A new chapter in the story of the world’s oldest record store opens today as Spiller’s open their doors in Cardiff’s Morgan Arcade for the first time.
Despite their antiquity – founded in 1894 and on the Hayes since the 1940s – Spiller’s is the very model of what a modern independent record shop should be.
While the music industry implodes in wet mess of free downloading and file-sharing, the small but perfectly formed store busied itself with maintaining its role as a friendly, knowledgeable part of its city’s musical community: hosting gigs, putting out fabulous latest release guides, supporting local bands and labels and getting their t-shirts onto the backs of one in every 1,300 Cardiff residents. (I’m estimating, but if a day goes by and I don’t see a Spiller’s shirt I suspect the next things will be a quiet and restrained Tom Jones’ album and Nicky Wire writing for Dr Who: sure signs that the end is indeed nigher than Nye Bevan’s statue).
I’m not in possession of a huge amount of disposable income these days, so my visits to Spiller’s have become more and more about browsing and listening to what they have playing.
However, if you do have money, then spend it in Spiller’s – they’re nice people, they do stuff in museums, and talk politely to customers.
As a local newspaper jounalist I wrote countless, Use it or Lose it, stories about small town high streets, and, as the cliche goes, it’s a cliche because it’s true.
Don’t let’s lose Spiller’s and best of luck to the store in their new home.
