Brilliant and much loved record shop that was at Summer Row in the city centre.
Celebrating Birmingham's Popular Music History
Celebrating Birmingham's Popular Music History
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I Lived in Second City Sounds every saturday through the mid 8ts to early 9ts, it sat next to the Mod cafe at the back of central library, and lads of kids would trek from the Outrigger on Moor street across town, sometimes through the Bull Ring, which was a dangerous place due to the rudies and Zulu’s that hung out in there. Great shop that I literally had tons of Soul and beat 45’s from. happy memories..
Mal.C
Just stumbled upon this.
I also spent every Saturday in Second City Sounds and the Mod cafe.
And yes I was one of the Mods that used to trek to and from the Outrigger.
Always great fun dodging the Zulus and rude boys.
Great times
Yeh. Went to 2nd city sounds most saturdYs in the 80″s
I didn’t have to dodge the danger of the bull ring as I just got off the no”9 bus at colmore row? & walked to the shop
Loads of gatefold bowie & roxy!
I used to go to Second City Sounds, and got a large part of my Queen collection from there (i could probably look at records and pin point which were from there, and what i paid!). I was about 11 or 12 (1987/88) when i first went there, buying records my neighbour (who was a fan and got me into them) had told me about! Talk about cheeky and being a wind up, but i guess we were just kids! I used to go there as part of a record shop circuit i used to do around Birmingham, and Second City Sounds was always the first record shop as the bus i got (51/52/59) used to go down Colmore Row. I remember the walk thru the Library was sketchy, but the underpass and coming out at the Food College was nerve wracking having been mugged and beaten up for my walkman on one trip! It didn’t put me off going though, and i think i shopped there until about 1998/99 when the shop closed and moved to One Stop Market, Perry Barr for a short time. I remember the shop very fondly, but cuss at the records i missed out on that i saw there but never bought! I remember an episode of ‘Boon’ being filmed on Colmore Row, outside the ‘Adult’ shop! Very weirdly, with the old central library being knocked down recently the thing i miss most is the walk to Second City Sounds as there was always a sense of anticipation that came with going there, not knowing what they’d have in stock. Absolutely amazing shop, very fondly remembered and as shops go, missed massively. Record buying just isn’t the same at all any more, and its because of shops like this being no more. Oddly, my work Xmas Party is at the club that now occupies the building that Second City was in, and i’m only going so i can prop myself up against the square pillars that were in the way of some of the record racks lol! Talk about memories!! But the place was amazing, hence the amount of memories i have of the place.
The ‘Zulus’ ?
What does this mean?
Used to work just across the road from Second City and was a frequent lunchtime visitor where I would happily while away the time. They used to have some interesting rare stuff on the back wall I remember and a few nuggets in the regular racks. It was always a little seedy around there and you had to shuffle past the sex shop and massage parlour and felt a bit self conscious when you came out with your stuff in a bag. I reckon I bought may last ever vinyl from SCS before I stupidly switched to CD.