Monday 5 September 2016

Secondhand Record Shops #23 : Falmouth



About five or six (great band) years ago I had crossed the border in to Cornwall to go discovering the town of Liskeard. There I saw a shop with the sign "The Only Second Hand Record Shop In Cornwall", so since then my trips to the deep south have been limiting - what's the point?
The sign proved to be a lie, as I was in Falmouth the other day and discovered "Sounds OK", a secondhand record shop that has been operating for 20 or so years.
A small two roomed affair focussing mainly on 60's / 70's / 80's rock and pop but with a healthy and diverse Punk section. I managed to pick up a mint copy of "E(gg)clectic 1" the Fried Egg Records compilation from 1980 for £15. Most LP's seemed to run between £10 + £15. A small selection of Punk singles  - The Clash, Madness, Lene Lovich - standard fayre.
The shop is on Arwenack Street, virtually opposite the Maritime Museum and well worth a visit if driving through these parts.
Now I have to rediscover Bodmin, Truro and Penzance … see if there are any shops there (Can any one help)?

7 comments:

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  2. I visit Sounds OK whenever I am in Falmouth and always find something interesting. Did you visit Jam while you were there?

    I can't comment on Penzance or Bodmin, but Music Nostalgia is worth a visit in Truro. But my Cornish second hand record shop highlight is Lost in Music in Camborne. I really did get lost in there for hours.

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    1. Thanks for the information.
      I used to love A1 Music in Truro. Will certainly head for Camborne soon (passed there the other day to visit friends in Redruth)!

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    2. Went to Lost In Music last week. It was like a warehouse for Charity Shop overstock. Really poor. I would say "avoid".

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  3. I find the Vinyl Hub website most helpful in such circumstances https://www.vinylhub.com/

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  4. There was a Test Dept record I nearly bought in Sounds OK last time I was in there and then there's that other record shop down the other end of town which does coffee and sells Wire magazine. There's a SH & new vinyl shop in Bodmin called "33" or something like that, it's on the corner of the old market hall. There's rather a lot of metal , but I picked up a decent priced SH Space Oddity vinyl, and also the Sleaford Mods CD which was displayed prominently(owner had seen them live and also warned me of the content ;-)). I spotted a Conrad Snitzler LP in there last time I was in, but it was pricey. There's major road works happening in Bodmin, so allow a bit of extra time. I must check out that Camborne place! Beerwolf, which is both a pub and a bookshop off that same main street in Falmouth, opposite M&S, has some good books in it. I say that because I picked up the paperback edition of "Albion Dreaming" that I contributed to, in there! Also a cheap copy of "Disinformation - the interviews" - they must pick up remainders or something. Happy shopping!

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    1. Thank You Nigel. Looks like second hand vinyl shopping in Cornwall is getting better. We saw the Beerwolf place but was on a mission for veg pasties at the time, and on a timer for the car park! It all got a bit "rushed" in the end with Falmouth being bigger than imagined and the kids wanting to buy toys etc …
      We passed by your place too … should've popped in I know. Apologies.

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