Palma has amazed me

Why did you leave London?
I was sick of it really. The way of life there, and the weather. Everything really. I had done a lot of different jobs from when I was young. My job I liked the most was being a postman, I did that for thirteen years. When you’re done you’re done for the day, and then I would go into the record and tape shops in London and look for records. So even from when I started buying records, I would buy doubles and trade them and sell them and build up rather a large collection, which is very annoying when you’re moving! I lived in Brighton for a while, but there was still too much rain. And then I moved back in with my parents to save some money then I moved to Spain.

So why did you choose Mallorca?
So I tried Valencia first, up a mountain. But it was just too soon for me to live in the country. Such a lot of driving! I don’t really drink, so I didn’t mind driving everywhere. But in the end, it just didn’t work out. I realised I needed a city. I was thinking about Seville, but it’s really humid there. And it’s a little bit too traditional for me. But someone said you should try Palma, and I was amazed. I always felt that the island had been forgotten a bit. But I think now the cat’s out of the bag, isn’t it! I came over on my own with my car. Not with my records yet. They were all in storage, and then three months later in March 2020, we were locked down. So I was stuck here. But within the first month, I had bought 12,000 records from someone!I already had 10,000 in storage!

Have you seen an improvement in the city since you moved?
Definitely. Places like this, in the old town 10 years ago apparently, there were no go areas. There was a lot of trouble here, stabbings, drug dealers, but it’s really cleaned itself up.

How did you find your shop?
So I had found the locale nine months before they accepted my offer. It was a dream to own this little shop. It used to be a bakery, there is still an oven almost the size of a room! After I opened, people kept coming in, almost freaking out and falling over because the bakery wasn’t here anymore! I did consider buying bread every morning to give out to them!

How is your Spanish?
I get by. I found that when I deal with legal people they all generally speak very good English. It obviously depends on which city you’re in, I think Valencia was a little bit different. But I still found professional bilingual lawyers there. I have to keep trying to learn Spanish, but I am dyslexic and I find it hard. So it’s been a bit frustrating, but I know some words and I would say that generally people are fine about it. I think one in 100 turn their nose up at me and are disgusted that I don’t speak Spanish, but this is a very international city. I grew up with loads of people that didn’t speak English in London. Lots of communities. Lots of people that struggle to speak English and it didn’t bother me at all: my next door neighbours, people speaking on the bus in a different language. So now I’m the immigrant.

What are the main differences for you now in Spain?
The way of life and living outside. In England, you’re just paying huge electricity bills. You’re staying in all the time. The Spanish are funny though, because if it drizzles, they cancel everything they do. If they cancelled in England when it rained, nothing would ever happen. A big wish is that my Spanish was better but dealing and working in a record shop a lot of the words are the same in English and Spanish.

What are your customers like?
It’s 50/50 locals and tourists. Lots of Germans, English, Norwegians. And I have regulars who come in. And I trade and buy records as well. I sell in person, and I sell online on the internet as well. I ship across Europe.

Has there been a vinyl revival?
I’ve always bought records. So for me in a way, I haven’t seen a revival. But I think that the bubble will burst soon. There are too many reissues coming out. There’s too many musicians making and selling their own records, which in the end they realise is a lot more hassle than it’s worth. But also there’s loads of new music coming out. I mean, loads of old music being discovered that people didn’t know before.

What was the first record you bought?
It was probably The Jam. I bought cassettes first. I used to just listen to my sister’s records. I would go to the Record and Tape exchange, so it was always pretty much always secondhand music I was buying. I would visit the second hand record shops. And for me still, this is the same story even though I do want to set up a record label here. Yeah, because I have a recording studio as well. It’s just at the moment. I’ve got lots of building work going on.
What other things would you like to do on the island?

I have a recording studio which I set up for musicians to come in and record themselves. The project hasn’t really taken off yet, but I’m going to keep on doing what I’m doing. And hopefully the right people will come. I would like to start a jazz night in a bar. But it seems more popular to have live music than vinyl. But I am looking for the right kind of bar. I have DJed a lot of different nights in the past.

What has surprised you about living here?
Mallorca is a treasure that had been kind of forgotten. And only now certain areas are being redeveloped. I love being on this street: we have a nice community here. We have antique dealers, they’ve been here for two years. They have two shops here. And a vintage clothes shop at the end.

Why do you specialise in jazz?
The collection I bought was mainly jazz. But I did actually buy the records for myself. They were just for me initially. Jazz is something that I really love and would love to play. But my ears are too good for my hands. I’ve tried every instrument but it’s just not possible, for me it’s quite hard to sit down and concentrate on one thing.

Is it hard to sell records that you love?
Yes. And sometimes I end up buying them back!