Nostalgia: Record Store Days

IN their heyday they were the place to see and be seen, a hangout for all music fans including the rich and famous.

Fans meet Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr in HMV, Princes Street, in 1987. Picture: TSPL

Once upon a time a Saturday afternoon was not complete without a trip to one of the city’s many busy record shops, to check out the latest releases and hopefully soak in the atmosphere of a guest appearance.

But as music fans across Edinburgh today celebrate the worldwide Record Store Day, it is a reminder that this once thriving industry is facing difficult times.

So much so that many of the independent record shops the city once boasted have long closed their doors, while the major high street chain stores have also seen more buoyant days.

Fans meet Simple Minds singer Jim Kerr in HMV, Princes Street, in 1987. Picture: TSPL

As these pictures show, things were quite different back in the day when celebrity appearances would draw in huge crowds to music shops across the

Capital.

Tills were likely ringing loud and clear back in October 1985 when fans brought Princes Street to a standstill as they waited for New Wave pop group the Thompson Twins to open the city’s new HMV store.

That year the band performed at the historic Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium – where they were joined on stage by Madonna – to help raise funds for the Ethiopian famine. So, to boost funds further, HMV donated £1 for every person who arrived at the store that day in a kilt.

Fans wait for the Thompson Twins to arrive at HMV in 1985

One of the many record stores to have long closed its doors is John Menzies on Princes Street. It was here in September 1975 that conductor and composer Andre Previn made many a fan’s day by signing copies of his latest release.