Minus Zero/Stand Out

I first got to know Bill Allerton in the early 1970's, at that time there was only one outlet for collectable records and that was via mail order and a magazine called Record Mart which carried dealers auction and sales lists. Collecting was confined to Blues, Jazz, R'n'B, Rockabilly, Soul etc but when I listed a few late 60's American 'garage' singles Bill Allerton was quick to respond. He had an immense knowledge even then, long before directories and encyclopaedias devoted to the subject actually existed.  Some people found Bill to be a little 'frosty' or abrupt but it was simply that he didn't suffer fools gladly, if you displayed a genuine enthusiasm and interest in music he could be extraordinarily generous with his advice, help and time.  I only encountered Bill Forsyth more recently, within the last 8-10 years but found him to be a very affable fellow.  I don't know what happened to Bill Allerton after the shop closed, he was never much of a 'Web site' person and probably only used email out of convenience and necessity. Bill Forsyth continued to trade from near by Red Lion Arcade until September last year. I understand that he has left London now. Parts of his old web site can still be found but the home page and url have gone.  Its interesting to see, especially with the London based shops, how important they were to one another. Collectors would make a 'pilgrimage' to the city and the more shops they could find within a reasonable distance of one another the better. I see that Intoxica who traded not far from Blenheim Crescent has also closed which I think illustrates my point.

Here are a few links to the Bills/Blenheim Crescent/Intoxica story:
http://www.eccentricsleevenotes.com/Minus-Zero--Stand-Out- Records(1924550).htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XPsCln8fvk

see also

http://www.herblester.com/blogs/journal/6128134-lament-for- intoxica
http://www.dontpaniconline.com/magazine/radar/maverick-a-strike

Steve Maggs

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