‘Björk sent us a handwritten letter’: how a tiny Yorkshire record shop is surviving against all odds
It’s 1997, a year of opportunity. Labour has just won the general election, Blur and Oasis top the charts, and The Spice Girls are trotting down every red carpet. Friends is on the TV, and you can’t move an inch without the ‘Rachel’ haircut bobbing glossily in front of you.
It is also the beginning of the end of vinyl, of which sales would tumble from 1.1 billion in 1997 to just 22 million a decade later. But that didn’t stop Sid Jones, a lifelong local to the little market town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, from opening a record shop, Muse Music. It would become such an iconic local attraction that everyone from The Smiths to Björk would become associated with it. “There was something wonderful about seeing a little shop thriving in this world where there no longer seems to be a place for normal people,” sums up one of the many glowing Trip Advisor reviews.
“With the Trades Club down the road (a local music venue with cult status and housing the likes of Ezra Furman and The Fall) musicians would call in because they were in town,” says Jones. “Robyn Hitchcock came in (from The Soft Boys). Pauline Black and Rankin Roger from The Selector and The Beat came in a few years ago, had a good nosy around and a drink with us,” he chuckles. In 2012, his wife, Valeen joined him and opened the Love Café in the same premises and business grew further.
That is, until a devastating flood hit on Boxing Day, 2015, which sent five feet of deep water pouring through the town. With stock destruction and no insurance, closure of the beloved shop seemed imminent. “Hebden Bridge is prone to flooding historically,” Jones says, “but the one in 2015 was a real shocker and nearly took out the town, if it hadn’t been for the resilience of the people.”
The town and local shops all rallied round Muse Music, including The Trades Club. With their famous connections they organised a “one-off” record fair with celebrity contributions from Sparks, Tracey Thorn and others.
“Mike Joyce (The Smiths), came down to the fair, Björk sent a signed, handwritten letter. Loads of people gave signed CDs and records. Gruff Rhys, from Super Furry Animals, sent a drum skin that he’d autographed.
‘If it hadn’t been for the support of everybody, record donations and record companies sending stock... Also, Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple got involved. They used to play The Trades Club once a year,” Jones recalls. “Being from Japan, I think they used their UK concert dates to raid record shops for their own collections. When they heard what happened they did a fund-raiser in Japan. It’s quite surprising, isn’t it – a nice gesture.”
Last year, Sid and Valeen reached retirement age and sold the shop to a younger local couple with a passion for vinyl and food. “Paul and Louise were in the process of buying it when the flood happened in February. We thought, ‘They definitely won’t want it now’. But they came bouncing down the road and said, “It’s all right, it’s going to be fantastic, we’ll put some things in that will help should it flood again.’”
Paul and Louise met whilst working together in Suma Wholefoods, and started dating. “I’d been going in the shop for years, being a vinyl person and then the day I met Lou, I called into Muse and Sid was like ‘Oh what’s happened to you, you’re bright as a button!’,” says Paul. “So he’s been in on mine and Lou’s courtship, if you will. Nearly every week I used to call in and buy some records and then I’d tell Sid, ‘Oh yes [Louise and I] went out for tea last night...’”.
“We were looking for a business to buy together, and we wanted to do something along these lines. It’s down to the fact that I’m mad about vinyl, and Lou loves cooking and food.
“In terms of vinyl, there’s a massive growth in sales.” It’s true: vinyl sales went up 12.9 per cent in early 2019, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
“We want to build something that is a hub for local music in the area, we were going to get bands in doing signings. We had loads of things planned, we were going to do listening events,” Paul continues. “It’s been featured in a book, Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen, by Graham Jones.”
However, this year brought the pandemic and lockdown. Despite the delays, Muse opened on 29 August, one of four designated Record Shop days. I asked them how it felt to be finally up and running. “It’s really exciting,” Louise says. “We’re really pleased with the refit and the place looks amazing. We’ve had lots of positive feedback from customers.”
Now in Tier 3, they’ve had to shut down and go online for now. With shops closing all over the place it’s a tough time, but they are philosophical. “It’s a shame we haven’t been able to fully open as we originally intended, but we’ve met some lovely people along the way. We’re feeling really positive about the future.”
Music and Love is at 38 Market Street, Hebden Bridge, or online at musicandlove.co.uk
