Yellow lettering on a black fascia marks the spot on Thomas Street, and a narrow metal staircase takes you down below the pavement into one of Manchester’s most unapologetically old-fashioned record rooms. Withy Groove Records deals in vintage pressings and the ephemera that collects around them, and the window sign puts it plainly: vintage vinyl and collectibles, a real record shop.
Background / History
The shop began trading in December 2023 from a basement unit at 5 Thomas Street, on the Shudehill edge of the Northern Quarter and directly next door to Rambo’s, the longest-running tattoo parlour in the city. The name nods to Withy Grove and the old Withy Grove Stores buildings a couple of minutes away, while the black and yellow shopfront lettering carries a deliberate echo of the Haçienda. It was set up as a personal project rather than a polished retail concept, and the room reflects that from the moment you reach the bottom of the stairs.
What You’ll Find
Stock is second-hand throughout, running from the 1950s to the 1990s, with the emphasis on original pressings rather than reissues. The genre boards in the window set out the ground covered: rock and roll and doo-wop, punk, indie and goth, rock, pop and glam, metal and prog, Northern soul and Motown, with blues, reggae, gospel, psychedelia and Manchester artists filling in around them. Racks marked Rare Vinyl and Collector’s Corner hold the scarcer material, plastic crates are sorted by price at £5, £10, £15 and £20, and there are loose albums and CDs to be had for around a pound. Boxes of 7-inch singles reward a proper dig. Beyond the records sit posters, framed prints, band shirts and badges, plus vintage hardware such as turntables, portable players and reel-to-reel tape machines. Records are bought, sold and traded, and collections of all sizes are looked at.
Experience / Atmosphere
The room is compact, strip-lit and packed to the ceiling. Rows of 45s run round the walls as a frieze, sleeves hang face-out with handwritten price tags, and Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath posters share space with an Elvis cut-out and a corner of curios. It is a browsing shop first, with no hard selling and plenty of time to work through a crate. Conversation comes easily, advice arrives without condescension, and anyone bringing records in gets a straight answer about what the pile is worth. Opening every day makes it simple to fold into an afternoon around the Northern Quarter.
Why Visit
- Original pressings from the 1950s to the 1990s rather than reissues
- Rare Vinyl and Collector’s Corner racks alongside crates priced from £5
- Deep boxes of 7-inch singles spanning rock and roll, Northern soul, punk and Motown
- Memorabilia, posters and vintage decks, portable players and tape machines
- Records bought, sold and traded, with a fair hearing for collections of any size
- Open seven days a week, a couple of minutes from Shudehill
Summary
Withy Groove Records is the sort of basement shop that rewards patience: a small, densely stocked room where the pleasure lies in flicking through a crate and surfacing with something you had not thought to look for. For anyone hunting original pressings, seven-inch singles or a piece of music memorabilia in central Manchester, the staircase on Thomas Street is well worth taking.
