It was Sellanbys in South Harrow where you could also sell your old records and buy second hand as well as new. It took me years to work out that their name meant sell and buy.. doh. Comment: redbelly
A recent casualty and much missed. They had a great collection of record shopping bags from the 60s onward on the walls.
(July 15, 2013) Rockin' Remnant said:The full name was "W.E.Sellanby" - and they started out as a stall in South Harrow market before a shop was opened in Northolt Road South Harrow [later superseded by a better-placed shop, near a bus stop, in the same road - and years later added to by another shop in Eastcote. Much missed!
Started my record buying at the Market stall run by Mr & Mr's ...... - probably stood next to Reg Dwight (a struggling session musician) on occasion who was a regular customer. Pleased to say continued to buy many records at all their outlets and rarely gave them any records back (for trade in) Comment: (Dec 24, 2014)
(April 27, 2015) Remember Sellanby very fondly - a regular stop after school (I went to John Lyon) before getting on the bus at the South Harrow bus station for home. Many hours and many pounds spent on great music in the mid-1970s. Also brings back memories of my friend Clive with whom we scoured the bins for bargains. Comment:Ted Pearson.
Name John Jones Comment: I worked at the market for Sellanbys as a Saturday boy from 1963 to 1966.Previously my elder brother Brian had done this and before him a friend of ours Peter Owen - we all attended Harrow County Grammar School.The owners were Mr and Mrs Smith. He worked in the week as an Insurance Assessor and I think did all the buying just on a Saturday.I earns I think around £1 for the day but if we had a good day would usually receive a bonus of a few shillings. About half was spent on records which I still have and play on an old rock ola juke box.
Mrs Smith ran the other half of the business which was books and magazines and most people bought the material and returned within a couple of weeks for a 50% refund against new material.Mostly it was Batman type of books and little war books which were popular at the time.Also the Kama Sutra and Perfumed Garden were popular but I could never ask Mrs Smith for a lend.She was a charming lady and must have been very hardy as we had no heating and colder winters and she worked 6 days a week.The only personality whoever called regularly was Screaming Lord Sutch who always dressed extravagantly but was a quiet polite and charming man. The record shop opposite was I think run by their son but may have opened a few years after I worked at the stall. ( July 29, 2016).
Name Phil ENTHUCOL Comment: I was a customer from around 1974 until I moved from the area in 2006. When I first became a customer the market stall (5A South Harrow Market) was in operation and the shop itself was at 198 Northolt Road (Just north of the railway bridge on the left). The shop was run by Mr & Mrs Smith's sons Pete and Dave. It was a good source of secondhand vinyl plus in those days they also stocked new release/chart records. I recall being in there late one afternoon (I think in 1974/ very early '75) when Mike and Pete from vintage Record Centre emerged from the rear of the shop with a huge pile of dusty of 45s, the only one I can recall is th e Cliff Richard and The Shadows 'Thunderbirds Are Go' EP which was top of the teetering pile. By the time I started a Saturday job early in 1975 the shop had relocated (South of the railway bridge and on the opposite side of the road) to 245 Northolt Road. Was a regular weekly (and on occasions 3 or 4 times a week) customer from then until I left the area in January 2006. I can't recall exactly when, but possibly in the eighties or early 19990s the shop ceased stocking new 'Chart' records (Although they did still stock some new vinyl. I think after then it was all cut outs and deletions, but the main part of the shops stock was used vinyl and per-recorded cassettes. The cassettes gave way to CDs in the eighties and for a while the days on vinyl in the shop looked numbered as more and more rack space was yielded to CDs and then DVDs. In the end the right hand side and centre aisle of the shop was all CDs/DVDs and the left side vinyl. Two of my daughters had Saturday jobs there for a while at different times. Sometime in the 1990s a second shop was opened in Eastcote, this was run by Symon who had worked previously in the South Harrow shop for two spells totalling many years (At one time Symon and his cat (Whose name I forget) lived in one of the flats above the 245 Northolt Road shop(Members of the Smith family owned the whole building in South Harrow at that time). The shop in Eastcote was a similar secondhand and cut out/deleted vinyl format. The Eastcote shop closed (I think after about ten years (?)) when the lease expired and the landlord tried to impose a huge rent hike (I have a vague memory it was a also closed for a while due to a problem with the building, water leak/flooding or similar I think). The South Harrow shop finally closed soon after I left the area in January 2006 as the brothers Pete and Dave who ran it decided it was time to retire. I think Dave who was also an artist now lives somewhere on the Sussex Coast. Endless recollections of great vinyl bought there much of which I still have, but the one that always sticks in my mind is the copy of the 1978 UK promotional only 200 copy limited edition Blue Vinyl 7" of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (Specially commissioned by EMI in 1978 when the record company won the Queens award for export) which was snapped up by one of the staff as soon as it hit the secondhand 7inch rack priced at £1. Apparently I missed it by minutes! ( Sept 19, 2016).
Name SYMON MUNFORD Comment: Yes, I did work for The "Sellanby" Bros. for 30 years and yes, did run the Eastcote branch for 14 years. I lived at 245A (above the shop in South Harrow) for a few years with a cat named Ozzie then another cat called Mavros. I still miss the shops and the vibe and of course all those records - it was like xmas every day! Symon. (May 7, 2017)
Name Daniel Cox Comment: Hello Symon. Remember you well. Do you remember me, Daniel, and my friend Steve. We were regulars at South Harrow. How are Pete and Dave do you know? (May 19, 2017)
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The history of my youth! Bought and sold there regularly. When things were tight I would sell my vinyl to get a pint! All my Best purchases were from this amazing shop, Elton John, pink Floyd, Beatles, and other more obscure stuff
Name
Paul Woods
(2018)
Comment
I was a regular customer at Sellanby from around 1958 to 1963 where I went sell and buy 45 singles. This was when they were under the arches at South Harrow station. They had a little record player at the back where you could hear the records you wanted before buying them. I wasn’t sure who the different people were there but there was a man in his fifties and a boy of around 14 who looked like his son. The lady (wife ?) worked in the book section adjoining and I often bought paperbacks along to trade. I am now 75 but it all seems like yesterday to me
Name
Ken Graham
(2020)
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How well I remember the Best record shop ever. I also remember Symon, also the lovely Janine who worked there, spent far too much money every Thursday ( payday ) while being watched from behind the two way mirror on the rear wall. ha.
Name
Tony Stack
(2021)
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Lovely to see the comments above of a very much missed shop. I used to go to the shop and market every saturday rain or shine. It was like a mecca at that time. I later applied for a job in the shop and although I did not get that position I was given the position in the market selling the records and second hand books.
One of the big sellers in the new and second hand books were Mills & Boon romantic novels. They used to fly off the shelves compared to most of the others. I was the long haired youth with a black leather bomber jacket totally missing the point that my hero, the Fonz wore a brown jacket! I am suer the owners were Mr & Mrs Smith who were a lovely kind couple.
I remember my time there very fondly and I still have a huge collection of records mostly bought with the money earned working there.
Name
Arf Scaife
(2021)
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When I discovered this place (early 90’s I think), my CD CD collection went from just a handful of CD’s to well over 500!! Much missed - where else can you buy a CD Album for less than £4 ?!! This was at a time when CD prices started to soar in price due to their popularity.
Name
Sting Sumnor
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I owe this shop so much! I am an artist and have been creating work regarding music recently and been going through all my cd collection and I’m so happy that I lived so near this store and managed to source the best music collection. Still miss this store as nothing like it now sadly. Thank you Sellanby for making this artist and happy one!
Name
Malvin Raj
(2022)
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My late brother, Chris used to shop at Sellanby. We have just been going through his collection of CDs, rather sad but what is nice is that I came across this article and I am able to "see behind the counter" of this wonderful shop. Chris loved his music and obviously, looking at the collection of CDs we have unearthed since his death, it is clear to see that the shop gave him hours of pleasure. Thank you.
Name
Maggie Leigh
(2022)
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As a young teen I discovered the market stall and loved rummaging through the LP's in search of new bands and hidden treasures. When the first shop opened I couldn't believe my luck. The best record shop ever, and so close to where I lived. I remained a regular customer until it closed. I remember Pete and Dave fondly and lovely Cathy who was so helpful and friendly and was there right at the end. Thanks guys where ever you are now, for many hours of happy memories. Record shops come and go, but Sellanby was the best. Still missed.
Steve Wood. Northolt (2022)
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I worked at Sellanbys for around four years from about 1976 and even lived in the flat upstairs with Symon for a while, great times and remember those days fondly, it was a real happing place in those days.
Often wonder what happened to Pete & Dave.
Name
Colin Galloway
(2022)
Comment
when i left school in 1964 i worked at Ketts electrical shop on northolt road,every saturday lunchtime i was in the market at Sellanbys spending maybe up to 5 shillings on records, on one occasion i asked mr smith if i could look thru the rock'n'roll box which he kept out the back and found 3 singles and an ep by elvis on the HMV label and bought the lot for ten shillings a tenth of my weekly wage.i eventually sold my entire collection back to mr smith to finance an expedition he gave me sixpence each for them. which was enough, Happy memories david dormand
Name
david dormand (2023)
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