Music Market
Image Andy Beevers
(Jan 12,2015) I have fond memories of visiting the Music Market store in Cornmarket Street. Walking through an open doorway you scaled the stairs that faced you with a number of LP sleeves on the walls on either side as you climbed. Turning right at the top you would then feast on a rich selection of music covering all genres, selecting your purchase and making your way to the counter, outer sleeve in hand which you then presented. The album itself would be inserted and placed in a distinctive green bag with black type. Heady days! Comment: Pete Chilton.
Name Gary Jones Comment: Thanks for posting the image of the green music market bag , as a 14-18 year old I lived in the high street store , if was dark and dingy but it was the place to be seen ! I started looking at this site as I had a notion that the "cool"dude blowing smoke rings was John Cooper Clarke , now I look again with eyes that 40 years have damaged I can see it isn't . But fond memories of looking for old deep purple albums , and trying to catch the eye of the local girls .. sometimes it was more of a pick up joint than a record shop. (December 12, 2016).
Name Richard Berry Comment: I bought all my first Adam and the Ant and Sex Pistols 7" in Music Market as a 11 year old in 1981. At St Stephen's Primary School in Lansdowne, we had to cover out hymn books. So I modified that iconic green plastic Music Market bag 😀 Was worried my teacher wouldn't be impressed. And disappointed he The didn't comment how cool and innovative I had been! (August 5, 2017)
Comment
so, i used to work there :) Achieved my ambition to work in a record store at the age of 20, it was downhill all the way after that! i think, might be wrong, that the 'elegantly wasted' dude on the iconic green carrier bags was Steve, the manager of one of the branches. Think he ran a fanzine called Charlie Horse, too.
Name
johnny dee
(2018)
Comment
I bought my first Album from Music Market, Banbury. Motorhead - Bomber, 1980. The bloke behind the counter said 'good choice' I was a very happy Boy.
Name
Tim Hughes
(2019)
Comment
I bought my first Adam and the Ants 7" vinyl from there, 'Young Parisians' and thought it was rather a racy cover. 'B' side fab too!
Name
Caroline Black
(2019)
Comment
I worked at the Music Market shop between 1976-78 while at Oxford Poly when the shop was at No. 51 (if memory serves) High Street. I am proud/ashamed to say that the "world's most elegantly wasted record store" tag line was all my own work...!
Working (I say "working"...) there was EXACTLY like High Fidelity (both book and movie) with those precise characters either side of the counter.
Interestingly Music Market was quite a breeding ground. The original owner, Ian Howard, went on to found the Borderline venue and subsequently owned the Brixton Academy among others.
Ian sold the shop to Peter Lee, who built it into a chain along the Thames Valley. Pete sold the Music Market chain to WH Smith and founded a video store chain that he then sold to Blockbuster becoming CEO of the UK business.
Hello to Ian, Pete, and Chris Heath and the many customers it was a delight to serve/annoy.
Name
Robin Bryson
(2019)
Comment
I loved the second-hand record shop they had upstairs on the highstreet at Carfax, I must have spent £100s there during the 1980s, all those wonderful prog albums I got, magical times indeed.
51 high street is currently empty!
Name
Graham Franklin
(2019)
Comment
Did Peter sell to W H Smith? I worked at a music Market, Smelly Alley in Reading and I thought our shop went to Our Price?
Name
IAN ADAMSON
(2021)
Name Gary Jones Comment: Thanks for posting the image of the green music market bag , as a 14-18 year old I lived in the high street store , if was dark and dingy but it was the place to be seen ! I started looking at this site as I had a notion that the "cool"dude blowing smoke rings was John Cooper Clarke , now I look again with eyes that 40 years have damaged I can see it isn't . But fond memories of looking for old deep purple albums , and trying to catch the eye of the local girls .. sometimes it was more of a pick up joint than a record shop. (December 12, 2016).
Name Richard Berry Comment: I bought all my first Adam and the Ant and Sex Pistols 7" in Music Market as a 11 year old in 1981. At St Stephen's Primary School in Lansdowne, we had to cover out hymn books. So I modified that iconic green plastic Music Market bag 😀 Was worried my teacher wouldn't be impressed. And disappointed he The didn't comment how cool and innovative I had been! (August 5, 2017)
Comment
so, i used to work there :) Achieved my ambition to work in a record store at the age of 20, it was downhill all the way after that! i think, might be wrong, that the 'elegantly wasted' dude on the iconic green carrier bags was Steve, the manager of one of the branches. Think he ran a fanzine called Charlie Horse, too.
Name
johnny dee
(2018)
Comment
I bought my first Album from Music Market, Banbury. Motorhead - Bomber, 1980. The bloke behind the counter said 'good choice' I was a very happy Boy.
Name
Tim Hughes
(2019)
Comment
I bought my first Adam and the Ants 7" vinyl from there, 'Young Parisians' and thought it was rather a racy cover. 'B' side fab too!
Name
Caroline Black
(2019)
Comment
I worked at the Music Market shop between 1976-78 while at Oxford Poly when the shop was at No. 51 (if memory serves) High Street. I am proud/ashamed to say that the "world's most elegantly wasted record store" tag line was all my own work...!
Working (I say "working"...) there was EXACTLY like High Fidelity (both book and movie) with those precise characters either side of the counter.
Interestingly Music Market was quite a breeding ground. The original owner, Ian Howard, went on to found the Borderline venue and subsequently owned the Brixton Academy among others.
Ian sold the shop to Peter Lee, who built it into a chain along the Thames Valley. Pete sold the Music Market chain to WH Smith and founded a video store chain that he then sold to Blockbuster becoming CEO of the UK business.
Hello to Ian, Pete, and Chris Heath and the many customers it was a delight to serve/annoy.
Name
Robin Bryson
(2019)
Comment
I loved the second-hand record shop they had upstairs on the highstreet at Carfax, I must have spent £100s there during the 1980s, all those wonderful prog albums I got, magical times indeed.
51 high street is currently empty!
Name
Graham Franklin
(2019)
Comment
Did Peter sell to W H Smith? I worked at a music Market, Smelly Alley in Reading and I thought our shop went to Our Price?
Name
IAN ADAMSON
(2021)