The Record Album is Brighton’s oldest record shop, having begun trading in 1948. Since then, it has changed location a couple of times, but from 1960 to 2018 it was run by George Ginn, a lovely man who prided himself on his shop refusing to change with the times: not a single CD was ever sold here, nor was a credit card ever allowed to purchase the vinyl and shellac George stocked.
Ginn’s cash register was a huge old thing that was first put to use in the 1950s. “Like me, it’s lost its zing” joked Ginn, and entering The Record Album was akin to stepping into a time capsule. Admittedly, Ginn charged 21st Century prices – surviving more than a half century in the record trade ensured he was no fool – and ensured his stock, a mix of old and new albums (plus selections of 45s and 78s), stayed fresh. And it was the stock that truly made The Record Album famous: the shop was the UK’s only specialist soundtrack record shop. Ginn was a lifelong aficionado of movie soundtracks and thus, having taken over The Record Album in 1960 when it sold all kinds of music, he carefully shaped it into a shop where movie/TV soundtracks and original cast recordings were the shop’s focus.
I interviewed Ginn for my book Going For A Song: A Chronicle Of The UK Record Shop and was charmed by this droll octogenarian who happily shared his passion for all kinds of soundtracks – George’s all-time favourite is Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Kings Row (a lush, orchestrated work that accompanies a minor 1942 Ronald Reagan film), but he also got animated when he played the pulsing electronic soundtrack to obscure 1985 sci-fi film Warning Sign by Craig Safan. George loved movie soundtracks and his enthusiasm was infectious. When I dropped back into The Record Album – which sits right above Brighton Station – I was surprised to find a youthful figure behind the counter. “You’re not George!” I exclaimed. He nodded, obviously exasperated at being told this, and mentioned how his dad and a friend had bought the shop, George’s health finally having forced him to sell up.