About Badlands
My name is Philip Jump – I was born in Oldham but have lived in Cheltenham from the age of 2. I’ve always loved music. One of my earliest memories is of buying Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever aged 4! When I was 5 my parents bought me a 2nd hand Dansette-style record player, as I was already obsessed with records. I grew up buying records and was lucky enough to be a teenager during the punk explosion. I started going to gigs in 1978.
I started Badlands in 1985 with my big brother Steven, who very sadly passed away in 2013. I miss him every day but it’s wonderful that Badlands is still here as a tribute to him. We began by selling from our own collections on a market stall in nearby Evesham and quickly realised that a lot of the singles we bought were worth big bucks. So, we advertised in Record Collector, got on the booming record fair circuit, and quickly found a permanent indoor market unit in Cheltenham. We had no business plan, no long-term strategy, and no money to invest – and that’s pretty much still the case today!
The best thing about owning a record shop is being surrounded by music and music fans all day. Most importantly, I’ve made so many wonderful friends all over the world through Badlands.
The very first record we sold was the 1979 single 'Boys Don't Cry', by The Cure
Growing up, I would spend hours in record shops. There were 3 or 4 independent stores (or dedicated record departments) in Cheltenham, all really old fashioned, with listening booths! But the best was a local store called Driftin’. The guy who owned it was a legend and tried to turn me on to jazz when all I wanted was the latest punk singles! He moved to Bristol (the shop renamed Revolver) just as we opened in 1985. He was very helpful and supportive of our new venture. My first record was Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever, which I bought when I was 4.
I always check out other record stores on my travels. I love the stores in London - Ted Carroll’s Rock On was fantastic, and I hear he’s just reopened a shop again so, I will be heading back next time I’m in London. Some of the best shops are in great areas of a city so, if I’m in Manchester, I’ll go to the Northern Quarter and find several shops: Piccadilly, Vinyl Exchange, Vinyl Resting Place etc.
My most memorable record shop experience was when Little Steven (from the E Street Band ) visited. He came along to visit the shop while he was promoting his autobiography, which was during the pandemic - so we had to keep it quiet. He signed some books, took some photos and even took us out to lunch!
Record Store Day has been epic for us, and this year was the best one ever. We’ve supported RSD since the start, and I can honestly say it came along at exactly the right time for us because it was around that time Steven and I were considering becoming an on-line only store. I think RSD helped us come to our senses!
I love going to concerts, I’ve seen some amazing gigs; Bruce Springsteen at Wembley arena in '81 was very memorable. I was also so lucky to see some real gems: The Jam, The Clash, Costello, The Undertones, The Only Ones, Bob Marley, Leonard Cohen. I’ve seen quite a few of the greats but would love a time machine to see them all in their prime!
And, I’m so pleased to say I took my mum to see Frank Sinatra (London 1990) which was fantastic!
We also run a small travel agency organising tickets and hotel packages to concerts around the world. Because we run a Springsteen fan club, these are mainly to Bruce Springsteen shows! But we have also run trips to see Dylan, The Rolling Stones and so many others. With Bruce Springsteen touring Europe for the first-time in 7 years, you can imagine that I’m working flat-out on this! I’m actually in Barcelona with a group of 50 people, for 2 shows, as we speak! I’ll be organising trips to Paris, Rome, Gothenburg, and Monza over the next few weeks. It’s all great fun but hard work.
I’m an avid reader of music related books, I vowed to stop reading Beatles books but recently read Mark Lewisohn’s mammoth ‘Tune in: Vol 1’ which is just fantastic. It’s 960 pages and it ends in 1962! I can’t wait for Vol 2.
Fiction-wise, I like everything by David Nobbs, who wrote Reggie Perrin, all his books are hilarious.
My favourite film has to be The Godfather: Part 2
My desert Island discs (if I had to choose today) would be:
Penny Lane – The Beatles (first record I ever bought) / Badlands – Bruce Springsteen (because of the shop) / Another Girl, Another Planet – The Only Ones (Because its the greatest singles ever) / Drive in Saturday – David Bowie / Cum On Feel the noise – Slade / Waterloo Sunset – The Kinks (it’s the perfect pop single) / Alexander Leaving – Leonard Cohen / Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones (because my brother loved the Stones) / What’s She Like – Dexys / Forever – Dennis Wilson + Beach Boys.
My perfect imaginary festival line up? It would go on for several weeks, I think! It would have to feature some of the greats that I was too young to see - or missed for some reason: Elvis (1956 and an early Vegas show) The Beatles, The Sex Pistols, Otis Redding, The Band, Credence, T Rex, Slade, The Small Faces, The Faces, Talking Heads (stop making sense tour), Amy Winehouse.
My all-time favourite single is Another Girl, Another Planet by The Only Ones. As for my favourite album, The Beatles White album
