Featuring over 550 graphically arresting record-shop bags, plus informative, humorous histories of the stores and their famous staff, this book reveals a previously undocumented side of British popular culture
Record buying used to be a cool thing to do. I used to go record hunting for elusive records in my younger days. The nifty thing about it was when you got a bag promoting the place you got your records. Just bags were plain while others really caught your eye. An extra expense but one worthwhile for the store. As you promenade your weary soul down the streets, you advertise the store that you just frequented. Today, your records get thrown into a plain white bag. That is if you find a record store. The record-shop experience is but gone since Amazon took over. England’s Jonny Trunk unearths some long-gone record store bags. I am surprised that these bags still exist. They used the cheapest plastic. The bags easily ripped when you put your records in. I love time-capsule books like A-Z Record Shop Bags. This is one part of shopping we will never experience again.
This exhaustive collection of record-store bags provides a unique perspective on record shopping in the UK over the last century, bringing together over 500 incredible bags (some possibly the only surviving examples) to document the fascinating story of British high street record shopping. Bags from famous chains such as NEMS (where the Beatles were customers), Our Price and Virgin (the amazingly rare Roger Dean bags) sit alongside designs from independent stores run by eccentric enthusiasts. Packed with stories such as the first Jewish ska retailer, the record sellers who started Britain’s premier soccer league, famous staff (David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, Morrissey) and equally infamous owners, these anecdotes of mythical vinyl entrepreneurs will entertain and delight.
With vinyl record sales at their highest for decades (outselling CDs in the US), this publication acts as an amazing insight into the history, culture and visual language of record collecting. Following Own Label, Wrappers Delight and Auto Erotica, A–Z of Record Shop Bags is the next book in the series by Jonny Trunk and FUEL, examining overlooked aspects of our collective past. Jon Savage, author of the classic 1981 punk history England’s Dreaming, provides a foreword.
Nostalgia enthusiast Jonny Trunk founded his record label Trunk Records in 1995, which specializes in releasing lost and archived recordings. He compiled and wrote The Music Library, documenting the hidden world of library music. His other books include Own Label, Wrappers Delight and Auto Erotica. Trunk also writes for a number of magazines and broadcasts every week on Resonance FM, London’s art broadcasting station.
Jonny Trunk founded his record label, Trunk Records, in 1995. His books with FUEL include “Own Label,” “Wrappers Delight” and “Auto Erotica.” Trunk also writes for a number of magazines and broadcasts every week on Resonance FM, London’s art broadcasting station.
Jon Savage is an English writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, “England’s Dreaming,” published in 1991