Congratulations to Greg Soder on being honoured with an Entertainment Champion Award at ERA’s Summer Party, celebrating the industry’s unsung heroes. The Entertainment Champion Awards shine a spotlight on the often-unsung individuals working behind the scenes of the entertainment business, recognising those whose contributions make a real difference to their companies, colleagues and the wider […]
Author Archives: Ben
The Centre for Better Grooves opened its doors in March 2015, the latest venture by legendary record retailer Gordon Montgomery, founder of Fopp and Rise. Graham Jones first sold records to Gordon more than 30 years ago, when he owned two Fopp stores in Glasgow. He caught up with him to find out about his […]
Graham Jones travels back to the first record shop he ever bought from, Skeleton Records, Birkenhead and asks manager Ben Savage about the amazing history of the shop. Skeleton Records has been infecting the musical tastes of the good people of Birkenhead since August 1972. The shop was opened by two 20-year-olds, both called John […]
The Record Shop with Its Own Brewery Graham Jones interviews Malcolm Herbert, owner of Core of the Poodle – a record shop with its own brewery, surely an unbeatable combination for music lovers who also appreciate a good beer. How did you end up opening such a unique shop? “After trading online from around 2014, […]
Life, Vinyl & a Second Chance: Inside Cornwall’s Rotten Records Graham Jones visited the UK’s most Southern mainland record shops in Helston Cornwall to interview owners Nick and Ana. Tucked away down an alley on The Lizard, at the southern edge of Cornwall, Rotten Records isn’t just another independent record shop—it’s the result of resilience, […]
Capsule Records is one of the many new shops to have opened in recent years and is already making a big impression on the South Coast, attracting music fans from near and far. Graham Jones asked co-owner Lawrence Bleach for the story behind the shop. The story so far We opened in March 2023 as […]







