Exploring the Record Shops, Vinyl Shops, CD Stores, and Record Stores of Sheffield

Eliot Collins: A small store, with a good collection of records, prices vary quite a lot. The owner seems friendly.

Mike773 U: Record Collector opened in Sheffield in 1978, and has sold vinyl records continuously for forty years. They have purchased vinyl collections from the public throughout that time, even when other vinyl shops closed or moved over to the CD format. Dedication to vinyl has enabled them to build a large and varied stock over many years, now numbering around 50,000 records. The store is now four times larger than the original shop was in 1978. This expansion enabled them to open the CD shop, containing 25,000 CDs. In December 2015, Record Collector hosted a pre-gig in-store autograph session with the legendary American hip hop group Public Enemy. The shop hit news and social media after the taxi booked to take Public Enemy to Sheffield Arena after the signing session failed to arrive. Sheffield photographer (and Record Collector regular) Kevin Wells was on the scene, and came to Public Enemy’s rescue by taking the group to the Arena in his Ford Focus! Kevin had nipped into the store for a quick autograph ahead of a busy night photographing other gigs across Sheffield. He said: “Public Enemy had a taxi booked for 6.30pm, but it drove off before the guys had finished signing autographs. People started panicking and looking for someone to drive, so I volunteered.” Putting his knowledge of the city’s back roads into action, Kevin began the ‘most surreal journey’ of his life. He drove the multimillionaires in his faithful Ford Focus. Kevin said: “They were such nice guys, we had a right laugh. We were chatting away, but the phone was constantly going as their management were clearly worried. Then as we were coming through Attercliffe, Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen, came on the radio. Everyone was singing the words and rocking out in the back of my car, it was like a Wayne’s World moment. I was looking in the rear view mirror thinking, ‘is this actually happening?’” He added: “We got to the arena about 15 minutes before they were due on stage. I drove up to security and said, ‘I’ve got the band in the back.’ They looked at me as if I was having them on, but then I rolled down the windows and Chuck D showed them the security pass. Amazing, it just didn’t feel real.” Kevin posted a selfie of Public Enemy in his car the following day, which was liked and shared hundreds of times online. Barry Everard, owner of Record Collector, said Public Enemy had contacted him the week before the show to arrange the signing. He said hundreds of fans braved the rain to turn up for the event. He said Public Enemy had been using taxis to get about as their tour bus is too large for smaller roads. Barry said: “Public Enemy were absolutely brilliant; such nice guys and they were great with the fans. Sometimes fame can ruin people, but it clearly hadn’t with them.” He added: “They are arguably the biggest act we’ve ever had in the store. It really was an honour to have them and I’m glad they made the show on time.” Urban Myths TV Show: In 2017, Sky TV announced a dramatized re-telling of the Public Enemy incident to be broadcast in 2018 as part of their Urban Myths series on Sky Arts. Urban Myths: Public Enemy (feat. Kev Wells) tells the story of how rap revolutionaries Public Enemy got stranded in Broomhill after their tour bus left without them, and they had to rely on a local bloke and his old Ford Focus to get them to their show on time. Starring Philip Glenister as Kev Wells, Paterson Joseph as Chuck D and Abdul Sallis as Flavor Flav. For this episode, the production team created a replica of the Record Collector shop-front and signage to feature in the show. [....extract taken from the Record Collectors website, which is a fantastic read]

Laura Wood: Brilliant staff and we enjoyed our store and staff here in Sheffield.

Peter O'Connell: As ever RJ was great. Nothing to dislike here, except perhaps beer prices that are on the high side. Love their program tho, where else can bands play?

Gareth Tidmarsh: Love this shop , web catalogue easy to use , ship fast and well packaged , great service ...

Andy Barker: Great little find

Ian Jackson: Wow! I could have spent all day there! (And a few hundred quid!) Fantastic selection,got a couple of albums which were a great price and fantastic condition.I'll be back! P.S the background music's good too!

Dougal Scaife: Perfect mix of new and second hand vinyl for audiophiles.