Record store owner tells how his vinyl business has turned full circle
DAVE HAS BEEN SELLING RECORDS FOR 35 YEARS
A DERBY shop owner who quit his job at a solicitors’ firm before opening a record store has revealed how he has kept his business running for more than three decades.
Dave Hill, owner of independent shop BPM Records in Derby, has served the city with a passion for 35 years and attracts customers from all over the Midlands.
BPM is still going strong – so much so that the lifelong music lover says he plans to renew his lease soon so he can continue to sell vinyl from his two-storey premises in Old Blacksmiths Yard, off Sadler Gate.
“Derby has been kind to me,” said the 65-year-old. “I’ve moved shops a couple of times when different opportunities came up, but my customers have always been very loyal and followed me around.
“People come from as far afield as Sheffield and Nottingham to buy my vinyl and I think it’s wonderful to get that kind of support. I am enormously grateful to the people of Derby too.”
Dave first opened BPM in Derby in December 1987, having worked in music sales in London since the 1970s. He has also managed numerous city record stores, including HMV and R.E.Cords.
“As a young lad, I always enjoyed music,” he said. “Sometimes, when I came out of school, I’d walk to the record shop. I was buying records from the age of 11.
“I can tell you that my parents weren’t very pleased when I left the firm of solicitors I was working for to work in a record shop. But it’s what I loved, and I still do now after all these years.”
BPM – which of course stands for Beats Per Minute – is the only specialist independent record shop in Derby and is a treasure trove for vinyl collectors. It stocks thousands of records and Dave is always working hard to find more stock to fill his shelves. He said: “When vinyl went through something of a renaissance with collectors, we started to get busier again. Now we have collectors of all ages who have rediscovered their passion for their favourite bands on vinyl.
“Music lovers have once again fallen in love with the sound of the needle dropping into the groove of a record – and that’s brilliant for us.”
It is businesses like the one founded by Dave we want to celebrate here at the Derby Telegraph through our Love your Local campaign.
Over the coming weeks, we will be showcasing independent retail and hospitality businesses across the county to help people rediscover hidden gems on their doorstep.
Dave said: “Being independently owned means I can pick and choose what records to buy and it’s down to me to try and offer customers what they want.
“I suppose I must be doing something right, I’ve been here long enough.”
Despite building up a strong customer base over more than three decades, like many in the music industry the business did struggle when fans started to download their music rather than buy records.
But two years ago, sales of vinyl records surpassed CD sales once again and Dave says the rising trend in vinyl has been fantastic for BPM.
And while it may seem that it is nostalgic Boomers or Gen Xers behind the renaissance of records, it is also millennial consumers driving the rising trend in vinyl sales.
“More and more people have record players now,” said Dave. “People who had records, and then sold their collection, are now starting up again.
“For me, as a business, it’s about giving customers what they want. I try to cover all genres, so everyone can find something they like here in BPM.”
Brad Worley, BID manager for the Cathedral Quarter Derby and the St Peter’s Quarter, said: “It is enormously important to showcase our fabulous independent retail and hospitality businesses across the city – especially within the Cathedral Quarter and St Peter’s Quarter.
“Dave and BPM have been part of Cathedral Quarter for so long, he has seen families grow, and now even has the children of some of his customers visiting him for their vinyl needs. As a truly integral part of the community, he deserves to be celebrated and supported.
“We already know how much Derby people appreciate their local and independent restaurants, shops, cafes and bars – but now it’s time to really start enjoying them again.
“Our first Celebrate Sadler Gate event on Saturday, July 16, was aimed at building a stronger community spirit, promoting traders and bringing them more closely together.
“We need to encourage people to visit Derby and recognise what is special about our city because that’s exactly what the high street needs right now. Some of the small businesses on Sadler Gate are unique and can’t be found in other high streets, and that’s what creates its unique character.
“As the BID manager for Derby’s Cathedral Quarter and St Peter’s Quarter, it has never been more important for us to help attract and retain visitors to this part of the city.
“We have some truly fantastic local shops, restaurants, cafes and bars and this is what makes Derby different. Without them, our shopping area would not be the same. Let’s love our local shops.”