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Mole Jazz

My fathers favourite place for jazz records. I recall an incident on a freezing cold February in 1977 when a guy came in with a box of LPs and placed them under the counter whilst he browsed...they had electric heaters placed under the counter and you can guess what happened. I think the shop eventually was connected to "'Rays Jazz". Comment: Peter Le Faucheur.

(June 21, 2014) najponk said:Art Pepper - Milcho Leviev recordings from Ronnie Scott´s 1980!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Nov 14, 2013) Anonymous said:The shop ceased to trade in 2004 when lease renewal was deemed uneconomic. It's stock was transferred to Harold Moores in Great Marlborough Street W1 (near junction with Poland Street) which still sells Jazz records under the care of Andy Wiersma who also transferred from Mole.

Name Matthew Wright Comment: The shop was set up by Graham Griffiths, Ed Dipple and Pete Fincham - see the clipping written by Jim Godbolt in a copy of Jazz at Ronnie Scott's magazine. It was never connected to Ray's Jazz but it did take over Asman's in New Row for a short time, following the death of James Asman. (May 31, 2017)



Comment
Dread to think how much i spent in there over the years. Caught the habit of listening to the cricket commentary while also playing jazz from my time in there.
Name
Simon Hardy
(2021)

Comment
So many memories c.1987-2004.Phenomenal jazz record shop,I remember the adverts in Jazz Journal magazine saying 'over 100 Japanese lps always in stock!' Then there was 'The Dutch Collection',22,000 lps purchased from Holland,it filled the collectors items bins to overflowing.So many lps they had to be stored in storage space under the railway arches at Kings Cross! Still got many Blue Note Liberty lps bought there for around £20 each.The auction lists were unbelievable,where did they find all those records?
You could play the secondhand lps upstairs (staffed for a while by Maureen Vernon,ex Asman's)until the cartridge was stolen off the player!
Ben Cree ran auction on top floor,Martin Allerton used to sit in the shop facing black and white tv monitors to deter shoplifters.it was first port of call on my buying excursions, sometimes after Honest Jon's in Portobello Rd,but that's another story.Some stock went to Harold Moores but it was never the same.I miss the smell of the shop,the general 'run down' nature of the area,and the chance to find real rarities before they went to the auction lists.They don't make them like that anymore.....
Name
Wayne Wheeler
(2020)

Comment
Bought my first Red Nichols albums (brilliant series compiled by Stan and Steve Hester) there in late 1978 when I was working in the Caledonian Road. The shop was pretty new then (opened in the June) and I remember the record racks still smelt of sawdust. Fabulous.
Name
Jeremy Isaac
(2022)

Mole Jazz on BBC Radio 3


Comments

Peter Smith
09 Jun 2023 at 02:53
The one time I went into Mole's was to see if they had a copy of Sherry Winston's Life Is Love And Love Is You. They hadn't heard of Sherry, and hadn't heard of the label (Orpheus)either! I wasn't impressed.
Andrew
02 Oct 2023 at 07:23
Mole jazz was a big part of my life in the late 70s and early 80s as I was just discovering jazz my taste in jazz was more contemporary I love the stuff on black Saint And Sole note records are used to hitchhike from New Castle down to London and then back up to Newcastle I would part exchange records after having transferred them on my real to reel akai GX 747 in its day it was one of the best Real to reel’s I wasn’t working at the time as I chose not to work but would make my pilgrimage down to Mole jazz after I did the part exchange I would make my way to Brent Cross and hitchhike back up to Newcastle as the song says those were my days my friend we thought the never end makes me feel sad to see the shop now
Dave Harwood
08 Nov 2023 at 08:41
I found an article in the 'Sunday Tribune' dated 30th June 1992: “... record superstores and spiralling high street rents have gradually killed off the specialist stores, and though some, like Mole Jazz in Kings Cross, continue to survive in lower rent districts, the demise of Rays marks the end of an era in record buying ...“
Italo De Angelis
17 Jan 2024 at 11:06
I spent a month in a mid-1980s London winter. Being a mad jazz fan I asked around about the good places in town to get rare jazz records and the word was Mole Jazz! Spent a day there and got some rare LPs I still have today. What a cool shop, a cultural place.

We are going to miss these cathedrals more and more... and no, liquid music is just an anonymous, no_vibes, cold as death way of getting music. Those were the good old days when you could get nice stuff to play at home and meet new friends in places like this. Miss it!
DD
20 Apr 2024 at 12:39
Blast from the past.
I used to work in the shop on and off part time back in 95/96, sorting out second hand CD`s and packing all these rare records to be sent to Japan after the auction.
The story above about the Dutch collection is true, I was there to unload the collection , 16,000 LP`s and 4,000 CD`s and to put in a storage.
There was another collection in Croydon as well, estimate at the time was 100,000 records. The guy was a dealer so there was many duplicates. After he died the wife wanted to get rid of it so we arrived early Saturday morning in couple of vans if I recall and started packing. Records were everywhere, even in a bathroom aligned against the wall.
Martin , Nick ...wherever you are Thank You!
marisa ferrari
13 Oct 2024 at 08:32
Hello all im hoping to find anyone on here that remembers MARTIN ALLERTON who worked at Mole jazz for many years who unfortunately died last night . my number is 07979590017
thank you
Oliver Murgatroyd
15 Oct 2024 at 11:18
Hello Mole Jazz fans.
I’m looking to speak with Peter Fincham who ran the store and label. Is he still around?
Oliver - 07496100660

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