The Musical Box Record Shop, Liverpool
The Musical Box Record Shop, hereafter referred to as 'the shop' or 'the Musical Box', first opened its doors in 1949 as a fancy goods shop. "It [the shop] sold dinkey cars, greetings cards, toys and 78"s." said Tony, who has been working in the shop since 1980. His family have always ran the shop, right from when his nan bought it from her brother in 1951. At one point, there were two Musical Boxes, one in Tuebrook, Liverpool, and another in Old Swan (opened 1960), however in 1979 the Old Swan shop closed its doors. ""My nan ran the shop in Tuebrook and my mum Diane ran the shop in Old Swan...The Old Swan shop closed because we used to live over the shop but my mum bought a house on the Wirral." Due to Covid, Tony's son Craig has also become involved in the shop, and is currently working on a website so that the Musical Box can catalogue its stock. It really is a family affair.
I first stumbled across the Musical Box on one of my trawls through Facebook, when I saw that a little shop in The Beatles' hometown had posted a picture of two records which they said had belonged to Paul McCartney as a teenager - they had his name written on them, after all. The shop was appealing for somebody to help them get in touch with McCartney, and I wanted to help. I emailed his manager, but received only a very clipped "we're not interested" (paraphrased) in reply. Impatiently, I waited throughout the numerous lockdowns until I could get to the Musical Box and Liverpool, and going to see these two 45rpm records was one of the first things I did.
Now, I am no graphologist. I am far from an expert - or even a hobbyist of studying handwriting... but I've watched enough of Pawn Stars (produced by Leftfield Pictures) to be able to compare the way letters are sloped and formed, and I must say that the writing on the singles - particularly the 'R' and 'M' look McCartney-esque.
Many celebrities have visited the shop in its lifetime, including Mel C (Spice Girls), Ken Dodd (comedian), Alvin Stardust (singer and actor), and Rory Storm (singer, a certain Ringo Starr was once in his band pre-Beatles): "In the early 60s my nan heard two girls shouting, that was The Beatles when two guys left the Tuebrook shop."
The love that Liverpool has not only for The Beatles but for music in general is reflected in the sales that the Musical Box makes, "we have definitely seen an increase in vinyl sales and a drop in selling CDs... [the most popular artists] classic rock bands in general. Pink Floyd, [The Rolling] Stones, Fleetwood Mac, AC/DC, Queen mainly - apart from rock it would have to be The Beatles because their music lasts forever." Indeed, The Beatles sold 183 million units in 2021 alone - though that's the worldwide figure!
In the future, the Musical Box are hoping to expand their merchandise range; t-shirts, record player slip mats, and plectrums are all currently available. "A friend is going to make a documentary for us, we intend to replace the CD racks with new racks and replace one rack with more vinyl... we intend for the shop to continue running throughout the generations."
In 2022, the Musical Box Record Shop will celebrate its 75th anniversary.