The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Concorde still flying high after 50 years in business
ANNIVERSARY: Five decades of record-breaking Perth shop
Scotland’s oldest surviving record shop is marking its 50th anniversary on the crest of a vinyl renaissance.
Bee Gees hit Massachusetts was the UK’s best-selling single – with The Beatles’ Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band riding high at the top of the album charts – when Concorde Music opened its doors in Perth.
The shop was started by local couple Norman and Rena Smith and their son, Garry, has worked there continuously since he was a pupil at Perth Academy.
Mr Smith, who manages Concorde with his wife Hazel and son Craig, said his parents paid £2,640 on October 30 1967 to take over a liquidated music business previously owned by accordion legend Jimmy Shand and his thenpartners, Messrs Morison and McLeish.
“My father was a great music lover,” Garry recalled. “I think he intended to also sell books in the shop but he never got round to it. In those early days I used to come down after school and do the post office run and jobs like that to help out.”
Concorde started in the former St John’s Square – complete with three listening booths – before moving to Scott Street in the early 1980s and remained a haven for vinyl addicts even after CDs started to dominate.
It was a chart return shop and enjoyed regular visits from record company promoters.
“I wouldn’t say the record pluggers were underhand, but obviously they were keen to make sure you stocked their new releases,” said Garry.
“Singles were important in those days. We had the top 75 singles behind the counter and looking back, it was totally different.
“Woolworths had a record department in Perth, as did Boots. Over the years there’s also been Virgin, HMV, Our Price and MVC.
“They’ve all been and gone but it’s amazing how many loyal customers we still have who’ve probably been with us right through.”
Vinyl was central to the shop’s first four decades, but changes in customers’ habits meant it almost disappeared completely around eight years ago as even club DJs started turning to digital options. Garry said the huge resurgence in record buying over recent years had radically shifted Concorde’s focus. “Vinyl probably accounts for about half of our business operation nowadays,” he revealed.
“To survive you have to diversify and move with trends. We’ve kept stocking right across the board and we’ve got a diverse range.”
London-based record shop authority Graham Jones, author of the book and documentary Last Shop Standing, confirmed Concorde’s importance to the nation’s vinyl buyers.
“I’ve spent 31 years visiting the record shops of the UK and I am confident that Concorde is the oldest record shop in Scotland,” he said.