Knowle High Street gained a vinyl shop worth the detour when Slow Century Records opened its forest-green shopfront at 1588 in November 2025. You can read the snail-and-record hanging sign from the pavement, then step into wooden crates, a leather sofa by the window and a conversation that usually starts before you have pulled a sleeve.
Background / History
The shop is run by John Ellis, a DJ and former mental health nurse from Solihull. He named the business after Slow Century, the Pavement documentary, and set out to make a High Street room where people slow down and listen together. The doors opened for the first time at midday on 8 November 2025. The Mayor of Solihull came by that first weekend, and a live set filled the room.
Record Store Day 2026 was the shop’s first, with exclusive releases in-store and live music along the High Street. Still in its first year, Slow Century Records was shortlisted for Best Independent Record Shop at the 2026 AIM Independent Music Awards, and for Best Breakout Business at the Solihull Chamber of Commerce Awards.
What You’ll Find
Vinyl comes first here: new pressings and pre-loved copies, LPs and 7-inch singles. The spread runs through rock, indie, jazz, soul, punk, metal, electronic and hip hop, with prog, alternative and Midlands artists in the mix. Face-out ledges put familiar sleeves beside newer finds; below them, wooden crates invite a slower dig. They buy collections of any size and give a straightforward view of the pile. Between visits you can keep hunting through their Discogs shop. Local paintings by Ugs Artwork hang on the green walls and are for sale.
Experience / Atmosphere
The room is small enough that you hear the sleeves being flipped. Forest-green walls, plants in the window and a Chesterfield make it easy to stay, and the welcome is chatty rather than hurried: honest advice, a fair listen if you are selling, and no rush to the till. Live music is part of the calendar. In-store sets share the High Street with neighbouring independents, and days such as Summer Jam pull Café Viola, The Ale Rooms and The Vaults into the same afternoon of bands, DJs, food and records. Regular hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm, with Sunday and Monday closed.
Why Visit
- New and pre-loved vinyl across rock, metal, indie, jazz, soul, electronic and more, including 7-inch singles
- A High Street room built for browsing, conversation and the odd live set rather than a quick in-and-out
- A Record Store Day participant that draws the rest of Knowle into the day
- Straightforward buying of collections, plus Discogs if you want to keep looking from home
Summary
Slow Century Records has given Knowle a proper vinyl counter: deep crates, a friendly ear and a habit of sharing the High Street with its neighbours. If you care about records as much as the talk that comes with them, it is worth the trip into Solihull.
