4 days ago
- Business
- 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.'
