Heathen Chemistry / Record Fair

Growing up in a reasonably sized village, well served by greengrocers and butchers but lacking record shops, meant an excursion into the market town nearby if I wanted to feed my burgeoning vinyl habit. Back in the Eighties the sleepy borough of Fareham was well served with vinyl peddlers; both Woolies and WHSmiths had racks of chart music and, though compact, the local branch of Our Price still managed to cram its shelves with enough delights to empty my wallet. 

However it was the dark yet welcoming confines of Venus Records, the only independent record shop in town, where most of my allowance was spent; one of my earliest record buying memories is of foraging through its 99p 12" singles rack, trying to find a gem amongst the generic, fuelled by whatever new music Mike Read et al had debuted on that week's Saturday Superstore. 

Despite my weekly purchases, which increased considerably once I'd left school and secured regular employment of sorts (does YTS count?), times became hard for record shops. Eventually the shutters came down on Venus, though the faces behind its counter were soon enough serving me in newcomer MVC (which would would also falter, rebrand as Music Zone, before disappearing). 

American chain Sam Goody made a fleeting appearance, well-stocked but expensive it soon closed, its place in the shopping centre soon taken by an opticians. Our Price battled on before it too threw in the towel, leaving only Woolworths and WHSmiths as the town's go-to record shops. Woolies famously folded, taking its supply chain with it, and that (as they say) was that; good luck buying anything that wasn't charting.

After some years with no record shop to speak of, with only the appearance of a pop-up HMV store at Christmastime, flogging DVD boxsets and novelty items to the harried and indiscriminate shopper, I had voted with my wallet and moved on to buying online or sampling the wares in Portsmouth's larger music emporia. With vinyl's resurgence however independent stores began to reappear on high streets across the land; Southsea's Pie & Vinyl led the way locally, then came Elephant Records in Winchester and, most recently, Heathen Chemistry in Fareham. 

This labour of love, with its framed Oasis posters and OSB racking, has been open for a couple of years now and has easily become a focal point for the town's vinylheads. Selling both new and pre-loved records and CDs it boasts, as many record shops do, a friendly atmosphere; I popped in a few months after opening, intending only to check the place out, and ended up spending a good half an hour or so talking to its affable owner about all things round and shiny.

Building upon its place in the local vinyl scene Heathen Chemistry has now branched into organising record fairs; following the success of its first event last November the shop has announced its next fair for Saturday 16th March, at a venue just a short stroll from the shop itself.

If you're interested in hosting a table to sell your wares then contact the shop, if you're more of a buyer than a seller you can rock up at Harmony Hall (yes, like the current Vampire Weekend single) and add to your ever-growing collection of musical platters; doors open at 1030 and the trading continues until 1600.