Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 18:40:25 +0100 From: Andrew Norman Subject: Re: things to do in bristol when you're dead Eric Wittmershaus, on 21 Sep 98,: > um, am going to be spending a weekend in bristol and was wondering if > anyone could clue me in on listy record stores (specifically, stores that > might carry 555 recordings, sarah, domino, kitty kitty, that sort of > thing)...please reply to me and not the list, as i'm no longer subscribed > due to economics. Well, I'm replying to both on the principle that other people may visit Bristol. There are two main shopping areas - Broadmead, a large modern area by the bus station, and Park St/Clifton Triangle, an older area up the hill about a mile away. Broadmead has a large Virgin and medium-sized HMV and Our Price (standard chain stores) and a couple of smaller undistinguished shops. Between Broadmead and the bus station is a large roundabout with underpasses - almost next to the bus station is a small, dingy two-storey area of shops linked to the underpass. On the ground level is a dance music shop, and on the underpass level is Replay (and a couple of second-hand shops). Replay stocks a large selection of 7" singles, second-hand CDs, and lots of new releases and imports of general indie/alternative stuff, avant-garde, noise, jazz etc. There's a website at www.replay.co.uk but it doesn't really give a flavour of the shop. At the top of Park St is the University, a large ornate building with a tower, and the museum. Cross over the road from the uni and turn right (down a road called Triangle South), and you'll get to the legendary Revolver. Vinyl-biased (the CDs are stuck in a dark corner), the owner is eccentric and very friendly - I bought the Enraptured Silver Apples tribute CD in there, and not only did he point out he had the 7" on the same label, but he offered to tape the original albums for me if I liked the 7". Dave from FSA used to work there and played me bits of the "Harmony of the Spheres" box set, several months before release. It's that sort of place - adverts for musicians wanted in the hall, and you are likely to find the owner waving a Jessamine album at you and telling you to buy it. It doesn't look like much from the outside, and the only sign it's a shop is a blackboard outside the door. Used to have a 4AD section with some really old and obscure stuff (on vinyl, naturally) and there's a lot of old and secondhand vinyl. On the other hand, the impression I get is that the owner stocks what he likes rather than what sells, so if you're looking for something that isn't to his taste, you might be out of luck. Turn right opposite the museum, and you head down the hill, which is Park St. On the left is George's (now Blackwell's), one of the best bookshops in the country. On the other side of the road are three record shops - ignore Rayner's (they are hideously expensive despite claiming to be the cheapest in town, and put stickers on mid-price CDs which are <= 10 quid everywhere else in the country, claiming they are "reduced from 14.99"). There's a small clothes/record shop which I think is called "Way Ahead", a boutique in the front of the shop and you walk through to the record/CD section. A good place for 7" vinyl, and like Replay has a fair selection of US imports and avant-garde stuff, small second hand section. A little further down the road is Rival, which used to be good but no longer has the selection it used to, or the low prices. I get the impression that rents on Park St have put a stop to that (Rayner's used to be cheap 15 years ago when I frequented these places). In short, I'd say go to Replay (difficult to find but worth it) and Revolver - the chap in Revolver is usually very happy to recommend things or find stuff for you if he knows he has it in the shop. About the labels: Sarah was one of those labels with keen collectors, and I think you'll have difficulty finding anything obscure, especially in Bristol where half the bands and their mates live. 555 (excellent Famous Boyfriend single out recently) and Kitty Kitty releases can be found all over the place, but tend to disappear fairly quickly after release (except for the Quickspace albums), and Domino is one of those "major indie" labels which seems to have no trouble getting things into shops in reasonable quantities. I'm sure you could find most Domino releases even in Virgin.