Record Store Day - Great shops in Wiltshire and the South West.....

To celebrate Record Store Day here's a few of my favorite shops from my region....












Replay Records, Bath (now closed) - A great little independent shop that supplied me with many of the late 90's indie treasures of my youth.... An awesome selection of singles, a great 2nd hand section upstairs and very helpful staff. Also the place I ordered a very limited EP by a little known band called Muse back in early 1999.....

PR Sounds, Melksham (now closed) - Not a record shop as such, but it did stock an impressive selection of CD albums from over the years.... It was mainly a video rental shop that also sold hi fi equipment, and in the CD section I bought one of my first Fall albums. The beginning of the end for PR Sounds was when Blockbuster opened a shop just down the road, taking away most of their video-hire trade as they stopped stocking new release CDs (except for whenever Oasis brought out an album). The days when i could buy CDs from The Pogues, The Fall and Pulp at any time before 9pm AND within 3 minutes walking distance from my house.....

Falcon Records, Chippenham (now closed) - The place where i did my school work experience back in 1999.... Falcon was a shop that must have existed for about 4 or 5 years, stocking a wide array of music but often very very limited when it came to singles.... Prices were often sky high, but occasionally bargain albums could be picked up....

10/15 Record And Tape Exchange, Bath (now closed) - A few doors down from the glorious Replay was 10/15, 3 floors of CD, tapes and a LOT of vinyl. Now I used to sell this shop my unwanted CDs (mostly the ones I used to play when i was a club DJ) and get absolutely fuck all money back for them, but the basement of the shop with its massive vinyl section was a wonderful place to spend Saturday afternoons.


Heroes Records, Trowbridge - Not a shop as such, more of a market stall. Located in Trowbridge's Castle Place Market, this stall has been there since the early 1990s and was where I bought my first record (a 7" picture disc of David Bowie's 'Fame 90'). The stall is run by a bloke called Gordon who is always good to chat to about the glory days of rock and how record buying has changed over the years. A wide selection of vinyl as well as a "£1 box" where I have in the past picked up LPs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Sparks, Black Sabbath and loads more. Oh and if you're fed up of overpriced band t-shirts, Gordon sells most of his for under a tenner. And best of all, while all the other music retailers in Trowbridge (and the rest of wiltshire) have long gone, Gordon's stall is still standing proud. Long may it continue to do so.....

Raves From The Grave, Frome - Now the closest actual record shop to me. Raves From The Grave has been in Frome since the 90's and really is a great place to buy music from. You won't find them stocking any pointless chart pop, instead the shelves are filled with an impressive selection of new releases on CD and vinyl, shelves full of great albums and singles and not forgetting 'Vinyl Heaven' three doors down from the main shop, where you can find an incredible array of vinyl from over the years, at surprisingly great prices too! Plus the guy who runs the shop is passionate about what he does and goes to extraordinary lengths to satisfy his customers. A pleasant experience with every visit and a shop that i hope will NEVER close.....]

For the website go to www.ravesfromthegrave.com