Can't find the orginial post.

Here is an update from the Guardian:

Plastic fantastic

Megastores, internet shopping and downloading have been a disaster for Britain's independent record shops. Many have been forced to close - but not all. Here Laura Barton picks 20 of the best, and finds out what makes them so special to their diehard fans

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1885493,00.html

I remember a record shop in my home town. It was called Thirlwells, and the staff were almost legendary among us kids. One guy called Sid, who had a groovy moustache, left to live in America for a couple of years and, when he returned, the word spread that "Sid's back! Sid's back!" He was almost as big as any pop star to us. Younger kids who didn't remember him were quickly educated.

Thirlwells was not just a record shop; it was the centre of our youth culture. Kids met there after school and browsed the vinyls, talked about pop, and just hung.

When it finally closed, it was like the heart had been ripped out of the town.

One former Thirlwells girl, called Karen, did start up her own record shop, and this created a new buzz for a while. I remember her coming into Woolworths for a scan of their record department, and many heads were turned with whispers of "Look, it's Karen." It was almost the "Sid" phenomena all over again. However, the bubble had burst on the record shop era, and despite Karen's best efforts she had to close her doors too.

Now the town only has small CD departments within larger stores, and there is none of the old atmosphere or magic.

It's quite sad really.

My concept of a SHOP! TV series (every week watching it start and grow) and constructing a modern shop and chain of shops doing exactly as you've described (only set in the modern world with more attention to providing things you can't get on the Internet - like real people) is still being considered by Simon Fuller!

Cool TV idea JK. Hope it becomes reality (TV).

Heh! I hope I'm still being considered for the role of "geeky record buyer"