“Sister Ray has a long and chequered history. Probably best known for being a great store, populated by unbelievably enthusiastic staff and full of top tunes.”
Let’s go back to the beginning and try and make some sense of it. Neil Brown kicked the whole thing off back in 1989. Neil had been selling vinyl from a market stall in Camden and took the next step by taking over 94 Berwick Street.
Sister Ray, named after the Velvet Underground song, quickly became a fixture in the record shop scene of Soho. Berwick Street was at the heart of a thriving hub of independent music stores. Daddy Kool, Shades, Red, Tag, Black Dog, Ambient Soho, Black Market, Kubla, Liberty, Vinyl Junkies – just a few of the legendary shops (sadly no longer with us) that catered for all of London’s scenes and tribes.
By 2003 Brian Selby the owner of Selectadisc at 34 Berwick Street decided he wanted to retire from the scene and Sister Ray teamed up with Phil Barton who also owned Rounder Records in Brighton, to merge the two shops
For me the best shop for trading old vinyl. The curator
