Edinburgh record collectors pay tribute to Vinyl Villains after closure
Record collectors have looked back fondly at their time in the store as its owner retires
Music lovers have shared memories of trawling the racks of Vinyl Villains on Elm Row after the legendary music store announced its closure.
Evening News readers have described the record store’s closure after more than 40 years in business as “the end of an era”.
Owner Andy Watters, who is headed for retirement, previously told the Evening News that customers’ sad reaction to the news was “hard to believe”.
He first opened the shop – which shares its name with a rare 1979 bootleg LP by The Police – with friend John Edwards in 1983 and countless record collectors have passed through its doors in the decades since.
Tina Millar was among them. She recalls spending hours in the shop, using money left over from errands to buy records.
She said: “Loved it, you could spend hours in here.”
Martin Cunningham was the same, saying: “It was part of my circuit on a Saturday afternoon when there were multiple record shops in Edinburgh.”
The outpouring of love that followed the announcement of the closure stirred a mix of emotions for the 69-year-old shop owner who said:
“I feel quite guilty now about closing it but what can you do? I’m not getting any younger and I want to see if there’s anything else I want to do in my life.”
Famous faces also lamented the closure of the iconic Edinburgh record store, when reacting to our original story.
Edinburgh presenter and actor Grant Stott said: “Gutted about this, survived the fall and rise again of vinyl - a few purchases now in my collection at home!”
While Rebus writer Ian Rankin simply added: “Ach! Always gold in those racks… “
Mr Watters’ departure follows a spate of closures along Leith Walk, including nearby books and records emporium Elvis Shakespeare which closed its doors in March after 20 years.
One Evening News reader said: “I never thought getting older would include all these historic institutions closing. How naive!
“Thank you to the owner for giving us all these memories and going above and beyond!! Enjoy your retirement!”
Another, Paul Taylor, said: “At least it’s closing on a high, they’ll have a lot of stock to move on though!”
The record store, which is nearly as busy now as when it first opened, is set to close its doors in January.