"We walked into Penny Lane Records and I freaked. Rows and rows of the coolist imports and wired stuff. And on the wall were lines of hip 45s. 'Little Johny Jewel' by Television, 'Gloria' by Patti Smith on French import, Stooges bootleg EPs and '30 Seconds Over Tokyo' by Pere Ubu. I wanted everything, and I could not wait. We looked through every record sleeve and just glowed. I left with an MC5 45 called 'Borderline' a Snatch single and the first Richard Hell EP. It was all American - there was no English punk, not yet. Brian brought nothing. He said he was waiting for the Sex Pistols record 'Anarchy In The UK' which was due next week."
- Julian Cope, Head On
Comments
Mark Butler
03 Jan 2024 at 10:55
I used to travel to the Bold Street branch every other week from Ellesmere Port in the late eighties. I loved the buzz around Liverpool then. Watch the Blues one week, buy records the next. I ordered the first ten years of Iron Maiden EPs there and basically picked each one up every week on release date, on the way home from Hope Street College after a pint in Ye Cracke - happy times!
John-Barry Hughes
24 Jul 2024 at 08:26
I used to live in this wonderful place from about 1981 till 1986. Getting my Beatles albums and loads of 1960s psychedelia, The Smiths, Punk, The Undertones, Pistols, Syd-era Floyd, Julian Cope, Bunnymen, The Velvets, Doors, Can, Neu, Suicide, Lee Perry, Steel Pulse, etc etc etc. I heard Forever Changes by LOVE and didn't like it, of course I bought it years later and LOVE IT!!. I always remember a sort of hippyish girl with curly ginger hair working in the Chester shop, from Buckley. I think her surname was Fellows? Great times. 10 albums in my bag, back of a Crosville bus and going through the sleeves etc etc - Heaven!
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Name: mark 4696
Comment: Penny Lane Records in Penny Lane, Liverpool, was a fabulous shop in the late 1970s. I went to school just up the road and we went in most lunch times. It started off in a really small shop and then moved across the road to larger premises.
It had a good range of second-hand vinyl and fulfilled my and my school friends' desire for rock. They always gave us the old promo posters so my parents never had to decorate my bedroom. I still have all of my vinyl and many of the LPs still have the posters folded up in the sleeve. They opened further shops in Liverpool city centre and Chester, but the original tiny premises still bring back many happy memories.
Name: Pete Stevens
Comment: My record shop was Penny Lane Records in Chester. It was on Foregate Street in one of those typical half-timbered black-and-white buidings common in Chester. It was opposite the ABC cinema.
The shop interior was quite narrow, but painted black to keep the atmosphere quite claustrophobic. My abiding memory from 1977 to 1982 when I was a regular customer was the display across all the walls of 7" singles. The best picture sleeves were always up on the walls... The Clash, Buzzcocks and Sex Pistols being particularly memorable.
Memories of the staff are vague, but there was one very tall skinny cockney guy I seem to remember working there, very affable and knowledgable. This was the shop you went to for all your essential vinyl. Virtually every 7" single I ever bought came from Penny Lane. It was very cool to be seen round town with their distinctive white plastic bag with bold black lettering... in either 12" or 7" form of course.
Name: Paul Bishop
Comment: I used to travel to Chester from Wrexham to visit Penny Lane and stock up on Metal/Rock albums. My memories of it were it being quite small and dark but it did tend to stock a lot of US imports which were harder to find in Wrexham (Phase One & Cob Records.) When CDs first came out they used to sell US imports which came out in the long boxes which measured approx 6x12".
(22 March 2015)
Name: Karl Hewitt
Comment: I used to love travelling on the train from Shotton, Deeside to Chester and trawling the record shops. Particularly Penny Lane for second-hand and new punk and rock music. Migrant Mouse was going and Ames Records and Tapes but best of all was Penny Lane from 1978 into 1985. Fantastic memories.
(23 June 2015)
Name: Peter Maddrell
Comment: I remember the branch in Penny Lane itself had someone working there with a Phil Oakey haircut!
(9 October 2015)
Name: Keith P
Comment: I worked for Merseyside Fire Service and used to cycle to the Bold Street shop, where I bought my very first Joe Satriani CD (Flying in a Blue Dream), and then continued to cycle to, and buy my music, from Penny Lane Records in Penny Lane, Liverpool, after work. This shop had the best selection of music anywhere in Liverpool. The guy in charge was called Peter, but I never knew his surname. The staff were great and would always make you feel welcome and make you a cuppa!
Would anybody be able to help me out or put me in touch with Peter, as it would be great to see him again. Thanks.
(14 February 2016)
Name: Peter Lornie
Comment: That was Pete McNulty who used to be in charge! I worked there for a while before being headhunted by HMV! I started to work at PLR in Tarleton Street then did Church Street as well as Bold Street! My last known whereabouts of Pete was, he went back to university to study American History! He still lived in Alerton in Liverpool! Cheers, Pete - better known as Foxy!
Name: Dave Rushton
Comment: I worked in Penny Lane Records from September 1984 to November 1985, very happy memories. Started off in the 69a Church Street branch - up the stairs, the shop was being run down with older stock when I was there, the newer Bold Street shop being the flagship. Then sent out to Penny Lane branch itself, just myself and manager Gregg at that time, lovely shop, remember cleaning the large glass windows (saving money on a window cleaner) also lots of Japanese tourists would take photos of the large Penny Lane sign above the shop, being on the Beatles tourist run. Springsteen's Born In The USA was the big LP seller, I remember King's Love and Pride single selling well! Best shop in my opinion was Cheverton Records off Williamson Square (super cigs) last time I looked. Part of Penny Lane chain, worked majority of my time here, staff were mainly young 20-something Rock fans, manager was Ian from Wirral, went on to own his own record shop I believe, Tim, Dave, people I worked with, forgotten a lot of names! I worked with Alby in the basement, selling early hiphop and jazz-funk, remember it had the best sound system, used to play Prince, George Clinton very loudly! Remember Pete McNulty, very straight but fair boss, very happy times, great staff and music, my first job from school. I was nicknamed Bill (take on William Rushton) as there were a few other Daves!
(19 August 2016)
Name: Steven Flannery
Comment: It was a lovely shop, sadly missed.
(11 June 2017)
Name: Trevor Hughes
Comment: Bought my first ever record in this shop, The Prince by Madness, loved it.
(2018)
Name: Paula McGeever
Comment: I absolutely loved that shop... I bought my Shalamar LP there and was served by a lovely fella called Tony... From the Wirral... Hale I think... Went back to his empty mother's house.
(2019)
Name: Paula McGeever
Comment: I am talking about the Bold Street shop in Liverpool. Where the cheeky lovely fella salesman was. Would love it if someone knows him. Like I said... new Shalamar album was out, 1985, greatest hits.
(2019)
Name: Keith P
Comment: Thanks for your replies about Pete McNulty. If anybody out there has any form of address I could contact him with, please let me know.
Would be great to see him again and have a catch-up.
Thanks again.
(2019)
Name: Oliver Topham
Comment: Yes, I lived in Chester from 1980 to 1991, I remember going to Penny Lane on many occasions, I remember stocking up on rare groove and hardcore hiphop. There was a fellow called John Locke, he worked upstairs on the dance vinyl section, he was also a very great DJ at the Blast Club in Chester.
(2020)
Name: Mike Williams
Comment: I used to visit Penny Lane in Chester. Always a had a great selection of rock and metal and loads of indie stuff too. I remember they used to cut tiny slots in record sleeves to interlock them together for the window display and then when they were done they'd sell them discounted. I picked up Morrissey's Viva Hate and the Lost Boys soundtrack nice and cheap that way.
Always remember picture discs up on the walls and the creaky staircase to upstairs where I'd flick through the metal albums while through the window you could see Foregate Street bustling below. Sad when it went.
(2021)
Name: Rich Dixon
Comment: I used to shop there 1988-1996ish, used to get all my death metal and thrash there. Used to love getting the train from Flint to my mate's in Shotton then going to Chester... many great memories of this place. Anyone remember when it closed? Was it in 1998? Great memories...
(2022)