Record Shops and Fairs In London
This page is under construction. It will contain addresses, maps and telephone numbers
of the shops in and around London that have a good reputation of Queen items. At the
moment it just has a list of names and opinions. Thanks to Paul Scheffer.
Last Updated: 22 Jan 1998
Records Fairs
London Central
London International (off Tottenham Court Rd) - Four times a year
One of the better fairs, often the same dealers but the pricing can be better than
Victoria. Worth a visit, especially if you arrive late. Lot's of browsing to be had.
Victoria - Four times a year
Often raided early by Queen collectors that get in and take the goddies. Still worth
visiting, especially for bootlegs (shh!) and you can often find some nice things at
reasonable prices. There tend to be foreign dealers here (mostly from Holland, America and
East Europe) so there is treasure to be found.
Camden - most Saturdays
Just down from the Tube Station, small but can be worthwhile. The dealers change but
there tends to be a hard core of regulars. more CD's than Vinyl but it varies.
Olympia - Twice a year
I've only been to this once and found it varied. There were the normal overpriced
dealers and a few with nice stock. Hard to get to but makes for a nice browse. There were
some dealers here I had never seen before.
Wembley International - Twice a year.
I've only been here once. I found it overpriced to get in and there was nothing apart
from one dedicated Queen dealer. Prices were reasonable but some of the dealers got
stressed because of the amount of people flowing through. There were a wide range of
overseas dealers (French, German) and some autographs and bootlegs. Perhaps it was just a
bad time of year?
Overall, I tend to visit Victoria and the London Internation fairs all the time, the
others depend on when they are and how much money I have left.
Record Shops
Oxford Street area
- "Sister Ray" on Berwick Street - very good selections of 7" and 12"
singles, CDs and other stuff. Sometimes you can pick up a bargain here though they tend to
know what things are worth. Best bet in London. They have better prices on US import CD's
than the megastores.
- "Music and Video Exchange" on
Berwick Street - some good stuff though their best Queen stuff is at the Notting Hill
branch (see below).
- "Reckless Records" on Berwick Street - I've never seen anything good here
though I know people who have. Might be worth persevering.
- "Mister CD" on Berwick Street - some good prices here for regular CDs and the
odd bootleg. They don't have much stock at the moment, but it varies. Currently they have
a bargain basement but I haven't seen anything Queen related down there.
- "Selectadisc" on Berwick Street - occasionally have some good priced second
hand stuff and LPs as well. Worth popping in.
- "Cheapo Cheapo Records" on Rupert Street - very disorganised but a goldmine of
1970s and 1980s vinyl, books and videos, all very cheap. Very little Queen, but good for
the most obscure of the collaborations. There is a market stall
right outside that sometimes has some stuff on it.
- "Steve's Sounds" on Little Newport Street - cheap CDs and very cheap books.
- "Vinyl Experience" on Hanway Street - Now closed. The had a nice sale, but
didn't advertise they were closing. Don't look to reopen soon (if at all)
- "Soho Records" on Hanway Street -Now closed, I don't think it will reopen.
- "On The Beat" on Hanway Street - Worth a look but they tend to have a slow
turnover. Entirely vinyl and books/magazines. Often closed for lunch!
- "Going For A Song" on Charing Cross Road - cheap CDs, some Queen or related.
- Market stall on Goodge Place that has cheap CDs, some Queen or related.
- Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street (one next to Tottenham Court Road station, one next to
Marble Arch station) - good for new stuff. Typical megastore. Open till 8pm most nights
(0171 631-1234)
- High Fi Shop just next to Hanway St on Tottenham Court Rd. They have a small selection
of Queen LaserDiscs.
- HMV on Oxford Street (one next to Bond Street station, another near to Oxford Circus
station, another near to Piccadilly Circus station) - good for new stuff. Typical
megastore. Soundtracks downstairs (at Oxford Circus) much better than Virgin.
- Tower Records (one next to Piccadilly Circus station, one near to High Street Kensington
station, one in Queensway shopping centre) - good for albums, bad for singles, no vinyl.
Notting Hill area
- "Music and Video Exchange" -
three branches on Notting Hill gate - one with the collectors records upstairs where the
good stuff is - and two branches in Pembridge Road (near the Queen Productions office) -
one with the bargain basement downstairs. I've heard of people finding real rarities in
the bargain section, though sadly not me.
- Stalls on Kensington Market (Monday to Saturday) - music shopl in basement. Reasonable
range (or there used to be, it changes quite often)
- Shops along Portobello Road - there is nothing in the market but there are a few OK
record shops along the side of the road or down sidestreets. Nothing spectacular though.
Camden Town area
- "Music and Video Exchange" -
yet another branch, which has a better organised bargain basement. There's yet another
branch on Goldhawk Road, near to Townhouse Studios.
- Stalls on Camden Market (Thursday to Sunday) - last time I was there there was a good
bootleg stall and a good used record stall with a good selection of Queen 7" records.
- Stalls on Camden Lock Market (seven days I think) - two bootleg stalls
- A shop in Inverness Street which sometimes has some stuff
- A really seedy basement shop in Stucley Place (used to be called Vinyl Crypt) with a
good selection of bootlegs and some proper records as well.
- Lots of the clothes shops on Camden High Street have record departments in the back or
the basement. Most are rubbish but some are worth a look.
Other
- "Beanos" in Croydon - supposedly the largest second hand record shop in ...
something ... maybe the UK, maybe just Croydon! Good range of Queen and rarities and
excessively miserable staff. (Telephone 0181 680 1202)
- Lots of stalls in Greenwich Market (Sundays) with records and CDs. Much like the other
markets. There is also a music shop upstairs next to a maritime shop and a giant geisha
figure!.
Outside London
- Reddington's Rare Records, 17 Cannon Street, Birmingham, B2 5EN
0121 643 2017
- The Rock Box (Camberley, Surrey)
01276 26628