Dub Vendor

Dub Vendor is a long-standing, and pioneering, London vendor of ska and reggae music, that is now, mainly a London-based, mail order company specialising in Jamaican music. In 2006, Time Out termed it "the best source of Jamaican music in Europe".[1]

History

Founded by John MacGillivray and Chris Lane,[1] Dub Vendor began life in 1976 as a market stall in London's Clapham Junction in response to the considerable lack of West Indian music at the time.[2] Clapham Junction at that time was a poor inner suburb, and the surging population of immigrants from the West Indies made Battersea and nearby Brixton their new homes. The stall, and the shop that followed, were instant successes, and the second Dub Vendor store (or 'record shack' as it's known) opened four years later in Ladbroke Grove right next to the Underground station.

In response to London's reggae scene flourishing in the early 1980s, larger premises were required to cater for the increasing demand for reggae, ska, and allied genres. Subsequently, 274 Lavender Hill became Dub Vendor's flagship store and also the home of its home-brew recording studio label, Fashion Records.[2]

The Ladbroke Grove shack continued to operate alongside the Lavender Hill store until 1991, when it was moved down the road to 150 Ladbroke Grove, due to the lack of space in the shack to accommodate the ever-increasing patronage. The future for the Ladbroke Grove branch began to look bleak, however, as sales fell and the rent increased. The final nail in the coffin came in 2007 in the form of the introduction of the Western Extension of London's congestion charge, which resulted in the store closing its doors to the public just over a year later on 28 June 2008.[3]

In September 2011, it was announced that its store in Clapham Junction is closing down after damage sustained in the riots that took place in London the previous month.[4]

Dub Vendor more recently

As of September 2015, Dub Vendor now have a shop on Portobello Road in the Mau Mau Bar and a live music venue in Ladbroke Grove.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Multicultural London | Buy the rudest sounds". Time Out. 31 May 2006. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012.
  2. "About Dub Vendor". Dub Vendor. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. "Dub Vendor farewell party". ITZ Caribbean. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. Tom Goodwyn (1 September 2011). "Reggae record shop Dub Vendor to close after 35 years due to riot damage". NME. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  5. "Dub Vendor: The lion sleeps as reggae shack closes doors". The Independent. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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