amyshrift asked:
Hi Neil! My partner and I both watched good omens season 2 and loved it. The only part my partner did not like is the unrealistic portrayal of Magie's record shop. "That place would be very busy in Soho! Especially with hipsters" were his words. I told him I would ask you if there was a reasonable explanation for the lack of business in Maggie's shop?
I’m sure he’s right. But still… I’ve watched so many wonderful established Soho record shops go out of business in the last thirty years, and I’ve gone into shops that used to be bustling that were pretty much empty because people had stopped buying music on disks or tape or vinyl, and seen several amazing specialist shops I thought would last forever close their doors that it seemed to me pretty likely that a vinyl-based shop that had been in business since about 1930 would be struggling.
Here’s a wonderful article from the web (from 2015) about all the record shops that have closed in Soho – especially in Berwick Street, which inspired Whickber Street.
And here are the record shops of Soho from 1946-1996:
Reckless Records is still in Berwick Street, so is Sister Ray. Sounds of the Universe in Broadwick Street is lovely. And there are others. But I’ve not often found them “especially busy” although they are never as empty as Maggie’s shop.