Pop Recs Ltd isn’t your average record shop. It’s owned by a band, for starters: Mackem darlings Frankie and the Heartstrings. Earlier this month Frankie Francis eagerly talked about the the store’s opening. ‘I love records, and to be able to become part of that community of people who sell records in the UK is exciting and in some way a bit of an honour,’ he said.
Over the next few weeks Frankie and co. will be providing updates on the shop’s health, from the nitty gritty beginnings to the grand unveiling, right up to the most important aspect: Selling goodness knows how many records. Here’s Frankie’s first update, 3 days ahead of the opening day on 1st June.
Well, it’s almost upon us. We open a record shop/coffee shop/Art space in our hometown of Sunderland. We have no idea how long for, or indeed whether it will be a success or not.
This week has been at times frustrating, but the last couple of days has seen it really come together, with the permanent exhibitions being installed and the first few records gracing our homemade record boxes.
We’ve set the stage up to for our instores. There are some quite exciting things taking place that I still can’t believe are actually happening!
The sign is also up on the outside. I guess this was the point where I thought, ‘Holy Shit it’s actually happening’. The water and the electric have been fixed as of yesterday. It was a pain but it seems to have been sorted now.
The best thing about the whole thing is that there’s a Greggs opposite - well, this is Sunderland after all.
Here’s a playlist of the songs likely to be played out in Pop Recs Ltd once it’s open for business on Fawcett Street, Sunderland, on 3rd June.
Featuring Yard Act, Death Cab For Cutie, Graham Coxon, Maisie Peters and more.