Vinyl destination for retro fans
Pop star shuns modern streaming to open shop dedicated to vintage hi-fi
IT’S something of a retro revolution in the age of Spotify and YouTube. And while RPM may stand for revolutions per minute – familiar to anyone brought up with the crackle and pop of vinyl – they are also the initials of Midland rock guitarist Richard March.
So it’s an apt brand for his new vintage hi-fi shop in Bearwood – dedicated to those audiophiles who like their record collection organised alphabetically (by artist) and their music served up in a more traditional manner.
It is the culmination of a 30-year musical odyssey for March, a member of indie band Pop Will Eat Itself (PWEI), who hailed from Stourbridge and managed to build quite a reputation on the alternative music scene of the ‘90s.
Pop Will Eat Itself are still active and, besides playing in other bands, March is also a further education music lecturer in Kidderminster.
But now the father of two has decided to take the plunge as a retailer with a passion.
“I don’t think there’s a shop quite like this one anywhere between London and York,” he says.
“I hope everyone who appreciates the way turntables, amps and speakers used to be made is going to love coming here and take what they love
back home with them.”
RPM, which also sells cassette decks and CD players, will be open as a shop from Thursdays to Saturdays from this week.
The other days of the week customers can book to have the shop to themselves to listen to their music “the way they want to listen to it”, says March. Just bring your own vinyl.
Having lived in the Bearwood area for the past few years, March got to know Tom Hayes, founder of the TC Hayes electrical store that has outlasted rivals from Comet to Maplin.
Now RPM’s address at 181 Sandon Road has been turned into a shop, having been the store room for TC Hayes.
March’s stock has been judiciously acquired through industry contacts and his own eagle-eyed ability to spot a bargain anywhere, including online.
With experts on hand who can service any machine, March is confident that equipment up to 50 years old or more can be maintained for years to come.
He says he can send people home happy with a turntable, amp and speakers for £150.
But if you’ve got £6,000 to spare then he could send you home even happier.
One of his shop’s turntables is said to have featured in Stanley Kubrick’s
A Clockwork Orange half a century ago – made by JA Michell and called a ‘Transcriptor Hydraulic Reference turntable’.
And it is hypnotic watching it spin, even when it doesn’t have a record on it.
Put an album on top, let the needle engage a Yamaha Natural Sound CR2020 amp and... Wow!
The sound which comes through the giant Celestion speakers either side is nerve-tingling.
“It might seem like a lot of money, £6,000,” says March. “But there are some high-end shops that will charge you that for two cables.
“When people were buying these machines in the ‘60s and ‘70s it was an era when people would service their own cars. You didn’t have to buy something and then throw it away a few years later.”
If that’s not to your taste, there’s a reel-to-reel machine... with original Beatles LPs in copyright tape format, including a Revolver album branded ‘3 3/4 IPS twin track mono tape record’.
Over on the back wall, March is like a kid at Christmas when he turns an Audio Dynamics Corporation turntable around to reveal what it says on the back: “Made in Great Britain by BSR Ltd, Cradley Heath, Warley, West Midlands.”
Other names on his shelves include Akai, Sansui, Rogers, ReVox High Fidelity and Leak.
“The kind of stuff I was interested in wasn’t really available anywhere local and there was a gap in the market,” says March.
“There’s an enthusiasm for good quality equipment.
“Because I work with young people I can see they are increasingly catching the bug of collecting vinyl records and where do they go to buy a record player?
“For people of my age, it’s a nostalgia thing.
“I think the aesthetic of the vintage equipment is something that people are interested in across a broad range of ages.
“People can upgrade their equipment step by step and I’ve got a good team of technicians who can service turntables, amps and so on to bring them back to life.
“People are having a long, hard think about what they are spending their money on – I think they would rather spend a little bit more on something that has been properly built, properly made and can be repaired.
“There’s also a great tradition in the UK of building the best high end audio equipment in the world.”
There’s an enthusiasm for good quality equipment. Richard March, RPM Analogue Audio