Ital Riddims

For most folk that knew me throughout my formative years it was no great surprise when I started working in a record store. Little did I know when I walked into Our Price in the Sauchiehall Street Centre for my first day, in November 1988, that I would still be working for them almost 14 years later. Going to record stores had always been a big part of my life since I started buying records in the early 80s, but to work in one was something else. By the mid-80s all my spare money was being spent on music. I did a paper round in my early teens to finance my burgeoning vinyl habit, before moving onto a part-time job in a well known EK chip shop in order to buy what I was hearing on Kid Jensen and John Peel's radio shows. No Saturday was complete without a trip into Glasgow to visit the many record stores the city had to offer at that time. First stop was the Virgin Megastore on Union Street, followed by Lewis's, Listen, A1 Sounds (in the Savoy Centre) and my trips to listen to the latest reggae releases in Ital Riddims on the corner of Buchanan and Sauchiehall streets. For anyone not aware of Lewis's, it was a department store on Argyle Street with a lavish food hall and a great selection of vinyl. The Virgin store was a great place to hang out and people watch as it was where all the punks would gather on a Saturday afternoon. In my hometown of East Kilbride we were very lucky to have the wonderful Impulse records, where along with all the latest records, you could also buy t-shirts, badges, patches and posters. By the mid 80's I had almost moved in due to being there so often.