I’m pretty sure I have the address right… if you catch the train from Mechelen  – which you would pass coming from Brussels I believe – get out of the station and follow the main road that has the tram line on it going into the main city square. It’s a bit of a nonsensical […]

A few years back I held a job in Balaclava and often used to spend my lunch breaks digging around a local goldmine known then as Warren’s Records. I’d first heard about Warren’s from the inimitable Mr Geoffrey Nees who I believe worked there at one time. He told me that it was a good […]

I discovered The Searchers one morning circa 2008 while loitering near the corner of Smith and Gertrude waiting for a cheese and tomato toasty from Dr Java. Having only recently opened, the shop contained just a few shelves of secondhand books and some bins of used records. A noncommittal browse yielded instant results (a Supermax […]

Graham Jones is to independent record shops what David Suzuki is to the ozone layer. His book “Last Shop Standing” looks at the decline of independent music retail, examining why there’s now a 7-11 where your local record shop used to be. Jones has been involved in British music retail and distribution all his life. […]