Shops / Shop of the Week
Shop of the Week: Plastic Wax Records, Cheltenham Road
On Cheltenham Road, just up the road from the Arches, sits a legendary record shop which has served Bristol’s musical needs for over 40 years.
Its blue and white sign reads Plastic Wax Records and its carefully curated interior contrasts with its modest exterior.
Owner Dave Kellard has owned Plastic Wax Records for over 40 years – photo: Joanna Stopford
Tuesday is a particularly busy day as it is the second Tuesday of the month, meaning that members can get 20 per cent off.
is needed now More than ever
The minute the doors open it doesn’t long for seasoned regulars and visitors to pour in and rifle through the layer upon layer of records.
The shop is packed floor to ceiling with vinyl and CDs, sifted and individually cleaned by owner, Dave Kellard, and his team.
The shop has a variety of different genres – photo: Joanna Stopford
Dave started working in the shop in 1978 as a Sunday job, when his friends founded the business, and then went on to run it in 1982.
He says that before he worked here his music taste was a little “mundane”, but now it has evolved into a combination of 60s/70s funk and legendary bands such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
When working in a place so established as a vinyl mecca, it is hard to imagine it not evolving in some way.
Despite his music expertise, he is wary of discussing the music too intensely with customers.
“What you think is good music is different. I’s like food, what you like is what you like,” he explains.
The team at Plastic Was Records painstakingly clean and test all their records to check their quality – photo: Joanna Stopford
Dave’s respect for the vinyl is palpable. When asked which medium he thinks is the best for sound quality, he diplomatically replies, “We all do things differently,” but then admits: “Records sound a bit warmer, and some records you actually know the crackle where it is, where you’ve played it a lot.”
Despite being constantly surrounded by a plethora of genres, his emotional connection to the music has not been diluted. “I love Led Zeppelin but I don’t listen to them a lot. So, when I do hear them, it’s like hearing an old friend,” he says.
Plastic Wax Records is a place for other record shop owners to replace their stock – photo: Joanna Stopford
The vinyl industry has boomed in recent years. Perhaps the infinite nature of streaming has created a rebellion focusing on the fixed physical ritual of placing a needle on a groove and letting it play.
Dave says he has noticed this trend in the recent popularity of the shop and the amount of growing competition with other record shops. “The popularity has been driven by people about 15-30 years old coming into music, and people coming back into music who sold their record collection to me years ago and are looking for it back!”
He smiles as he talks about the rewarding feeling of seeing vinyl bring joy to the new generations: “There’s this nice feeling these days, when people come in with families and people buy their first record they have ever bought.”
Plastic Wax Records is located between a fruit shop and a Premier grocery shop in the Arches – photo: Martin Booth
Plastic Wax Records is a cornucopia of endless genres, with approximately 200 records in each section. The team behind the selection of the records does not underestimate how every record, no matter how niche or plain, could be someone’s cherished treasure.
In fact, in 2005 when the shop was beginning to auction records on Ebay, one buyer found Bedtime Stories Read by Johnny Morris and told Dave: “I’ve been looking for this record for about 20 years.”
The shop offers a variety of deals – photo: Joanna Stopford
With Plastic Wax’s varied collection ranging from Indie/Pop to Drum and Bass ad Bristol Archive Collections, there is bound to be something that appeals to any passing visitor.
The Bristol section, made up of bands such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Bananarama, is one of the most popular sections for souvenirs or for longtime residents hoping to represent their city pride.
Plastic Wax Records offers a wide range of genres – photo: Joanna Stopford
As well as selling records from Bristol celebrities, Plastic Wax Records holds its own when it comes to legendary status, even Massive Attack have been in to buy stuff to sample.
The shop has a community feel and is consistently filled with regulars stocking up for their own record shops; Plastic Wax Records delivers on quality as well as abundance.
Main photo: Martin Booth
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