Barry Paul

Name: Peter Le Faucheur
Comment: Worked not far from the Leather Lane branch so I knew this shop for 26 years. They were cheaper than most. Staff were a bit grumpy. I never knew the Peckham branch existed.

Comment: Barry Paul has passed away, he will be missed by Jim, Ali and Tom Skinner - a true gent.
(24 October 2013)

Name: Mark Griffiths
Comment: I bought a copy of Big Youth and Dennis Brown's Ride On, Ride On on Harry J from here out of their cut-out reggae 45s box (probably about 25p). Must have been 1975. I never knew that the shop was Barry Paul until I saw this picture (I remember the lean-to entrance bit).
(20 March 2015)

Name: Terry Redpath
Comment: Barry Paul was an absolute gent, I bought records from him regularly at Leather Lane and East Street. If I was ever short on cash to buy, he would always say pay me when you can boy. Likes of these record dealers never to be seen again.
(2017)

Name: Kieron Tyler
Comment: From the early eighties into the mid-nineties (until it closed, I can’t remember when) I used to go to Barry Paul in Leather Lane each every ten days or so. Barry himself used to sit on a stool, at the back behind the counter. His wife worked behind the counter as did their son. It was a large shop – double-fronted, with a dividing wall down the middle which ended before the counters: there was a long counter at the full width of the shop. CDs and pre-recorded VHS tapes were on the right shop side of the wall, records on the left. One of the main draws was selling blank cassettes more cheaply than anywhere else, and I got masses there. It was also – quite obviously – a chart return shop. Obvious as all those double singles, cheap 12-inch singles, picture discs and so on were on sale there when they weren’t in other shops on release day, and sometimes before release day I got two of the split Jesus Lizard/Nirvana single there. A great general shop. Barry himself was gruff but friendly, in a market-stall holder way.
(2018)

Name: Tok Marty
Comment: I remember the shop Barry Paul when I was a young boy. I didn't realise this was Barry Paul because records meant nothing to me me in those days. If I'm mistaken this is Choumert Road - the market was on this street going towards Thomas Carlton School.
(2019)

Name: Paul Bartley
Comment: I used to work at Barry Paul Records on a Saturday and during school holidays. Sometimes I would help out at Leather Lane.

I remember the cassette racks well as I used to carry them out of back room and lift them onto the wall. Many a time I was standing outside under the covered area looking for dodgy people who Barry was convinced were eyeing up the stock. Could be grumpy.
Worked there between 1974 to 1978.
(2022)