Speaking ahead of Record Store Day Mark Ronson has revealed his top UK music shop is Rough Trade West, London. He also said that British vinyl pushers are better at getting to know their customers.
We caught up with the super-producer recently at Rise Records, Bristol, showing off his Record Collection, but Rough Trade makes the grade as his fave dusty vinyl den.
The Bike Song star told how he gets teased by the staff for his ‘uncool’ status but he is indebted to them for turning him onto new music.
He said: “Rough Trade is the shop that I spend the most time in when I’m in London. The stock is really well curated – if they have a record in there, there’s probably some merit to it.
“The staff know me and they even make fun of me as, from an independent record shop point of view, my work means I straddle the line between cool and uncool. But they do it in a loving way, the way your big brother might. Then they recommend about 10 new things for me to check out.
“I’m indebted to record shops. They’re where I found the samples for a lot of the early music I made. When I produced “Littlest Things” with Lily Allen, for her first album, we went record shopping for inspiration.
“I dug out the soundtrack from Emmanuelle, the softcore 70s porn film, and that’s where we found the piano loop for that particular track. Next thing you know we’re back in the studio and Lily’s writing along to that loop.
“Most of my memories from my teens and early 20s are of hanging out in record shops. Now DJs have software that means they get sent all their promos on MP3. But it’s not the same as having to make sure you’re in the right shop on the right day, just so you can get your hands on the new Notorious BIG track and be the first to play it in a club that weekend.
“Compared to America, shops in England are better for having a guy behind the counter who gets to know you and recommends things you’d like. I think it’s because, over here, early shops were partly based around records being imported from the US. My stepdad worked in a record shop in Portsmouth in the late 50s and early 60s and he says that they were always waiting for that new box of 45s to arrive from America.
“I can imagine a world without record shops, as they’re dwindling, but it would suck. The visceral experience of being in there, leafing through the racks, is more fun. And you’re much more likely to discover something great that way, by accident, than by being on iTunes.”
Rough Trade West is based at 130 Talbot Road, London W11; roughtrade.com
Check out our Record Store Day coverage from around the UK all this week on www.purplerevolver.com