Now over to James in London:

James: The UK is HOT (with a capital H!) on record fairs...
(Supplemented by AoF's Report on the 1st International.)

UK RECORD COLLECTING MAGAZINE

There is a UK magazine called RECORD COLLECTOR (published monthly) which has tons of private sellers advertising their wares in it. Although there's not a lot of Scritti stuff, it does have the odd bit and also carries all the advertisements for the record fairs and even people who are selling back-issues, etc. If you're interested in the address of the Record Collector office (they may be able to do overseas subscriptions, etc.)...

RECORD COLLECTOR
43/45 St. Mary's Road
Ealing
London W5 5RQ
UK

AoF Comments: This magazine is also available in NYC at Tower Books on Lafayette Street in the East Village.

UK RECORD FAIRS

I'm going record hunting...I've looked through Record Collector and sure enough there are some more Record Fairs coming up. (AoF: And Record Collection list the big ones way ahead of time. AoF got the Dec 96 issue and there were already listings for fairs way into 97.) Because the main organiser behind many of the big Record Fairs is very good at it, there are usually a few a month. The small local fairs (a collection of sellers in a church hall!) are usually once every few weeks as they rotate between venues. The biggest are run by `VIP' and are held in London (Victoria). They have hundreds of stalls to look around! A few of the stalls are sure to be selling back issues of magazines, etc. For information about where and when for the big fairs contact...

VIP
P.O. Box 147
Leicester LE2 5GP
UK

ELECTRIC BALLROOM RECORD FAIRS
Camden Town
London NW1 8AF
UK
(just north of Camden Town tube station)
hours: occasional Saturdays
AoF Comments:   Although this doesn't run every Saturday, it's still worth checking out as not only sellers like Clive Fullman listed below have stalls there, it's also a historical pilgrimage destination as early Scritti played there. You may also find a stall or two selling publicity photos.

UK SELLING COMPANIES

Some of these are mail order places, others are shops...

ESPRIT
Esprit House
Railway Sidings
Meopham
Kent DA13 0LT
UK
eMail:   [email protected]
Comments:   Esprit are a big company who offer great service, etc. However, they only usually have one or two Scritti Politti items in stock...but keep polling them! eMail them for a list.

ENERGY
Cherrywood Lodge
Offices 4-6
Polperro Road
West Looe
Cornwall PL13 2JE
UK
eMail:   [email protected]
Comments:   Again, they're big but I haven't used them before (so I can't comment...). eMail for a list? (They're closing for alterations between October 16-28, 1996)

ENCORE
9 Tansy Close
Pakefield
Lowestoft
Suffolk
UK
Comments:   taken from James' magazine issue 2 insert.

ADRIANS
36-38 High Street
Wickford
Exxex SS12 9AZ
UK
Comments:   taken from James' magazine issue 2 insert.

CJ'S MUSIC & MEMORABILIA
Homend Mews
Ledbury
Herefordshire HR8 1BN
UK
eMail:   [email protected]
website:   http://www.cjs.co.uk
Comments:   taken from James' magazine issue 2 insert.

THE SINGLES BAR
200a Chalk Farm Road
Camden Town
London NW1 8AF
UK
(in Camden Lock Building, right under the railway bridge)
tel: (44-171) 284-0403
hours: Tue-Fri 11.30am-5.00pm/Sat-Sun 10.30am-6.00pm/closed Mondays
AoF Comments:   Any place that still has a whole section devoted to Scritti gets a five shovel rating! Selection's quite good and the price is right too -- at approx. £3-4 range for most. Quite a few 7", 12" from all phases left.

REGENTS CANAL MARKET
Camden Town
London NW1 8AF
UK
(entrance from Camden High Street north of Regents Canal)
hours: Sat-Sun 10.30am-6.00pm
AoF Comments:   A few records and magazine stalls. Lots of catches on the teeny-bopper magazines front.

MUSIC & VIDEO EXCHANGE
38, 56, & 64 Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill
London W11
UK
(east of Notting Hill Gate tube station)
tel: (44-171) 221-1444
AoF Comments:   Good mostly for cheapish early records. Also had poster from Songs To Remember era.

PEMBRIDGE ROAD
Notting Hill
London W11
UK
(west of Notting Hill Gate tube station)
AoF Comments:   A few totally disheveled but cheap archeological digs. Saw a £2 engraved Songs To Remember vinyl and a £3 I Don't Know Why I Love You CD single san the pop-up box back in January.

ON THE BEAT COLLECTOR'S RECORDS
22 Hanway Street
Soho
London W1P 9DD
UK
(northwest of Tottenham Court Road tube station)
tel: (44-171) 637-8934
AoF Comments:   Great finds at moderate-expensive prices. Scritti has its own section and at one time had a copy Boom! There She Was promotional video box set sadly snatched up by someone not AoF affiliated.

HANWAY & BERWICK STREETS
Soho
London W1
UK
(northwest & southwest of Notting Hill Gate tube station)
AoF Comments:   Quite a few record shops on both street, but not a whole lot of findings. Did see a 3" compilation CD with Absolute among songs by other civilizations however.

VINTAGE MAGAZINE COMPANY
39/43 Brewer Street
Soho
London W1
UK
(northeast of Piccadilly Circus tube station)
tel: (44-171) 439-8525
AoF Comments:   OK, so it's not a record shop, but it's got lots of magazine back issues and so great for the articles collector. They even had NME, Sounds, Melody Maker from the 70's. Magazines are in the basement. There's also a Collectors Emporium at 7/8 Greenland Place in Camden Town, tel: (44-171) 482-0587. Greenland Place.

UK PRIVATE SELLERS

ROBIN DAVIES
c/o Hit The Deck
P.O. Box 92
Broadstairs
Kent CT10 2AG
UK
eMail:   [email protected]
website:   http://www.adept.co.uk/hit_the_deck
Comments:   Many Scritti items but very, very pricey (4 A-Sides is costing me 30 pounds)! If you don't care about the price (and no-one else has it) give it a go. Write or eMail for a list.

ANDREW HARPER
12 Lowther Drive
Higher Folds
Leigh
Lancashire WN7 7YQ
UK
Comments:   I've bought a few things from him and the service + prices are good. He's got a few bits so write for a list.

CLIVE FULLMAN
P.O. Box 135
Enfield
Middlesex EN2 7AD
UK
Comments:   Again, I've bought a few things from him and the service + prices are good. He's got a few bits so write for a list.