03 December 2015 - 0 Comments
From Friday January 7th,
2016, Auckland’s iconic record emporium, Real Groovy will open its new doors at
369 Queen Street, previously the Salvation Army auditorium. Right across the
road from their current locale, glass bricks and parquet floors will encase the
tens of thousands of LPs, CDs, audio equipment, books and an eclectic array of
pop culture paraphernalia that comprise Real Groovy’s stock.
Whilst there is nostalgic eye dew for the old setting, Real
Groovy owner, Chris Hart, is looking forward to the move, “We had a good run in
the old shop, 25 years, and that time saw a huge amount of change. But we’re
really excited about moving: the new shop is something special. I couldn’t
imagine a better location or space for Real Groovy”.
With a reputation equalling those of the world’s greatest record
stores*; Amoeba (Los Angeles), Rough Trade East (London), Tower records Tokyo,
Japan) (Indiana, U.S.) and Waterloo Records (Austin Texas, U.S.), Real Groovy
has been a colourful beacon of the Auckland central retail landscape since
1981. The artists that have played in-stores or signings at Real Groovy
reads like a rock n roll who's who almanac, including Queens of the
Stone Age, Sepultura and Townes Van Zandt, amongst many other international and
local acts.
This isn’t the first location change in its history, as 1991 saw
the move from their first Real Groovy store on Mt Eden Rd (just up from where
the Powerstation now sits), to 492 Queen St, then to 438 Queen Street. 2016 is
time to move to its most blessed location to date, at 369 Queen Street.
“The new shop is over two levels of retail”, says Hart,
“the auditorium on the ground floor is a massive space: it’s the same kind of
scale as the old store, but way groovier, absolutely perfect for us. And
there’s a huge basement where we’ll be putting our vinyl department, giving it
the room to grow that it needs”.
The old store 438 Queen Street will remain open until Sunday
January 17th hosting
a massive sale, and customers are encouraged to make that final nostalgic visit
to the old Real Groovy before the wrecking balls hit. Then cross the road and
check out the awesomeness of 369!!
Real
Groovy Records
369 Queen Street
(ex- Salvation Army auditorium)
Auckland City
Opening Friday Jan 7th,
2016
www.realgroovy.co.nz
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