These Records (Brook Drive, Kennington) to close

.. and I wanted to go there at least once in my life but never quite did, as "jane" would have put it. Do they still do the 12" pic discs of dishwasher noises?

I wanted to go there too but couldn't I find the fookin' shop. Sad news, wish them well.

The shop, i believe, had no external markings and a shut door (i.e. you had to knock to get in)

No external markings? And they still went out of business?

Yeah, just ring the bell. I'm hoping for a thronged store tomorrow and people clutching Hafler Trio 10"s and Robert Normandeau CDs spilling joyously onto the streets of Lambeth.

They'll continue as a mail order concern, I believe.

(NickB: they haven't gone out of business, they've been f'ed over by the council and a property management company to the point where they'd lost their retail space).

This is incredibly sad. I've been shopping there (about once a month) for the last two years, and I've talked to the guys there every now and again so I knew it was coming.

You know I don't have a fantastic memory but I remember my first trip there (I guess it was the novelty of ringing the bell to go in), but I remember what I got: Their last copy of derek bailey's 'aida', a descension CD that I played again a couple of weeks ago (yes, one of the great improv records of all time) ago and the blue humans best record 'incadescence'. I'm sure i got one more but I can't remember that.

In the last few trips I've been getting stuff on their sale, it somehow felt like I was stealing from them since their prices are very fair. I also remember how the records didn't have their .99p pricing.

'I believe said company are now claiming immense amounts of back-rent from These.'

But i didn't know this! I did think These were going to survive as some sort of mail order operation but who knows?

I'm going tomorrow. Hope to see any ilxors there.

x-post

Nick- I emailed the guy and he gave me directions.

I may be wrong about the rent business, Julio - I read the mailout with bleary 7am eyes but there was something about the property company not charging rent initially but at some later date deciding that they were actually owed x thousand quid. I'm sure These don't have the resources to tackle this kind of thing legally (nor the original auction).

(Brook Drive runs next to the Imperial War Museum - it's very clear on an A-Z. And then it's #112).

Presumably this is bad news for the These Records label too - and may help to explain why the re-released version of the first This Heat album that they've been promising for the last 18 months still hasn't materialised!

michael- are they opening at their usual time tomorrow? (12:30pm)

I never signed for their mailing list.

x-post: the thing is last time I went there (over a month ago, i think) I asked and the guy told me there was going to be a hearing in a week (I also don't think they got any legal aid). I guess the outcome of any legal proceedings was negative for them.

The whole thing is such a shame, I think in their old shop they used to have gigs in there, then they moved to this new one and now gradually to bloody mail order. Its gradually removing this stuff away.

So once These goes, what other shops in London are there that do that kind of stuff, Rough Trade aside?

Rough trade aren't very good for avant garde, and their prices are a rip off compared to these.

Basically sound 323 in highgate plus whatever you can find in second hand shops and that's it, but they don't do that much vinyl (nothing at all when they started but a bit now), and certain labels are not stocked well.

Thanks Julio. Is that really it? Wow, that's not a lot, is it... I know about Sound 323 but haven't been yet.

this sucks. I wanted to go there.

I got to visit last month, just under the wire it seems... I cleaned up on back issues of Resonance and the ReR Quarterly magazine. Sad to see it go.

sleep sleep sleep go to sleep

from the mimaroglu msg board:

http://www.mimaroglumusicsales.com/b/read.php?f=1&i=318&t=47

on may 29th, 2004 at 14:27, these records writes:

hello all,

just read the above thread for the first time, i would say there are some elements of truth in the previous postings but not all of it, but i don't really want to get into a point-by-point here. the 'facts' are that we are currently in negotiations with our american and japanese distributors with a view to them pressing up the re-mastered version of the first album and then hopefully the rest of the catalogue will follow. i will post info here as soon as there's any real news that isn't speculative.

thanks for the continued interest in the band.

andrew jacques
these records

Michael- did you go? how was it?

I'm going after tennis this afternoon. Here's the full text of their mailout:

We mentioned a while back that some property developers had bought 112 Brook Drive,
well last month (Despite them saying to us that they didn't want to do this and they wanted
an amicable agreement to the situation) they took us to court and filed for eviction.
We attended the hearing and presented our side but we lost the case.

What this means in fact is that we have to vacate 112 Brook Drive by a week today
(we have to vacate by 18th June). In order to remove all our stocks and files from
the building we estimate that we will have to close to the public by Tuesday 15th June.

So...this is the last call for the Retail shop, at least for the time being and certainly for
Brook Drive. We did all know that eventually the relentless march of the redevelopment
and reconfiguring of the environment spurred by the incessant and oh so compelling lure
of quick profits by those with the means to do so would eventually come our way.
London (and inevitably the rest of the country) becomes a less diverse, more regulated
and predictable environment by the sheer fact of capital enforcong itself. The greedy
opportunists will find their way though regardless of what anyone may be trying to
achieve as we have found out at first hand to our great cost.

An unfortunate addition to our situation is that we now have to pay in full (and by the
end of next week) all the subsequent rent our 'landlords' have been refusing 'till now,
plus their very weighty solicitors fees and the court costs leaving us with a daunting and
immediate bill of £4000.00 (plus).

Added to this we have substancial moving costs so we sincerely appeal that you our loyal
customers (beg beg) buy something from us NOW so we can weather this harsh situation
and move on to patures fresh, continuing to offer a new and surprising selection of engaging,
stimulating products (and for the mail order customers packages that are difficult to open
but get to you in perfect condition). We have new product which we will tell you about
tomorrow or you can call us on the still operative telephone number. Shop visitors will find
a plethora of reduced price goodies to amaze and driddle over.

Saturday is declared the last real 'open' day for the Brook Drive shop before the
invevitability of packing, packing, packing and then moving...We will continue
but not in the form we've been previously known as. All those connected to the web
and on the mailing list will be informed of new phone, fax and physical addresses
as soon as they are 100% confirmed - in the meantime the email addresses remain
our primary and uninterupted mode of communication. New and very much more
up-to-date ways of buying from us on-line are currently in the works but mailorder
as it is will not be interupted in any way.

Also if anyone of genuinely enterprising spirit has some notion of organising a benefit
of some sort to assist us though this situation please get in touch - we can think of a lot
of people that would play but someone would need to take it on - book a venue, sort out
the details and artist liaosn et al - get in touch if you are that person.

Please try and make it down on Saturday if you can for a last visit, we will be more
than happy to receive visitors from opening time at 12.00 midday until closing time
(Probably around midnight in this instance). and oh, yes - bring a bottle of your
favourite poison if yuo are that way inclined. Everybody welcome.

Wishing you all you wish yourself and hope to see or hear from you soon.
Don't let the Bastard grind you down.
You will see a lot more of us despite all of the above...

The staff of These Records
A
&
H

Ha - I ring the bell and...Julio opens the door! We were the only two in there for a while but three or four more punters showed up before I left.

My haul was pretty conservative: a Fred Frith comp on Tzadik, Ryoji Ikeda's thing with strings, a couple of Metamkine musique concrete 3" CDs (a quid each!), a ddkern 12" on Mego and On The Corner 180g vinyl. Hard to leave behind: the beautiful Goodiepal 7"s, the Mego A5-booklet series CDs, Venice, various objets d'art on the counter.

yeah, good to see you yesterday Michael.

I bought the David Behrman wave train 2LP set on algha marghen, with many of his works from the end of late 50s/60s.

CDs: Trevor wishart 'red bird/anitcredos', Philip jeck 'live at ICC, tokyo', company 6 and 7 and ground zero's 'revolutionary pekinese opera'.

And finally Lol coxhill's 'the bald soprano' cassete, the person from behind the counter told me it was the last copy and it took 10 years for that to sell out. Nice way to end, what with having bought the last copy of an item in my first visit too.

Sort of sad when towards the tube.