Run by the family of Edwin (Ted) Astley a well-known composer of music for film and TV in the 1950s and 1960s. The shop opened as a music store in the 1970s, as well as records they stocked musical instruments, sheet music, audio/HiFi gear, televisions etc. It closed at the end of March 2011. Ted's daughter Karen was once married to Pete Townshend and another daughter, Virginia is a singer/songwriter with something of a cult following.
- One of Wallingford's longest serving independent retail shops, Astley's, to close - The Herald Series, 9 February 2011
Comments
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Name: Tony S
Comment: I was a regular customer here when I lived in Wallingford (1984-85), and visited often while still in Oxfordshire 1986-89.
Perhaps one of the most foolish business choices I ever made was not taking up a business proposal Gareth Astley* (Ted's son, just a few years my senior) made to me sometime in 1985. Looking back, the opportunity to manage that shop, and enjoy the magnificent living room of the flat above, might have made for a very happy business life.
It seems almost incredible now, but in the 1980s Wallingford not only supported two record shops, but Astley's also found it viable to offer a very commendable hi-fi section, with a nice, acoustically treated listening room (heavy wall curtains) to the back of the shop.
*I believe Gareth had just taken over the reins at the shop when I moved to the town at the start of 1984, with Ted still helping out at weekends sometimes. He remained proprietor until the shop's sad demise in 2011, when he chose to cease being a testing ground for products that his 'customers' then went away and bought on the internet.
(21 October 2015)