Union Vinyl no more: Haven for Inverness music lovers closes its doors
Union Vinyl owner Nigel Graham has never been one for the easy option.
Even when struggling to keep his Inverness business afloat amodt costing of living rises he has been loathe to sell some of the biggest albums around.
Taylor Swift, he explains, won't be found on any of his shelves.
'It's not really what we do,' he told The Press and Journal.
'They can go to HMV for that.'
Nigel quietly closed the doors of the Market Brae record store on Saturday for the last time.
The business celebrated its 11th birthday just a few weeks ago, but rising costs meant it couldn't continue.
It has been a must-visit destination for music lovers from the city and further afield, and will be missed by its many regulars.
His musical journey will, however, continue at Union Vinyl's sister shop in Nairn.
Nigel told The Press and Journal: 'The cost of living has proved too much.
'Unfortunately, it was just not sustainable to keep the shop going.
'I had been looking to have someone take it over, but no one could get it over the line.
'It takes a special kind of person to do this job.
'It's a passion project. It's not for the money'.
Union Vinyl was born because of Nigel's long-time love of collecting records.
He began at just 10 years old and would travel around the country as a teenager to find Bowie recordings.
When money was tight, he decided to sell a few of his prized records and discovered that he could turn his passion into a business.
Initially opening as a pop-up on Union Street, the record store went from strength-to-strength, moving first to Academy Street and later to Market Brae Steps.
How an obsession for collecting records cued up a business opportunity in Inverness
Nigel also opened a second premises, Vinyl 2 Vintage, in his hometown of Nairn in 2021.
Vinyl 2 Vintage will remain open and Nigel plans to move much of Union Vinyl's existing stock to the shop on Nairn High Street.
There will, however, be a final chance to visit Union Vinyl and maybe pick up a bargain.
A closing down sale is to take place on June 6 and 7.
Although Nigel has no desire to stock many of today's more popular artists, plenty of his records were still flying off the shelves.
Blondie's Parallel Lines, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album Rumours 'never last more than a couple of days' before selling out, he revealed.
He was also always keen to recommend any album by his idol David Bowie.
On the shop's last day, Nigel's employee Robert Ross played Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust one last time before closing the doors.
The last song on the album is Rock 'n' Roll suicide, which Nigel described as 'quite apt'.
Nigel said: 'The overheads are not as high for our shop in Nairn, but in Inverness we were paying a lot more and it just got too much.
'We just weren't getting the customers.
'They say there is this big vinyl resurgence but I don't think there is – we have never really seen the impact of that.
'Big businesses and corporate companies do kill the independent shops.'
He added: 'We do have a certain type of customer though.
'If they are into Taylor Swift or whatever, they can quite happily go to HMV for that.
'It's not really what we do.
'I was also stretched between the two shops. That was a factor.
'The shop in Nairn is bigger and better and I will have more time to devote to it now.
'I hope some people will want to cross the divide to Nairn to come look at some vinyl.
'I like to think some of my regular customers will come over.'
Despite looking forward to devoting more time to his Nairn shop, Nigel said he was sad to close his Inverness shop.
It sits just yards from where he used to hunt for records in his younger years.
He said: 'I do feel it's a shame.
'There has been a record shop on Market Brae steps since the 1970s. I think it's a loss of a tradition.
'I would love someone to take it on.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Press and Journal
2 days ago
- Press and Journal
Union Vinyl no more: Haven for Inverness music lovers closes its doors
Union Vinyl owner Nigel Graham has never been one for the easy option. Even when struggling to keep his Inverness business afloat amodt costing of living rises he has been loathe to sell some of the biggest albums around. Taylor Swift, he explains, won't be found on any of his shelves. 'It's not really what we do,' he told The Press and Journal. 'They can go to HMV for that.' Nigel quietly closed the doors of the Market Brae record store on Saturday for the last time. The business celebrated its 11th birthday just a few weeks ago, but rising costs meant it couldn't continue. It has been a must-visit destination for music lovers from the city and further afield, and will be missed by its many regulars. His musical journey will, however, continue at Union Vinyl's sister shop in Nairn. Nigel told The Press and Journal: 'The cost of living has proved too much. 'Unfortunately, it was just not sustainable to keep the shop going. 'I had been looking to have someone take it over, but no one could get it over the line. 'It takes a special kind of person to do this job. 'It's a passion project. It's not for the money'. Union Vinyl was born because of Nigel's long-time love of collecting records. He began at just 10 years old and would travel around the country as a teenager to find Bowie recordings. When money was tight, he decided to sell a few of his prized records and discovered that he could turn his passion into a business. Initially opening as a pop-up on Union Street, the record store went from strength-to-strength, moving first to Academy Street and later to Market Brae Steps. How an obsession for collecting records cued up a business opportunity in Inverness Nigel also opened a second premises, Vinyl 2 Vintage, in his hometown of Nairn in 2021. Vinyl 2 Vintage will remain open and Nigel plans to move much of Union Vinyl's existing stock to the shop on Nairn High Street. There will, however, be a final chance to visit Union Vinyl and maybe pick up a bargain. A closing down sale is to take place on June 6 and 7. Although Nigel has no desire to stock many of today's more popular artists, plenty of his records were still flying off the shelves. Blondie's Parallel Lines, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album Rumours 'never last more than a couple of days' before selling out, he revealed. He was also always keen to recommend any album by his idol David Bowie. On the shop's last day, Nigel's employee Robert Ross played Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust one last time before closing the doors. The last song on the album is Rock 'n' Roll suicide, which Nigel described as 'quite apt'. Nigel said: 'The overheads are not as high for our shop in Nairn, but in Inverness we were paying a lot more and it just got too much. 'We just weren't getting the customers. 'They say there is this big vinyl resurgence but I don't think there is – we have never really seen the impact of that. 'Big businesses and corporate companies do kill the independent shops.' He added: 'We do have a certain type of customer though. 'If they are into Taylor Swift or whatever, they can quite happily go to HMV for that. 'It's not really what we do. 'I was also stretched between the two shops. That was a factor. 'The shop in Nairn is bigger and better and I will have more time to devote to it now. 'I hope some people will want to cross the divide to Nairn to come look at some vinyl. 'I like to think some of my regular customers will come over.' Despite looking forward to devoting more time to his Nairn shop, Nigel said he was sad to close his Inverness shop. It sits just yards from where he used to hunt for records in his younger years. He said: 'I do feel it's a shame. 'There has been a record shop on Market Brae steps since the 1970s. I think it's a loss of a tradition. 'I would love someone to take it on.'
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Scotsman
Michelle Mone: Who is the Conservative peer? What is Ultimo and what is Michelle Mone's net worth?
Michelle Georgina Mone OBE is a Scottish business entrepreneur and is the subject of a new BBC documentary. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The BBC has released a new two-part documentary, The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone, tracing the businesswoman's story from 1999, when she landed a deal with Selfridges at just 28, to her more recent involvement in a government PPE scandal during the Covid pandemic. Renowned as a brilliant self-publicist, Baroness Mone of Mayfair was frequently described as one of the UK's most successful businesswomen. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Michelle Mone. Picture: PA However, Baroness Mone has now been stripped of the Conservative whip, is on leave from the House of Lords and a business connected to her is under investigation by the National Crime Agency. Here is who she is, what happened and her net worth. Who is Michelle Mone? Michelle Georgina Mone OBE is a Scottish business entrepreneur and peer in the House of Lords. She is on leave from the House of Lords due to the investigation. She was born in Dennistoun, Glasgow on October 8, 1971 and grew up in the east end of the city, leaving school without qualifications at the age of 15. She initially pursued a modelling career, before successfully applying for a marketing job with the Labatt brewing company. Within two years, she had become the company's head of marketing in Scotland, but was later made redundant, prompting her to set up her own business. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Baroness Mone had been a Labour supporter, but defected to the Conservatives in 2010. Just four years later, she was a prominent voice in favour of the union during the independence referendum. In 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron made her his government's "entrepreneurship tsar", and weeks later she became a Conservative peer. How did Michelle Mone make her money? In 1996, Baroness Mone founded the lingerie company Ultimo, along with MJM International Ltd, with her former husband Michael Mone. The Tory peer has previously described her upbringing in Glasgow as giving her 'balls of steel', telling Michael Malone for his 2012 book profiling Scottish entrepreneurs, Carnegie's Call: "I thought it was normal to go to the local swimming baths to get a wash two or three times a week.' In 2014, Baroness Mone sold her 80 per cent stake in Ultimo, which went bust in 2018. She was appointed to the House of Lords as Baroness Mone by Mr Cameron to lead a review into supporting business start-ups in areas of poverty across the UK. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In 2018, she launched two businesses in the form of mentoring and lifestyle app, Connect 2 Michelle Mone, offering 'advice, guidance and inspiration' for those looking to take their lives 'to the next level', and 'tokenised venture capital fund' Equi Global Ltd. In the same year, it was revealed Baroness Mone's absence rate from the House of Lords was 88 per cent. She attended just 19 days out of a possible 157 at the House of Lords in total. She has also maintained an active interest in cryptocurrency. Former Conservative Party leader David Cameron with Husky dog Troika on the Scott-Turner glacier on the island of Svalbard, Norway | PA What is Michelle Mone's net worth? Michelle Mone's net worth is not precisely known, but is estimated to be in the region of £20 million or more. One website listing Baroness or Lady Mone as a motivational speaker cited her in-person event speaking charges as between £20,000 to £25,000, and between £15,000 and £20,000 for virtual events. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Who is Michelle Mone married to? Baroness Mone is married to Scottish businessman and founder of the Knox Group of Companies, Douglas Barrowman. The the Knox Group is worth an estimated £3 billion. Mr Barrowman was also a director of Aston Management Ltd (AML), which provided tax advice and offshore loan schemes to freelance workers, including social workers, locum doctors, nurses and engineers, before it ceased trading in 2010. Baroness Mone was previously married to Michael Mone from 1989–2011, with whom she had three children. Why is she being investigated? Baroness Mone is being investigated by the NCA as it looks into allegations of personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The evidence is said to include texts and emails from senior officials and at least three ministers concerning the procurement of masks and gowns during the Covid pandemic. Baroness Mone, 52, and her husband deny all allegations against them. The UK government is also suing PPE Medpro, a company set up by Mr Barrowman, to try and recoup £122 million over an alleged breach of contract concerning PPE, which was not used by the NHS because of a claim it did not meet required standards. PPE Medpro has denied the claims. Baroness Mone has claimed 'everyone in government knew of my involvement' with the company. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When does the BBC documentary come out? The BBC documentary explores the rise and fall of one of the UK's most high-profile businesswoman, going from rags to riches to a possible jail term.
Sunday Post
25-05-2025
- Sunday Post
Debt, lies and videotape: The rise and fall of Michelle Mone
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up A new two-part BBC documentary lifts the lid on a failed business and its fallen empress, Michelle Mone. It reveals the toxic experiences of those who knew the entrepreneur, worked with her and called her a friend. The rise Her story should have been a rags-to-riches fairy tale where everyone lives happily ever after. For Michelle Mone, once lauded as the successful businesswoman every girl should aspire to be, the fairy tale has soured dramatically. She might still have her prince in billionaire Doug Barrowman and their impressive Isle of Man castle, while a National Crime Agency investigation rages over controversial PPE deals. But as someone who lives and breathes public adulation, according to her personal guru Dr Ted Anders, what will hurt the most is her plummeting popularity over claims she cashed in on the pandemic while hundreds of thousands of people died. © BBC/Rogan Productions/Wattie Cheung In a searing new documentary, The Rise And Fall of Michelle Mone, the PPE Medpro deal was the one business transaction Baroness Mone was not falling over herself to boast about. Keir Starmer questioned the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over a controversial VIP lane which allowed some to make a fortune providing PPE during the Covid pandemic: 'How did Baroness Mone end up with nearly £30 million of taxpayers money in her bank account?' How indeed? This two-part film examines in excoriating detail just how a working-class girl from Dennistoun in Glasgow, who left school without any qualifications, clawed her way up the ladder to become Baroness Mayfair. For the first time, her closest advisers reveal what they really thought of Mone, and how she managed to fool so many people into believing she was heading one of the most successful multi-million-pound lingerie companies while bra firm MJM was haemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of pounds. Appearing on one programme which described her firm being worth £43 million, Mone corrected them, so they upped it to £55m. Asked to describe Mone in three words, Financial Times journalist Jemima Kelly was brutal, choosing 'self-promoting grifter.' Still, as Mone herself puts it, she has had to be tough. She said: 'My dad mixed ink in a printer's shop. My mum was a home help. My grandfather was a roofer. None of them ever had their own business. Basically, I was determined to make something of myself.' Mone reveals that when she was 15, her dad was 'confined to a wheelchair'. She said: 'My mum and dad didn't have much money. I've always worked. Since I was 10 years old, I was always earning money. Richard Branson was my hero, so I thought I'm going to be the female Richard Branson. I'm going to show people that someone from the East End who hasn't done well at school can still make something of their lives.' She might not have had exam results, but Michelle used what talents she did have as one of the glamour girls who walked around boxing rings announcing the rounds, later becoming a fashion model Mone said: 'I thought, well, I'm five foot 10. I'm no Cindy Crawford or Kate Moss, so my first job was being a fashion model.' She later told pals of her early beginnings 'you have to do what you have to do'. It was not long before 18-year-old Michelle met and married first husband Michael Mone who worked in pensions. She became a mum at 20. On a family holiday to America a few years later, Michelle hit on the idea that was to change their lives – gel-filled pouches to discreetly place inside women's bras. They sold like hotcakes. Persuading her husband to invest, Michelle spent two years designing her own bra with gel pouches already sewn inside. The Ultimo was born. With one killer idea, a brass neck and buckets of chutzpah, Mone was soon being lauded as one of the country's most successful millionaire entrepreneurs as she went up against the giants of the lingerie industry. In 1999, heavily pregnant with her third child and touting her signature bras which gave flat chested women an out-front advantage, Michelle took herself to London and the fragrant world of Selfridges where she managed to charm the buyers to take a chance on her. Mone said: 'I was £70,000 in credit card debt and I was remortgaging the house. I realised if I didn't do it then, I was never going to do it. I think when you grow up with nothing, I thought well, I've got nothing anyway.' © Anita Russo/Shutterstock Selfridges buyer Virginia Marcolin said: 'All salespeople can be pushy, but Michelle just slammed it in your face. A lot of people have vision, but not everyone has the drive to make that vision happen. I can't say I was surprised at her success. She really knew how to take opportunities and make them work for her.' Getting her product into Selfridges up against the world's biggest brands set Michelle on the road to unimaginable success while ultimately pulling the couple apart. Goddard and Wonderbra had marketing budgets of millions and their 1994 'Hello Boys' campaign with supermodel Eva Herzigova is still rated as one of the most iconic ads of all time. Mone had product but no advertising budget. She staged a pavement catwalk, parading her shivering models outside Selfridges. Mone had identical twins, one wearing a cleavage enhancing Ultimo the other wearing a rather flatter glamour bra, passers-by were asked to compare the two. Selfridges sold a month's supply in just one day. Michelle announced her next step would be a whole new range of Ultimo items, sports bras, maternity bras, bigger bras with gel and without gel, Ultimo everything! As her former public relations man Jack Irvine admitted: 'Michelle had two driving forces, one was to be very rich the other was to be very famous.' Michelle says: 'What keeps my feet firmly on the ground is that I have at the back of my mind that I could lose it all tomorrow, and you know, you should never get too big for your boots.' Wise words. However, sudden success heaped stress on the fledging business, leading to a slew of industrial tribunals and staff leaving amid claims of offices being bugged, bullying and an unhappy working environment. The documentary team contacted and interviewed more than 50 of Mone's ex-employees. None would appear on camera. One said off screen: 'It was a ******* nightmare … we only got 10 minutes for lunch.' Another said: 'People were wary of Michelle because she could turn so quickly.' The cameras pan to Michelle bursting into the staff room while two hapless workers try and eat their lunch as she demands they get back to work. As cameras tried to capture the secret of the firm's remarkable success, Michael looked increasingly uncomfortable in front of the lens. Meanwhile, Michelle blossomed under the gaze of public attention. The couple were captured bickering as success and fame took its toll on their relationship. Described in the documentary by Michelle as an 'American nutter', business and relationship guru Dr Ted Anders, who was brought in to help the firm flourish, warned 'success was stretching the business and its employees'. Anders said: 'One of the first things I saw in the middle of one of the workrooms was a huge stack of notebooks of all the press cuttings Michelle had generated. It was just remarkable. I think the press became a place of validation, as a professional, as an adult.' Mone used friendships to keep media interest alive, providing newspapers with photographs and insights into her now-glamorous world. In one coup, Mone signed Rod Stewart's wife Penny Lancaster as the face of Ultimo. Flaunting pictures of the two couples on a night out, she revelled at how close they had become. But, almost as if she could not help hurting her new friend, Michelle controversially signed Rod's ex, supermodel Rachel Hunter, dumping Penny after just two years. Compounding it, Mone compared Rachel to footballing superhero Ronaldo and Penny to a Falkirk FC player, later slyly saying she 'didn't know anything about football'. Rod Stewart flew to tearful Penny's defence, calling Mone a 'manipulative cow' and 'a nasty piece of work' and 'I hope she chokes on her profits' in a headline-grabbing spat that became known as the 'Bra Wars.' The documentary reveals many lies behind the apparent stratospheric success of Mone's bras, including her untrue claim that Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts wore an Ultimo to improve her cleavage in the film Erin Brockovich. And while television loved describing her as the successful entrepreneur behind a multi-million-pound firm, in reality MJM was losing almost £500,000 a year by 2012. PR man Irvine reveals how he stopped working with her because he couldn't trust her to tell him the truth. He said: 'Michelle had a very strange relationship with the truth. I told her I can't work with clients who won't tell the truth to me, so I'm out!' The fall MJM's failings did not stop Michelle Mone being touted as a success, even bringing her to the attention of Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne. Standing in the House of Lords draped in red velvet edged with ermine, pledging her allegiance should have been the crowning glory of Mone's fairytale. Imagine what a role model she would have been to all the aspiring young women from working-class backgrounds. She loved to tell those in awe of her success: 'No matter where you are from … look at me … you can do it!' Instead, as her former PR man Jack Irvine archly points out, by the time she became Baroness Mone in October 2015, Michelle had 'erased' Dennistoun, choosing to replace it with Mayfair as more befitting the now upwardly mobile newest member of the Lords. Irvine said: 'Most Scottish peers will choose a kind of Scottish tone or a name. But no, it had to be Mayfair for her. 'She would have endeared herself to the Scottish public if she'd said she would like to be known as Baroness Mone of Denniston. They would have loved that back home. But no, she'd moved on from there.' © BBC/Rogan Production Irvine bluntly told Conservative friends that Cameron and Osborne had 'lost the plot'. The appointment incensed business titan Douglas Anderson, MD of the Gap Group, which has annual revenues of £150 million. He tells the documentary he wrote to the Prime Minister telling him what a mistake he had made appointing Mone. Anderson says: 'In my opinion, business is 95% graft, 4% luck and 1% glamour, and I think she should stick to the glamour end of it. 'I'm a proud Scottish person and I don't like anybody (but especially Scottish people) being less than truthful. If the only thing she achieved was self-publicity, I don't think that's a very good reason to put you in the House of Lords. 'If you follow that logic, the House of Lords will be full of influencers in the next 10 years!' By that time, Mone had also moved on from her broken marriage to romancing billionaire financier Doug Barrowman, who she later married. Michelle's social media posts reveal opulent surroundings, garnering unkind comments. The documentary shows Barrowman boasting about his 'five homes around the world' and his gigantic yacht, saying: 'Not bad for a rough-arsed Scots git from Glasgow!' Barrowman has had his own controversial business dealings. The Knox Group at one time supported schemes which were later found to be illegal by the tax man, resulting in HMRC recouping fortunes from those who used them. And in an astonishing interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Mone and Barrowman describe themselves as 'scapegoats' over the PPE scandal, vowing to clear themselves. Mone insists telling journalists 'lies' over hard questions on who benefitted from the controversial PPE Medpro deal was 'not a crime'. That remains to be seen. The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone starts tomorrow, May 26 on BBC Scotland, 10pm and Wednesday, May 28 BBC Two, 9pm. Both episodes are available on iPlayer from 6am tomorrow.
