A TREASURED independent local record store is to make its new home in Clifton.
Longwell Records is moving from Keynsham to the former Jo’s Tea shop in Clifton Arcade sometime next month.
Owner Iain Aitchison was inspired to make the move by his friend Vince John, who runs the 1LOVEART gallery above the shop that Longwell Records will occupy.
Iain recently met up with Fatboy Slim during the gallery’s launch. The DJ signed copies of his albums for sale, with all profits donated to Keynsham Foodbank.
Iain said of Clifton Arcade: “It’s a beautiful setting, lots of people around, and quite arty, so lots of other like-minded shops.”
Many customers have told Iain of their shock and sadness at the decision to move, but the shop in Keynsham’s Temple Street has struggled financially in recent times and needs more customers to survive.
He said: “It’s heartbreaking but that’s the reality of a small business, especially a niche business like this.”
Iain hopes to continue in-store events, such as band performances and comedy nights, in Clifton, subject to landlord approval.
Notable gigs in the Keynsham store have included Razorlight, Billy Nomates (her debut), Amber Run, and Mike Peters of The Alarm, who died last year.
Longwell Records specialises in vinyl, whose tangibility and artwork offer a unique way of experiencing music, Iain says.
“People like the fact they can pick up a record, put it on the turntable and listen to it, and think ‘yeah, I own that’
“And records go through generations. They go through families, friendships, break-ups and new beginnings.”
With its crackles, pops, and slight blemishes, vinyl isn’t for everyone, Iain admits, but many others see these imperfections as part of the joy of collecting and a “beautiful experience.”
Famous supporters of Longwell Records include comedian and vinyl enthusiast Stephen Merchant, from Hanham, who cast Iain as a pub landlord in his BBC TV series The Outlaws.
Southmead-born Iain lived in various parts of Bristol before he and his family settled in Longwell Green, which gave his business its name.
He set up Longwell Records online in 2015 after a long career as an NHS drug and alcohol worker, and opened the Keynsham shop the following year.
He loves all types of music, especially reggae and two-tone, and his favourite band are Massive Attack. But if he had to choose one desert island disc, it would be a bootleg of Radiohead performing at Glastonbury in 1997.
“I was there that year and it is such a beautiful atmospheric album. I don’t know how it sounds so good.”
Longwell Records will occupy the Clifton Arcade premises previously occupied by Jo’s Tea. The opening date had not been decided as the Voice went to press.
