International Record Store Day

This is Pete, of Bang Bang Records in Northampton, one of the independent spirits keeping music alive by running a small shop selling music where people can go in, leaf through the racks of vinyl, listen to and talk about the music with Pete.

Get yourselves down to your local record shop, chat with the people who work there - they are there because they love music - listen to the music and you will discover the soundtrack to your lives (hopefully the older ones amongst you already have!). Pete was blasting out some great sounds while I was there, from classic soul music to punk. It's all good!

I grew up in record shops. From the age of eleven or twelve, after school, running down the hill into town to spend my pocket money on a 45 that I'd been listening to on the radio, through to spending hours on a Saturday in The Cottage, a second hand record shop in Brighton where I discovered so much fantastic music, through to several hours on free afternoons at listening posts in stores in Canada & the USA (If the UK megastores had ever come around to the idea of banks of listening posts, you would have got even more of my money.).

I bought this when it first came out - still have it! Just right for today. Play it LOUD!

And Brighton & Hove Albion are Division One Champions - Seagulls!!!