SWITCH
It seems very soon will be enter a new phase for our website. Intially not all things will be in place but hopefully we can now start moving forward with updates and online listings. The updated website will still be the same web address so no change there.
OPENING TIMES NEXT WEEK
We will be open FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ONLY 10am-4pm (we have a trip/stall to Cardigan early in the week at the Acid Mothers Temple gig)
INTERIM MEASURE
With the website changes taking place very soon, for now we will not be listing any further regular or pre order titles until completion of the works, mainly because it would involve repeating the process at a later date. PLEASE NOTE in the meantime our website is fully operational for orders or pre orders already listed
LATEST LIST OF INDIES ONLY VINYL TITLES WE HAVE ON PRE ORDER
Paul Weller-Will of the People,Brix Smith-Valley of the dolls,Guns n Roses-Use your illusion 1 and 2,Neil Young and Crazy Horse-World Record,David Bowie-A divine Symmetry,Iron Maiden-Number of beat plus beast from hammersmith,Foo Fighters essential,Cedric Im Brooks-Mun Dun, Go Daniel Avery-Ultra Truth,Mount Kimbie-MK 3.5 Die Cuts City Planning,The Prodigy-Firestarter,The Prodigy-The Fat Of The Land, Ride reissues,Spoon-Lucifer On the Moon, Beatles-Revolver,Paul Weller-Will of the people .The Damned-The night of a thousand vampires ,INXS,Andy Bell – Three new EPs on limited-edition 10 inch vinyl
The above are not currently listed on our website but will be arriving on release date .
Head to our website Record Store page to see the latest confirmed dates for next year, more still to be added . Next and the final Record Fair of 2022 is at Ty Pawb, Wreham on Saturday 19th November where we will have 30 stalls on the day.
INTERIM MEASURE
With the website changes taking place over the next few weeks, for now we will not be listing any further regular or pre order titles until completion of the works, mainly because it would involve repeating the process at a later date. PLEASE NOTE in the meantime our website is fully operational for orders or pre prdees already listed
LATEST LIST OF INDIES ONLY VINYL TITLES WE HAVE ON PRE ORDER
The Big Moon-Here is Everything,Ginger Wildheart and The Sinners , Psychedelic Porn Crumpets-Levitation Sessions, Queensryche-Digital Noise Alliance,The Orielles-Tableau ,CAN-LIVE IN CUXHAVEN 1976,Soul Revivers-Grove Dub,Anna Calvi-Tommy,Bibio-BIB10,Dry Cleaning-Stumpwork,The Libertines-Up The Bracket (20th Anniversary Edition),LoneLady-Former Things Re-Formed,Queens of the Stone Age-Queens Of The Stone Age,Dead Cross-II,Occult-The Parasite Archives,Napalm Death-Scum,SMOKE FAIRIES-SINGLES,David Sylvian-Blemish,Simple Minds-Direction of the Heart,Lamb Of God-Omens
The above are not currently listed on our website but will be arriving on release date.
THE EVENT
Pacific Road Record Fair, (Birkenhead) 30 stalls, Live Music (see below) Free Entry 10am-4pm Saturday 1st October. Plenty of parking adjacent to the venue and nearby at Woodside Ferry Terminal or the Woodside Drive-in (free parking in the day), note that parking is metered on Pacific Road but very reasonably priced and very handy. Note that Woodside which is just a 2 minute walk away.
FOOD AND DRINK
Tea and Coffee will be available at Pacific Road with a whole host of excellent eateries just a short walk away at Woodside Ferry Village at the Ferry Terminal, where you will find from midday International offerings including - Ena Pa Haku Sushi (Japanese) Caffe Cream (Coffees and Ice Creams) Scoobys (Fish n' Chips Burgers n Ribs) Murphys Gin (Gin and Beer Bar) Pausha (Wine and Cocktail Bar) Alexs Pita (Greek Gyros) With seating for 200 with additional outdoor seating and Liverpool skyline views. Also Artisan Market stalls outside the Ferry Terminal.
THE PLAYERS
Along with the Halycon Dreams DJ sets the Live music at the Pacific Road Record Fair we can now confirm the musicians supplied by ONLY HUMAN an electronic collective . There will be 5 performances each lasting approximately 30 minutes starting at Midday provided by Etchasketch,Neon Alien Life,Disco Biscuits,Small boxes and Andy Peggs. We,along with the musicians are really looking forward to this very special ONLY HUMAN showcase.
TRANSPORT
Easily reached by CAR down the A41 taking the WOODSIDE, HAMILTON SQUARE turn off immediately BEFORE the Birkenhead Tunnel entrance. By FERRY weekend short trips available on Saturdays not the usual commuter Monday-Friday hops. By TRAIN, limited services due to Rail disputes so check Merseyrail website ahead of the day. By BUS , Woodside is the terminal not only for Ferries but Buses too with multiple routes arriving on a regular basis from around the Wirral and Liverpool. By BIKE, Pacific Road is just off the Wirral cycle path that runs around the peninsula. By vintage TRAM, these will be running from the Tram Museum aboiut half a mile away commencing around lunchtime.
OVERVIEW
With a spring in our step we return to this historic and very spacious Tram Shed at Pacific Road, Birkenhead for our next Record Fair this Saturday . Pacific Road, formerly was formerly a tram museum and then an arts centre is adjacent to the historic Woodside Ferry Terminal,now home to a new and innovative food-hall concept and outdoor artisan market stalls. Located in the heart of Birkenheads waterfront, Woodside Ferry Village has been inspired by the success and rising trend for food-halls in a number of cosmopolitan locations, which includes Lisbon, Barcelona, Brixton, Liverpool and London. The new purpose built space at Woodside Ferry Village enjoys world-class views across the River Mersey to the world famous Liverpool Skyline and beyond and is a combined, independent retail and food hub .FREE ENTRY this Saturday 1st October 10am-4pm.
SHOP HOURS ADJUSTMENT THIS WEEK
Due to Record Fair arrangements at Pacific Road this week we will only be open on Thursday 10am-4pm, Shop Closed Friday to set up the stalls and Saturday for the main event. Might see you there....
READ ALL ABOUT IT...Birkenhead News online and possibly in print next week
Record fair returns to Pacific Road
After the amazing success of the first Pacific Road Record Fair in Birkenhead earlier in the year, VOD Music is returning to the banks of the Mersey with an even larger Record Fair.Working closely with Wirral Chamber of Commerce and Pacific Road this former music venue will be packed with music from all genres and across all formats including vinyl, CDs, cassettes, plus merchandise and memorabilia – with titles to fit every budget from bargains to rare and very collectable items.There will also be Hi-Fi stall, Halcyon Dreams DJ sets and live music supplied by electronic collective Only Human.With ample parking in the area, Pacific Road is also just a two-minute walk from Hamilton Square Railway Station or Woodside Ferry Village with its bars,eateries and artisan market stalls.
VOD Music started the Record Fairs way back in 2006 and is approaching its 100th event.
Organiser Colin said .....You just never know what you will find at a record fair, they are also great social occassions for like-minded music lovers, so many friendships have been forged over the years at these events and seeing the joy of people just having a great time is definately the most rewarding part for us.
The venue is once again the historic Tram Shed on Pacific Road in Birkenhead and takes place on Saturday 1 October with 30 record stalls bringing record dealers from all over the UK.
Just a reminder that our next Record Fair is at DENBIGH TOWN HALL on Saturday 3rd September (10am-4pm) and as always is FREE ENTRY. The Town Hall offers plenty of space and there will be 28 stalls on the day with a great selection covering all formats and genres. It has been 3 years since our last visit so it will be great to be back again at this historic venue.
Many new arrivals instore this week when we resume our regular Thursday, Friday and Saturday hours of 10am-4pm.
This week we are open for 2 days only this week, Wednesday 11am-3pm and Thursday 10am-4pm, this is due to us heading West this Friday to Cardigan for the 18th Dream of Dr. Sardonicus festival where we will have a stall alongside Sendelica merch and Fruits de Mer Records exclusives. There are a whole host of bands lined up for the event including Man, Sendelica and Ken Pustelniks Groundhogs. The Festival is making a return the first weekend of August after a 3 year lay off due to restrictions taking place at the legendary Cellar Bar in the Town and is a 3 day event celebrating Pysch,Prog,Folk,Krautrock and all things Trippy. A sell out weekend limited to just 150 ticket holders promises to be as memorable as previous visits. On return, normal service will be resumed with opening times again back to the usual Thursday-Saturday.
Our usual Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10am-4pm resumes this week, thank you for your patience over the last few weeks its great to be fully back behind the counter for regular opening times.
Just Friday and Saturday 10am-4pm again, we have abit going on outside VOD matters but hope to return to usual Thursday-Saturday ASAP.
Due to techy issues with our Facebook page we have had to restart a new page from scratch and we hope over time people will find our new page which is now www.facebook.com/VODMusic1
Many thanks to everyone who supported the RSD Drop today, from the first arival (Tim) at 7pm Friday evening to the last customer of the day at 4pm. Another really enjoyable day and although we would have loved tp have more of each title control over this is out of our hands as is the case with all Independent Record Shops participating.It is very special to play a very small part in something global.
We are back in the shop tomorrow Sunday 19th June 10am-1pm returning to usual hours next week.
There are a few titles that unfortunately are not even ready for this 2nd 2022 RSD drop. This is a source of frusration and so we have decided that anything that doesnt arrive will be cancelled off our order list. Notable titles that will miss the day our Mc Cartney and The Macabbees. The only exception is the The Undertones release which has been moved to Black Friday in November!!
Please note that anything we have cancelled maybe available elsewhere after the day.
Our RSD list on the VOD Music website is nearly complete with a few due to arrive tomorrow.
With the final DROP of RSD just over a week away on Saturday 18th June , arrivals have started to be confirmed indicated by pricing to ensure you know exactly what will be in , all extremely limited as per usual.
We want to thank everyone for the OFF THE CHART attendance for our first Record Fair at Pacific Road, Birkenhead yesterday. It was simply AMAZING, plans are already underway for a return to this wonderful venue which is steeped in history, Cant tell you the numbers we simply lost count of the visitors to the Fair, thank you again and if you missed it we can really recommend a visit next time.
We will be putting out a full review of the event to those on our mailing list, if you wish to join our mailing list simply click on the link on the main page of our website its FREE to join and you can also leave at any time.
FINAL PREP FOR RECORD FAIR
With just over a week to go final preparations continue for our 1st Record Fair at Pacific Road, Birkenhead (by Woodside Ferry terminal) on Saturday 4th June, all Record Dealers are confirmed making it a full house (or Tram Shed) of stalls. 28 stalls FREE ENTRY 10am-4pm with DJ sets, Live music and additional complimentary stalls.
THINGS TO DO
In addition to the Record Fair, the vintage tram will be running , also the River explorer Ferry on the Mersey with local things of interest very close by being a stroll the Hamiliton Square gardens,Birkenhead Priory,Riverside Walks, Transport Museum and of course the Artisan market at Woodside Ferry Village. A little futher out of town is Birkenhead Park , designed by Joseph Paxton – with the support of Edward Kemp and set out to create a place which replicated the pastoral countryside and included an assortment of features such as lodges, bridges and a boathouse. model upon which some of the most famous public parks around the world – including New York Citys Central Park were based,this year celebrates its 175th Anniversary.
HOW TO GET TO PACIFIC ROAD
By CAR...head to Woodside Ferry and either park in Pacific Road itself which is a road that runs alongside the Tram Shed to the Mersey, this is metered but right next to the venue. Alternatively on approaching Woodside follow keep right and park either in Woodside Car parks which are again metered or in the FREE car park at the DRIVE IN CINEMA which is available for free as mentioned until 6pm.
BY TRAIN...
Your stop is HAMILITON SQUARE STATION which is just a 2 minute walk downhill to Pacific Road
BY BUS
Woodside is the home to a large Bus terminus that connects with many places on the Wirral.
BY BIKE...
Adequate space to lock up your bike at the venue, the Wirral Coastal and Cycle path passes the entrance to Pacific Road next the the ventilation shaft (you cant miss this landmark) located on the shores of the Mersey.
BY FERRY...
The River explorer Ferry runs at the weekend and can be accessed at Ferry Terminals on the Mersey.
BY AIR...
John Lennon Airport....guess this one is wishful thinking!
Hope to see you there!
NOSTALGIA TRIP- SKELETON RECORDS
The Nostalgia trips halted by events of the last couple of years are back to celebrate our 1st Record Fair at Pacific Road,Birkenhead in 2 weeks (Sat.4th June).Our visits to record shops that no longer exist has a twist this time as Skeleton Records, Birkenhead an institution for vinyl lovers for over 50 years is still trading on Oxton Road in the Birkenhead. But we have revisited two of their previous premises returning with our vinyl purchased all those years ago. Both on Argyle street in the Town and this area is very special to me for so many reasons. The original shop i just about remember as being young at the time (probably around 1972) it was a place full of strange smells, joss sticks, weird edgy magazines and lots of vinyl..... here i picked up.
CURVED AIR-AIR CONDITIONING
Released in 1970 i first heard this at a friends house in Eastham and was blown away by the track Vivaldi which is classical music taken to the edge of madness...amazing. This track clocks in at nearly 7 and a half minutes and i was lucky enough to see them do it live at the Stadium, Liverpool in the early seventies. The band were folky,electronic, proggy i was definately hooked and mesmerised by Sonja Kristina at the time!
RENAISSANCE-TURN OF THE CARDS
Despite its reputation for heavy rock i did manage to pick up a few prog albums including this album, the 5th album by the band in 1974, another folky neo classical outing but singer Annie Haslam to me has the purest voice and seeing the band live was something i have never forgotten, front row close up quite an experience. Long structured changing tracks, played beautifully , although someone i went with who preferred heavy metal left early on his motorbike and oddly ended up at a bikers haunt in Shrewsbury, cant please everyone.
So there it is, more memories revived by the planned visit for our next Record Fair, oh yes nearly forgot i saw the movie Help by the Beatles on release at the ABC on Argyle Street, will there ever be hysteria like that again. All i remember is screaming girls besotted by the Fab Four (especially John and Paul) .
Argyle street leads to Hamilton Square then on to Pacific Road, happy days then and now.
If you want another Nostalgia trip let me know, not meant to be self indulgent just a reflection on the times and we must all have our own tales to tell.
Cheers-Colin
Just under 3 weeks to go until our next Record Fair at Pacific Road,Birkenhead (Near Woodside Ferry), we are very excited about this amazing venue where there will be 28 stalls on the day. This historic Tram shed will be filled with some of the top Record Dealers with DJ sets and Live music. The vintage tram will also be passing the entrance stopping to pick up if you want to visit the artisan market,eateries and bars at Woodside Ferry Village. Free entry , we cant wait!
We are updating our RSD page daily to reflect whats left from last Saturday. After Friday all titles remaining nationally will be available from Independent Record shops websites. We will integrate any of our left overs into our racks. We will be open 6pm-8pm this wednesday should you want to pop in to check whats left in the box. Usual Thursday to Saturday opening times to follow this week.
Thank you all for supporting our shop and making it yet another great RSD!
Next Saturday 23rd April we will be participating in the 15th Record Store Day, actually our 13th too.
SHOP OPEN 8am
Exclusive titles available on a 1st come first served basis. Lots of information on our website RSD page.
A great day celebrating the culture of the Independent Record Shop.
Hope to see you there....
This week its...
THURSDAY 10am-4pm
FRIDAY 11am-1pm
SATURDAY 10am-4pm
Note reduced hours on Good Friday.
Cheers-Colin
Many thanks once again such an amazing turnout for last Saturdays Record Fair at Ty Pawb, with the big lunchtime kick off Football semi final in Town on the day we were unsure how this would affect the attendance at our event, we neednt have worried....so thank you it was a great day!
We move on to a completely different venue for our next Record Fair, a debut for this venue and one we are very excited about. It has parking outside venue and nearby at Woodside. More soon but here are some preliminary details
This coming Saturday we will be heading to Ty Pawb, Wrexham on Saturday 2nd April for our first Record Fair of 2022. A great venue with plenty space for the 30 stalls that will be there on the day, along with DJ sets,Bar,Street food outlets and Art Gallery. We hope you can join us for this FREE event. Note our shop opening times this week will be Thursday 10am-4pm, Friday 10am-2pm and we will have our own stall at the Record Fair meaning the shop in Mold will be closed on this day. We will return to usual opening times the following week, being Thursday-Saturday.
Due to having to self isolate this week we are unable to open the shop for the next few days, the hope is that we can resume normal service on Saturday, in the meantime we are operating online.
We have started to list RSD titles, this is just the beginning with a vast selection to be added over the coming weeks.
BIRKENHEAD - 4th JUNE
We are very excited to reveal our new Record Fair Venue which we think is special and steeped in history....its Pacific Road, Birkenhead . Pacific Road, which was originally built in the 19th century as a maritime trade storage site, later became a tram museum and then an arts centre but its programmes stopped in 2008 when the majority of events held there moved to the new Floral Pavilion, in New Brighton.Many of you may have attended gigs there in the past and will be familiar with the building. It is also just a short walk from the the historic Woodside Ferry Terminal which is home to a new and innovative food-hall concept, aptly named Woodside Ferry Village. Located in the heart of Birkenhead’s waterfront, Woodside Ferry Village which is festooned with lights and has been inspired by the success and rising trend for food-halls in a number of cosmopolitan locations, which includes Lisbon, Barcelona, Brixton, Liverpool, London and Altrincham.The new purpose built space at Woodside Ferry Village enjoys world-class views across the River Mersey to the world famous Liverpool Skyline and beyond and is a combined, independent retail and food hub . We already have all stalls booked for the day and will have much more information about this event before the event on Saturday 4th June.
Our website ids having a planned update and remains fully operational while minor tweaks and changes are made . These tweaks are just part of an annual look at our website to keep it fresh and relevant for 2022.
The shop that is! We opened on 6th February 2009 and here we are 13 years later with still so much more to do. We are still learning and adapting as we go and loving living this dream. Thank you so much for your support which means everything to us all.
Our very first instore was great fun and thanks to everyone who supported the night and Paul Draper who rattled off 3 tracks before the signing session. Fans watched in from outside the shop and hats off to Paul and Ben for playing in what he descibed as his smallest ever venue. His album CULT LEADER TACTICS was number 8 in the midweek charts and i guess he was hoping to stay in the top 20 when this weeks charts come out this Friday. His instore tour was due to finish at Rough Trade in London tonight with him going back out on a full tour at the end of February.
PAUL DRAPER SMALLEST INSTORE PERFORMANCE
Many of you will be aware that Paul Draper (ex Mansun) will have an Instore appearence at VOD Music,Mold,Flintshire North Wales on Tuesday 1st February (6pm) to sign copies of his new album ,we can also now announce with great excitement that he will be PLAYING LIVE in-store ,this unique event we believe could possibly be the smallest instore performance ever in the UK (given that VOD Music is officially the UKs smallest independent Record Shop). The performance is to celebrate the release of 'Cult Leader Tactics' which has just been released on Kscope. So, how will this work? We are asking fans to come and support this unique experience at our shop, Paul will play instore with the aim of rotating our one in one out of the shop as he plays to enable as many as possible to have a chance to be the ONE in the shop at any one time during the set. Everyone else will watch from outside and after the performance Paul will finish with a signing session and chat with his fans. There are no tickets required and the event is absolutely FREE to all and will adhere to Welsh Goverrnment guidlines.It will be also be his only instore appearance in Wales. The album Cult Leader Tactics is his first solo album since 2017's much-lauded Spooky Action.It offers a satirical analysis of the self-help manual genre. A guide on how you can get to the top of your chosen profession, or ahead in life and in affairs of the heart, by acting in a Machiavellian manner, employing dirty tricks or Cult Leader Tactics to achieve your life goals. After experiencing these types of human behaviours and themes, the album arrives at the conclusion that the only true answer in life is love.Paul plays most of the instruments on the album, including lead vocals, guitar and various Moogs and synthesisers. An album produced with long-time collaborator and acclaimed producer Paul 'P-Dub' Walton (Massive Attack, The Cure, Bjork) at Loft Studios, it also includes guest appearances from Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson and Gam of the band Sweat as well as featuring a 288-person C.L.T. Lockdown Choir.The Album offers a selection of Paul's most focused and ambitious work so far, a brilliantly dark commentary on an industry he is all too aware of.
Paul Draper 6pm at VOD Music, New Street Mold 6pm 1st February...dont miss this!
This will be on our socials and possibly in the press soon.
PAUL DRAPER
Just over 2 weeks until Paul Draper visits our shop for an instore signing session for his new album . He will be with us at 6pm on Tuesday 1st February , no need for tickets just turn up on the night. As previously mentioned we will have stock available for this new release but if you have already ordered it elsewhere its not a problem just bring it down and Paul will sign it for you. Pencil this in.... its his only instore visit to Wales as part of his promotional trek around the UK.
So good to get back to regular hours again, Thursday-Saturday 10am-4pm with appointment slots 4pm-5pm on these days. Sure it will be another year of great releases.