World’s oldest record shop
World’s oldest record shop
Henry Spiller began selling recorded music in Queen’s Arcade, Cardiff, in 1894. The recordings were on phonographs, wax phonograph cylinders and shellac phonograph discs. His son, Edward, ran the business from the early 1920s. The shop added musical instruments to its stock, with the help of Joe Gregory, an accordionist and band leader.
In the 1940s Spillers Records moved to larger premises at the south end of The Hayes. It remained a feature of the area through decades of changes. In 2006 the members of the band The Manic Street Preachers described Spillers as a lifeline which had given them their musical education. They said it was the only record shop in Wales where they could find “the music that made us who we are”.
Two petitions, signed by hundreds of people, urged the landlords to revoke their eviction notice for Spillers Records. One of the petitions was raised by Owen John Thomas, an Assembly Members for South Wales Central. He described Spillers Records as part of the city’s musical heritage. However, Spillers Records had to find new premises. It moved to 31 Morgan Arcade in 2010, and to 27 Morgan Arcade in January 2015.
Today the shop continues to sell recorded music on vinyl, as well as on compact discs, despite the growth in downloading music from the internet. In February 2012 Pontypridd-born singer Sir Tom Jones attempted to boost the shop’s trade by making it the only outlet for his new single, called Evil.
Postcode: CF10 1AF
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