smaller entrance as well. Great memories even though I got mugged in the photo/badge shop, as the old lady who ran it kept her head down and carried on knitting! I only had about 5 quid on me.

A 1980s advert for Kingbee Records, taken from the shop's website:

In a piece from 2007, music journalist and well-known Kingbee loiterer John McCready wrote:

"It’s the 21st century. Vinyl is dead. The iPod is king. Even CDs are being sized up for the great format dustbin in the sky. They’re trying to sell us zeros and ones, bits of hard drive space, that insurance companies won’t acknowledge even exist. The papers are full of it. The end of an ear ‘ole. Fopp gone bust, beloved independent shops closing left right and centre, all the lonely people up all night on crap tops - measuring their musical taste out in regimented 79p bites.

Painted budgie yellow on an unassuming row on Wilbraham Road is one shop that simply refuses to fall in line. You can’t move in here on Saturday afternoon for errant dads who’ve been sent out for a loaf and taken a musical detour, indie hipsters discovering krautrock and discovering the 80s on 50p sevens, serious spending collectors eyeing the big pieces on the walls, disco mums with prams in the 12” racks, reggae obsessives sifting the boxes for super heavyweight ska, still sharp in their 50s chaps in good shoes, evaluating the latest northern stock, Big shot US house DJs in town for the night and doubling up on obscure electro on sale at a snip, king bee WAGS huffing and puffing at the door while their loved ones spend half of next months mortgage on a pile of CDs that remind them of pramless teenage freedom, old fellers in the jazz racks lost in a world of trios, blue note and bossa, Beatle nuts buying different issues of records they already own, mods and sods, pop gods and odd bods - people who know that music is the only real magic in life."

Add for Spin Inn, 1984.

Greg Wilson wrote about Spin Inn in a piece for Wax Poetics in 2005:

“Spin Inn in Manchester was the premier record shop in the North of England when it came to dance music. If you had any aspirations of being taken seriously as a black music specialist, you had no option but to shop there. There was nowhere outside of London that could compare when it came to stocking the latest imports. Although Spin Inn was best-known for black music, all the main DJs from the gay scene also bought their records there, with a guy called Harry Taylor (sadly no longer with us) looking after that side of the shops business.

When I was the resident DJ at Wigan Pier, covering a variety of musical bases at the weekend, this would include some of the more European type Disco releases that I wouldn’t have played on the Tuesday, tracks which would be described as ‘Gay Disco’ back then. So, whilst most of the records I bought from Spin Inn during this time were for the Jazz-Funk night, I’d also generally pick up a few tunes from Harry, with the other nights in mind. It was as a result of this that I came across bootleg mix twelves, like “Bits & Pieces III”, later copied by Dutch producer Jaap Eggermont for his worldwide hit “Stars On 45”, and the record I’ve included here, “Big Apple Production Vol 1”, which would be a definite inspiration with regards to the subsequent direction I’d take with my radio mixes.

The first half of “Big Apple” included a lot of the type of stuff I was playing at the Pier on Tuesdays (also Legend, in Manchester, on Wednesday, which I’d started in Aug '81) - things like Rockers Revenge, Jonzun Crew, Soul Sonic Force, Pressure Drop, Howard Johnson and Aretha Franklin etc - but about half way through it begins to move in a more commercial direction (Yazoo, Michael Jackson, Steve Miller Band etc), before arriving at an out and out Gay Disco vibe (Bobby O, Divine, Patrick Cowley etc, even a snatch of “YMCA” by the Village People!). The mix is credited to Ser & Duff, although I still don’t know who was behind it (∗ I subsequently learned that it was Brooklyn DJ, Mikey D’Merola, from WKYU Radio in New York). Two years later a second “Big Apple” came out, but, although the names Ser & Duff appeared once more, this mix was done by the now legendary NYC duo, the Latin Rascals (*some argue that they, not D’Merola, were also responsible for the first ‘Big Apple’).

Harry had also introduced me to the extremely expensive, but sometimes essential, Disconet DJ only releases from New York, which would later provide me with some great Electro alternatives, not available on the official releases - exclusive versions of “Hip Hop Be Bop (Don’t Stop)” by Man Parrish, “In The Bottle” by C.O.D and, most notable of all, The Jonzun Crew with “We Are The Jonzun Crew”.

As Noel Gallagher famously wrote "Mr Sifter sold me songs when I was just 16".

Mr. Gallagher may not be 16 any more, but Mr Sifter is still around after more than 30 years in the music business.

Virgin Records was originally on Lever Street, but moved to Market Street in around '79.

This image is supplied by Manchester Image Libraries with kind permission.


A.WILLIAMS SAYS –

So many great memories of this shop. It was always the meeting point for my school mates on a Saturday. At the age of twelve in 1979 the word 'virgin' just seemed rude. The transparent orange bags with 'It's at Virgin' printed on were something of a status symbol, and I would find things to carry in one just to show it off. I remember it being quite dark inside with green metal lamp shades hanging low over the stock. There was a long counter running the width of the back of the shop. It had Technics decks on and headphones so you could listen before you bought. At the age of 12 it felt like the coolest place on earth.

Dubwise-er writes:

Now that I’ve actually looked at and read this flyer, I think this was the place Muppet from Armed Force and a lad called Benny had....Circa ’85.

Les Hare's DJ business card from some point in the eighties. Les is the owner of Kingbee Records in Chorlton, one of the UK's best record shops.

Ad for Piccadilly Records, c.1986.

Advert From Debris Fanzine 1986

1963 writes:

Before the explosion of house music in the late 80s, things were much simpler. There was only one dance shop in town, namely Spin Inn which was located on the corner of Cross St and Back Pool Fold.

At this time there were only a few house records around and hip hop was the only genre defined enough to warrant its own weekly chart; everything else was lumped together as jazz, funk, soul & house.

Manchester's Fifth of Heaven score highly as one of only 5 British releases in a U.S. dominated Top 40.

Nick Grayson writes:

Martin Price in an early (pre-808 State) publicity shot taken outside of Eastern Bloc Records when the shop was located in the arcade.

Photo taken in Spin Inn Records, Manchester's original dance specialist.

This was taken when the shop had moved from its original location on Cross St to Pall Mall, just around the corner.

The picture shows Kenny passing a record to Hewan Clarke (DJ at The Gallery, Hacienda amongst numerous others), while Mike works out the bill at the counter.

Advert for Piccadilly Records from Debris Magazine (Issue 18, December 1988)

Tin Tin writes:

Fantastic illegal warehouse party, organised by the Eastern Bloc record shop. It was held at an old mill near the fire station in Collyhurst. When I arrived at 1.30am it was in full swing - with The 808 State Spinmasters Darren and Andy playing. Everyone was completely off their heads and were throwing themselves around the place like mad fools. I remember Andy Barker mixing Renegade Soundwave's 'The Pahntom' into 'Acid Rock' with great effect - but at that moment about 50 riot police burst in to break up the party. We were all gutted - it really was a top night. When we went outside there must have been about 20 black Mariahs and another 50 cops in riot gear, which was ridiculous. I don't think even Peter Sutcliffe had as many police guarding him when he went from court to prison. Somebody should have done us all a favour and given James Anderton an E.

1980s Piccadilly Records carrier bag! The year is a guess...

Brent Cunliffe remembers Decoy:

Recollection taken from: britishrecordshoparchive.org

"I worked here .Some great days. The staff were very knowledgeable and great guys - they had their Jack Black snooty " High Fidelity " days but they had charm. Regular customers came from far and wide for those Yazoo and Document blues albums.

Always up to date in the killer Jazz, Blues and the best Folk, Country and World music section in town. Mike and Nick were the top guys and good people to work for.

I recall Charlie Watts shopping here for Jazz records and his cheque being framed. The Stones were in town for one of their MEN arena gigs when Mr Watts graced the shop .

Sadly following the IRA bombing and a massive rates increase its days were numbered. Nick did go on to open the short lived Big Pink shop in the Northern Quarter and Mike has his fingers in many pies (Band On The Wall) for one.

Certainly one of the best and most missed Manchester record shops for many people. Mike Harding used to visit almost every Friday and think nothing of dropping a hundred pounds on the latest Folk and Country records and I would deliver them to his office across town – I clearly recall him purchasing his first Bela Fleck record in wonderment after hearing it playing on the shops turntable."

Dubwiser remembers:

'Powercuts: was it pre- or post-Yanks? A good ‘n cheap one stop shop if you liked your album covers with their corners cut off or a hole punched through; good for saving a bob or two and something to do with import duty...Bostocks in the Arndale was similar-ish but the sleeves were left intact.'