Wrecking Ball Music & Books is expanding after several exciting and successful months in Princes Quay. The independent retailer will open a new store at 15 Whitefriargate, Hull, HU1 2ER in late summer 2020.
Wrecking Ball Music & Books is an independent retail outlet that sells new and used vinyl, the entire Wrecking Ball Press catalogue and an extensive range of books from independent publishers, alongside merchandise, gifts and gig tickets.
Wrecking Ball Music & Books exists to place the perfect vinyl and books into the hands of music lovers and readers. It prides itself on providing the tactile and tangible feel of books and records, the best words on the page and the unique sound of vinyl, all of which nourish the mind and body.
The independent retail outlet is a joint venture between Wrecking Ball Press editor, book lover and music fan Shane Rhodes and music promoter and vinyl junkie Gary Marks. The success of the venture is down to the decades of business experience and knowledge of both partners.
While many predicted the death of the High Street as inevitable, Shane and Gary seized on the opportunity to place the shop at the forefront of the regeneration of city centres by independent retailers, matching their passion and knowledge to customer demands.
While recent events have slowed down redevelopment and business expansion, this is exactly the right moment in time for forward-thinking, independent retailers to place themselves at the heart of the communities they serve. Wrecking Ball Music & Books is a unique proposition for the city of Hull and its people.
Prior to COVID-19, there was both a resurgence in independent book shops and vinyl sales and, when normality returns, Wrecking Ball Music & Books will be there to enable customers to indulge their passions. The shop is well-positioned to make its mark when independent retailers boom once more in the near future.
The outlet also allows its owners to sell Wrecking Ball Press books, and those of thousands of other independent publishers, direct to customers, and tickets to music gigs, including those organised by sister company Wrecking Ball Promotions. In turn, this supports the city’s smaller venues, bigger event spaces, and saves gig-goers the cost of online booking fees.
The shop is also supported by online sales channels, via a new Wrecking Ball Music & Books online shop and the Wrecking Ball store on used and rare vinyl website discogs.
The new store on Whitefriargate will enable Wrecking Ball Music & Books to maintain a larger stock of items and extend its range of vinyl and books on offer to customers. The new store will also house a cafe and improved, larger environment for music fans and book lovers, as well as presenting the opportunity to host larger in-store events.
The site of the new Wrecking Ball Music & Books store is the former Kapow! store but is perhaps more fondly remembered as the home of the city’s original Kardomah coffee shop, part of the chain that was popular from the 1940s.
The image used is an artist’s impression of Whitefriargate regeneration. The historic street is set to be redeveloped dramatically via the Humber High Street Challenge Fund and other large scale investment funding that will improve building frontages, bring unused floorspace back into use and facilitate new business startup and expansion proposals.