Grant follows in the tracks of his great friend Gordon
A musician is preparing to open a vinyl record shop which he hopes will continue the legacy of his friend, Nervous Records owner Gordon Hayes, who died in January.
Vinyl Shakedown Records is being launched in Burbage by singer, former DJ and avid record collector Grant Decker.
Grant said Gordon, who opened Nervous Records in The Lawns, Hinckley, in 1978, was a great friend.
“I’d known him for 10 years,” he said.
“I lived at the back of the shop and we always used to chat in the garden and talk about music and I was in the shop every weekend spending a fortune.
“With him passing, it’s really sad to think that his legacy won’t live on.
“He did so much for music in Hinckley and around the Midlands.
“People travelled for hundreds of miles just to go to his shop. I can only imagine that he would want a record shop to continue in our area.
“Because my business was growing and the unit became available, I thought it was a good opportunity to continue the great work that he did.”
Grant used to run music venue Sumo, in Braunstone Gate, Leicester.
He has been in a number of bands and is currently the lead singer of Goldwater, which is gearing up to play at festivals this summer.
Having started spinning the decks in 1998, Grant spent a number of years DJing, and during that time amassed a huge collection of records.
“That’s how my love of records began really, through DJing,” he said.
During lockdown, Grant DJ’d online and started doing a podcast “geeking out” about records, which was well-received.
Talking about how Vinyl Shakedown Records came about, he said: “I started going round valuing people’s record collections and picking up bits for my own collection and it quickly snowballed into a business, buying records and selling records.”
Grant plans for the shop to be ready to welcome cus- tomers in June.
Initially, it will be open at weekends only, as Grant will be running it while continuing with his job as a special needs teacher.
When it comes to the music, Grant said there will be an eclectic mix of genres among the 3,000 records. I would say it’s mainly rock ’n’ roll but there’s also lots of indie, and loads of other bits and bobs,” he said.
“My job between now and opening is to get as many collections as I can to make sure there will be something to suit everyone. There’s a huge fan-base of people that love records right now. “Obviously, I’m a massive record geek. I love the artwork, the art of getting the record out and putting it on and having to listen to it all the way through.
“For me, it’s the best way to listen to music, unless you’re going to a live gig.”
There will be hi-fi systems in the shop, in The Courtyard, so people can take a seat and have a listen, and there will also be Gordon’s Corner. Grant is planning to honour his friend by adding pictures, information about the history of Nervous Records and including some of his favourite albums.
“He was a huge Beatles fan. He enjoyed a lot of psychedelic rock, too, from the late 60s through to the modern day,” said Grant. “I’m hoping the shop will have a nice community atmosphere where people will come down and spend a few hours immersing themselves in music.”
I love the artwork, the art of getting the record out and putting it on and having to listen to it all Grant Decker