A white frontage on Flixton Road, bold black lettering above the window and flags on the pavement outside: Music for the Soul Records is easy enough to spot in Urmston, and the line painted beneath the sign, cash paid for vinyl records, CDs and music memorabilia, tells you what sort of shop you are walking into.
Background / History
Dave Garland has run the shop since 2015, and it grew out of Dave’s Rare CDs, a business built on tracking down deleted and hard to find CDs. That grounding still shows in the depth of the CD racks. It is a family run independent trading from the high street and online, and its part in the wider soul scene reaches past the counter: the shop sponsors The Souled Out Show, Hugh Williams’s two hour soul and funk programme, and Saturday Club Classics.
What You’ll Find
New and pre-loved vinyl and CDs fill the shop, with rows of cassettes along the shelves as well. Soul sits at the centre of it, taking in Northern soul, funk, jazz funk, jazz fusion, disco and hip hop, and new and reissued albums, 45s and CDs arrive regularly from Kent, Westbound, Acid Jazz, BGP, Ace and Southbound. Around that runs a broad second-hand range covering Manchester music, indie, 90s albums, punk and new wave, rock and pop. The wall of 7 inch singles repays a slow look, with original Chess, Stateside, Fontana and Blue Beat pressings hanging alongside The Fall, The Clash and Buzzcocks, and Japanese pressings with their obi strips turn up in the racks. Singles are stocked in quantity and in condition that suits DJs, and new releases are there on day of release or can be pre-ordered.
Experience / Atmosphere
The shop is bright, tidy and easy to work through, sleeves displayed face out above the browsing bins so you can see what is there at a glance. Every record carries a printed label giving artist, title, year, pressing and grade next to the price, so you know exactly what you are buying before you reach the till. Pre-loved vinyl is cleaned and graded before it goes on sale, more than 99 per cent of it VG+ or better, and CDs are cleaned, graded and supplied in new cases. Dave is straightforward company, happy to talk records, take a want list or give an honest figure for a collection.
Why Visit
- A soul, funk and jazz core with a real spread of indie, punk, rock and pop around it
- Careful cleaning and grading, with more than 99 per cent of stock VG+ or better
- Deep CD racks, including rare, deleted and hard to find titles
- A large stock of 7 inch and 12 inch singles in condition that suits DJs
- New and reissue pressings from Kent, Westbound, Acid Jazz, BGP, Ace and Southbound
- Fair, informed valuations for anyone looking to sell records
Summary
Music for the Soul Records rewards the sort of visit where you give yourself an hour rather than ten minutes. The grading is honest, the racks are properly kept, and the soul, funk and singles sections repay coming back as stock turns over. Open Wednesday to Saturday and a short trip out from central Manchester, it is a good reason to spend a morning in Urmston.
