B&T Music
JUDE MONTAGUE
Gazing longingly into the window of B&T Music at seductive guitars, cymbals, pedals… is part of Hastings life for budding musicians. So it was a blow to our hearts when it was announced this year that it was time for B & T to hang up its hat as a walk-in. But in a last-minute reprieve for the music community, the shop will remain open on Saturdays, and actually most weekdays with a doorbell for service. Workshop facilities will also still be available as usual, serving those who need strings, plectrums or sticks, want to try out a guitar or just get some person-to-person advice.
Roger Flack at B & T sales till
Since the advent of the internet economic pressures have increased, making it less and less financially sustainable to run an open-doors music retail business, and shops close up and down the country. At this pivotal moment for the business, I talked to owner Roger Flack about the shop’s history.
B&T Keyboards, as it was then known, was set up in 1975 by two sisters (and business partners), Linda Barnett and Sylvia Thompson – hence B&T. Linda’s husband Dave ran their repair workshop.
Not long after opening, Liane Carroll and Richard Moore joined the team, Richard first as an employee and later becoming a business partner. He recalls the focus on the local organ scene, with many happy days spent demonstrating gear and staging promotional concerts with organ greats of the day, including George Blackmore, Tony Pegler, Harold Smart and Chio Sunamoto.
Music technology changes fast, and demand alters with the generations. As the organ market died off, the keyboard scene developed. “By the time I sold to Roger in 1998,” says Richard, “the shop had become a general music shop, with high music sales and a large amount of educational instruments – as music was being taught successfully in schools at the time – plus hundreds of guitars of course.”
When Liane left, Roger Flack (at 17 already playing piano, guitar and drums) joined the team, and began to learn about set-ups and other essential aspects of the business. He says that while Dave Thompson was a whizz at electronics, he himself never fully got into the electrical side of keyboards, “although I learned about pick-ups, soldering and how to fix a lead.” Roger eventually became a business partner and today is the sole trader, working with two members of staff, Adam Flack and Matt Patmore, both also guitarists.
Hastings is a special place for musicians. And there are makers of musical instruments here too, notably luthier (specialist in stringed instruments) Russ Haywood, originally from Sheffield. Many players, including myself, are proud of their wonderful Sussex-built Haywood guitars, with their clarity and good intonation – they ring beautifully right up the neck. Although Russ is now semi-retired, a couple of his handmade guitars still hang on the shop wall, available for sale. Roger uses his Haywood guitars for his gigging career, having moved from progressive rock into more folky fields. He is one of the original trio of Peter Knight’s Gigspanner, and at the core of the acclaimed Gigspanner Big Band.
Richard Moore is writing his memoirs about his life playing and promoting organs including his work with the Rye Wurlitzer Academy. “In the late 70s/early 80s there was a huge Town and Country Fair in Alexander Park with a large Marquee,” Richard remembers. “It was a wonderful event two days – we always had a large stand and took instruments along, and I sat and simply played them for two days. What a nice memory to have.”
The community aspect of the business has been vital to the music community of Hastings – not to downplay the other independent music equipment shops over the years such as Deano’s (Golden Axe Music Shop), also on Claremont, or the legendary Masons Music that closed ten years ago. While the music scene is still thriving here despite the pressures, it needs a support system. When buying remotely or online, counterfeit goods are an issue, and there is also the worry about buying the wrong thing. Real person-to-person advice helps to avoid mistakes. And as Roger says, “A beginner who starts on a bad instrument can be put off for life”.
Rick Nesbit’s experience illustrates the experience of many others over the years. “I was in that shop every week as a young teenager spending my pocket money buying 09-gauge strings. After a couple of visits, they told me to bring the guitar in and they fixed the sharp edge on the bridge which was causing the strings to snap – free of charge. I’ve never forgotten.”
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