About Music From Big Blue
Opening the store was a combination of necessity and opportunism, LNFG (Last Night from Glasgow) the parent record label had outgrown the two spare rooms in my flat and needed space to grow and operate. We moved into what is now 'Music From Big Blue' in May 2021, planning that it would mainly be a logistical centre and office. However, folks started popping in for a browse, so we decided to turn a section of the base into a record shop. Then we realised whilst LNFG had hundreds of records to sell, most customers were confused by the absence of classic records so we started stocking other label releases. Its been growing steadily since the turn of the year and now we have had to source alternative space for a chunk of our own logistics.
There’s a steady flow of label patrons, regular customers and a lot of tourists, the shop is situated in a hidden lane in Glasgow, its quite quaint and we get a lot of the touring parties in. Being the head office of LNFG, the shop is a regular haunt of our artists, so you’ll quite often find Chris from The Bathers, or Bobby and Ken from The Bluebells. This week Paul from Wild Swans popped in for a chat having been sent our way by Ricky from Brian Jonestown Massacre. Ricky is a regular when in town, in fact one of the highlights of recent months was reuniting Frank from Trashcan Sinatras with Ricky. They’ve been friends for over a decade but haven’t seen each other in years – Frank lives in Pasadena, Ricky in San Francisco – well didn’t they both bump into each other in Finnieston – that was very amusing to witness.
According to our sales records – “Heaven By The Back Door” by Wojtek the Bear was our first sell. The last record we sold was “Young America” by The Poems.
The first record shop I visited was the record store in Dockhead Street in Saltcoats now long closed. The first record I bought there was the “Oblivious” 7” by Aztec Camera. My first 7” bought with my own money was, however, “Heart of Glass” by Blondie bought in the music section of Prestos in Irvine.
The record shop I frequent most in Glasgow is Monorail, I've become pretty good friends with the staff in there and we do what we can to help each other out on projects. It's more fun buying records from somewhere that isn’t your own shop, so I still drop a few quid with Stephen and Dep on a pretty regular basis.
We have had many memorable moments. We host lots of in-stores, so earlier this year we put BMX Bandits on outside the shop to an unsuspecting crowd of neighbouring customers was a joy to behold. Duglas was on sparkling form!
Ooft – so many to choose from. It’s one from Public Enemy at Reading 92, Silver Jews at Glasgow Tramway in or around 2007 or Wilco at Glasgow Barrowlands, just before lockdown 2020.
Tom Wolf – The Bonfire of The Vanities
The Lives of Others
Fall On Me – REM, Pot Kettle Black – Wilco, Golden Slumbers – The Beatles, Coney Island Baby – Lou Reed, Let Down – Radiohead, So Far Away – Carol King, On Saturday Afternoons In 1963 – Rickie Lee Jones., I’ve Seen Everything – Trashcan Sinatras, Our Lips Are Sealed – The GoGos (I will whittle it down to 8 before broadcast, I promise!)
R.E.M., Radiohead, XTC, The Kinks, The Band, Trashcan Sinatras, Sister John
Wilco, Silver Jews, The Smiths, Get Well Soon, The GoGos, Carol King & Prefab Sprout
Well, it’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco but then it isn’t, it’s actually Songs for Swinging Lovers by Frank Sinatra – but no one believes me when I say so. So, let’s just pretend it's Wilco.
Events Coming Up
Music from Big Blue will have a range of artists performing in-store from 12pm till 8pm.
Other Participating Shops