'At the Hop' in the Fulham rd was a great little shop, I got loads my my Punk/New wave demo's in there from 1978-82.
It was knocked down in the 1990's for a little slip road 'Cafe Nero' is now the closest to where the shop was.
At The Hop was not replaced by a Costa Coffee...that fate befell The Fulham Record & Tape Exchange.
Apart from Rob Finnis, Canadian John also worked there (a well known Portobello/ladbroke Grove character. Comment:
Robin Wills
(Jan 13, 2014) Colin said:Only saw rob get ratty once ,when someone put parcel of greasy chips on top of the rack of cardboard sleeved 45s and gave them a coating of chip grease. Great shop ,now a dry cleaners outlet. flag like
(Nov 26, 2013) Clive Webb said:I found my copy of 'Jet Black' by The Drifters (before they were the Shadows) there for £10 in 1981. I'd been looking for it for years... I spent many happy afternoons there...thanks Rob.
(Nov 26, 2013) Clive Webb said:I found my copy of 'Jet Black' by The Drifters (before they were the Shadows) there for £10 in 1981. I'd been looking for it for years... I spent many happy afternoons there...thanks Rob.
(Jan 3, 2013) Marc Griffiths said:It was run by Rob Finnis, who I believe did indeed administer a reissue label and also produced Mandrake Paddle Steamer, a late `60s UK band. At The Hop, which I'd frequently visit on Saturday afternoons, specialised in `50s R&R and R&B and was always packed out with teds, jivers and rockabilly types. When Rob's peppercorn rent arrangement came to an end in the late `80s, he got huffy and moved a bit further up the Fulham Road to share premises with another oldies shop. I don't think that lasted long as Rob had a bit of an abrasive personality and wasn't liked by everyone. On one of my few visits there, he got seriously cheesed off with me as I didn't buy the 45s I'd asked him to play!
It's sad to hear that the premises are gone, though no great surprise in an area like this. There was also an excellent vegetarian cafe just along from it, in the days when veggie food was a scarcity.
(June 20, 2012) Anonymous said:Remember it well, it was the size of a phone box and only opened Friday afternoons and saturdays. I think the owner ran a rock and roll re-issue label the rest of the week.
Comment
I used to buy loads of great Rock'n'Roll records from Rob in there.Fantastic little shop.
Name
Nick Martin
(2022)