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More on KentOnline
Scores of people have been queueing up outside a popular record shop after the owners announced it is set to close.
Martin Eastman and wife Chris have been running B’side the C’side in Herne Bay High Street since 2013.
But they have decided to relocate to Essex and sold the store after it was put on the market last year.
They have now launched a closing down sale where “everything must go”.
Martin, 65, has been living his boyhood fantasy of owning a record store ever since he bought his first vinyl in 1962.
His wife Chris described how they had to make the difficult decision to sell the shop to be closer to family.
“It was my husband’s dream so I thought ‘OK, let’s get it out of his system’,” the 63-year-old said. “So we moved down here and opened the shop.
“It is a shame to move really because if our family was down here, we wouldn’t be leaving. We have had a great time down - people are so friendly and lovely.
“Even now, people have been queuing up since 8am - we don’t open until 10am - and they’re bringing us bottles of wine and everything.
“The community is lovely and we have never known anything like it.”
Over the years, the couple have held fundraisers for Children in Need and hosted lots of live bands.
They have also had bands visit to sign the store’s ‘wall of fame’ - including The Animals and The Troggs.
"We’ve had a great time... people are so friendly and lovely..."
The pair say vinyls are still very popular despite the rise of streaming platforms, like Spotify. In fact, they say children come into the shop to pick up old records rather than new ones - such as classical music.
Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie have been some of the most popular choices for music-lovers.
“We have always been busy and we have never been under threat,” Chris added.
“Where people walk around with earphones, it’s like background music.
“But they like taking a vinyl out of the sleeve and the crackling when the needle goes down.”
The store will be closing in the next couple of months - but a date is not yet confirmed.
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