Legendary Edinburgh record store to close after more than 40 years in business
The owner said customers of Vinyl Villains were devastated to discover he was shutting up shop next January, a move he said was not motivated by an approaching rent increase.
A legendary record store in Edinburgh is set to close its doors as its owner retires after more than 40 years.
Andy Watters, the owner of Vinyl Villains on the Capital’s Leith Walk, has been selling vinyl at the Elm Row shop since 1983 and explained it was simply “time to do something else”.
The 69-year-old said customers were devastated to discover he was shutting up shop next January, a move he said was not motivated by an approaching rent increase.
He said: “They’re all really quite upset about it, it’s hard to believe the unhappiness about it but I imagine they’ll get over it.
“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.”
Mr Watters opened the independent record store with friend John Edwards and it immediately became a hit with locals.
Knowing little about how to run a record store, he “tagged along” with Mr Edwards who had always wanted to open a shop.
The store “only just” managed to weather the slump in the early 2000s when people turned away from vinyl and has seen neighbouring businesses come and go.
He said: “Leith Walk’s completely different from when we opened, it’s been gentrified a bit because every second shop seems to be a coffee shop.”
“There’s not many new shops like this in Edinburgh.”
Vinyl Villain’s is the latest Leith Walk institution to close in recent months.
The owners of Eatalias retired after 45 years in business this August, while nearby Deep Sea Takeaways closed at the start of this month after more than 10 decades in business.
However, the record store is going out on a high, being nearly as busy now as it was when it first opened four decades ago.
While the store may take up Mr Watters’ “whole life”, he looks back fondly on his career, saying: “I’ve always been a big fan of music, so it was the ideal job for me.”
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