Last Shop Standing with Graham Jones (May 2014)

In May 2014, we welcomed Graham Jones – a founder of Proper Music and author of ‘Last Shop Standing’ and ‘Strange Requests and Comic Tales from Record Shops’. Born in 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. Recorded and edited by Simon Galloway.