London’s Record Shops 
Garth Cartwright, with photography by Quintina Valero, The History Press, £20

GROWING up in Manchester in the 1960s and 1970s record shops proliferated across the city and in every high street in Manchester’s suburbs and towns. There were market stalls everywhere, even newsagents sold ex-jukebox 45s and albums, electrical retailers and furniture stores sold records — and there were specialist shops who stocked US soul and Jamaican imports too. Times were good.

By the early 1980s I was able to visit London on a regular basis where my regular haunts became Rock On, Honest Jons, Dobell’s, Collet’s (later Ray’s Jazz Shop), Virgin’s Oxford Street basement with racks of blues and jazz imports, Tower Records in Piccadilly and Mole Jazz in Kings Cross — all within easy travelling distance of each other.

The specialist shops sold 45s, imported albums, obscurities and rarities from crates and boxes piled high with records. Shops like Rock On and Dobells were visited by the likes of Bob Dylan, BB King, Paul Weller and Amy Winehouse.

Garth Cartwright and Quintina Valero’s republished London’s Record Shops not only tells the history of these shops but highlights record shops across Greater London who are still doing good business.  

Originally published in 2021, Garth says: “We started just before the Covid lockdown, resumed once things were opening up, then had to go on hold for the second lockdown, then finished it once everything re-opened.”

So why republish it now? ”Our publisher The History Press contacted Tina and I saying they wanted one — thus, would we like to choose a new cover image and write a 2026 Intro? Well, yes, thanks!”

“The new edition has Norman Grant of reggae legends The Twinkle Brothers on the cover — at Supertone Records, in Brixton. The new edition also features a selection of photos that didn’t appear in the first edition. And then there is the a new 2026 Introduction where I reflect on what’s changed and what’s stayed the same regarding record shops (and the culture they embody) across Greater London over the past five years. Sadly some shops didn’t survive lockdown — due to intractable landlords, or they just didn’t reopen.”

In the 2021 edition you declared London to be the world’s foremost city for record shops. Is that still true?

“Half a decade on that statement holds. While New Orleans, Austin in Texas, Paris and Tokyo are beloved by dedicated record collectors (known as crate diggers) and they continue to offer delights, London has the greatest range of record shops operating anywhere. There are now more independent record shops trading in the borough of Hackney than in Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool combined.”

“Considering how, earlier this century, the Virgin, Tower and Our Price national chains collapsed — alongside hundreds of independent shops — it appeared that the record shop was following video rental outlets into the retail junkyard, this is a remarkable turn around.

“London’s growth in record shops outstrips the rest of the UK — but Brighton comes a close second. Rough Trade, which started in Ladbroke Grove (and still exists there) expanded to Covent Garden and opened the huge Rough Trade East on Brick Lane, and now they have a new shop which marks the chain’s return to the West End. It’s now the second most important British record shop chain.”

“Another landmark London record shop was Rock On in Camden Town from 1972 to 1996 — whose founder, the esteemed Ted Carroll, has now reopened his shop in the picturesque Lincolnshire town of Stamford. Ted sells records at very reasonable prices. His profits go to charities for the homeless and refugees — it’s worth the trek,” says Garth.

COMPETITION: We have a free copy of London’s Record Shops to give away to Morning Star readers who correctly answer the following question: What British record shop chain recently returned to its historic base in London’s Oxford Street? Please send the answer, along with your name and postal address, to competitions@peoples-press.com by Thursday August 6. The first correct entrant selected randomly will be the winner. Open to UK applicants over 18 only, no cash equivalent offered.