Warwickshire town to welcome new record shop as new owner delighted by rise in vinyl sales

SHIPSTON is a “cool little town,” according to new business owner Anthony Duffy. The DJ, who is originally from Birmingham, will open the doors of his record shop, Expressions of Sound soon.

The shop will be located on Church Street, in what was once Dice boutique. This business closed its doors back in January.

“We’ll be opening there on 29th March,” Anthony told the Herald. “We’re going to have a little welcome party, so there’ll be a funk and soul listening set and then we’ll be selling eclectic records from all around the world, all the genres you
can think of really.

“We’re going to have two little listening booths in the shop as well, so people can listen to their records before they buy them.”

On opening up in Shipston, Anthony explained how pieces fell into place.

He said: “I’m originally from Birmingham and I did a lot of DJ-ing around Birmingham. I’ve just met a girl, moved to Shipston last year. I’ve been wanting to open a record store for years now, I’ve been a collector and the opportunity came along and I got a really nice feel about Shipston – plus it’s on the doorstep of Stratford. I did look at a few venues in Stratford actually, but they were probably a little bit out of my price range.”

Anthony believes that Shipston could be the ideal spot for him, and talks with others in the town brought him to this conclusion.

“This opportunity came up in Shipston. I fell in love with the shop and kind of just from talking to a lot of the locals, I think that it could be a cool little destination, especially as it’s on the doorstep of the
Cotswolds as well. I don’t know of other record stores around really, the closest one would probably be Leamington. There seems to be quite a lot of interest in it, so I’m quite excited.”

Vinyl sales have seen a resurgence in recent years. According to the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association, vinyl album sales grew by 10.5 per cent to £196 million in 2024. The rising interest in physical music is something Anthony acknowledged.

“There’s a big resurgence in vinyl,” Anthony said. “A lot of people seem to be rebuying their collections and then a lot of youngsters seem to really get into it. I think people are fed up with everything just being
streamed these days and people not actually owning music. There’s a real interest again, and I think vinyl sales are at the highest they’ve been since the 1980s, it seems like a big business again.

“It’s almost like buying art, it’s like there’s so much more to the music, there’s so much more to it than when you stream music. With streaming you get the music, but with vinyl you get the art too, it’s more of an artefact. I think that’s one of thereasons why we’re seeing this resurgence.”

Anthony has shared news of the shop opening on social media and also with people in the town and was pleased with the enthusiasm he’s received so far.

“It’s been really good, I’ve had a lot of support. Shipston’s quite a cool little town actually, there’s quite a lot of independent businesses here, so everyone’s really supportive.

“They also have the proms in Shipston every year, so it’s already a bit of a musical town, I’d say. It’s been really positive.”