On 30/08/2012 at 14:36, Peckham Blue said:
At The Hop was a great shop for vinyl bootlegs too. I used to call in there every couple of Fridays on the way home from work and blow my wages on the latest live Buzzcocks, Pistols or Clash record he may have had in (all under the counter and only sold to regulars). There was another shop further down Fulham Road opposite the hospital run by a hippy looking bloke, we were regulars in there going in most evenings when one day he whispered to us he had five copies of a Pistols boot called 'Indecent Exposure' and he had to get rid of them quickly as he'd get killed if someone found out he was selling them. £5 each, I had to shoot home and raid my savings I just had to have it, first boot I ever bought to and smuggling it home (the cover had a picture of a cock with a ring and chain through it). Being caught in possession of a bootleg in those days was akin to being caught in possession of a class A drug today.
Thanks for reminding me about those bootlegs. I totally forgot :). The record shop up by the hospital was called Raven Records I think. I'm pretty sure they had some sort of policy where you got a free record when you bought a certain number there. Does that ring a bell?
The early '80s was a fun time to be lucky enough to work in Raven Records in the Fulham Road (opposite the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital).
Adland’s Favourite Record Stores
"There was an interesting string of customers – from the Chelsea supporters every other Saturday, to Joe Strummer who, due to a misunderstanding with other staff members, insisted on being served only by me - the most junior member of staff (mildly alarming to say the least!). Jake Burns of Stiff Little Fingers fame was a regular, as were John Oates (Hall and Oates), Brian Ferry, Marianne Faithful, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Steve Winwood, John Mellencamp, John Lydon and Keith Levine of Public Image, Quentin Crisp and David Puttnam.
"There was also the lovely Rory Gallagher (who would frequently buy us all pints at the end of the day) and many other amazing characters both famous and not so famous, such as Mr Piper, a journalist for the Economist who won my undying admiration as, although he was in his sixties at the time, was as likely to order a Jimmy Dorsey Big Band album as the latest Clash album - they were all drawn in by those pristine vinyl discs.
"There was such genuine enthusiasm for the arrival of (certain) new releases by staff and customers alike - an anticipation and enjoyment that is sadly lost with the instant consumerism of today.
"The best part of working at Raven Records was working with people who had such an obsessive love of music of all genres. Managers Dougal and Kim, and Simon and Chris were a team who all had an absolute passion for music and helped to broaden my musical knowledge tenfold. We were all allowed to play whatever we wanted in the shop – which other Record Shop would have allowed me to play the full 17 minute version of Iron Butterfly’s ‘In–A-Gadda-Da-Vida’?!"
