We lived like Kings once.
We had our own audio paradise in South London, although not massive on media attention or glamour you could really get down and dirty with the underground music scene in Croydon, you could feel alive. Whether you thought you were the next Clapton or Biggie you could be sure there existed a place in Croydon for you to go and forever discuss and dream up your musical fantasies. I remember Beano’s record shop on Church St. (now a crèche, Beanies) where friends and myself would spend hours rifling through the endless collection of CD’s that was in reality organised chaos but you always found something you wanted, always. From the music we bought at this shop opinions formed, tastes emerged and the motivation to make our own music grew, an evolution I am sure Hip-Hop and other music fans felt also. Beano’s was not just a reasonably priced record store it was a musical inspiration factory, and Beano’s was just one of a collection of record shops that existed in Croydon about eight years ago.
There were other record shops that existed in Croydon around the same time as Beano’s such as Swag Records (Station Rd.) but most importantly Big Apple Records (Surrey St.), which many believe was the theoretical birthplace of the infamous music genre DubStep. I am sorry to reveal that along with Beano’s, Apple Records and Swag Records no longer exist to pleasure us with their collections of musical delights, but more importantly in addition to the ‘shop’ we have lost the unique social spaces that they provided. The architecture of the record shop is more often than not very simple with nothing in particular to note about style or arrangement but what is there not to love as a music lover, a sign, a volume and a shed load of CD racks. Unappreciated at the time by most people including myself these independent record shops provided orgasmic musical environments for exploring and experience, and now we have HMV and their complete proficiency to categorise and price music like a 5 year old.
On a note as exciting as an album found for £1, I can reveal that there are still at least two independent record shops in Croydon, Memory Lane Records (Frith Rd.) and 101 Records (Keeley Rd.). As far as I am aware that is where the trail ends, for certain there are music shops and small gig venues still alive and strong but the record shop amongst the elements of the Croydon music scene is dying. For Croydon’s Social Urbanism this situation is an issue of great concern when the social space is lost that the record shop provides, part of the foundations that the Croydon music scene is built on also crumbles away in front of our very eyes. Obviously music in Croydon is not going to be swallowed up and disposed of just because the record shops are dying, however I can not help but visualise an increasingly less unique style emerging from Croydon, and that would be a real shame. I can only hope that we gradually become less and less accepting of the prices we have to pay for music in this day and age bringing about the revival of the record shop and that wonderful atmosphere and community that existed alongside it. Demand more than Cher Lloyd!
tW
