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Mike Hoskins wrote in about Graham Warr Records in the Oasis Market. Warrs was opened throughout the 70s and was arguably the Mod, Soul and Northern Soul record shop.

Graham was also a highly influential DJ, again on the Soul and Northern Soul most notably at Chaplins which was located at Five Ways in Faces, (can anyone confirm it was faces!). He then went on to DJ at the Rum Runner.

I used to work for Graham on his record stall outside the Oasis on saturdays, before heading off to Wigan Casino with a box full of vinyl from his stall to sell.

I don’t know what has become of Graham, but I would like to get in touch again.

Comment

Chaplains was not faces it was in the corner a yellow Victorian building with black door. Faces was in 5 ways shopping centre. Chaplains was broad st. Graham was the DJ at catacombs soul club before chaplains

The catacombs was before Wigan the greatest little soul club and many first played northern soul tunes were his finds. First played at catacombs not Wigan. He still lives in bru Name Linda Price (2020)


On 20/02/2015 at 13:19, Michael Wilkins said:

I lived in Coventry at the time and spent loads of time and money in Graham Warr's shop, I remenber he was into jazz-funk aswell, anybody remenber the all-dayers in Birmingham not sure if it was the Locarno, it must have been around 75 and they played Northern Soul and Blackpool Mecca stuff plus Jazz-Funk, used to get a lot of black guys there, I recall the Northern Soul guys sitting on the dance floor, when the jazz was played, they stopped comeing and it went mostly jazz, the guy who usedto dj was a friend of Graham Warr, and I think Graham himself used to dj there, they also did a night at a club in Birmingham I think was called the Rumrunner, at the time disco was comeing in and latin jazz was also being played along side the soul, these nights had a lot more black guys, than the Northern Soul only nights


Comments

Dave Harwood
16 Oct 2023 at 09:18
I found an advert in the ‘Birmingham Mail’ dated 23rd May 1975: “GRAHAM WARR RECORDS, OASIS, CORPORATION ST., B'HAM. Northern Sounds, US Soul Singles and LPs, Progressive Pop, etc. ALL AT THE LOWEST PRICES.”

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