Record and music shops in the city

Hi Ron, I remember well the record dept. in Owen Owen but didn't realise it was operated by Fennell's though. Didn't the young Fennell go to Woodlands same time as us? Don't think it was Derek though, could have been Malcolm if memory serves me correct. Incidentally, I recently bought a 1965 Motown copy of Frank Wilson's "Do I love you (indeed I do)" on ebay for £82! For the uninitiated this, (albeit on another label), is the highest selling single of all time selling for £27k a few years ago!

That would have been a UK pressing that you purchased on ebay. It was the original US pressing that commands the incredible high price. Only 2 copies of the US pressing are known to be in existence (both now in the UK as it happens), all other copies were destroyed when the planned release was cancelled after Frank Wilson decided he wanted to abandon his career as an artist and concentrate on being a producer. The single was released in the UK after its 'success' in the Northern soul clubs (UK catalogue number TMG 1170, unless it was one of 2000 bootlegs issued on the In label, shown as Eddie Foster as the singer). I didn't realise that Fennell junior was with us at Woodlands. To be fair though, I only really became of value to Fennells after I had left and started to earn money !!

Paynes in Fairfax Street, was that taken over by Tandy's electrical stores?

Looking on the net, it says 'Dusk Til Dawn', Hales Street - anyone know this shop?

I have a feeling at one point there was a music shop on Hales Street that specialised in dance music. As I have no interest in dance music, I never went in, but I remember it being there. I seem to recall its name was something else though, 'banging tunes' or something like that, but that may have been a new name. Wasn't there shop in Shambles Arcade that sold records?

I can remember FREAKBEAT on Hales Street, & I think BANG-IN TUNES was on Lower Ford Street, not far from the Eclipse. Could be wrong though

Bang In Tunes was indeed originally on Lower Ford St in the small row of shops next to the Elastic Inn. It later moved onto Hales St and when it closed Freakbeat took the site over. Jill Hanson also had a shop at 18 Hales St (now a kebab shop) - bag here There was also a short lived dance records shop halfway up Burges mid-90s which may've been Dusk Til Dawn.

Speaking of records, I mean proper vinyl, HMV has a small selection of LPs - it seems that the format is refusing to die and many new albums are released on Vinyl as well as CD and download, plus re-issues appear on Vinyl for the enthusiasts. This week I've bought (from Coventry) the latest Scott Walker album, a re-issue of a Jethro Tull album and two white Vinyl re-issues of Neu! albums (Neu! and Neu! 2)... As I've recently got my record player out of storage (most of my Hi-Fi was banished upstairs when my daughter pulled the speakers over) I've been playing some of the stuff I've bought over the years, a lot of it from 'Hits and Misses' and the shop above 'Kong' (mainly old Jethro Tull singles and a few Mission singles)... I even have a Vinyl copy of an album by 'The Specials' from the 1990s - 'Guilty 'Til Proven Innocent'... I never bothered with Luckman's on Far Gosford Street as the records were in poor condition and the prices didn't reflect that. I'd love for Coventry to have a good independent store like HEAD in Leamington - or like the much missed Spinadisc that probably drained many student grants when I was a student here. I spend a fortune in HEAD. This week included LPs by Barclay James Harvest and a Jazz group called The Pyramids.

Luckmans was sometimes VERY good for finding a bargain. I picked up a promotional Clash album, 'Give 'em enough Rope' that was a white label for £4.00. Its worth about £90 to collectors. the white label defines the album as "Rent-A-Riot", which was the albums original title

Yes Luckmans was amazing for bargains, especially when they moved from the small bookshop next door into Swap n Shop. I remember boxes of old soul and reggae singles for 25p each ...and the albums were all the stuff people look for now like Deram, Nova, Vertigo, Dawn labels, all for £1- £2 each. Lots of punk & new wave stuff on small labels too . When they moved further up Far Gosford St his prices went up - and he also kept some rare stuff in the back, which you had to talk your way in to see. ...oh for a time machine !

Ah, I only remember Luckmans further up the street, and all the LPs were right down by the floor and difficult to look through. I recall a friend of mine making an 'offer' and the old chap looked absolutely horrified that someone had dared haggle with him. My friend showed him how bad the quality of the records was, but he refused to budge so my mate put them back. So I guess that was our chance of going into the back to see the 'rare' stuff gone. Yes, some of the stuff on those labels is sought after now. What was the place above Kong called?

Here's a link and I wondered if anyone remembers going there... Record Lending Library Record Library, Photo 2

I remember the record library well. For several years in the late seventies our Thursday evening ritual consisted of going to the record library followed by shopping in Tesco in the City Centre, then the Shakespeare or The Old Windmill in Spon Street for a drink and then home to listen to the records. They had a surprisingly large selection and you carried them home in specially designed thick cardboard carriers. We only ever borrowed LPs so I don't know if they stocked singles and there was also a microscope for inspecting your stylus. I think it was 5p or 10p per record per week. We ended up buying a lot of records because of that library

Something like Vinyl Dreams ? Their main shop was based in Oasis, Birmingham.

I am the late Derek Fennell's daughter, I came across this site when doing a random search, you made me happy with the kind comments about him, thank you very much. Both myself and my brother Malcolm still live in Coventry.