Tough Loved Up
By Helen Murphy and Nick Pelling
Something is stirring in and around Bohemia Road. It is coming over all bohemian. We don’t mean that bearded poets are arriving in rhyming droves, although some plausible types have been spotted. No, we mean it is getting quite interesting. Sprucing itself up. Some are even talking about a ‘bohemian quarter’, inclusive of the top end of London Road.
And among the many places that seem to have either just popped up, or redesigned themselves, is the ‘Tough Love’ emporium: a cool little record shop just over the road from the zebra crossing, at number 73 to be precise. We decided to go and have a look and see what was going on. Or down, so to speak.
PROPER RECORD SHOP
The owner of, and brains behind, this independent record shop is the charismatic Anja Petitto, who wears a black ‘Tough Love’ T-shirt in that way people who run record shops do. We asked her why she had brought this idea to St Leonards. She explained that she had grown up in London, in the Hammersmith area, when such record shops “underpinned the alternative music scenes” and that, “despite studying Chemistry”, she always hankered to run a record shop. “Hastings”, she added was “sheer happenstance. I came and I picked up the vibe.” She went on to explain that she had worked in retail for many years and that she felt she had the necessary business acumen to make this work.
Anja Petitto
She clearly has a feel for commercial space. It’s a great place. Music is playing on the turntable – local bands such as ‘Aircooled’ have their great album (St Leopards) placed prominently – and the extensive racks allow punters to browse and ponder. You can ask Anja to play anything in the shop and she will spin it for you.
Anja is also a DJ, and indeed her passion for music is at the heart of her business. She is also highly knowledgeable. She can point you in a new audio direction, which is all part of the joy of a proper record shop.
The shop also has a section of interesting books, vintage T-shirts and offbeat muzo-gifts: in fact, when we were there, we had the feeling that the sheer browsability of ‘Tough Love’ was making it into a kind of community hub. Somewhere lively and interesting to be. Somewhere where you might find an old treasure or maybe learn something about music. Somewhere not virtual, but real.
We have to admit the solidity and sheer tactile quality of vinyl appeals to us. But then we sometimes fantasise about the creation of a Retro Party whose main policy promise is a return to the pre-decimal currency; wouldn’t it be great to start talking about ‘two bob’ or ‘half a crown’ or ‘tuppence’ (is this relevant? – Ed). But obviously, the return of old money is just not possible. But some formats do seem to have the ability to rise from the dead. Take vinyl records. Back in the eighties the whole format was effectively killed off by cassettes and then the CD. And digital downloading should really have made the record player as bygone as the blunderbuss. But no.
A TANGERINE DREAM?
In fact, in 2021 vinyl made up some 23 percent of all album sales in the UK. And that is part of an upward trend that has been rising for a decade or more. And even more peculiarly, around fifty percent of buyers are under thirty-five. It is not, as we first suspected, a nostalgia wave driven by broken-down old rockers with thread-bare hair and a penchant for ‘Tangerine Dream.’ Or some such band. Not at all.
It seems people want vinyl for a whole bunch of reasons. Some think it simply sounds better than digital. We have to agree, but it is still a point of dispute. But vinyl also gives you a proper amount of space for an album cover with attendant artwork and photography and even liner notes or absurdist musings. And then there is the simple fact that people like to build and sort of curate their own record collection. Spotify may offer everything in the sonic universe but in having everything you sort of have nothing. You are just a target for algorithmic assault. And then of course there is the simple wonder of listening whilst watching the shiny thing go around on a piece of musical furniture in the corner of your room. Doubtless, there are many more reasons for what Graham Jones, in his book of the same name, calls ‘The Vinyl Revival.’
We realise, however, that revolving records do not constitute an actual revolution, but nevertheless, we couldn’t help feeling that Anja’s ‘Tough Love’ is, at least, helping to put the bo-ho back into Bohemia. We suggest you get yourself tough-loved up.
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