There are two others I remember that are not mentioned. Firstly, but I don't remember the name, opposite Woolworths in London Road, from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Also from the same era, a musical instrument shop on the south side of Western Road, approximately opposite Farm Road, that also sold records downstairs. I can't remember the name of this one either!

Thanks for this. I don't remember either of these shops. Before my time, I suspect.

Exspantion Record Store, 40 Middle Street - this great record store specialised in underground records - hard to find american imports. It closed and reopened as Tiger Moth Records, 25 Meeting House Lane and eventually closed when Virgin opened - the owners emigrated to Australia.

I used to buy albums from Polysound in the early 1970s when I worked in North Street. The shop had a small stock and gained business by undercutting the larger record stores on new releases. The shop also used to print designs on T-shirts.

The one opposite Woolworth's near the entrance to the Open Market was, I'm pretty sure, Diplomat, although I do get confused between that and one at the top of West Street about where the travel agents or Waterstones is today

I remember Tiger Moth Records very well: it was the hip place for us schoolkids to browse in the early 70s - the opening of Virgin Records dealt it a bit of a death blow. I remember Polysounds well too - a cheap place to buy new releases. One you haven't got was a short-lived shop in Waterloo Street. I can't remember the name but it was run by a guy called Kaz who used to manage Fine Records. It went bust very quickly though.

I remember Kennylynn, as it was branded, very well indeed. As I recall the chap who used to run the shop had two Garrard turntables behind the counter and upstairs he had a fully kitted out radio studio to teach people how to be presenters. I believe the turntables upstairs were made by Gates. (The really expensive ones as used in Radio 1&2 broadcast suites at the time). I spent many a happy hour in there, and still have an original price label from his shop on a Linda Ronstadt 12" single. Those were the days.

PS - Further to my earlier comment, the shop was actually branded as "Kennylynn Music Centre".

Does anyone remember Soundtracks, Baker Street, Brighton off the London Road? It was at the top, opposite Bardsleys Chip Shop.

I think it was Piers Chalmers who used to run 'Rave On' in Sydney Street. In my mind it was a place for Rock n' Roll and Rockabilly collectors. Piers Chalmers can still occasionally be seen at the Brighton Record Fair events. The man to ask about this shop would be Al Berwick the proprietor of the excellent 'Wax Factor' in Trafalgar Street.

Thank you, Kevin. You are correct and have jogged my memory. I would say it was indeed Piers Chalmers who ran ' Rave On '.

I used to run Subway Records in West Steet in the early 80s. It was a great place and I had the time of my life - it all seems so long ago! Thanks for reminding me!

Can anyone help me with a piece of research I am trying to do into the running of an independent record shop in the 1960s? What was the layout? How did the booths work? etc Thanks

I remember Kenny Lyn records rather well, I would go in there before going to another record shop which was at the other end of London Road nearer Preston Circus, on the first floor of a department store I seem to recall, it specialised in classical records. Another one I remember well was at the back of Churchill Square, on two floors. HMV was on the left hand side and you followed the path round to the back and there it was. Can't remember what it was called though.

Does anyone remember 'Record Roundup'? It was in Portland Road Hove. Mark used to run it but sadly died a few years back - he was such a great guy.

I used to buy from Polysound and the Cottage regularly. I also remember Tiger Moth Records. They used yellow paper carrier bags with a black and white drawing of a tiger moth plane on them. Environmentally-friendly even in those days! I also remember Bredons and Beals in East Street. One sold second hand records and the other had the record dept downstairs with booths for listening.

I used to buy records from a stall at the top of Jubilee Market in Gardner Street; they always seemed to have a huge supply of 'bootleg' cassette tapes. I think this would have been around the early to mid-1980's.

Having read the contribution by Tom Servo I don't remember the name 'Jubilee Market'. Was this the disused supermarket that had various stalls and was on the site of what is now the Komedia? I remember buying many CDs there from a stall that was upstairs in the early 90s. When I returned to this area, having lived in the Midlands for fifteen years, I was walking along Gardner Street and I recognised the guy who used to run the stall, he now runs the excellent Borderline shop just a few doors along. Does anybody remember the first shop in Brighton, in the 1980s, that sold CDs only when they first appeared? It was in New Road, between The Theatre Royal and North Street, and I think was owned and run by a husband and wife.

I was a frequent visitor to Polysound in Gardner Street when I worked at the Evening Argus and spent most of my dinner hours in there talking to owner John Winstone who I believe had contacts with David who ran Two Way Books in Sydney Street.

I believe Red Rat originally started in larger premises in Duke Street as "Red Rat Record Rentals" - as the name suggests you could rent a record for a day or so (and listen to it, of course NEVER record it, 'cos that was illegal, wasn't it?). It became evident fairly early on that other customers were not so careful with the vinyl as I was, as a lot of them were fairly badly scratched.

How about the shop in Church Street just below the Wagon and Horses pub, can't remember the name? Got my first Bob Dylan album there early 70's. Great little shop.

I was a member of the Red Rat record shop and I used to rent records overnight for listening only, nothing to do with owning a Sony Walkman cassette player! Another record shop was Tilbury Gig in St James's Street. It was located on the right near the bottom as you go up towards Kemp Town.

Please do not forget Lyon and Hall in Western Road, almost opposite where Waitrose now is. I remember buying many of my first classical LPs there in the mid-1960s, receiving splendid service from Michael Hayes, who seemed to know everything about serious music.

Ray, comment 8/2/2012: You are talking about The Cottage. Please see the section on this shop.

I remember Jubilee Market in Gardner Street. If I recall a cd stall was run by a guy called Dave Minns. If he's still about in Brighton he could tell you a lot about the other local record stores. I think he may have worked in one or two around Sydney Street as well. Happy days! Cheers 

What all of you seem to have forgotten is the very wonderful Studio Four record shop in the Lanes next door on the left to the equally groovy Lorelei coffee bar. There were displays of the first Dylan albums in the window, alongside blues albums by Leadbelly, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed etc. This very hip tone was somewhat altered by the anthologies of rugby songs shouldering them out of the way! It was run by a married couple and I assume they went bankrupt as it closed suddenly and all its trappings languished behind the window until they were stripped out. I bought some superb Sue singles (with the distinctive red and yellow label) there including Homesick James, Jimmy Reed and Willie Mabon. Anyone else remember Studio Four?

Memories of record shops connects times and songs - like my first epiphanic experience of hearing Bill Haley's 'Rock Around the Clock' in 1955 in the as yet unmentioned record shop just south of Preston Circus (on the right going south). Around 1956 I would browse the 78s in a shop on St. James's Street, just up from Edlin's Southern pub. Rock 'n roll was changing our lives then. For a while there was a very small jazz record shop on the north side of Blatchington Road. Having graduated from Jerry Lee Lewis to Charlie Mingus, I had given up the devil's music and found the Lord. This, of course, was a lapse I have since redressed.

Jubilee Market had all sorts of vinyl, CD's and memorabilia. I recall picking up a Kraftwerk fly poster there relatively cheap, Polysound as well. I purchased Trans-Europe Express in there, along with cheap 7" singles, including Lori Anderson's 'O Superman'. The fella behind the counter was a nice chap. I miss all these shops. And now Rounders is gone, it's all rather sad.

I used to buy CDs in the Classical Long Player quite regularly. It was a great place to browse on a Saturday morning and the owner was very helpful and stocked the best recordings. It was in Duke Street and the good thing was the selection of "New Releases" which meant you could just browse what was new since you last went along.

During the petrol rationing due to the Suez Crisis at the tail end of 1956 I left the motor trade for a while as no-one was using their cars and work was slack and went to work for Goodsells in Dorset Street. Goodsells made quality radios and amplifiers both for retail and a range for schools. Many of their models were revamped designs from Wireless World. Hence I made my own amp, an MA5, (Medium Amplifier 5 watts output) to go with an old deck I had. I remember going into Barnards record shop in St Georges Road and asking for the 'loudest record you've got', to test this amp. He gave me a 78rpm of Bill Haley's 'Rock around the Clock'. I think it was about 3/6d!

I remember both Tiger Records and Red Rat; Tiger Moth, I still have a label from there that used to adorn a carrier bag, which I can email copy of or upload but not sure how to do that on this page.. I bought quite a few records there around 1970ish. For some reason my recollection is that it originally was where Fine/Rounder Records were later. Red Rat in Sydney street, later of Upper North Street and later still Dyke Road was not really a record shop but somewhere you loaned records (LPs) took home, recorded and returned. No guesses why that closed down.

Does any one remember (John Beal & son) in East Street- it was a stationery shop but you went down stairs to buy records. I remember buying my Beatles records from there.

Wow! How about that Stephen, what a coincidence that I should post a message on the 'East Street' page about the John Beals store on the same day. Yes, I do remember it very well and as I said on the other page, I bought my first LP there 'Always Yours' by 'John Leyton'. I was sefven years old in 1964 and had saved up my pocket money (33s 11d). I do remember the stairs going down to the record department and it stayed the same from my first visit in the early 60s right up to the early 80s. I expect it is just a store cupboard now but it certainly holds memories for me and probably a lot of other people who bought their records there.

I remember Beals very well. Always a great shop to potter around in - upstairs was like a precursor to Paperchase! As you say, downstairs was a very impressive record department. For such an old-fashioned style of shop, they must have had a very hip buyer for the records - their stock was always current and quite often had albums that weren't available elsewhere. I seem to remember they had listening booths, too.

From September 1978 a gang of us Brighton Tec students used to religiously go around as many record shops in Brighton as possible. Especially on a Monday as it was new releases day! It is funny how you remember defining moments in your musical adventures, but I too like Darren Stuart (16/9/12) had one of these three years earlier in 1975, I think when I went to Polysound and bought a copy of the "Autobahn" album by Kraftwerk and was overjoyed with it until it jumped and I had to go back and change it. I have since told my kids "You see that shop over there, well that used to be a record shop and I bought "Autobahn" in there" - Ahhhh the credibility. I can also remember going to Diplomat next door to the Open Market in London Road in 1978 and hearing the person playing "Neon Lights" by Kraftwerk and "Are 'Friends' Electric?" by Tubeway Army in there in the same lunch hour! Diplomat was a card shop on the ground floor that sold records upstairs. It was along from Boots which also sold records. I can remember going into Subway Records in North Street in 1981 and buying the yellow album cover with a computer on it called "Computerworld" by Kraftwerk. They had them all in the racks, what a memorable sight. When I was at the Brighton Tec, I pretended to the tutor that I needed a toilet break during the lesson, but it was not true, as I bombed around the corner to Kenny Lyn Records (to see a Harry Enfield Scouse Terry McDermott lookalike) to purchase their last remaining 12" green vinyl copy of Herbie Hancock's "You Bet Your Love". When I got back into class, the game was up as I had nowhere to hide the 12" record and it was confiscated, but luckily only for the duration of the lesson - job done! I too was a member of Red Rat record rentals. The manager or owner was a tall Turkish guy called Izzy. I see no-one has mentioned Attrix Records in Sydney Street as they sold their own (and other) records there. I can remember buying Cabaret Voltaire's "Nag Nag Nag" in there and a massively obscure 7" called "The Wundersea World Of Jacques Costeau". There was also a second-hand record shop in Lewes Road run by an old mate of mine called Terry. It did not make much money and so his mum had half of the shop for her knitting business....random eh!

I have just remembered that there used to be a small compact record shop right next door to the Brighton Tec where the car park entrance was at the Trafalgar Street end. It had records on the ground floor and then you had to go down these dodgy old stairs to the underground basement to look at the rest of the stock. Alas I can't remember what it was called.