Spillers Records, 27 Morgan Arcade, Cardiff

Spillers Records, established in 1894, is recognised as the oldest

record shop A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were ...

in the world."The owners of Spillers Records, recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest such emporium on Earth, say that it will close unless a buyer is found.
"World's oldest record shop in the death grip of a developer"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'', London, 1 December 2006. It is located in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. In addition to selling music, it is the city's main location for buying tickets for

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

music concerts.

History

Spillers was founded in 1894 by Henry Spiller at its original location in

Queens Arcade Queens Arcade ( cy, Arcêd y Frenhines) shopping centre is located in Cardiff city centre. It opened on 28 April 1994. History Developed on the site of the Allders department store and the similarly named Queen Street Arcade, the main entrance ...

, where the shop specialised in the sale of phonographs, wax

phonograph cylinder Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...

s and

shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...

phonograph discs, also sold and repaired musical instruments In the early 1920s, Spiller's son Edward took over the running of the business and, with the aid of the popular accordionist and bandleader Joe Gregory, sold musical instruments alongside the pre-recorded music. In the late 1940s the shop moved around the corner to a larger premises on

The Hayes The Hayes ( cy, Yr Ais) is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Centred on the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised and is the location ...

. Since 2006 the shop's future was made uncertain when the site rent was increased by Spillers' landlords, Helical Bar, who stated that they are keen for the shop to survive. A local campaign to save the shop was initiated, including a petition initiated by Owen John Thomas (then the Assembly Member for South Wales Central), and supported by members of the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...

, the

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (drums, percussion, soundscapes), plus ...

and Columbia Records. In 2010 Spillers moved to the nearby

Morgan Arcade The Morgan Arcade is a shopping arcade in Cardiff, South Wales. Started in 1896, it was built to connect the main entrance of David Morgan's department store on St Mary's Street, with his other store on The Hayes. It opened in 1899 as the New ...

, initially on a temporary basis, with the expectation that the move will be made permanent if successful."World's Oldest record shop ready for move"
''BBC Online – South East Wales'', 25 June 2010. In 2019, Spillers called for a boycott of Morrissey and his music due to his support for a far-right political party.

Gallery

File:Spillers Records Cardiff.jpg, Second location in The Hayes (2007) File:Spillers Records, 31 Morgan Arcade, Cardiff.jpg, In the Morgan Arcade (2012) File:Spillers Records, Morgan Arcade, Cardiff 2.jpg, Interior (2017) File:Spillers Records, Morgan Arcade, Cardiff 5.jpg, Exterior (2017)

Notes

References

External links

Official websiteSpillers Myspace
{{coord, 51.47879, N, 3.17707, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Music in Cardiff Music retailers of the United Kingdom 1894 establishments in Wales Retail companies established in 1894 Shopping in Cardiff Buildings and structures in Cardiff Shops in the United Kingdom Castle, Cardiff