Vinyl countdown....Wakefield record shop's move to make it 'one of the best in the UK'

Wah Wah Records is bucking the trend when it comes to high street trading, and will move from its small Brook Street premises to Cross Square in the coming months.

Taking over the former Wool N Stuff shop, it is a stone's throw from the current shop.

Owner Alan Nutton says there it will double the space he has at the current shop, and will fill it solely with vinyl records.

He told the Express: "It's really exciting, we've got a blank canvas to start again. It's going to be pretty epic for a record shop.

"It will be a treasure trove to pull people in from all around.

"I've never known a record shop that will be this extensive.

"Record stores are different now (selling games and phones) but this will be all music. It will be one of the most fantastic in the UK, and I've been to many.

"Our current location no longer suited our needs, mainly in size.

"We have outgrown it, we have masses of stock that we just don’t have the room to put out.

"In our new location there will be ample. Once we are sorted and up and running I feel Wah Wah Records will be one of the best record shops in the UK, a real diggers' paradise.

"I often walk through Cross Square and I’ve always thought it has the perfect location for a record shop, it is a popular street surrounded by café life and we will be honoured to bring Wah Wah to work alongside businesses there.

"I am confident and excited about this move. When I opened Wah Wah I took a big chance and I think now it’s time to take another and really turn Wah Wah into the haven of all havens."

The specialist store was opened by Alan almost eight years ago as a labour of love, but despite the depressing downward trend for most high street retailers, demand for vinyl records continues to grow.

Keeping in touch with customers via social media, he purposely took the decision to keep sales 'over the counter' rather than online, a move which has paid off.

And even the first lockdown failed to deter the rejuvenated industry.

Alan said: "I have been building up stock and customers for some time, and while lockdown took the shine off it, we're now back to where we were before.

"Vinyl was something that benefited from lockdown, people had more time on their hands and nothing to spend their money on, so a lot of people bought records.

"When shops opened again people were pent up, and they want to just get in and browse."

Alan says that he will be getting the keys to the new shop in the coming weeks, and is planning to open by the end of May.