Social History — C. 1970
Record player
Jazz fan Doug Dobell went to work at his father's bookshop on Charing Cross Road in 1946. After he joined the family business the shop began selling records in addition to books. Dobell's shop specialised in jazz and rapidly became the hub of the West End scene gaining both national and international notoriety. The shop also became a Mecca for teenage skiffle music fans in the fifties.
In the mid fifties Dobell launched a record label, 77 Records, named after the shop's street number. The label specialised in jazz, blues and folk and released an early Bob Dylan track recorded under the name 'Blind Boy Grunt'. Famous visitors to the shop included American blues legends BB King and Muddy Waters.
This Garrard SP25 Mk II record player and built-in amplifier were collected from the shop by the Museum of London in 1981 when Dobell's relocated to nearby Tower Street. The deck was taken from a listening booth which allowed customers to play records they were interested in before buying. Doug Dobell died in 1987 and the shop closed in 1992.
- Category:
- Social History
- Object ID:
- 81.45/6
- Object name:
- record player
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- Garrard Ltd, RAH Automation Ltd
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- c. 1970
- Material:
metal, rubber, plastic
- Measurements/duration:
- H 120 mm, W 410 mm, D 355 mm
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.