Prides Records & Tapes began life as Norman Pride on 15 Appleton Gate, Newark. I've found the shop listed in a phone directory as early as 1966 (the imagination runs wild with some of the interesting things they would have stocked!). I recently found a 1978 'Original Tropicana Steel Band' album in a charity shop with an old Norman Pride sticker which prompted this whole investigation! I enclose a pic.
When St Mark's Place was built and opened in 1978 (an outdoor shopping precinct and multi-story car park), the business then moved to 7 St. Mark's Lane when it became just 'Prides Records & Tapes'. This is the venue I remember as a kid. I remember an in-store signing from The Jets in 1981 for the "Yes Tonight, Josephine" single. Prides was my first introduction to a record shop and one of the major sources of my record collection. It was the first place I saw a picture disc and a CD!
In late 1986 Prides ceased trading. The shop in 7 St. Marks Lane, Newark then became R&K Records. One of the former Prides employees, Richard, bought the shop and changed the name to R&K Records. I believe 'K' was his wife Karen who also worked in Prides. I remember going into the shop around this time to buy Iggy Pop's Real Wild Child 12" and the shelves were alarmingly empty. The only stock was chart singles and albums. I now understand that this was the transitional stage between Prides and R&K.
