Leading record store Rough Trade is to open a new location on Denmark Street, the legendary heartland of London and UK music, set to open in October this year. The store will be Rough Trade’s third venue in London and, surprisingly, will mark the first time the cult-favourite street has hosted a devoted record store.
The announcement comes after it was revealed in March this year that independent record stores in the UK are at a ten-year high. The Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) said there are now 461 indie record shops in the UK – 122 more than 10 years ago. However, just 8% of UK music sales are currently in physical form, ERA finds.
The shop will also open at a time when Denmark Street itself – which has lost much of its musical heritage in recent years to surrounding development and which has sparked the Save Denmark Street Campaign – is also on the up once again, having seen a handful of music shops return to the street in the last year.
“Over two floors the state of the art store will carry a huge selection of curated vinyl across all genres for avid collectors. As customers are welcomed in, they will find alongside the vinyl offering books, clothing, merchandise and limited edition one offs,” Rough Trade said in a press release. “Although the Denmark Street store will not offer a live performance space, it will host album signings and work in partnership with neighbouring venues HERE and The Lower Third to contribute to Rough Trade’s existing out-store events programme.”
Denmark Street – also known as Tin Pan Alley – played an indispensable role at the cutting edge of UK and world music throughout the second half of the 20th century, and took on almost mythical status as the focal point guitar-based music worldwide. The street was most prominently home to an array of guitar shops, many of which hosted recording studios in their basements, as well as record company and promoters’ offices on their upper stories. Many music stores still dominate the small street, although their numbers have fallen in the last decade. Among the famous shops on the road to this day are Regent Sound Studios, Hank’s, and Wunjo’s, which have been joined by newer entrants in recent years. Artists who have recorded in the street’s studios include The Rolling Stones, The Jimi Hendrix Experience (cutting some rough demos and rehearsing), The Kinks (early demos), The Who (part of ‘A Quick One’). Elton John (playing sessions), The Lower Third with David Bowie (demos), Black Sabbath’s first two albums, and early albums and singles from The Bee Gees, The Troggs, Slade, Tom Jones, Sandie Shaw, The Equals, John Martyn, Davy Graham, The Yardbirds, Herman’s Hermits,, Mott The Hoople and countless others.
The now closed La Giocanda Cafe on the street was the location of David Bowie’s recruitment of his first backing band, and also welcomed regulars including Elton John and Thin Lizzy. While some parts of the street are listed, development throughout the 2010s saw several beloved stores and venues, such as the 12 Bar Club, close or move locations.
But in announcing the new store, Rough Trade paid homage to the immense weight of musical history that is palpable on the street, saying in its press release: “We can’t wait to welcome you to our beautiful new central London store in a location that holds such a profound place in the capital’s music history”.
