Talking shop…

Well that was a bit different.

Breaking away (again!) from our usual two album format, Graham Jones, author of ‘Last Shop Standing’ and ‘Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops’ was at the Labour Club to tell us about his life in the music industry and share entertaining and enlightening stories of record shops and industry (dodgy) dealings, with plenty of laughs along the way.

Alongside that, Graham brought along a couple of his favourite records for a spin, and others came with their Record Store Day purchases (one of them being played for the first time, thanks John!). And we musn’t forget Rae from The Radio Shed with a quiz that resulted in a three-way tiebreak. The controversy still lingers.

Listen to highlights of the talk and music here.

 

Read an interview Graham did with Glossop Life prior to his visit here.

A few comments from Twitter:

“thanks for another great night. Graham Jones was brilliant can’t wait to read the book watch the film”

“Another very enjoyable evening at @GlossopRecord tonight. Can’t wait to re-watch Last Shop Standing.”

“Great night at @GlossopRecord once again! Good talk from Graham Jones. Funny stories. Oh and we won the quiz!!”

“we wiz robbed…”

“I had another fun night last night at @GlossopRecord.”

“Another great night of chat and tunes @GlossopRecord Club with @LstShopStanding author Graham Jones.”

“Another fantastic night @GlossopRecord Fantastic to meet and hear tales from Graham Jones of @LstShopStanding Thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks.”

“Once again @GlossopRecord a fantastic night this time with @graham1471 author of Last Shop Standing.”

 

We’ll be back on Thursday 12th June for THE SOUNDS OF ’66. Full details soon.

 

MUSIC PLAYED

VARIOUS – GEMS FROM SUN RECORDS (Sun Records, Record Store Day 2014 LP)

Side One: Carl Perkins – Blue Suede Shoes/The Kirby Sisters – Red Velvet/Willie Nix – Baker Shop Boogie/Roy Orbison – Ooby Dooby/Howlin’ Wolf – Oh Red/Malcolm Yelvington – Drinkin’ Wine Spodee O Dee/Charlie Rich – Who Will The Next Fool Be

Side Two: Jerry Lee Lewis – Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On/Rufus Thomas – Bear Cat/Big Memphis Marainey – Call Me Anything, But Call Me/Little Junior’s Blue Flames – Feelin’ Good/Billy Lee Riley – Red Hot/Sonny Burgess – Red Headed Woman/Brother James Anderson – I’m Tired My Soul Needs Restin’

The Cherry Boys – Kardomah Cafe (Crash, 1983, 12″)

The Specials – Sock It To ’em JB (Dub)/Rat Race (dub) (Two Tone, RSD 2014 7″)

David Bowie – Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide (Parlophone, RSD 2014 7”)

Big Star – My Life Is Right (Nothing Can Hurt Me, Omnivore, RSD 2013 LP)

THE WATERBOYS – An Appointment with Mr Years (Proper Records, 2011)

The Hosting Of The Shee/Song Of Wandering Aengus/News For The Delphic Oracle/A Full Moon In March/Sweet Dancer/White Birds/The Lake Isle Of Innisfree/Mad As The Mist And Snow/Before The World Was Made/September 1913/An Irish Airman Foresees His Death/Politics/Let The Earth Bear Witness/The Faery’s Last Song

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.

April’s Record Club: Sun Records & The Million Dollar Quartet with Bill Jubb

On Thursday 10th April, Glossop Record Club regular and rock & roll historian Bill Jubb takes the helm for a session dedicated to Sun, the Memphis record label and recording studio that launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and many more, along with also being the birthplace of rock & roll.

The label was a melting pot of styles – rockabilly, country, blues, gospel, R’n’B – with a roster of white and black artists. In the session, Bill will take us through the history of the label with key records from Sun’s 1950s heyday, with particular attention being paid to the legendary ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ impromptu jam session, when Presley, Cash, Perkins and Lewis all happened to be in the studio at the same time on a Tuesday in December, 1956. Studio enginer ‘Cowboy’ Jack Clement ran a tape on the session, bootlegs of which appeared in the early 1970s with the first of many official releases appearing in 1981.

We’ll also hear music from Presley, Cash, Perkins and Lewis on their own, plus Rufus Thomas, Roy Orbison and Charlie Rich amongst others. All on vinyl, of course.

Sun Records still continues to exert an influence on music to this day, with Jack White’s Third Man Records recently embarking on a reissue series of 7″ singles, and the events of the Million Dollar Quartet jam being turned into an international stage musical.

Have a listen to this mix of Sun classics to get you in the mood for the session.

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SUN RECORDS and THE MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET with Bill Jubb
Thursday 10th April, 8-11pm.
Glossop Labour Club, Chapel Street, Glossop, SK13 8AT.
FREE ADMISSION

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Finally, with Record Store Day just around the corner, author of Last Shop Standing, Graham Jones, comes to Glossop Record Club on Thursday 8th May to share his entertaining tales of UK record shops and the dodgy dealings of the music industry. He’ll also be playing one of his favourite albums in full. The Radio Shed will host a quiz, with music goodies up for grabs, and if you’re one of the dedicated types who’ll be making an early morning trek to brave 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! Full details next month.