Beloved London record store Rat Records is set to close on Saturday, June 18th.
“It is with regret that we need to tell you that the Rat Records shop will close in the third week of June,” store owners wrote on their website. “After June, Tom [Fisher, the store’s record buyer] will continue buying as normal and will sell online and direct to the trade.”
The Camberwell, U.K. store has made a name for itself as a hub for vinyl lovers to buy, sell and trade. The store specializes in second-hand releases with an emphasis on reggae, funk, soul and punk. Fisher began buying, selling, and trading them at a street market beginning in 1988. Since then, he estimates that he has sold over 850,000 used records.
Philippe Giron, the store’s manager, is in charge of pricing the inventory brought in by Fisher. He is known for his tough bargaining process, having brought “seasoned record dealers to tears” according to Rat Records’ website.
The store was featured in a twelve-part series highlighting record stores in the U.K. titled Behind the Counter. Released in 2021, the series was organized as part of Record Store Day, an annual celebration of the culture of independent record stores.
