The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

WayAhead, Rob’s Records and Selectadisc.

OK, part of this was because there were no major record shops in Nottingham at that time – Our Price, Virgin and HMV all arrived [and left] years later – so unless you were happy with the extremely limited range available in Boots, they were your only options.

Not that they were a ‘lesser’ experience to the big chains. Far from it.

In fact WayAhead became my Mecca because it was a pure rock and metal store. The only one in Nottingham … a place that loved the music rather than just sold it. A place – when I look back – that not only helped forge my identity as a teen, but gave me a space where I could feel safe and supported in it.

It’s also the location where I queued up all night just to ensure I could get Queen tickets for their Works Tour. So the memories are deep and strong.

Rob’s Records was a second hand store up a small alley called Hurts Yard.

WayAhead used to be a few doors down, but they moved to a much bigger location when [1] metal music became mass in the mid-80’s and [2] the shop couldn’t fit customers in because too many people were crammed around the Pinball table and Track and Field arcade game that was in the front of their store. [See photo above]

But I digress …

To be honest, Rob’s Records was a shambles.

Messy … cramped … records stacked tight in big boxes and plastic bins placed literally all over the place. But it had cheap records so I’d find myself in there searching for some rare Queen albums or singles… normally after having a fried chicken lunch from the place that was a cut-price KFC in name, cleanliness and taste.

And then there was Selectadisc.

Set over 2 floors, it was the music lovers, music shop.

A dimly lit, warm cocoon that incubated you from the world outside.

In fact, it was considered an institution by record/vinyl fans all over the world thanks to its continued support for new and up and coming bands.

That said I didn’t love it … it loved The Smiths for a start … but it did have a lot of variety. It also had a great noticeboard where people could put up ads … especially for musicians for bands. We found our first singer, Rob Reid, from an ad we put up there … someone who helped give me some of the best times of my teens and who I am still in touch with to this day.

All of these places were like a wonderland to me.

I may have entered from the street, but I found myself on a different planet.

I would spend hours there on a Saturday… listening, talking, looking, reading. Occasionally even buying.

And while Rob’s Records and Selectadisc didn’t offer me the same community as WayAhead … they mattered to me. A lot.

Sadly, only Rob’s Records remain … but what caused me to write this post is because I recently saw a photo of the upstairs of Selectadisc and it stopped me in my tracks.

Not because of the memories it ignited.
Nor because of the state of it.
But because of its size.

Specifically, how small it was.

I appreciate when you’re younger you overestimate size … but this wasn’t when I was a child, I was in my teens.

And even though it wasn’t my fave record shop, I still remember it like it was a Cathedral of Sound.

Maybe it was because it was bigger than both WayAhead and Rob’s Records.
Maybe it was because it was on 2 floors where the others were just on one.
Or maybe it was because it offered me an escape from normal life to a place that was filled with sound and people who shared a similar love to it as me.

There’s never been a place like those record shops for me.

The closest was Funan Mall in Singapore – a whole building dedicated to selling electronics and gadgets.

A place where I could happily spend hours just looking at the latest new tech that had come in from China … where Jill sent me to after I’d proposed so I could calm down from the intense emotions of the morning.

But even then … even with all that … those 3 record shops in Nottingham will be where a part of my soul resides.

A place that was educational, recreational, and experiential.

Society is worse off without these places.

Yes, I know culturally they have been replaced by a bunch of other places – from the barbers shop to the chicken shop – but records shop were more than a place to hang and talk, they were a place where you grew.