ABC Music Retail from the 1980’s , any memories ?

[TrevorR]

1 minute ago, cetera said:

There was a shop halfway between Tolworth and Surbiton/Guildford that my friend used to manage - can't remember the name of it now - but Jon law of Feline Guitars had a workshop there for a while as well.

I think that was Bell's!

[cetera]

10 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

I think that was Bell's!

 

It was on the site of the old 'Accordion' shop but I thought they changed the name....

Now a bathroom fittings shop I believe 

[Len_derby]

15 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

I think that was Bell's!

Was that the Bells of The Bells Catalogue fame? As a youngster up in the sticks me n’ my mates used to drool over that. I bought my first half-decent instrument from it mail-order. A Columbus Strat copy. About £30 in 1973 if I remember correctly. 

[clauster]

My first bass came from Bells in 1981.

And, in fact, my second in 1982.

Edited May 13, 2020 by clauster

[TrevorR]

13 minutes ago, cetera said:

 

It was on the site of the old 'Accordion' shop but I thought they changed the name....

Now a bathroom fittings shop I believe 

YEah, I seem to recall it had some sort of cornyish rock name... "Rockstop", "Jet Power Music",  not actually those but that kind of thing...

[BritBass 2]

On 13/05/2020 at 10:16, cetera said:

 

Phil Lusher (son of Big Band leader Don Lusher) managed Hands for quite a while too at the site in the alley by the Thames. I also remember when Hands was further down the Thames road out of town.... and, before that, just a small concession in the original Bentalls in Kingston (god I'm old...)

Phil had previously been manager at Ivor Mairaints just off Oxford St in London's West End....

The previous Hands  location , now an estate agents.

[NancyJohnson]

ABC in Addlestone was my local one.  My late father bankrolled a few purchases for me.  

I did visit the Surbiton branch when I broke a string when we were recording at Crow.

[58Bassman]

So glad this thread has appeared as for ages I have asked after memories of ABC/BELLS and other shops local.

My first guitar (AVON SG) came from ABC in Esher when the shop was right at the end of the High Street circa 1973. I remember my nose stuck to the window on a Sunday morning peering in at all the goodies and there for £45 was a shiny SG on the wall  - see pic1. Paper round and  Saturday jobs secured it. I had to wait another 4 months for an Amp which was an Audition from Woolworths in Kingston Market  - £30 (pic3). A few months later, I got a Wah pedal from ABC in Addlestone in a New Year Sale for £7.50. The SG lasted until I sold it to put the money together for a New Old Stock '73 Fender Strat hardtail from Jon King Sounds in Kingston that was next to Riverside Organ Studios by the Station. I got the Strat in another Sale for £195. I have the Wah, Amp and Strat still.

ABC Addlestone was a bit of a grim shop TBH, but chock full of stuff. (The original Andertons store in Hayden Place Guildford was on similar lines). I remember an older lad who lived next to me and who played a bit with some local bands told the story of a guy who needed a Bass at last minute notice for a late Sat night gig and casually went piissed and doped from the notorious Pub next to Addlestone station up to the shop and just put his fist through the window and liberated one out the display!   Happy days!

Edited August 14, 2020 by 58Bassman

[NancyJohnson]

It's odd that, in these days of having pretty much every concievable instrument purchaseable at the touch of a button or two, that reading some of the comments here, how much we used to pine for the Bell catalogue, Beat Instrumental or as @58Bassman remarked, our noses stuck to the shop window perring in at the goodies inside.  I remember going to the old Woolies in Egham High Street and getting excited about the deeply sunburst and chromed up guitars that were hanging up in there.

Thing is, in general nobody was really that interested in Fenders or Gibsons when I was a kid; it was just about having guitars and amps, going to the local church (St Mary's, Staines) on a Saturday lunchtime, carrying the drums up from a few hundred yards down the road and just trying to play the rudiments and having a laugh.  They were very happy times and I think we'd all agree that our weekends would be ruined if it didn't happen.

[58Bassman]

If you not already members - join the Bell Music Facebook group where you can download PDFs of nearly ALL the Catalogues!

https://tinyurl.com/y2e6dnou

Edited August 14, 2020 by 58Bassman

[Dad3353]

We're going back quite a way, and these mentions of my stomping grounds of the day are very welcome. We lived in Bedfont (stop sniggering at the back there; s'not my fault  ...). I'm old, so I don't remember the name of the 'shop' down the alleyway off Staines High Street, by the railway bridge, but we bought Cathedral strings there, and picks (well, my brother did; I could never work out how to play with a pick...).
ABC Addlestone was an Aladdin's cave on the few occasions we went there, after having visited the Watkins place in Chertsey. I remember ABC for having done a trade with them, of a pair of Hiwatt 50 cabs for a complete Hiwatt 200w PA (four 'fridge' cabs and a DR205 valve head...). Bloomin' heavy stuff, but a glorious sound.
A bit earlier, and further afield, was the strange 'front room/parlour' shop at Hampton Hill, run, I think, by a certain Mrs Nicholls (spelling..?). I bought my first Hofner there (President Thinline, single Florentine cutaway; should never have parted with it...). I also saw, for the first time, a Verithin bass hanging on the wall. Sadly, the poor thing was concave; completely caved in, probably having suffered from damp or water damage. A splendid beast, utterly destroyed. I've since acquired a Good One (hanging on the wall behind me as I type...), but often wonder what became of that one.
Kingston, too, and Surbiton, but memory is failing as to what, exactly, we bought there. We weren't well off, so not much, that's for sure..!
Happy daze. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Dad3353

[NancyJohnson]

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

I'm old, so I don't remember the name of the 'shop' down the alleyway off Staines High Street, by the railway bridge, but we bought Cathedral strings there, and picks (well, my brother did; I could never work out how to play with a pick...).

ABC Addlestone was an Aladdin's cave on the few occasions we went there, after having visited the Watkins place in Chertsey.

The little alleyway shop was Adam Music, the old bloke who ran it smoked cigars, every time I smell a cigar my head thinks it's Christmas (when my dad used to have one) or Adam Music.

The Watkins place.  I remember buying a big old 1x15 cabinet off a guy in Egham, but it was open fronted.  My dad knew about the Watkins place...we bought some heavy plastic speaker grill stuff from there.

[Dad3353]

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

It's odd that, in these days of having pretty much every concievable instrument purchaseable at the touch of a button or two, that reading some of the comments here, how much we used to pine for the Bell catalogue, Beat Instrumental or as @58Bassman remarked, our noses stuck to the shop window perring in at the goodies inside.  I remember going to the old Woolies in Egham High Street and getting excited about the deeply sunburst and chromed up guitars that were hanging up in there.

Thing is, in general nobody was really that interested in Fenders or Gibsons when I was a kid; it was just about having guitars and amps, going to the local church (St Mary's, Staines) on a Saturday lunchtime, carrying the drums up from a few hundred yards down the road and just trying to play the rudiments and having a laugh.  They were very happy times and I think we'd all agree that our weekends would be ruined if it didn't happen.

Yep, local church halls were where I practised with various bands as a teenager, with whatever guitars/amps/speakers/drums/cymbals we managed to get our hands on.
 

Similar experiences with Woolies as well, every Saturday morning would go in there and look at the guitars and amps, even though we had a proper music shop (Mr Music) just around the corner. The guitars in Woolies at £40 - £50 in the early 80s were within dreamable reach for a teenager, the £400 ones in Mr Music were def not.

 

[58Bassman]

60s/70s Woolies Music-o-rama

[BrunoBass]

I spent many an hour and several £££s in the Oxford branch on St Clements, two purchases I remember were a Cheetah sampler in 1991 and a ‘57 Japanese Strat in 1994. I also recall seeing the Greenwood brothers from Radiohead in there trying Telecasters circa 1995. It later moved to the Cowley Road (almost next door to the Zodiac / Academy) and was taken over by PMT, where it stayed until fairly recently before moving out to a new shop further out of town.

[songofthewind]

8 hours ago, BrunoBass said:

I spent many an hour and several £££s in the Oxford branch on St Clements, two purchases I remember were a Cheetah sampler in 1991 and a ‘57 Japanese Strat in 1994. I also recall seeing the Greenwood brothers from Radiohead in there trying Telecasters circa 1995. It later moved to the Cowley Road (almost next door to the Zodiac / Academy) and was taken over by PMT, where it stayed until fairly recently before moving out to a new shop further out of town.

I bought a Marshall Valvestate combo from them. They had one of those Hohner Telecasters that Prince played. I should’ve had that away.

[SuperSeagull]

On 14/08/2020 at 16:19, 58Bassman said:

So glad this thread has appeared as for ages I have asked after memories of ABC/BELLS and other shops local.

My first guitar (AVON SG) came from ABC in Esher when the shop was right at the end of the High Street circa 1973. I remember my nose stuck to the window on a Sunday morning peering in at all the goodies and there for £45 was a shiny SG on the wall  - see pic1. Paper round and  Saturday jobs secured it. I had to wait another 4 months for an Amp which was an Audition from Woolworths in Kingston Market  - £30 (pic3). A few months later, I got a Wah pedal from ABC in Addlestone in a New Year Sale for £7.50. The SG lasted until I sold it to put the money together for a New Old Stock '73 Fender Strat hardtail from Jon King Sounds in Kingston that was next to Riverside Organ Studios by the Station. I got the Strat in another Sale for £195. I have the Wah, Amp and Strat still.

ABC Addlestone was a bit of a grim shop TBH, but chock full of stuff. (The original Andertons store in Hayden Place Guildford was on similar lines). I remember an older lad who lived next to me and who played a bit with some local bands told the story of a guy who needed a Bass at last minute notice for a late Sat night gig and casually went piissed and doped from the notorious Pub next to Addlestone station up to the shop and just put his fist through the window and liberated one out the display!   Happy days!

Is that the Audition amp that had little clips each side holding the head to the cab? The music dept of my school had one and I recall carrying it across the playground when the clips gave way and the speaker cab fell off. Still worked though with two guitars and a bass plugged in!

[58Bassman]

On 19/08/2020 at 19:10, SuperSeagull said:

Is that the Audition amp that had little clips each side holding the head to the cab? The music dept of my school had one and I recall carrying it across the playground when the clips gave way and the speaker cab fell off. Still worked though with two guitars and a bass plugged in!

Learned very early on to detach head from cab via the clips for moving around to 'gigs' which of course is code for a mates house or local church hall!

[NancyJohnson]

On 14/08/2020 at 19:09, NancyJohnson said:

The little alleyway shop was Adam Music, the old bloke who ran it smoked cigars, every time I smell a cigar my head thinks it's Christmas (when my dad used to have one) or Adam Music.

The Watkins place.  I remember buying a big old 1x15 cabinet off a guy in Egham, but it was open fronted.  My dad knew about the Watkins place...we bought some heavy plastic speaker grill stuff from there.

 

For the benefit of the Staines Massive @TrevorR @Dad3353 I was just having a peruse on Google Maps...while the street view thing doesn't extend down Station Path, there are photos of the area courtesy of the dental business that now occupies the site of what was Adam Music. 

 

Almost certain the shuttered building dead centre below is where it was.  Couldn't say for cetain whether the old place got demolished and rebuilt, but it was definitely next door to the end of that  row of houses.

 

[AMV001]

I bought a Rickenbacker 4001 from ABC Music on St Clements, Oxford in 1989. My first proper famous brand bass guitar- £450. The chap in the shop told me that it used to belong to Alan Jones from The Shadows, apparently he lived locally and they had a few of his basses on consignment.

He had no proof to back this up but I had no reason to disbelieve him as the way I looked and dressed in 1989 would have given no indication at all that I would have been impressed by this fact. Also, I was going to buy it anyway, no need to chuck celebrity provenance into things to make the sale.

Still got the bass, its lovely.

Edited March 22 by AMV001

[Gasman]

Ah, Kingston! I went to school there (Tiffins) and used to loiter around the music shop by the bus station before getting the 406 bus home to Ewell. While up at Oxford (68-71) I waited for my grant money to arrive in my bank account and then dashed back to the music shop by Kingston market to spend it on s/h band essentials, including a lovely Marshall 50 for £45 and a Selmer Goliath 1x18 for £25, then a bright red Marshall 4x12 slope front, good times! The main music shop in Oxford (Russell Acott) was more for classical and jazz instrument lovers, like going into a museum...

[knirirr]

My first bass (an Encore unlined fretless P) and amp (Trace Elliot BLX-130 combo) came from ABC in Oxford.

I must have bought them in 1993.
The Encore was sold to by an EUB a few years later but I kept the combo until Covid (sold via this forum).

[chris_b]

15 hours ago, Gasman said:

Ah, Kingston! I went to school there (Tiffins) and used to loiter around the music shop by the bus station before getting the 406 bus home to Ewell.

 

I went to school in West Ealing, just down the road from Jim Marshall's shop in Hanwell. Spent many lunch times ogling the basses on the wall and annoying the staff, Chris and John.

[TrevorR]

On 21/03/2024 at 13:04, NancyJohnson said:

 

For the benefit of the Staines Massive @TrevorR @Dad3353 I was just having a peruse on Google Maps...while the street view thing doesn't extend down Station Path, there are photos of the area courtesy of the dental business that now occupies the site of what was Adam Music. 

 

Almost certain the shuttered building dead centre below is where it was.  Couldn't say for cetain whether the old place got demolished and rebuilt, but it was definitely next door to the end of that  row of houses.

 

Must have been a bit before my time. Can’t ever recall a music shop in Staines itself…