The London record store landscape is home to some of Europe’s premiere wax outlets and one of the most prominent stores is Vinyl Pimp in Hackney Wick. The physical store has been a major part of the London scene since being founded in 2007 so the sad news of the closure at its current home at 14 Falstead Street recently delivered via the stores’ Facebook page has been a hard pill to swallow for its legion of loyal fans and customers.
The news was revealed as a result of Vinyl Pimp’s landlord delivering a rent hike of almost 100% which would make meaningful business unattainable at the current location. The silver lining if there is one is that the Vinyl Pimp team has been aware of the decision since November and also that their business is protected by government legislation until Wednesday, September 30th and they are confident of securing a new location in that time.
This means that the store would have little to no downtime during the moving period and the store and Discogs store will also remain open right up until this time. So, if you would like to show your support keep digging their online crates and if you would like to go down to the store get in contact with the team there to arrange an appointment to dig in person. They have confirmed that due to the current pandemic situation there will be no closing party, but for posterity, on Friday, July 3rd friend of the store Antonio Curcetti will be taking photographs of friends, family, and customers with their famous Great Wall of Vinyl as a fitting background. This is by no means the end of the Vinyl Pimp story but sadly the end of a formative chapter in their journey.
For more info on Vinyl Pimp
Facebook | Resident Advisor | Discogs
