Bluebird Records

Name: David Morris
Comment: The Soho one was a top shop for Reggae

Name: Colin Watts
Comment: I worked at Bluebird Records in Church Street, Paddington before co-owning the Bluebird Luton shop in 1985-90. Great atmosphere, vibe was second to none! When US imports and promos were the main selection.

Name: Steve Troughton
Comment: I remember London's Groove Records on Greek Street and Bluebird Records on Edgware Road. Spent many hours (and pounds) in both shops in the mid 1980s. Good times.

Name: Tooty Toots
Comment: Seemed to spend every spare minute and every spare pound in the Church Street shop between 1980-4.
(9 March 2014)

Name: Ian Copland
Comment: The legendary Billy Davidson spent loads of time (and cash!) on our numerous trips to the smoke to pick up stacks of stuff to fan the fire back in Scotland... great times and great music!
(18 October 2013)

Name: Darren
Comment: I remember you Colin, you were a dude. When I was at school I had a Saturday job in a bakery and used to walk down to Bluebird in Stuart Street and spend my £12 wages. Imports were £8.99 at the time if I remember rightly (1986ish). What was the blond bloke's name? Andy seems to ring a bell. Not sure when Jive FM started up but remember chatting to DJ Stumpy (remember him?) in the shop. Can still see 2Live Crew and MC Shy D album covers hanging up on that central beam that ran across the shop, those were the days. Also remember when Licensed To Ill was released (Made the Groove hiphop sales chart before mainstream) and everyone thought the Beasties were black. Guy I worked with wouldn't have it that they were white! Anyway, good times, great shop!
(19 March 2013)

Name: Dave James
Comment: I remember going to Bluebird Records in Church Street. It was always packed in there. I use to find killers in the 'Cut-Out' shop next door! I remember when Mantronix & MC Tee came into the shop. That was a great experience seeing them and I got to meet them! Abbey and Stuart were working there at the time. I was 15 and going up there, as well as other record shops every Saturday, to spend my pocket money and buy a killer tune. The atmosphere was so brilliant to me and the staff were so cool as well as the other vinyl junkies in there. Man, good days indeed. Miss it a lot!
(1 March 2015)

Name: Neville Dinnall
Comment: I was very young going to Bluebird from sarf London, which we always referred to as Edgware Road. The cut-out shop was our speciality as I didn't really have any pocket money but scraped together what i could. Just the sound of tunes and the spell of the vinyl kept me coming back time after time. Picked up some tunes over the years and even walked back from Edgware Road to Deptford just after getting some records. Good, good times!
(22 April 2015)

Name: Ronara Butler
Comment: 1986: I worked as an office junior in a law firm in Luton. As soon as it was payday I was up to Bluebird in my lunch hour, scouting for 12" versions of the latest vibe. Great record shop. Great times x good memories.
(8 May 2015)

Name: Duncan Roberts
Comment: Does anybody remember Davy G from Bluebird in Luton? Seem to remember him being there around 1987-88. I was about 14/15... Used to have a white label 12" by him mixing up Dynamix II Give The DJ A Break and loads of other stuff. Lost that record about 20 years ago and really want it again. Massive longshot I know... Please help...
(27 May 2015)

Name: MC Kinky
Comment: I've still got my Bluebird record box I bought down Church Street, used to buy reggae, I lived down Lisson Grove, became a DJ , MC and producer.
(25 November 2015)

Name: Billy C
Comment: Well well well. It all seemed from another time. I'm Billy that owned Bluebird Records in Church Street in Paddington, in Luton, Berwick Street, and Streatham. I had the best years of my life at Bluebird and I still have all my vinyl up here in Scotland. Happy days and looking forward to coming down for CJ Carlos' boat trip reunion in July. Billy senior died six years ago just as he was trying to revive some of the old tunes. Maybe one day. Love to everyone who I knew. Does anyone know what happened to my old mate Cornelius Felix?
(11 February 2016)

Name: Mike Perch
Comment: Good memories of Bluebird records. Buying 12"s at Church Street and a few years later, working at the much larger Edgware Road branch. Worked with Stuart, Gary, Ronnie and others. Bill and Billy buying pizza on Saturdays when there were often three or four people deep at the counter; no time for a break. Sad to hear of the death of Billy. Ronnie and I worked together at the Berwick Street market branch. Bluebird Records - one of the best jobs I've had.
(11 July 2016)

Name: Rob Knighton
Comment: Does anyone who was involved with Bluebird Records Edgware Road around 1985 know what the amazing sound system was please?
(17 September 2016)

Name: Sasha Felix
Comment: Billy - that's my dad :) Get in touch.
(9 April 2017)

Name: Ivor Griffiths
Comment: Oh boy, I used to bike to Bluebird in Luton from Milton Keynes, I was there on opening day - Loose Ends and Tony Blackburn were there, I know Colin Watts (nice guy) such a good shop, went to the Edgware Road shop when in London, I miss shops like these.
(11 July 2017)

Name: Laurence Taylor
Comment: I used to work just round the corner from the Church Street shop; when they started doing tea as well we often went in there because we were too lazy to make our own! It was around the same time I got to know Roger Tate (Bob Tomalski) of Radio Invicta. Happy days! All those shops gone now :(
(27 July 2017)

Name: Sam Scenario
Comment: Amazing times really, the whole scene, culture, vibes - I remember buying cut outs from Church Street.
(2017)

Name: Leeroy Rodham
Comment: Great memories.
(2018)

Name: Damon Knight
Comment: Hi guys. My name is Damon, I used to work in both shops in Paddington with Stuart and Abbey. Spent most of my time helping the punters find wicked tunes in the cut out shop. ​​​​​​​Used to serve Dancing Danny D, CJ Carlos, Chris Hill and Froggy, Norman Jay. Happy times indeed. I miss shops like these.
(2018)

Name: Scott Whitman
Comment: The blond guy in the Luton store was Andy Taylor. That shop is responsible for me having no money through out the whole of the 1980s!
(2018)

Name: Praful Shah
Comment: Does anyone have copies of the Bluebird Charts which were run on Radio Invicta?
(2019)

Name: Mark Sims
Comment: Does Billy Carruthers remember an encounter in Bluebird in early 1983?
(2020)

Name: Tim O'Malley
Comment: Strange how the years roll back and memories return, if you search the interweb!

I used to work at 376-378 Edgware Road from late 1978 when it was trading as the NuSound hi-fi shop (which Bluebird moved into later on).

Bluebird Records was originally over the road in Church Street at the time and another guy who I got to know, called Jose (who worked at another hi-fi store nearby) loved his reggae and he would sometimes pop into our store having just bought some new releases from Bluebird, plus some paella or a bag of cooked prawns from a nearby Spanish restaurant.

By 1982, I was working at another hi-fi shop, in Surrey called Unilet - and who was working there? A certain Bob Tomalski (RIP) (the same person as mentioned above by Laurence Taylor).

In fact, in the late 1970s, I used to listen to a number of pirate radio stations on Sundays when I lived in London - Radio Free London, Radio Jackie and others - and I'd recorded some shows (as they played some great music) and one recording was of 'Roger Tate' who was having a moan about "lady drivers"... and when I got to work with him, a few years later, I recognised this voice, and put two and two together - and played this cassette recording, at which point a rather red-faced Bob T had to admit he was Roger Tate.

So, there's some strange links going back about 40 years. Bluebird - 376 Edgware Road - Bob T and me... :-)
(2020)

Name: Barry Simms
Comment: I was a regular at the Edgware Road branch buying up all the imports - what amazing memories, I used to travel up from Tooting Bec.
(2020)

Name: Mary Patterson
Comment: Writing on behalf of my wife Mary who worked at Bluebird up in the office in Church Street and then in Edgware Road from the early days up until about 1989 I think - she was responsible for the admin and mail order making sure the customers got the music they were after. She loved her time there and we all loved the two Billys. Happy Days!
(2020)

Name: Sam T
Comment: I worked in Edgware Road when it moved from Church Street. The two Billys were good friends, also all the boys - Ronnie, Stuart, Gary, etc, etc. I still recall all the drinks we had after the shop closed. I still have all my records and the memories of living the life in the 1980s were so good: Maze at Hammersmith, Luther Vandross at the Dominion, Tottenham Court Road - I was there, saw it, heard it, lived it. Love to everyone.
(2022)

Name: Dave James
Comment: I just wanted to also add, when I was 14/15 years of age, i use to make it a day out on Saturdays to go to Bluebird Records in Church Street. I remember Billy buying chips and offering me some as he saw me in and out of the shop for hours.

Miss you guys, Billy, Stuart, Gary, Abbey. Miss the shop, Great times and great days. All the best to all of you, and for making my vinyl journey an amazing experience!
(2022)

Name: Graham Joyes
Comment: Remember the guy with a Motown tattoo on his hand in the Edgware Road shop.
​(2023)

Name: John D
Comment: I went to the Beyond the Streets exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, they have a set-up of a record shop. Hundreds of old vinyl records, posters etc. It sent me back to the days of my youth when I'd be in Bluebird scouring for the latest Tommy Boy releases - I actually found a couple amongst the vinyl at the exhibition. Really got some old memories flooding back.
​(2023)