Wickham And Kimber
In 1942 we got to know Derrick Stewart-Baxter who re-formed the Brighton & Hove Rhythm Club and introduced us to the premises of WICKHAM & KIMBER in George Street, Hove. Mr Wickham had been a pre-war dance band pianist and the stock reflected this. He would go to much trouble to find scarce items for us and Saturday afternoons there became a regular meeting place for jazz lovers. He took on another partner and it became WICKHAM, KIMBER & OAKLEY, moving to larger premises on the other side of George Street.
Derrick was paid a retainer and sat in an upstairs room, acting as an adviser on the quality of the jazz records in stock. He had forthright opinions and was quite capable of dissuading a potential customer from buying anything! Comment Horace Harris.
Phil Farlow "I discovered Wickham Kimber & Oakley in the mid 1960's. It's stock was awe inspiring. You could go along 7" 45 shelves yourself and pull out stock that must have been there since the advent of the 45 itself. A collector's paradise. The LP stock also reflected this seemingly 'never sent anything back on returns' policy. At this time there was a girl called Hazel that knew everything there was to know about their stock. The stock wasn't apparently jazz orientated at this time - they stocked everything." (April 16, 2016)
Name Peter Milner Comment: I happily found WK&O in about 1957 when I was doing a day release Engineering course at Brighton Tech. I was already a keen jazz fan but dear old DBS made a major contribution to the expansion of my knowledge, taste and record collection. I was fortunate that Derrick became a close personal friend so that not only did I visit his upper sanctum on a regular basis but I was actually invited to his home to listen to some of his amazing private record collection. It was a sad day for me when we left the area and I had to say goodbye to WK&O and to Derrick. Apart from his work at the shop he was of course a frequent compere at Brighton Dome when it was graced by a Jazz or Blues evening, so it was at the Dome that many of us heard great American bluesmen like Howlin Wolf, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Lightnin' Hopkins, plus of course all the British Trad and new Orleans jazz bands of the time. Happy Days ( February 25, 2017)
Derrick was paid a retainer and sat in an upstairs room, acting as an adviser on the quality of the jazz records in stock. He had forthright opinions and was quite capable of dissuading a potential customer from buying anything! Comment Horace Harris.
Phil Farlow "I discovered Wickham Kimber & Oakley in the mid 1960's. It's stock was awe inspiring. You could go along 7" 45 shelves yourself and pull out stock that must have been there since the advent of the 45 itself. A collector's paradise. The LP stock also reflected this seemingly 'never sent anything back on returns' policy. At this time there was a girl called Hazel that knew everything there was to know about their stock. The stock wasn't apparently jazz orientated at this time - they stocked everything." (April 16, 2016)
Name Peter Milner Comment: I happily found WK&O in about 1957 when I was doing a day release Engineering course at Brighton Tech. I was already a keen jazz fan but dear old DBS made a major contribution to the expansion of my knowledge, taste and record collection. I was fortunate that Derrick became a close personal friend so that not only did I visit his upper sanctum on a regular basis but I was actually invited to his home to listen to some of his amazing private record collection. It was a sad day for me when we left the area and I had to say goodbye to WK&O and to Derrick. Apart from his work at the shop he was of course a frequent compere at Brighton Dome when it was graced by a Jazz or Blues evening, so it was at the Dome that many of us heard great American bluesmen like Howlin Wolf, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Lightnin' Hopkins, plus of course all the British Trad and new Orleans jazz bands of the time. Happy Days ( February 25, 2017)