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Record shops in Bham

Eddie:

That's the one. John Levy later became his manager - the first black manager apparently according to Shearing's autobiography. Chuck Wayne I think stayed a while on guitar and Marjorie Hyams took over on vibes, but the touring eventually became too much for her, and Denzil Best (after whom my youngest son was named) later moved to be with Erroll Garner. I think either "East of the Sun" or, as we to call it, "September down the Drain" was the next one I bought.

Maurice
 
First started buying records from a shop with pocket money in the 60's (can't remember it's name), it was on the corner of Heathfield Road & Leonard Road and the other local shop was on Lozells Road opposite Wheeler Street.

Lozellian.
 
This photograph brings back memories for me! Reddington's Rare Records near the Moor Street underpass. 70s/80s?
11659393_1127403803942019_8595713533162910511_n.jpg
 
brilliant photo BB will certainly bring back memories to music fans including myself...i would date it 1970s..wonder who the lad in the photo are??

lyn
 
I was never a great one for buying records, as I was never in the house long enough to play them, but I do remember the first record I ever purchased, it was in 1958 and it was Peggy Sue by Buddy Holly and I bought it from Barratts on Moseley Road in Balsall Heath.
Sorry I don't have a photo of the shop, but here are a few of some others scattered around Birmingham through the years. We have the Co-op record department, Reddingtons records in Digbeth, the Virgin Store in Bull Street, another Reddintons (not sure of the location) and a specialist record store in Loveday Street

City Co op Record Dept.jpg Reddington-rare-records-Digbeth.jpg City Bull St Virgin Records.jpg City Reddingtons Rare Records.jpg City Loveday Street The Record Centre.jpg
 
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nice photos phil...im pretty sure that the shop in loveday st is still there..just down from the bull pub but no longer a records shop

lyn
 
Anybody remember The Music Box on the Coventry Rd in Sheldon. Bought my first LP there in 1966.
Best of the Beach Boys.
 
The guy on the left is Danny Reddington, don't know the others, he also had a shop on Warwick Road, good mate of mine, lost touch years ago.

John

Here he is again a few years later, and a with a little grey on the thatch, doesn't he do on line sales now?

Digbeth Dan Reddington Reddington Rare Records.jpg
 
Thanks Phil, been too long now, probably not much to talk about, I'm keeping very well and travelling about, been up in Scotland recently and going to the Isle of Skye later, hope you are well. not much going on here, so rarely visit, none of the old crowd left apart from our Lyn.
 
If the shop is at 44 Loveday Street I believe this is where my 5th great-uncle William Fitzer (1787-1841) lived there's a 1841 Pigot's Directory record of his daughter Emma running a shop from the premises.
 
I have probably used every record shop mentioned in this post....But the shop I may have used the most was Just Records in Perry Barr....the owner was always able to get me the recording I requested, mostly imports and a few bootlegs....this was in the earlier 1970's.....
 
Whereabouts in Perry Barr was that?
I can't remember the names but there was a record shop near the station and one, I think, in the old Lyndon Square.
 
Bootlegs are a little more questionable than counterfeiting. They're usually material that isn't usually available through legitimate sources. Most often they're live recordings. Some acts used to actively encourage bootlegging. Most notable of those was the Grateful Dead (https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead) There have been other odd instances and, in digital versions, it still goes on. Sometimes the act actually ask fans to circulate material or just put the album up on their own site - this is a recent example http://kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com/polygondwanaland/index.html (they do have a recording contract but they put out 4 other albums that year)
 
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My first record was the 12inch 78 of Ella Fitzgerald with the Count Basie Orchestra singing April in Paris, the version with the additional 'one more once' after the first reprise. Bought it at a little record shop in Gravelly Lane near to Station Road, caught the bus home, put the record down, cost me 6shillings and 1penny ( 6/1d) in a chair went out in the kitchen to get a drink before I put it on our brand new radiogram, sat in the chair and broke it...went out bought it again and almost wore it out playing it. There was somewhere up town a specialist record shop that got all the latest American Jazz and big band music and also sold Blue Note records, can someone remind me where it was please. Went to CDs, sold my vinyls (regretfully- downsizing it was called or no room for the b...... things), but Avid saved the day by bringing out all their compilations and there are some good ones amongst them. I was going to buy the unit that was widely advertised whereby you could put all your CDs on to it, but never got round to it and it now seems to have disappeared. Anyone got any suggestions, because I think when I retire eventually some of the CDs that I keep at work will have to be downsized.

Bob
 
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