Away from the main St Ives retail flow, Space Oddities gives the town’s record-shopping scene a distinctly offbeat flavour. Set inside the Drill Hall on Chapel Street, it is the kind of place that feels more like a well-kept local discovery than a standard seaside stop-off, blending vinyl digging with cult-film and sci-fi collector appeal in a way that suits St Ives’ independent spirit rather well.
Background / History
Publicly available background on the shop is fairly limited, but Space Oddities has clearly been part of the Drill Hall’s independent mix for years. Local guides place it among the arcade’s established traders, and archived event listings show it taking part in World Record Store Day activity there as far back as 2017. More recent social snippets show it still active, still bringing in fresh stock, and still very much part of the local record-buying conversation in St Ives.
What You’ll Find
This is not a one-note vinyl shop. The clearest public description of Space Oddities is that it buys and sells retro music and film-related items, with vinyl, CDs, classic and sci-fi DVDs, plus sci-fi toys and memorabilia all part of the offer. Independent directories and local travel features also describe it as a small record shop with a strong retro and film angle, while visitor comments point to second-hand records as a particular strength. Stock notes from recent posts suggest a steady flow of sizeable arrivals, with classic rock and adjacent territory showing up prominently: Floyd, Zeppelin, Beatles, Bowie, prog and folk have all been mentioned, along with larger incoming batches of albums.
That means the shop is likely to appeal most to browsers who enjoy the overlap between music collecting and pop-culture nostalgia. You may come in looking for an LP and end up lingering over Doctor Who, Star Wars or other film and TV pieces instead; equally, someone drawn in by the memorabilia may leave with a stack of records under their arm. That crossover is really the shop’s defining character.
Experience / Atmosphere
Space Oddities sounds and looks like the sort of place where browsing is half the point. Being in the Drill Hall gives it that slightly hidden, indoor-arcade feel, away from the most obvious tourist flow, and reviews repeatedly describe the owner or staff as friendly, helpful and good to chat to. The wider setting helps too: the arcade itself is often described as full of independent traders and hidden gems, which suits a shop built around second-hand discoveries, collector pieces and unexpected finds.
For St Ives, that matters. This is a town better known nationally for beaches, galleries and holiday footfall than for record shops, so a place like Space Oddities gives music buyers something more individual to seek out. It feels less like a convenience stop and more like part of the town’s eccentric, independent edge.
Why Visit
A genuine independent in the Drill Hall, one of St Ives’ more characterful shopping spots.
Strong crossover between vinyl, CDs, DVDs and sci-fi or film memorabilia.
Second-hand digging appears to be a real strength, with regular larger collections coming in.
Friendly, approachable service comes up again and again in visitor comments.
Summary
Space Oddities is worth visiting because it offers more than a straightforward rack-by-rack record shop experience. Its appeal lies in the mix: vinyl and CDs, cult-film ephemera, sci-fi memorabilia and the pleasure of finding it all inside one of St Ives’ tucked-away independent spaces. For anyone who likes record shops with personality, conversation and a bit of collector-minded eccentricity, this is one of Cornwall’s more distinctive stops.
