John Caine

Out the front gate and turn right for the short walk to the junction, with Guildford Road heading out of town to the right and the road heading into town on the left, known as the Bishopric. Turning left and crossing to the right hand side of the Bishopric brings us, after a short stroll to what I remember as Caines. This may be a false memory on my part. The only pictorial evidence I can find is from an earlier era with the shop name shown as John Caine. I believe the shop front had been modernised by the 70s and the name shortened to Caines but I may be imagining that. Anyway, Caines was a shop of two halves. The left hand side of the shop as you entered sold electrical goods; televisions, radiograms, fridges, washing machines and the like but the right hand side had listening booths and sold records. Caines was never a shop where I bought a lot of stuff. Its selection was more limited than some other options but I do recall lingering repeatedly over The Band’s The Last Waltz album, which as a triple disc set was far too rich for my pocket money. However, we are no more than 5 minutes walk from my house and we have already discovered our first record shop. More importantly it is the shop where I bought my first record (rather than those gifted to me or bought by others on my behalf), John Lennon’s Whatever Gets You Thru The Night in 1974 (Classic Apple label of green apple on black background with swirly writing around the edge containing all the legal and copyright info}. The record was a US number 1 which I had heard and fallen in love with on one of my nocturnal sessions with Radio Luxembourg but it was a notorious UK flop for the ex Beatle and, as such, I have always been rather proud that it was my first active purchase. It stood me apart from most of my contemporaries.

WRITTEN BY ALAN STANDINGFEBRUARY 18, 2016