Behind The Counter

“I see Blitzkrieg shop as a hub rather than a shop, and one of the best things about being the owner of Blitzkrieg shop is that every day is like Christmas! You come in, and there’s a delivery and you can’t wait to open that box. The music coming out of the box always excites me!” Tony Gaughan, Blitzkrieg Shop.

“I quite like the idea of my customers being able to come in here and seeing that I am predominantly pop and not be afraid to buy Britney Spears or Ariana Grande, like you could do. It can feel quite intimidating walking in, and I just want this to be a safe space for customers.” James Maclean

“We have a few groups of customers who have definitely become friends over the years, mainly from like, meeting in the Record Store Day queue. It’s a place for people to meet, to come and talk about similar music or talk about new music for each other that they’ve not experienced before and share their love for something someone else might not know about." Tom Coates

“A record shop in a community is really important, I think. It’s a good place for people to meet, discuss music, and get projects going. I know most of the regulars and I know people from around the area, so I think it works really well, with a more personal touch.” Jon Clifford, Dreamhouse Records.

“I decided I wanted to open the kind of shop that I couldn’t find. Part of the important thing for me was to make this shop a safe space. I want to encourage females to come and feel comfortable in that kind of space. I wasn’t always made to feel that way when I was younger, I felt very intimidated, so I definitely wanted to create the opposite vibe in here. Anja Petitto

"I was born into the music industry really. My parents had a record shop in the 80s and 90s called Sgt. Pepper's. They had branches around Essex and East London, and I remember being in there most of my childhood to be honest!" Marc Sardinha, Hey Joe.

“So, the shop started by me taking out my van with my partner and selling a few records at festivals. Had the day job, just thought it was gonna be a bit of fun at the festivals and it grew from there!” Marcia Smith

“It’s kind of a feedback loop. Somebody comes in and says “Oh, do you have this?" Then you start playing it in the shop and people go “what’s this, this nice music?” And then it starts feeding back into one another.” Marty Stevens, Ventnor Exchange

“It’s an oft-used word, community, but it really, really is. Musicians meet each other, artists meet each other… and it really is a real, proper community”. Gary Smith, Truck Store.