A family-owned record shop that has been run by four generations of the same family is about to celebrate a milestone birthday.
The Musical Box Record Shop on West Derby Road in Tuebrook was opened in 1947 by Tony Quinn's granduncle (grandmother's brother) after leaving the RAF. Throughout its history, the shop has counted the likes of Bill Shankly and The Beatles before they hit the big time.
Thought to be Liverpool's oldest surviving record shop, Tony's grandmother, Dorothy, took over the shop in 1951 when they sold both toys and LPs. When Dorothy died, the shop was run by Tony's mum, Diane, until the shop passed into his hands when she retired.
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Tony told the ECHO : "When my nan bought the stock off her brother there were a lot of worn out 78s [long playing records] on the shelves because he used to have his mates come in on a Saturday afternoon and they'd all have a session. As the years went on records got more popular. In '50s with Elvis and of course in the '60s it went berserk with The Beatles."
Tony admits there was a point when LPs and CDs went out of fashion that he feared for the future of the family business. He said: "At one point I thought we were on our way out because everyone was streaming and downloading stuff onto their phones. The CD was going off, but now with LPs back in it's flipped over completely. Who'd have thought that?
"Because vinyl is back in fashion we're doing fine. A few shops have popped up in the last 10-years because of the vinyl revival."
With Saturday, April 23 being Record Store Day, Tony is anticipating swift business at the shop with an expected queue of music fans outside the door before it opens. He said: "We sort of cater for everybody. We've got a load of great customers who stick by us. I mean, I know my customers so I know if someone's got a new album coming out then so many people will want that."
Tony added: "We've got stuff right across the board. We do very well with the modern reissues of rock music; we've got lots of old soul stuff. We've got loads of seven inch singles."
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Tony, who runs the store with his wife Paula, told the ECHO some of the famous faces who have been customers over the years and what music they were into. He said: "Bill Shankly used to come in here, it must have been in the '60s or early '70s. He bought a copy of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards doing Amazing Grace.
"He used to come in and talk to my grandad as he only lived up the road. My grandad couldn't understand a word he said, he had a real Scottish accent."
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Ex-Everton player and manager Joe Royal was also a regular customer. Tony said: "He used buy Julie Covington records, that's what me mam said."
Other famous faces include Ex-Liverpool FC goalkeepers Sander Westerveld and David James. Alexi Sayle once presented a show during the Liverpool Capital of Culture from the shop in 2008, and former Spice Girl Mel C filmed a segment for the TV show A Question of Sport in the shop around the time of the release of her solo album, Northern Star, in 1999.
But on perhaps the most famous faces of all to purchase an LP from the shop, The Beatles, Tony said: "The Beatles allegedly came in here because one day, this is before they took off, there were two girls in the shop. These two lads came in and they were picking up a record.
"When they went out one of the girls said that's The Beatles but we don't know which two. I would imagine one of them could have been Pete Best because he only lived up the road; this was before they went mega."
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However, not everyone in Tony's family was a fan of the Fab Four's music back then. When his wife Dorothy overstocked on their records, Tony's grandad said to her: "Don't order anymore of those Beatles, they'll never last!"
Tony started working in the shop when he was young and said he's never really had a "proper job", adding: "I started coming in and helping my nan in about 1980 and in the '70s on Christmas Eve, when it was the busiest time of the year. This is my one and only job.
"I love the fact that I can play music all day. I've always loved bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden. I like prog as well - I love Pink Floyd. It would be very difficult to pick my top three."
On Saturday, May 7, The Musical Box Record Shop will celebrate its 75th year in business, when Tony expects there to be live, in-store music and cake. On the next 75-years, he added: "I'm 60 now so I don't know how long I'll be doing it for. Hopefully my son will carry on, he likes it and he was the one that got us on to social media."
