ROB Palmer is the music-loving man behind Teddington's new record shop Roan Records.

The shop on Church Road has become something of a celebrity hotspot and is also the local centre of the worldwide Vinyl revival - a massive resurgence of interest in the formerly 'old-fashioned' records, with Abba and Adele topping the charts for purchases at the shop.

Here, Rob shares the background to his dream of opening a record shop and tells Teddington Nub News why vinyl has such a special place in our hearts.

Opening a vinyl record store, just under a year ago was looked on as a very brave move, but during a pandemic ... and with all the lock-down restrictions and implications? It was viewed as completely insane.

It is less of a gamble, when you consider that over five million vinyl records were sold in 2021, up by 8%., with those results on the back of fourteen consecutive years of growth. 2021 also saw vinyl outselling CD's for the first time since 1987.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) reported that the vinyl format now makes up 23% of all albums purchased in 2021.

Thirty years ago, the collapse of vinyl sales brought the closure of the many pressing plants in the UK and the end for the vast majority of record shops, and with that collapse, so did my dream of opening a record shop.

For many years, vinyl was on life-support, with a faint pulse being provided by professional DJ's, who preferred this format for their live shows, but the consumers moved to the CD, and in turn, began to evict their existing vinyl collections from their homes.

Subsequently we fell out of love with the usurper of vinyl, by ditching the CD and forming a relationship with downloads and streaming. The progress of technology now provides us with access to more than 70 million songs.

You could reasonably consider that with this access to just about every song you would want to listen to, vinyl would cease to exist; being confined to the reminisces of those of a more mature vintage.

There are many theories put forward to explain the remarkable return of the long-player format.

The ownership of a physical product is far more desirable than owning a 'fresh air' download.

The album cover is an art form in its own right.

More importantly in modern lifestyles, downtime, and the ability to 'switch-off', has become more important as an antidote to the stresses and pace of our everyday existence.

Performing the ritual of playing a vinyl record is an activity that is very rewarding experience, providing us with one of those escapes from our hectic lifestyles.

Listening to a whole body of work punctuated by having to flip over the record and replace the needle, halfway through, one is encouraged to sit and listen. This also makes us feel more connected to the artist and the music.

More than half of current buyers of vinyl are aged under 35, encouraged by albums by their favourite bands releasing on vinyl. In fact, there are very few new album releases not available on the vinyl format.

The uptake from a younger listener and with vinyl not automatically being lost to advancement of technology, means that it will be part of our lives for at least a few more generations.

I love the fact that vinyl also brings people together. Streaming is a solitary pastime and is more often enjoyed by the individual with headphones and is silent to all others.

Vinyl buyers in the main, visit a physical shop, and at Roan Records many friendships have been forged between customers. Customers who take home their purchases and play to all that are in earshot.

My friends are never interested if they visit my home and I hand them my phone to enable to read my current playlist, but a very different reaction is witnessed when I introduce them to my vinyl collection.

Streaming music is very convenient and has its place, but vinyl will always endure with its very special listening experience.

As a postscript, there were more than 190,000 cassette tapes sold last year … but that's another story!

Find out more about the shop at www.roanrecords.co.uk/

Considering selling your record collection? Rob will happily check it over and may even offer you a price! Follow the link above for how to get in touch.