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Record shops in Birmingham
- Thread starter tony sammons
- Start date
Curious about the Virgin record shop mentioned. The first one I remember was on Corporation St up toward the university. I think they had a downstairs but no escalator. Then they moved to Bull Street - i don't remember that one but I don't think it was big enough for an escalator. Next there was the superstore back on Corporation street. That was split levels and had an escalator inside.
The only record shop I can remember that you had to use an escalator to get to was Tower who were on Corporation St at the New St end for a while and you had to go up the escalator to get in.
Since you mention Hurst St. Do you remember a shop called Inferno or Tempest? Seems one was run by the nephew of the one who ran the other. The nephew now had a record stall on the ground floor at Oasis.
ade
master brummie
Hi wam
I could have sworn that store had an escalator to down stairs but you may be right it may have just been a staircase, it was a great store though, always remember it been pretty dark down there, I remember one Saturday they had a power cut and no one was allowed to leave the shop until all power was restored. Inferno records I think was in dale end and tempest in bull street, another good shop for second hand was reddingtons, the one your thinking of in Hurst street I'm sure was called swordfish which was a punk/indi record shop
I could have sworn that store had an escalator to down stairs but you may be right it may have just been a staircase, it was a great store though, always remember it been pretty dark down there, I remember one Saturday they had a power cut and no one was allowed to leave the shop until all power was restored. Inferno records I think was in dale end and tempest in bull street, another good shop for second hand was reddingtons, the one your thinking of in Hurst street I'm sure was called swordfish which was a punk/indi record shop
I could have sworn that store had an escalator to down stairs but you may be right it may have just been a staircase, it was a great store though, always remember it been pretty dark down there, I remember one Saturday they had a power cut and no one was allowed to leave the shop until all power was restored. Inferno records I think was in dale end and tempest in bull street, another good shop for second hand was reddingtons, the one your thinking of in Hurst street I'm sure was called swordfish which was a punk/indi record shop
Hi wam
I could have sworn that store had an escalator to down stairs but you may be right it may have just been a staircase, it was a great store though, always remember it been pretty dark down there, I remember one Saturday they had a power cut and no one was allowed to leave the shop until all power was restored. Inferno records I think was in dale end and tempest in bull street, another good shop for second hand was reddingtons, the one your thinking of in Hurst street I'm sure was called swordfish which was a punk/indi record shop
Dug out a few old record bags. Swordfish used to be in Needless Alley, Inferno on Dale End. The one I've found on Hurst St was called Rockers. I have an early issue of Brum Beat 1979(?) where they made the cover story along with Inferno after having been raided by the police for selling Crass albums.
Elmdon Boy
master brummie
Hurst St was the first place for the Diskery which is still going in Bromsgove St.
Swordfish Records is also still active in Dalton St off Newton St by the crown courts.
Great little independents if you want difficult to get hold of CD or vinyl. I was in Swordfish the other week, still being run by the original guy.
Give them a visit and support your independents, its all we will have left soon.
Swordfish Records is also still active in Dalton St off Newton St by the crown courts.
Great little independents if you want difficult to get hold of CD or vinyl. I was in Swordfish the other week, still being run by the original guy.
Give them a visit and support your independents, its all we will have left soon.
ade
master brummie
Absolutely agree one hundred percent, we need to support these shops who still provide a service in brum, they have probably survived some harsh times especially when most people started downloading music, when there gone, there gone forever and all we'll have are record fairs and that would be very sad
Michael_Ingram
gone but not forgotten
The Diskery definitely. You could brows freely at at the stock of older 78s upstairs (LPs hadn’t been invented). The owner was amazing, he knew the serial number of every record
Cheryl Dawn
New Member
Remember that shop as being like a large cupboard... trying to cram as many records in it as humanly possible! Such an iconic place...
sospiri
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Hobdays was the first record shop I ever used and the first record I bought there was a 78rpm of George Shearing Quintet playing "I'll Remember April". This would be in about 1954, just before I went for National Service in the RAF. That end of Poplar Road has undergone a few changes over the years.
Maurice
Maurice
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Radiorails
master brummie
Cranes, in Old Square, was the only place in Birmingham that I bought records that was in the early 1950's. They were 78 rpm (breakable type 
). They were always Classical.The Crane store was wonderful to look around, pianos (which they made as far as know) and all sorts of musical instruments and accoutrements.
). They were always Classical.The Crane store was wonderful to look around, pianos (which they made as far as know) and all sorts of musical instruments and accoutrements.
Yeh by Highgate road then moved to town
It was bk in the 70'sand 80's
Smudger
master brummie
Sorry Mario, it was definitely the 50`s. I left Brum in `67.
Robert Ensor (bob)
master brummie
I remember 2 when I worked at Patrick Motors on Dawlish Road Selly Oak, I worked with a guy Adrian Stanley who would walk down to the Bristol Road on pay day at lunch time and buy a least 2 LP.s.
Then the other I walked past every day going for lunch it was at the bottom of Ryde Park Road on the Bristol Road just down from Colmers Farm School, I remember going in and buying Diamond Dogs by Bowie 1974, the woman who owned the shop was very well feed, but she new me because my mum worked in the grocery store a couple of doors down and she always came out to talk, it looks like it may be a vape shop or the Rednal Café now, and the café where I would eat lunch every day from school is now a fish bar.
What great places record shops use to be even into the 80's just as good as a book store browsing looking to find a surprise.
My record buying days came to a end in England I got to know a record producer for the beeb and he got so many records from labels sent to him he would just give me stacks of records and would say "any sound good let me know", there was a lot of junk but many good one's, all the LP's had a small gold stamped sign on the front with a rectangle boarder with the words not for sale printed in gold.
Then the other I walked past every day going for lunch it was at the bottom of Ryde Park Road on the Bristol Road just down from Colmers Farm School, I remember going in and buying Diamond Dogs by Bowie 1974, the woman who owned the shop was very well feed, but she new me because my mum worked in the grocery store a couple of doors down and she always came out to talk, it looks like it may be a vape shop or the Rednal Café now, and the café where I would eat lunch every day from school is now a fish bar.
What great places record shops use to be even into the 80's just as good as a book store browsing looking to find a surprise.
My record buying days came to a end in England I got to know a record producer for the beeb and he got so many records from labels sent to him he would just give me stacks of records and would say "any sound good let me know", there was a lot of junk but many good one's, all the LP's had a small gold stamped sign on the front with a rectangle boarder with the words not for sale printed in gold.
ade
master brummie
That's a great story Bob, you must have listened to hours of music and heard some up and coming bands before most people got to hear them
Robert Ensor (bob)
master brummie
Surprising how many shops actually sold those records despite the warning. I've got lots including one that still has the letter to the DJ with the band's address and another that came complete with press pack (mostly photocopied news clippings).
Here's a few more of the old bags. See which ones you remember. 
The upload option said thumbnail and I did that but you can see the larger version if you just click. Some of these were chosen fo some oddity. Virgin shows their original address. Reddingtons were on Cannon St by Rackhams this time. Inferno had gotten to be a small chain listing 4 stores in very small type at the bottom including Dale End and Corporation St in Birmingham. I think Threshold were owned by a guy from the Moodys (their record label was Threshold). Franks were at the edge of the open market in one of those shops near a subway to Moor St (?) or Digbeth (?). the address was St Martin's House Parade.
I can manage a few others if there's anything particular you want to see.
The upload option said thumbnail and I did that but you can see the larger version if you just click. Some of these were chosen fo some oddity. Virgin shows their original address. Reddingtons were on Cannon St by Rackhams this time. Inferno had gotten to be a small chain listing 4 stores in very small type at the bottom including Dale End and Corporation St in Birmingham. I think Threshold were owned by a guy from the Moodys (their record label was Threshold). Franks were at the edge of the open market in one of those shops near a subway to Moor St (?) or Digbeth (?). the address was St Martin's House Parade.
I can manage a few others if there's anything particular you want to see.
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ade
master brummie
Those are great Wam, I would love to see more if you have them. I bet there's not many of these around anymore, it's one thing you wouldn't think of keeping. Some years back I had 3 year's of the music paper "sounds" I think from 1980 to 83, I gave them away and have regreted it ever since, I learnt a lesson from that
I have a large drawer full of them. I also have most of a run of Brum Beat from issue 2 at the end of the 70s to the point they decided to start charging for it.
As I said, if there's anything particular, I can try to find it. Some of the bags can be tricky - matter of flattening them out, disengaging the flash and still get enough light. Some of them probably aren't worth photographing (Cyclops was text on white, Tower - red text on yellow and no address).
Elmdon Boy
master brummie
The lady that ran Cyclops lives not far from me with her son.
She recently had a fall at home and broke her hip I think. She had a successful operation and is currently still in hospital.
She's in her early 90s I think, I wish her a speedy recovery. I remember buying Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies from there.
She recently had a fall at home and broke her hip I think. She had a successful operation and is currently still in hospital.
She's in her early 90s I think, I wish her a speedy recovery. I remember buying Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies from there.
Amazing you can remember what record you bought where in town after all this time. I must have bought a lot of albums there but, if asked which, I could only make guesses (best guess would be some of the early Jefferson Airplane but there would have been a whole lot more). I know I got quite a few out of sales at Midland Ed. I think there were several "not for resale" copies at Second City on summer row - I have one with a press pack and another with a letter to the DJ from the band. I remember around a dozen bought at 6 for a quid at a Bull Ring event called the "Daily Necessities fair of the Peoples Republic of China" - some of them are easy to spot because they have a hole made by something like a scissor blade that goes all the way through the cover. I remember Reddingtons almost permanent "half price sale" and his stickers that were almost impossible to get off without tearing bits of the cover.
Next batch of old bags. These are scanned from singles/CD bags rather than photographed. Highway 61 only dealt CDs and was up at Fletchers Walk by the library. A HMV logo from when they still put the dog on everything. Plastic Factory from the far end of Corporation St - not the same place as Virgin used to be. Swordfish when they were still in Needless Alley. I think Tempest had the place on Bull Street when they used that logo. Wayahead were (a stall?) in the Bull Ring but I don't remember much about them.
Great pics! They've brought back some memories. I recognise most of those, especially the Plastic Factory bag, I spent hours and a lot of money in that shop. I remember Reddingtons had a reputation (not sure if unfairly) for being overpriced and it seemed a bit chaotic and scruffy in there. Tempest was great for new rock and indie releases. Didn't use Swordfish much and I'd totally forgotten Way Ahead. There used to be a music t-shirt shop very near to Tempest that I can't remember the name of that took a lot of my cash too. Apart from record fairs at the NEC, I also used to hang around the record shop in Wylde Green most Saturdays in the early 90's.