Record Bar

Remember this very well. On the corner of Holloway rd & St. John's Villas. I remember my older brothers taking me in there in the early 60's. It had the listening booths and they were still there in the 70's. The owner was a lovely man called Frank, as camp as you like ( shoulder bag and Donny Osmond hat) but he knew his music. I'll never forget going there one evening and a customer asked for a Mario Lanza LP, and he was directed to a corner of the shop where he returned with the LP. Amazing. I used to go there most Fridays (when people got paid in cash), from 1974 until around late 77, if I remember right, he sold up and moved out. It became an Irish record Bar. Then, singles were about 70p. He told me he was selling up and all singles were 10p. He gave me fair warning and spent a fortune. The shop was a split front. The left half was a Shoe / Heel repair shop then later a flower shop. Further up the Holloway road, towards Archway stn, 2 record shops opened ( 1 being Harum) and that seemed to me to put him out of business. Until then, the only record shop at Archway was in the Co-Op. They didn't have the range that old Frank had. They don't make them like him anymore. Comment: Martin Cox.    

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