"I would often walk to school and save my bus fare so that I could use it with my pocket money to buy second-hand vinyl from Spanish Moon in Crouch End, which was an Aladdin's Cave of singles, LPs, sample copies ('not for sale' on the label, even though you could buy them) that was owned and run by Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox who at that time were starting out as The Tourists before becoming The Eurythmics. I got to know them quite well as I was virtually in there every day after school or at weekends browsing through their wonderful collection of vinyl or even selling some to them. They were such wonderful, warm, welcoming people and were very fair with their prices and trusted me to pay them at a later time if I was ever short of funds, or would keep records aside for me to pick up at a later time when I did have the cash."
- from the (presumably now defunct) blog called Diary of a Daydreamer.
Comment: The shop was owned by the Ali family, and myself and Tom Skinner opened it first, then my father rented it to Paul and Steve who were our friends. Paul built the studio and it was called the Pitts - Dave and Annie did live upstairs. Good shop, good times.
(24 October 2013)
Name: Dr Boogie.
Comment: Good to know we are remembered fondly, but Dave & Annie did not own the shop. They were friends of co-owner Paul, and lived in a flat above the shop for a while, and recorded in the basement studio. I can vouch for this as I did work in the shop.
(6 June 2013)
Name: Jonnyseven
Comment: It was Paul Jacobs who ran the shop, Dave Stewart had his recording studio in the basement and that was where he was putting together what became the Sweet Dreams/Eurythmics album; Dave and Annie did live over the shop for a while.
(2 December 2012)
Name: Barry
Comment: Dave & Annie had a flat above the shop, chilled out there on many occasions. They had a rehearsal studio in the basement of the shop, saw quite a few people of the time rehearsing there, the guy who managed the shop for them was called Paul.
(29 March 2012)
Name: Karl St. George.
Comment: I was a Crouch End punk hanging out with Eli, the girl who worked in the shop. She was always really nice to me as I was always running away from home back then. Paul Jacobs took a shine to me and my problem childhood and once when The Tourists went off to the USA he let me stay in the flat and I would give the keys to the studio to people like Tom Robinson and other now famous bands.
I loved Annie's flat, with the top room painted black and black carpet too. She had a video machine, it was the first one I ever saw. Annie and Dave were quite nice to me. I wanted to impress a girl that I fancied and took her out for a curry and Dave bought me the booze because I was way too young.
Crouch End was great back then. Made friends with so many musicians like Johnny Turnbull from The Blockheads. Ĺater I met Phil Taylor who worked for Pink Floyd and he put me to work during the making of The Wall. It was great for me to have so many cool friends in the music business which was always the subject over a few beers at The Railway pub. Still I remember Eli being so kind to me, and would love hear from her if she remembers me.
(24 October 2015)
Name: Chris Russell.
Comment: I remember the shop well from my days at Hornsey College of Art. Though my recall was Dave was always spaced out and Annie bad-tempered. I did meet her a few decades later and she was lovely, we chatted about life in Crouch End and how they didn't like the students as they never bought anything, just played the records. Occasionally you'd go in and hear a band rehearsing in the basement. One day one of the students in HCA said, "Did anyone see Top of the Pops last night? That odd couple from the record shop were on it. Called themselves The Tourists." The rest is history.
(2 February 2016)
Name: Paul Jacobs.
Comment: OK, let's clear up any confusion. I opened the record shop in 1976 with my co-owner Steve, we parted company in 1978 and I sold the shop in 1981.
I was friends with Annie and Dave separately and I introduced them to each other in 1976, and they both moved into my flat above the shop in the autumn of 1976 and lived there till 1980. Ellie sadly passed away in the late 1980s, Pam went back to the USA in the 1990s and has two boys, Steve who used to work there now lives in Finland and has two children and I am in contact with both Pam and Steve. My mate Steve now lives in Ireland with his partner Siobhan.
Bands who used to rehearse in the basement studio included Tom Robinson, and The Blockheads who lived nearby.
I travelled all over Europe and the USA and was with them at Air Studios in Montserrat and was filming them all the time. I was in contact with Annie and Dave until the middle 1990s but have not seen much of them since the heady days of punk.
(14 February 2016)
Name: Neil McDonn
Comment: I had my first job in Lloyds Bank next door to the shop. I always preferred it to Harum which was too small to move about in. Always found staff in SM much more friendly. (Unfortunately I found Dave Stewart a bit offputting.)
(30 November 2016)
Name: Barry Jones
Comment: Good to see you are still around Paul, weird thing though as I was reading your comment when The Tourists came on the radio. Fondly remember when we filmed the So Good to be Back Home video, a cold but fun day.
(2017)
Name: Lee Ginty
Comment: Paul, glad to hear you set the record straight re: Dave and Annie. Great times and fond memories.
(2019)
Name: DB Burkeman
Comment: Anyone know where Paul or Steve are now? I used to work for them in Camden Lock before they had the shop!
I have a couple of great photos of Paul, Dave & Annie.
(2019)
Name: Peter Kett
Comment: I actually knew Dave Stewart before all this. He lived in Hornsey Rise Gardens, (1973-75?) at my friend's house (Joe Koumbas). I know he was definitely there in April 1974, because 15 of us went and saw CSN&Y, The Band, and Joni Mitchell at Wembley Stadium.
I think he moved to Cecile Park after that, because I visited him there once. I had been playing guitar about three to four years, and Dave was an influence. We did jam and even did some recording when he lived in HRG. I lost touch with him when I moved to Canada in 1978. I did talk to him briefly though on Facebook about 30(?) years later when they finally released a DVD of the CSN&Y concert. He commented it was a very influential event for him. For me, seeing him struggle for all those years, and then finally making it has been a lesson in perseverance.
(2022)
