Record and music shops in the city

Fond memories of both Fennells and Jill Hanson. So sorry to hear that she has died. May she rest in peace.

I am a descendant of the Hansons who ran the piano shop and later the record shop. I don't know whether anyone on this forum has any information/memories about my family's other businesses in Coventry ? My dad John Hanson (born 1930) had a grandfather Francis John Hanson (born 1866) who was a tailor and in 1900ish set up a business in Hillfields. He relinquished his drapery trade to become licensee of the White Horse Inn, Pepper Lane - an establishment that has been converted into offices. In 1913 he took over the wines and spirits merchants (inc tobacconist) business in Warwick Row, which he developed and ran a snooker hall above. Thanks in anticipation. Pauline

I remember all the record shops from the 50s & 60s, Paynes as in the picture, Jill Hansons, where Russ Conway signed autographs. But the one I used most was "Brains" on the corner of Cox St.,at the bottom of King William St. just before the Swanswell, but on opp side. For my sins, I have to confess that as a kid, I used to pinch one or two records from there. They used to let you go upstairs & listen to a record in a little room. They used to have all the latest LPs & EPs in the window. I always stopped & looked in. I well remember as if it were yesterday seeing Tom Jones albums & Shirley Bassey, Marianne Faithfull (who I adored) & of course the latest Stones & Beatles EPs. (I wish I knew where they went. They'd be worth a fortune now). Paynes was a nice record shop too. It was near the Alexandra Theatre if I remember. By the way, does anyone remember the Magnet cafe? I think it was near the old fire station & Pool Meadow as it was back then.

Wow, that photo brought back memories. Bought my copy of "Handels Water Music" from there in 1963. Got thrown out last year along with all my old records by mistake when the m-in-laws house was cleared out. Forgot they had been stored in her attic. What a loss.

Yes, I do and does anyone remember the record library? I borrowed more than a few, and... shh... copied 'em onto tape. But those recordings have long gone. And another shop that was a bit of a Coventry institution, along with the old Barton Bros shop in Gosford Street - Radiospares, in Much Park Street, opposite, was it Coventry Victor's old factory? One half was dedicated to ex-WD electronics. Oh the hours of browsing! Loads of things like No.19 radio sets/transmitters. You couldn't get much of it to work, it was usually incomplete, but you could get loads for a few shillings, and have great fun trying.

I think that you mean R.E.P. in Much Park Street. They used to wind coils and transformers too. Plus their own radio kits, crystal sets etc.

My earliest memory of them was as Radiospares when they were selling mostly ex-WD stuff. They had one shop front originally, and then bought next door, where the ex-WD stuff migrated. I think they starting calling themselves REP after THE Radiospares became better known. And , yes, I remember their kits - if you could call them that! (I had a crystal set as a kid, but mine was an Ivalek..) I don't know what happened to them, whether they just closed, or whether they got absorbed into some other business. I started buying bits there about 1959-60, but as I got more serious, went more and more to Barton Bros. Does Barton Bros (Electronic Services) still exist? I know the brothers have been deceased for many years now - they were two very nice guys.

Do you know what happened to Stone's Electrical? And there was another radio and TV shop; I think it was in the Butts, in the middle of a row of shops. My parents bought their first TV from that shop - was it Mercer's? - about 1957, a KB (Kolster Brandes, of Birmingham), with a 17 inch tube. It cost 95 guineas!

I think they moved to the High Street circa 1969 and were eventually absorbed by Tandy/Maplins.

Another rather sad end...

When I worked there it was R.E.P. that was 1955 onwards. The manufacturing side moved to the O'Brien building on the Foleshill road and the servicing side was at the rear of a building in Earlsdon ave.

Lexor bought some custom-made coils and transformers from the Foleshill Road building in the early 70s. I certainly knew the shop as Radiospares (or Radio Spares) in the late 50s/early 60s, for whatever reason. Perhaps like Barton Bros - everyone I knew who bought from them called the shop Barton Bros, but the business was actually Electronic Services. What happened to REP - presumably they abandoned the shop at some point? I guess as ex-WD equipment dried up, it would have been harder to compete with the likes of Tandy and Maplin. And Vanderhoff of Nuneaton bought up an awful lot of small electronic firms in the Coventry area during the 70s.

Good Question, I can't find anyhting on it. I think their shop in the Lower Precinct was acquired by Currys but I don't know if that applied to their business as well? Don't know that one.

I sort of have a recollection of Radio Rentals acquiring Stone's, but can't be sure now. Stone's were quite a big shop, as I said elsewhere,they had a quite large shop in the corner of the old Woolworth's store n Smithford St, utilising some of Woolie's floor space. I can't quite remember where RR were located. I think it was also in the new Woolie's wasn't it? I remember an electrical store along the side of the new Woolie's. I think it was Mercer's Radio and TV shop. There were about three or possibly four shops in a row, quite close to Albany Road, where it meets the Butts, on the same side as St Thomas's church (I think that was the name of it.) All of that was pulled down when the Ring Road was built, as I remember. Mercer's TV repairman had appalling eyesight (yes, really!) and when he came and did anything to our set, after he'd gone we had to try to get it back in focus and a viewable picture!! He'd be there kneeling in front of the set, with the channel switch knob off, and a knitting needle shaped as a tuning tool, squinting at the picture as he twiddled the tuning through the hole behind in the turret tuner. When he said "Is that better?" we rapidly realised we had to say "Yes", or he made it even worse!!!

My wife was talking to an old school friend over the break, and she had worked in Jill Hanson's. We were wondering when Jill Hanson's record shop closed? (presuming that it has, of course)