Harlequin
The record shop was once the centre of every music lover's universe, from the beginnings of the vinyl 12 inch in the 1940's through to the digital music developments of the 1990's, millions of people browsed, socialised and bought music in 3,235 local record shops, market stalls or high street department stores. Record shops were an integral part of the social fabric in local areas. They launched pop stars, record labels, and were focal points for emerging music genres.
Harlequin was perhaps the godfather of the chain-stores that dominated record and tape retail in the eighties and nineties (Virgin, Our Price, HMV, etc.) The Harlequin shop at number 1, New Market Square, Basingstoke was large enough to stock a good range of genres and was very much on-the-ball in terms of current tastes. Basingstoke was Harlequin’s 51st store but its arrival was trumpeted in a two-page advertisement/feature in the weekend Gazette of May 31st 1974 which includes a personal message of good will from Deep Purple.
In 1980 the Harlequin chain was itself purchased by Our Price and for a short while Basingstoke had two Our Price stores; the other was originally in the parade of shops opposite Rumbelows (in the space now occupied by Greggs’ or the T-Mobile shop) before re-locating to Castle Square in the Malls in the space which is currently Jessops.
Most of the shops in New Market Square began to close around May and June 1998 prior to demolition to make way for the Festival Place shopping mall, with building work getting started later that year.
www.britishrecordshoparchive.org/
razrazzle.wordpress.com/70s-basingstoke-08-of-10-record-a...
www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/community/flashbackthursday/...
Harlequin
The record shop was once the centre of every music lover's universe, from the beginnings of the vinyl 12 inch in the 1940's through to the digital music developments of the 1990's, millions of people browsed, socialised and bought music in 3,235 local record shops, market stalls or high street department stores. Record shops were an integral part of the social fabric in local areas. They launched pop stars, record labels, and were focal points for emerging music genres.
Harlequin was perhaps the godfather of the chain-stores that dominated record and tape retail in the eighties and nineties (Virgin, Our Price, HMV, etc.) The Harlequin shop at number 1, New Market Square, Basingstoke was large enough to stock a good range of genres and was very much on-the-ball in terms of current tastes. Basingstoke was Harlequin’s 51st store but its arrival was trumpeted in a two-page advertisement/feature in the weekend Gazette of May 31st 1974 which includes a personal message of good will from Deep Purple.
In 1980 the Harlequin chain was itself purchased by Our Price and for a short while Basingstoke had two Our Price stores; the other was originally in the parade of shops opposite Rumbelows (in the space now occupied by Greggs’ or the T-Mobile shop) before re-locating to Castle Square in the Malls in the space which is currently Jessops.
Most of the shops in New Market Square began to close around May and June 1998 prior to demolition to make way for the Festival Place shopping mall, with building work getting started later that year.
www.britishrecordshoparchive.org/
razrazzle.wordpress.com/70s-basingstoke-08-of-10-record-a...
www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/community/flashbackthursday/...