Spillers Records, established in 1894, is the oldest record shop in the world. It is located in Cardiff, Wales. In addition to selling music, it is the city's main location for buying tickets for alternative music concerts.
Spillers was founded in 1894 by Henry Spiller at its original location in Queen’s Arcade, where the shop specialised in the sale of phonographs, wax phonograph cylinders and shellac phonograph discs. 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, Henry moved the shop around the corner to a larger premises on The Hayes.
Since 2006 the shop's future has been uncertain as the site rent has been increased by Spillers' landlords, Helical Bar, who state 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, Assembly Member for South Wales Central, and supported by members of the Welsh Assembly, the Manic Street Preachers and Columbia Records. In 2010 Spillers moved to the nearby Morgan Arcade, initially on a temporary basis, with the expectation that the move will be made permanent if successful.
Famous quotes containing the word records:
“Philosophy, astronomy, and politics were marked at zero, I remember. Botany variable, geology profound as regards the mud stains from any region within fifty miles of town, chemistry eccentric, anatomy unsystematic, sensational literature and crime records unique, violin player, boxer, swordsman, lawyer, and self-poisoner by cocaine and tobacco.”
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)