2Catapilla was down North St and was a mindblowing second hand shop - a bit like a smaller Record and Tape Exchange but located in the sleepy SouthWest. I completed a healthy early Gong and Steve Hillage collection there over the years. They also had clearout weeks with the stuff he couldn't shift at prices from 1p on up. Comment: Breadluclaw
I used to live in Lower North Street. One afternoon, waxing lyrical to my mates about how much I loved the obscure Vertigo album I had by a band called "Cressida", a mate mentioned that there was an album by them in Catapilla, 100 yards up the road. Does it look like this? I asked, showing him the LP I owned. Nah, it's got plastic heads on the front, on fire, on a pebble beach. Puzzled, I was unaware of a second albmu by my heroes. Unable to resist, I hot-footed it up to Catapilla, only to find a pristine copy of their hens-teeth-rare second album, "Asylum" in the rack at £2:50. Result. I really miss little shops like that.
(Apr 8, 2013) Brewsta said:Catapilla records had a smell all their own. The yang to Henderson's ying.
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I used to live a few miles from Exeter and managed to get to Catapilla two or three times. I think I first heard about them through their Gong connections.
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Zaba Dak
(2018)
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Yes it was a wonderful era wasn't it. My husband Hugh and I used to own it. We had great fun there.
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Annemieke Eaglestone
(2021)
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Catapilla was located originally at 8 Well Street and run mainly just by Hugh Eaglestone, who'd played tenor sax on (the band) Catapilla's first album (but not the second).
I used to visit the shop regularly between 1975 and 1977 when I lived 20 miles away, before relocating to Bristol. I used to buy quite a few LPs there.
Subsequently, the shop relocated to Exeter's Fore Street where I visited it some years later and it seemed to be thriving. The look on Hugh's face suggested that he recognised but couldn't place me. It was a nice little shop so, if you're reading this, all the best to you Hugh.
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Julian Stevens
(2021)
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Lived in the Exeter area for a couple of years in the early 1980s, and so inevitably Catapilla was a place I bought music from. Any record shop that has a Bay City Rollers amnesty bin has to be the sort of place to get great music.
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Andy Lawrence
(2019)
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Hi Hugh, if you see this, I hope you are well. I still have many of the records I bought in your shop.
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Simon Messenger
(2022)
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It was a great shop. I remember clearly finding a brand new promo of Biz Markie's debut LP for £3.50, as well as Man Parrish's self titled LP for £2.50. Still with the handwritten prices inside the sleeve. Great shop.
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Adam de Paor-Evans
(2023)
