Rounder 'bout the end

I was born in Brighton, and grew up there; when I was misspending my youth, and spending my pocket money, I'd make my way down The Lanes and go to Brighton Square. Rounder Records. It was a couple of years older than me, and something of a survivor. Until now, that is:

Hello all,
It is with huge regret and sadness that we have to announce that we are closing down. We will shut our doors at 6pm on Sunday 29th July after 46 years of being a record shop in Brighton Square.

What we have always strived to do is to stock the best range of music at the best prices for our customers – sadly that is not enough for us to stay open.

We are closing because we can't make it add up any more. We are a business that has been decimated by downloads (both legal and illegal), VAT avoidance by the big online retailers, a double dip recession, & the decline of the high street. Our lease has ended and we have nowhere to go.

We would like to give heartfelt thanks to all our customers over the years, and hope that we have managed to provide you with some special and great music throughout this time. That's why we have been here – as place to obtain, hear, find out about, discuss all types of the weird & wonderful world of music, to be a social hub for a musical city, a place where future bands are born, where record labels are started, where local bands can stock their first release, where you can get tickets for gigs, where there's something playing on the shop stereo that might be your new favourite band. Sadly, in 2012, this is just not financially viable.

The guy I sat next to at Sixth Form used to do the wall paintings promoting the new releases - I noticed the last time I was in town they still had them, although I suspect it's not Kevin who was doing them.

I loved Rounder for the range of stock they had - they were pretty good on Sarah Records stuff but also covered dance, and they had a warmth and approachability that - especially post-High Fidelty - you wouldn't normally associate with a well-stocked independent record shop. Moving to Liverpool, and graduating to Probe, was something of a culture shock.

Thanks, Rounder. You'll be missed.