Audio sounds and photos from the final day, 1 May 2010, of Minus Zero / Stand Out Records in Portobello.
Audio from the last day of Minus Zero / Stand Out Records
If you're not hearing the lulling sounds of a record shop there might be a yellow stripe at the top of the page requesting you to allow an 'add on' or you might need to download Real Player: http://uk.real.com/realplayer/
Sadly, Portobello's conjoined record shops at Blenheim Crescent, 'Minus Zero Records' and 'Stand Out Records' closed down today. The shop, originally known as 'Plastic Passion' in the 1980s, split in two when the owners fell out: Bill Forsyth launched Minus Zero Records and Bill Allerton, Stand Out Records. Both of the Bills will continue to sell records via the web but after so many years bobbing about behind their shop counters, and with rent increases looming, they both felt ready to shut shop.
Bill Forsyth behind the counter at Minus Zero Records
It was always a great place to buy 60s pop and 70s punk / new wave and will be missed not only for the browsing and buying opportunities but also as a place where the world moved a little slower, a place of warmth and camaraderie, where you could lose yourself for an hour or two in the strange and predominantly male world of record collecting.
Bill Forsyth reopened Minus Zero Records at a new location in the Red Lion Arcade, Portbobello Road. It was open from July 2010 to September 2011 before he closed permanently and has now left London. (Additional note; January 2012)
The photos from the last day of Minus Zero Records and Stand Out Records continue:
Bill Allerton behind the counter at Stand Out Records
Minus Zero / Stand Out Records entrance on Blenheim Crescent
Finally, after 26 years, we see the first rule of record shops broken as the guy on the left waits outside while his girlfriend (in pic below with blonde hair) is inside looking engrossed!
Bill Allerton in Stand Out Records
