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Illustration Ben Talon
Finally reaching Wales, this trip, the last in the series, marks the fourThkingdom in our united isles I’ve visited over the many months since the first issue of Long Live Vinyl and proved to be a fittingly strong conclusion to the run. Cardiff is one of those cities that you immediately feel at home in. I’ve been many times over the years and the renaissance of Cardiff Bay seems indicative of the Welsh capital’s warm but restless appetite for reinvention, while retaining its respect for everything that has gone before. It seems entirely appropriate that Spillers Records, known as the oldest record shop in the world, can be found here, although its 1894 opening was in Queens Arcade and it’s now in the upmarket Morgan Arcade.
A full-circle story, perhaps, but it’s been touch-and-go over the decades, wiTha notable high-profile campaign to save the store around 13 years ago during one of its stickier moments. And it’s not the only long-term survivor in the city, Kellys in the market celebrates its 50Thanniversary this year.