sidewinder

Barney Rubble Barney Bigard Barney

Ahem..... Hi there :rsmile:

Hope you guys get your LPs soon. This is turning into a saga !

I've got a few of these 'blue label' BNs with the 'Van Gelder' in the wax. Some of them had the old 60s sleeves too. Sound on these can be pretty good if you pick the right one.

The 'Honest Jon's' didn't last too long. It was there during my daily trips up from Charing Cross around 1981/82 but by the end of that particular (and severe) recession in the early 80s it had gone and they had consolidated back to Portobello and Camden. There was a noticeable contraction of London jazz vinyl outlets during this period. I remember going into Asmans on a couple of occasions. A different place - and much more 'trad', also very compact. After they closed back in the 90s their stock moved upstairs at Mole (something along the lines of 'James Asman In Mole') and I think the lady who used to work there 'manned the upstairs kiosk' at Mole for some years. Come to think of it, there is a book to be got out of all this.

Come to think of it - I remember it too but it can't have been there long after my first trips into London ('77-ish), must have only seen it once or twice - I'm sure it wasn't their in the 80s (re-built over?). It's the Folk section that now looks so familiar ! There was a cheapo discount place across the road (Compendium? Our Price?) that did lots of deletions and I remember getting a few of the Blue Note brown twofer sets there.

That's the first I've heard of these since he told me he'd recently recorded them. Sadly, this was when he knew he hadn't long to go. Here you go, Bill.. Ed Dipple Sound Archive

A wise move, way better than Buck House. Around £40-50 triggering discount used to be my experience. Sometime less.

That's the first I've heard of these since he told me he'd recently recorded them. Sadly, this was when he knew he hadn't long to go. I'll have to find the website link. Apparently you can download them if you are a registered UK academic, museum curator etc. Sadly, engineers don't qualify.

So it was on St Martin's Lane ! It had to be I guess - as that was my most direct route. Mind playing tricks..

Somebody should write a book about that place ! Well, at least Radio 3 has covered them. (Leni Dipple's reminiscences on her late husband.) Fortunately, I recorded that. National Sound Archives apparently also has Ed Dipple's audio reminiscences on Mole Jazz on file - anyone been able to get access to these? I'd love to hear them.

Albert Ammons Herb Alpert Trigger Albert

Somebody should write a book about that place !

Yeah, that Honest Jon's 'out-station' was definitely Covent Garden, not Charing Cross. Sort of off the beaten track. I remember the Rhythm Records in the original Honest Jon's Camden location. In fact I happened to pop in there when it turned out they were having their closing down sale around 4/5 years ago (happened to be in the area by chance). It was real sad to see those old racks with just a few LPs left - especially so if you remember the racks as they were stacked with jazz and reggae vinyl back around the 1980 timeframe.

Talking of now-lost record shops, I still miss a nice local store in Exeter (Gandy St) that had 2 unique claims in terms of jazz LP emporiums. One - it was reputedly haunted by a poltergeist. Two - right under one of the jazz LPs racks there was a preserved section of Roman Road (under glass) that the store owners showed me once !

Yes - It's still there. Last time I was in though the jazz was moved onto the ground floor with the rest of the LPs. Still a very good store for new jazz LPs and CDs, reggae etc. and friendly too - also excellent mail order. I remember being in there around 2004 with the jazz down below so they must have moved it all upstairs after that (the second hand selection was very much reduced on my last few trips). They may well be operating their record label (Candi Staton etc.) from the basement these days, perhaps?

I'm racking my brain as to where exactly this 'Honest Jon's' shop was. It was on a pedestrianised - possibly cobbled (Neal St?) - street I think so not St Martins Lane - definitely Covent Garden (it was already filling up with trendy stores selling designer soaps and antiques and the like). It was on a route I used to take as a quick pedestrian short cut up to Bloomsbury. I can certainly picture the shop - woodwork painted in a bright red I think. Not a very big store - but I remember the Sun Ra and Blue Note LPs in their racks. Certainly lots of avant garde stuff in there (most of which was a bit lost on me at the time). Remember being suprised when the place opened up and passing it the first time, not expecting to see a jazz outlet in this area. All part of the original 'Covent Garden Re-development' I guess. As I recall, getting down that staircase safely after a couple of pints could be problematic !

This is interesting. I used to frequent the Camden Town shop shown in the photo regularly. The Covent Garden branch seems to have been managed by the founder of 'Wire' - bought a few blue label Blue Notes from that store, possibly served by the man himself. I seem to recall that it didn't last - no doubt a victim of the early 80s recession, brutal in London. Honest Jon's

That place parallel to Charing Cross could have been a branch of 'Honest Jon's'. If it's the place I'm thinking of, it was on St Martin's Lane I think, South of Oxford St and not far from Covent Garden. Used to walk past it on a daily basis. Can't recall a folk section in there but the jazz was definitely in the front bit. There was also the original 'Rays' which was on Shaftesbury Ave - that one had folk and blues downstairs, jazz on the ground floor. I don't recall the original 'Dobells' location but I have a feeling it was on Charing Cross Road, opposite side to Foyles. JohnS will likely have the answers to all of this !

Honey Monster Jolly Green Giant Mr Shifter

Booker Ervin The In-Between' (BN Liberty blue/white, stereo)

Donald Byrd 'Royal Flush' (BN NY USA, stereo) Magnificent !

Hilton Ruiz 'Strut' (RCA Novus)

Gruesome stuff for Sunday morning.. Mullett alert !

I vaguelly remember that place at that time - it was just off the route from my daily walk from Charing Cross Station to Bloomsbury (University area). If I remember right, there wasn't too much modern jazz in there. 'Honest Jons' in the vicinity (near Cambridge Circus I think) had more of the modern stuff. I have a couple of test pressings on Doug Dobell's '77' label picked up some years ago for £2 each from the late, lamented Mole jazz. One of those is a Pete Brown. Another one he arranged/funded of course was the Joe Harriott 'Swings High' on Melodisk. Most of the copies of that one must have been sold in the shop.