Vinyl revival helps South Downs record shop owner to 'live the dream'

And James Anderson credits a vinyl revival for boosting business at the South Downs shop – Slipped Discs in Steyning High Street.

"The shop has an extensive selection of pre-loved collectable vinyl and there is a strong focus on quality control as I try to provide records in the best condition possible,” says James.

All pre-loved discs are cleaned on a professional record cleaning machine manufactured by Steyning company SME Audio.

James – who has a 1st Class BA (Hons) degree in music production – obtains records from personal collections as well as main distributors. "When buying used items, we pay according to demand, rarity and condition,” he says.

The shop stocks and has sold some rare items, including a copy of Led Zeppelin 1 with turquoise lettering, which was sold for more than £1,000.

"The vinyl format was virtually obsolete in the 90s following the success of the cassette and compact disc formats. Fortunately, vinyl production never actually ceased, despite much lower demand and closure of many pressing plants.

"Vinyl has seen a strong comeback in recent years thanks to a renewed appreciation of the format. Tangibility, legible sleeves, cover art, nostalgia, collectability and sound quality are among many reasons that people find vinyl appealing – and it helps that many new artists such as Taylor Swift release their musical output on a variety of different coloured records.”

But it’s not just vinyl that Slipped Discs stocks. Every Friday it receives new releases from Warner Music Group, Universal, Sony Music and a handful of independent labels.

"Contemporary artists such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles are popular sellers, as are repressings of classic albums such as Fleetwood Mac ‘Rumours’ and ‘Aladdin Sane’ by David Bowie,” said James.

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Slipped Discs first opened in 2020 when James developed a dislike of commuting to London for work. “I decided that running my own record shop would be the ideal dream job.”

Slipped Discs has recently qualified to participate in Record Store Day which hosts exclusive events and vinyl releases which can only be obtained from eligible independent record shops.

The next Record Store Day: Black Friday will be held on November 24.