Graham Jones

Last Shop Standing – Whatever Happened to Record Shops by Graham Jones.

This book is now in its second print run and is already becoming an essential purchase with vinyl orders, good to see as many copies of this humourous read selling over the counter as well as mail order sales, we are now on our third major restock, give it a try.
“Last Shop Standing” lifts the lid on an industry in tatters. Graham Jones has worked at the heart of record retailing since the golden era of the 1980s. He was there during the years of plenty and has witnessed the tragic decline of a business blighted by corruption and corporate greed. Undertaking a tour of the last remaining independent record shops in Britain, Jones has collected a wealth of entertaining stories that explain why the best are still standing, and how the worst of them blew it. This is a hilarious yet harrowing account by a man who has been there and sold that. It is a book that will bring a wry smile to the face of anyone who has ever bought a CD or attended a concert, and still has the promotional T Shirt to prove it.
Graham Jones was born in Anfield, Liverpool. He managed the Cherry Boys, a band that made Spinal Tap look mundane and ran his own market stall, selling vinyl fruit bowls made from Beatles LPs melted into shape under a grill. He then travelled the country selling records, tapes and CDs to independent record stores. A founder of Proper Music, the largest independently owned music distributor in the UK, he lives in Wiltshire with his son Ben.
This book features Diverse Music/Vinyl and looks at the journey of a certain Mark “the Jinx” Southall and its compulsive reading and a great insight into the music and retail industry.