Bristol’s vinyl renaissance

Vinyl may have become cool again, but in Bristol record shops both staff and customers think that with supermarkets like Tesco selling LPs, the musical value of records is actually decreasing.

Last year vinyl sales were the highest they have been for a quarter of a century. According to a BPI report, vinyl sales rose by 53 per cent in 2016 and reached the 3.2 million unit mark, the most LPs sold since 1991. 

But some of these records may never even feel a needle.

“I had a young guy who came into the shop looking for a record that looked similar to another one that he had,” says Tom Friend of Friendly Records on North Street in Bedminster.

“It turned out that he wasn’t even listening to the records, but just sticking the artwork on his wall.”

21-year-old DJ Wilf De Salis, aka Wilfy D, has worked in Idle Hands (pictured above) for four years. The Stokes Croft shop mainly sells their specialist collection to DJs, with white labels piled high on the counter.

“Vinyl is a bit vintage and things like that come back into fashion,” he explains.

“I think Urban Outfitters is selling more vinyl than any other retailer and Tesco is now selling a few too. It’s definitely become fashionable.”

Friendly Records opened in July last year, with Tom agreeing that records have become a kind of fashion statement. 

“I think it’s also a reaction against being told that we don’t need to own stuff, especially for young people,” Tom adds. “They want something physical.

Research has shown that this tendency to buy vinyl as commodity items is a theme among people buying records.

One survey found that 48 per cent of people who had bought vinyl admitted that they had never played it, while seven per cent didn’t even own a record player. 

But despite this trend, music lovers are still buying vinyl simply for its richer sound. This and the process of listening to records in a shop and discovering new artists make vinyl the medium of choice for many music fans. 

Dave Kellard, manager of Plastic Wax Records on Cheltenham Road, has worked in the shop for more than 30 years and says that during this time vinyl has always been a primary source of income.

For Dave, it is the physicality and sound of records that make them appealing: “Vinyl sounds nicer. They have a wider dynamic range, a warmer sound and of course you have the artwork on the front too.”

Rummaging through the records on Tuesday afternoon is 20-year-old Walter Need, a music student from Ireland. 

“I like going into a shop, looking at the covers and finding something that you might not have heard before,” he says. “It’s fun looking through and having the physical thing in front of you.” 

Elsewhere in Bristol, Wanted Records in St Nick’s Market is an old favourite for classic records, while Rise on Queen’s Road is popular for more recent releases, with customers buying a coffee from Friska downstairs able to browse through some vinyl as they wait for their takeaway latte.

It’s not just record shops that are stocking records either. Walking down Cotham Hill you can find Shotgun Barbers selling a collection in partnership with Prime Cuts on Cheltenham Road and CLIC Sargent charity shop who also specialise in vinyl.

You can even order vinyl through Bell’s Diner & Bar Rooms in Montpelier. 

Gordon Montgomery has had a long career with records as the founder of Fopp and later a director at Rise, now run by his son Lawrence.

He opened The Centre for Better Grooves on Cranbrook Road almost two years ago and makes a point to separate his music from that being sold in Tesco. 

Proudly rifling through his collection of heritage Latin and jazz, he reminisces about how music buying used to be in the days before streaming and records more likely to be put in frames on your wall rather than listened to.

Despite the rise in vinyl sales, he believes that the magic of the record shop has diminished in the past decade.

“Record shops used to be the place to be, where everyone would go to hang out and where you’d meet your boyfriend or girlfriend.

“I owned record shops that would get so full that you wouldn’t be able to let anyone else in. Now people just go for brunch instead.”

Read more: North Street’s vinyl shop goes on record