May’s Record Club: Last Shop Standing author Graham Jones

Glossop Record Club returns on Thursday 8th May for our third consecutive guest-hosted session. This time, it’s the turn of Graham Jones –  a founder of Proper Music and author of ‘Last Shop Standing’ and ‘Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops’. Born in Anfield, Liverpool, Graham managed local band The Cherry Boys and ran his own market stall, selling fruit bowls made from Beatles LPs melted into shape under a grill. He then travelled the country selling records, tapes and CDs to independent record shops.

‘Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to Record Shops?’ tells how the UK went from having over 2000 independent record shops in the 1980s to just 269 by 2009. Witnessing this decline from his vantage point as a record company salesman, the book became a celebration of the survivors: a David and Goliath tale of shops managing to keep going despite the immense pressure from downloading and supermarkets.

In 2012 ‘Last Shop Standing’ was made into a documentary featuring Johnny Marr, Norman Cook, Richard Hawley, Paul Weller, Billy Bragg and lots of record shop owners from the book. It was the official film of Record Store Day 2013.

The book is now in its sixth edition, and explores how record shops have made an astounding comeback in recent years, speaking to owners of new shops that have opened across the country. Read an extract here. You can buy a copy from Bay Tree Books.

Graham has promised to entertain us with tales from the crazy world of record shops and reveal the murky side of the music industry. He’ll also be playing one of his favourite albums, from vinyl and in full. Alongside this, The Radio Shed will be hosting a music and general knowledge quiz with prizes up for grabs. And if you braved the queues for Record Store Day, this will be your chance to share the precious hard-won vinyl you’ve picked up. That will include me!

GLOSSOP RECORD CLUB presents talk and music with ‘Last Shop Standing’ author Graham Jones

Thursday 8th May, 8-11pm

Glossop Labour Club, Chapel Street, Glossop, SK13 8AT.

FREE ADMISSION

Sun goes down…

It’s certainly no undestatement to say that without Sam Phillips and Sun Records, the course of music history would be very different indeed. For much of the 1950s, he was responsible for discovering, recording and releasing a huge amount of seminal music, leaving a legacy that still proves massively influential to this day. Our session dedicated to Sun and curated by rock & roll historian Bill Jubb, was a clear demonstration of this.

My thanks to Bill for putting together an informative and entertaining session that broke away from our usual ‘full albums’ format to explore the output of the label (and studio), the stories behind the people involved and of course the music. It was also fascinating to hear Bill’s personal account of how he discovered rock & roll music as a youngster in the 1950s and the impact it had on his life.

Lots of positive comments about the session, typified by this from Tom on Twitter:

“Brilliant night @GlossopRecord. Bill was an absolute star could of listened to him all night. Best one so far”

My thanks also to Steve, Bernard and Jonathan for bringing along records with a Sun connection (albeit quite loose in some cases – we had to get Frank Sidebottom in somehow!); to Matt for sharing the story of his encounter with Carl Perkins and for Johnny Cash Roulette (you had to be there); to Dave for the photos; and finally to everyone who came along – another great turnout!

We’ll be back on Thursday 8th May for an evening with Last Shop Standing author Graham Jones. The session will also feature a quiz from The Radio Shed and if you’ve braved the crowds for Record Store Day, this will be your chance to share what you bought. Full details soon.

MUSIC PLAYED

WARM-UP RECORDS
Billy Lee Riley – Red Hot/Pearly Lee/Flying Saucer Rock & Roll/She’s My Baby (EP, Charley, 1977)
Bill Justis – Raunchy & Other Great Instrumentals (Sun Record Company, 1969)
Side One: Raunchy/College Man/The Stranger/Wild Rice/Cattywampus/Flip, Flop And Bop
Side Two: Scroungie/The Midnight Man/Summer Holiday/Cloud 9/Flea Circus
Charlie Rich – Don’t Put No Headstone On My Grave/Goodbye Mary Ann (Don’t Put No Headstone On My Grave, Zu Zazz, 1986)

PART 1
Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats – Rocket 88 (The Sun Story, Rhino, 1987)
The Prisonaires – Walking In The Rain (The Sun Story, Rhino, 1987)
Rufus Thomas – Bear Cat (The Sun Story, Sun Records, 1974)
Elvis Presley – Blue Moon of Kentucky/I’ll Never Let You Go Darlin’/Mystery Train/I Forgot To Remember To Forget (alternate takes, Good Rockin’ Tonight, Bop Cat, 1974)
Carl Perkins – Blue Suede Shoes/Honey Don’t (The Sun Years, Sun Records, 1982)
Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues/Hey Porter (Original Golden Hits, Sun Records, 1969)
Jerry Lee Lewis/George Klein – The Return of Jerry Lee (Good Rockin’ Tonight, Bop Cat, 1974)

INTERVAL
Various – Rockabilly Rules OK (Charley, 1978): Charlie Feathers – Tongue Tied Jill/Billy Lee Riley – Red Hot/Ray Harris – Lonely Wolf
Ricky Nelson – My Babe (London, 1958)
Buddy Holly – I’m Gonna Love You Too (Coral, 1958)
The Cramps – Gravest Hits (Illegal Record, 1979): Lonesome Town/Domino
Frank Sidebottom – My Elvis Medley (Medium Play EP, In Tape, 1990)

PART 2
The Million Dollar Quartet – The Complete Million Dollar Session (Sun Records, 1987)
Side 3: Don’t Be Cruel/Paralysed/Don’t Be Cruel/There’s No Place Like Home/When The Saints Go Marching In
Side 4: I’m Gonna Bid My Blues Goodbye/Crazy Arms
Various – Good Rockin’ Tonight (Bop Cat, 1974): Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls Of Fire (alt. take)/Billy Lee Riley – Rock With Me Baby/Billy Lee Riley – Trouble Bound

JOHNNY CASH ROULETTE
Johnny Cash – Jackson (The Best of Johnny Cash, Reader’s Digest box set, 1973)

Listen to digital highlights here.