I was recently put onto a BBC4 documentary on the only remaining record shop in the whole of the North East, and if you move fast you can still catch it for viewing on iPlayer. While the programme doesn’t quite focus on the sounds this blog favours (think less Ilija Rudman, 80′s funk and slo-mo disco, and more Status Quo, heavy metal and gabba techno), it’s definitely worth an hour of your viewing time. The gist of the documentary (a run down record shop that just about seems to be making ends meet through a loyal local fanbase) is also a big contrast to whats currently going down here in Leeds, as Jumbo & Crash plod on with no signs of slowing down, and exclusive house/disco/techno store Waxwerks goes from strength to strength, culminating with it being nominated for best record shop in the UK in the upcoming DJ Mag awards – you can vote HERE and read a recent interview from Ibiza Voice with the Waxwerk guys HERE.

But back to the documentary; it’s a interesting insight into how seriously some people take vinyl obsession, and despite the BBC pulling out it’s usual card of making the North East look like an absolute shithole full of weirdos (as oppposed to the truth of a bit of a shithole with some weirdos – much like any working class town), it does makes for an entertaining watch. Having cut my clubbing teeth in Middlesbrough and being surrounded by a great collection of electronic music stores as little as ten years ago (RIP Fat Dog, Pysche & Binary Records, and of course the legendary Alan Fearnleys), it’s crazy to think that this is now all that is left.

Check out the documentary HERE.
Pay the record shop a visit online HERE.