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Fopp Closing


Stephen

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Haha, my Da worked in One Up back in the late 70s, when the shop was on George St. (George St, is that right?)

Was it not Rosemount somewhere? In the back of 'Happy Trails'? I have a vague memory of buying second hand vinyl there.

I'm sure our resident historian Mr Cynic will know. Or now I come to think of it, wasn't it something to do with Hen, (now at The Tunnels)?

I sleep now. You go.

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Was it not Rosemount somewhere? In the back of 'Happy Trails'? I have a vague memory of buying second hand vinyl there.

I'm sure our resident historian Mr Cynic will know. Or now I come to think of it, wasn't it something to do with Hen, (now at The Tunnels)?

I sleep now. You go.

there was briefly two branches of one up. one on rosemount and one on george street if i remember my history right. they were then merged to diamond street then it moved to belmont street.

with regards to fopp, rumours abound but no one knows what's happening. judging on other recent high street chains failings(purely from my own personal experience) i'd imagine that they'll survive but not as they are just now.

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with regards to fopp, rumours abound but no one knows what's happening. judging on other recent high street chains failings(purely from my own personal experience) i'd imagine that they'll survive but not as they are just now.

I think I know what you're referring to.

Can't help but think that Fopp have been incredibly stupid to expand at the rate they have - with Virgin in trouble and HMV only really getting by as a result of owning Waterstones, it seems somewhat ridiculous to go for a full on high street approach like Fopp have tried to do - especially as HMV and Virgin are going to have access to a lot more money than Fopp will have.

Swan song for Fopp? | Business | Money | Telegraph gives some more information - from that, it seems pretty obvious that if they haven't hedged interest rates, then they're going to get absolutely hammered on the loans likely needed to take over the Music Zone stores. The BoE vote this month for interest rates was 5-4 in favour of keeping rates as they are - so it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see a 6% rate before the end of the year.

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Was it not Rosemount somewhere? In the back of 'Happy Trails'? I have a vague memory of buying second hand vinyl there.

I'm sure our resident historian Mr Cynic will know. Or now I come to think of it, wasn't it something to do with Hen, (now at The Tunnels)?

I sleep now. You go.

Ha ha i remember happy trails well,Rosemount came soon after that with Raymond,Debs & Adam (scars),& Fred & George st. a couple of years later

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The staff don't appear to know what's happening. Poor sods. You have to feel sorry for them.

I've heard rumours about Fopps problems associated with their buying up of 60 odd Music Zone stores but being a paranoid I'm not going to repeat them on here!

Their being re-opened yesterday and taking only cash sales.... well you could infer something from that.

Talking about the glory days of 1-Up though, aye. The shop started in the back of Hippy Trails indeed. Then moved to Rosemount Viaduct. The days when you make a proper living in the record trade. Most of it from me I think! They did have a store in George St. but god knows why it never made sense to me. Then of course they moved to Diamond Street. They certainly have had a whole lot of dodgy staff Peep, thats for sure. Aye I mean you!

The Rosemount Viaduct were the glory days though. I remember people being scared of going in there because of Scars and Hen.

I would also put in a good word for Kevin and Avalanche. For the year I was in Edinburgh Avalanche gave the best service of a shop I've ever had. Kev knew what I liked (I bought the first Galaxies album off him without a clue what it was or sounded like because he said I'd want it if I did. And he was right!).

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*emerges, sleepily from cryogenics tank*

I agree with Neill re One-Up on Rosemount Viaduct, although I also liked the incense scented Happy Trails times too.

Earlier times saw me (with paper-round money burning a hoile in my pocket) doing the rounds of Telemech, Macs, Alexanders etc

Virgin records up George St still had a shambolic feel too.

The more I think, the more I recall wee record shops (mostly second hand) that flowered briefly before fading away. (Above the Belmont Bar for Jazz and Psych, above the Victoria Restaurant, up George St on the right-hand side (was it an ex taxi-driver or something...he had some great folk/psych stuff!), Hutcheon St etc

I use Fopp for cheap reissues mostly...especially when they hit 3 quid or less:up: Most of my music I get from the library nowadays, but One-Up is still good for new releases/the odd second-hand CD.

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I think I know what you're referring to.

Can't help but think that Fopp have been incredibly stupid to expand at the rate they have - with Virgin in trouble and HMV only really getting by as a result of owning Waterstones, it seems somewhat ridiculous to go for a full on high street approach like Fopp have tried to do - especially as HMV and Virgin are going to have access to a lot more money than Fopp will have.

Swan song for Fopp? | Business | Money | Telegraph gives some more information - from that, it seems pretty obvious that if they haven't hedged interest rates, then they're going to get absolutely hammered on the loans likely needed to take over the Music Zone stores. The BoE vote this month for interest rates was 5-4 in favour of keeping rates as they are - so it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see a 6% rate before the end of the year.

i was referring to jessops.

hmv don't get by just on owning waterstones. they get by on being one of the most successful retailers in the country who were making a profit when no one else was. i'm no great fan of them but they are run from top to bottom incredibly well.

as for fopp, we'll just have to wait and see. the staff don't know what's happening either. that's one advantage of the stock market, jessops had to do everything in the open so we were kept reasonably well informed but because fopp isn't on the market they do everything quietly.

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Guest bluesxman

Fopp is fantastic for back catalogue stuff at a fiver and the speed with which recent releases drop to a fiver is amazing at times. One Up can't match them for me in terms of value for money, especially when they cynically mark up second hand CD's at prices such as 7.99 these days. They are both about even for new releases around the 10 quid mark.

Fopp is also good for mucho cheapo DVD and book deals.....would be a sad loss.

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Earlier times saw me (with paper-round money burning a hoile in my pocket) doing the rounds of Telemech, Macs, Alexanders etc

Virgin records up George St still had a shambolic feel too.

The more I think, the more I recall wee record shops (mostly second hand) that flowered briefly before fading away. (Above the Belmont Bar for Jazz and Psych, above the Victoria Restaurant, up George St on the right-hand side (was it an ex taxi-driver or something...he had some great folk/psych stuff!), Hutcheon St etc

Don't forget Brue Millers when it was on Holburn St. I remember toying after buying Swell Maps singles with my dinner money. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to it first as I might just have bought it otherwise! The Times Up Buzzcocks boot that Scars flogged me he said he got there too!

And lets not forget Thistle Music who could come up with the odd jem (early Orange Juice 12" spring to mind).

Back on topic: Fopp is good for specific things but it doesn't have the breadth the 1 Up has. Know what you mean about pricing but old regulars used to get discount (well I did when Lepeep and Poe were still there!).

Yeah, I'll miss the cheap DVD's for sure. You can't help but think that HMV were trying to steal a match on Fopp too.

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That makes no sense Kimy.

OneUp are great for a wide variety of CDs. Its difficult to find underground metal bands in HMV/Virgin for a good price. Last I checked 15 for a COB album in HMV. =/ also OneUp occasionally have a live band come in and play. Anyone see Biffy Clyro or Man Must Die play there?

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I'm sorry, what?

I think what Kimy is saying that your musical purchases (and by extension taste) appears to be dictated purely by price i.e what ends up in the sales rack, rather than any other factor. Put simply if it aint cheap you aint buying it.

I hope that clears things up.:)

All this reminds that back in the days when I was propping up 1-Up and The Other Record Shop single handedly albums were generally around a fiver.

And that was, oh, 20 years ago. Some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

When did buying an album change from buying something to just being product? Yeah digital is much more convenient but they seem have thrown the baby out with the bath water. Vinyl was an object, an artifact. cd's are just more, well, disposable. When was the last time you loked at a cd cover and went 'man, that look's fucking great!'? Never bought a cd because it's cover looked good. Bought heaps of vinyl that way.

Christ I'm beginning to feel old...

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Guest DustyDeviada

My rationale however is that everything gets cheap eventually, and in the meantime there are loads of great albums out there that I don't have. So buy the older albums first cheap in Fopp then get the "new" albums you want in a while once they are cheap.

Yes, I am Aberdonian, but this method also means I have more cash left over to spend on guitars, but that's a different thread. ;)

Anytime I do want a new release I tend to order it through CD-Wow using Nectar points, ie free.

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fopp has gone into recievership i hear on the grapevine

i hope that fopp isnt bought by an internet retailer like amazon/itunes etc

Urgh, high street Amazon? I can't imagine anything worse..

Coincidentally, if I'm right, isn't there a chain of music stores getting into trouble from MVC > Music Zone > Fopp?

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Guest DustyDeviada

i hope that fopp isnt bought by an internet retailer like amazon/itunes etc

Why would Amazon want to move into the High Street, or iTunes into the realms of real CDs etc?

A real shame about Fopp, I've been buying stuff from them for years. I remember buying the first Suede album from them so I guess they've been open since at least 93. Also used to buy quite a bit of cheap vinyl from them.

Hasn't been the same since they moved to Union Street though. I guess as a company they just tried to expand too much.

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Was it not Rosemount somewhere? In the back of 'Happy Trails'? I have a vague memory of buying second hand vinyl there.

Yup, up Rosemount Viaduct a bit - Think the old shop was a photographer's place (or very near it) the last time I looked?

Happy trails - yup. Across from the Central Library & through the back of the clothes shop. They owed me money when they shut. Also had a big branch in Edinburgh.

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As for One Up - I second lepeep's comment. One Up is still a very very crucial part of Aberdeen's music scene, but if the average punter actually knew how it was run and who was running it, along with what their attitudes towards music were, then they'd probably be quite disgusted.

Please enlighten us? Personally, I'd prefer to spend my cash with reasonably ethical/proffesional outfits where possible.

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Why would Amazon want to move into the High Street, or iTunes into the realms of real CDs etc?

A real shame about Fopp, I've been buying stuff from them for years. I remember buying the first Suede album from them so I guess they've been open since at least 93. Also used to buy quite a bit of cheap vinyl from them.

Hasn't been the same since they moved to Union Street though. I guess as a company they just tried to expand too much.

well, i would presume that the fopp brand would be held onto as it is a strong brand.

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