Backbeat Records

How does it compare with the portrayal in High Fidelity?
Paddy Calvert: When the film came out I was asked by someone to go check it out and I thought it was amazingly accurate. The guys that work in the film reminded me of the guys who work for me!

How did you end up running your own record shop?
I was working for Terri Hooley in Good Vibrations and in 1997 he closed the bigger, Great Victoria Street branch. There was another branch in Howard Street and basically I was facing up to the prospect of life on the dole. Luckily that became Backbeat. I just drifted in; nothing was actually planned that way.

What are the best and worst aspects of the job?
The worst part of the job is probably just the routine involved. It eventually becomes like any other job. The good part is that you are working with music, there’s a social element to it when dealing with a lot of people and being able to recommend things to them. I’ve met a ton of really nice people over the years. We were hit really badly with the rise of downloading and copying CDs from the internet. It became a nightmare. It just happened that we were selling less and less CDs while the rates and rent where just going up and up. At the time it was the only record shop south of the centre, but here it’s cheaper, more central and handier for other record shops.

Any famous Patrons?
Actually the one that comes instantly to mind is the late Joe Strummer of The Clash. When he was last in Belfast playing with the Mescaleros he called into the shop to hang about. Despite not having been a big fan of The Clash for a few years I was still awestruck to see Joe behind the counter, rolling himself a cigarette. There’s been quite a few bands and the like in, when they’ve soundchecked and have a few hours to kill. We had Ritchie Hathins in and The Bees who were cool because they’re all into reggae.

Any really good finds?
I got a collection of Reggae records off a guy. Now I’d be quite into reggae but didn’t know much about this guy’s records. I put it onto eBay more to test the waters than anything else and managed to make a three figure sum, which was great.

Do you have any advice for anyone who might want to start their own place?
Make sure you’ve got lots of money behind it because it’s an increasingly difficult business. Sure if you’ve got a big record collection and you’re looking rid of it get a shop but there are a lot of hidden costs. Look ten years down the line because things will change.

Issue #48 - O RLY?

Featuring Primal Scream, CSS, Mogwai, Black Kids, Sparks, Evan Dando and more.