THE ROUGH GUIDE TO BRISTOL

If England has a funky city, then it's Bristol. A historic port with a wealth of normal tourist attractions, it's also one of Britain's most ethnically mixed cities, one of it's major college towns (with an inordinate number of graduates staying on because they like the place), a key clubbing centre, and an important date on any band's touring itinerary. This is Slacker City UK, where skateboards and mountain bikes are forever cool, where café's serve proper Continental coffee, and where every musical genre - from punk to jungle - seems to have a visible presence. New Age is big business here, too - probably something to do with the towns close proximity to Glastonbury (which also accounts for the number of crusties - unwashed traveller types - walking around with dogs on strings). Although the gorgeous Clifton neighbourhood might not be one of the United Kingdom's best urban spaces, the town is not entirely cutesy: Areas like St Paul's, where there were major riots in the 1980's, have an edge.

Many local bands always seem to have kicked around Bristol, but it wasn't until the late seventies that any garnered much attention. The most important band of that era was the intense, agit-pop Pop Group, whose brief time together produced the epic album, For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? They split into four factions: Pigbag, Rip Rig + Panic, Maximum Joy and Mark Stewart and the Maffia, whose distorted, stripped-down electro funk sound is crucial to the Bristol sound of today. Several others emerged from Bristol in the 80's of which the long running Blue Aeroplanes are perhaps the best known. The resolutely pro-vinyl Sarah Label set out in 1987 to produce dreamy, Anglican pop music that became a favourite whipping post for critics. The most successful outfit on the label were the Fieldmice (from Surrey); other bands included Another Sunny Day, The Sea Urchins & Heavenly. The city also had a hand with the combining together of the quirky pop dreamers of the Sundays, who met at Bristol Poly before moving to London and scoring success with reading, writing & arithmetic in 1990. By the start of the 90's, the music and style press were touting Bristol as the next hot scene even before the Madchester craze had died a natural death. The accolades were grounded in the dance-friendly rhythms coming out of the city's sound systems, heavily influenced by the reggae heritage of afro-Caribbean neighbourhoods like St Paul's. A key sound system was the Wild Bunch, who's number included Nellee Hooper (who would later produce Soul II Soul, Björk, U2 and Madonna), as well as 3-D, Daddy G & Mushroom. This trio went on to be the core of Massive Attack, whose fusion of soul and reggae with added punk punch created Bristol's breakthrough album 1991's Blue Lines. One of the key vocalists on that album was Tricky, born Adrian Thawes in 1964, in the tough Knowle West district. He emerged as one of Bristol's most surreal rappers with his 1995 debut album. Maxinquaye (his mother, who died when he was five, was named Maxine Kaye). A young programmer on the Blue Lines album, Geoff Barrow, who had also worked with Tricky, teamed up with barroom vocalist Beth Gibbons to form Portishead, named after a local seaside town. Locals also point to the sounds coming out of the extremely innovative dubby artists of the Cup of Tea label. DJ Crush, DJ Die, and a posse of others push the frontiers of Drum & Bass further, faster, forward. Meanwhile, the guitar -based side of things is in good hands with the Planet label, whose roster includes the local bands Movietone and Crescent, plus the experimental Glaswegians, Ganger.

CHRISTCHURCH STUDIOS

COLSTON HALL (Colston St.) the major large venue - AC/DC did their first U.K. gig here with Brian Johnson as lead singer in November 1980.
FLEECE AND FIRKIN has live music six nights a week. Since the tail end of the '80s, this venue (originally a wool mill and later a pub) has been getting the best of the new bands coming through Bristol. Supergrass, Sleeper and the lightening Seeds all played here in the Britpop era. Prestigious names from the US alternative circuit on their first U.K. tours (such as Jon Spencer and Rocket from the Crypt) played here. Some like the place so much they come back well afte rthey have turned famous: John parish and Polly Harvey (from the nearby town of Yeovil) played four nights here in October 1996 as a low-key promotion for their Dance Hall at Louse Point album. Currently it has live music six nights a week, mixing in roots and blues (Tterry Allen, Albert Lee, Peter Green) with the newer bands. On weekends it's usually tribute acts. 12 St. Thomas St.
LOUISIANA (Bathhurst Terrace, Wapping Rd.)), a great homey little room over a pub close to the city centre, holds fewer than 100 people but usually gets good indie bands - Placebo, Super Furry Animals, Longpigs - on their first visits to Bristol.
NEW TRINITY COMMUNITY CENTRE (Trinity Rd.) as well as offering martial arts classes and club nights, books an eclectic range of midsize live acts most weeks.
UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL STUDENT UNION (Queens Road) at the Anson Rooms venue gets in some top bands: Zion Train, Dodgy and the cardigans have been recent visitors.
BIERKELLER (All Saints St., The Pithay), the second rung for bands on their way up, holds around 800 people and still functions as a Bavarian oompah-oompah beer hall on Saturday nights.

The month of July sees the city's two major festivals. The St Paul's Carnival held in and around the predominantly Afro-Caribbean neighbourhood of the same name, is like a scaled -down version of London's Notting Hill fest. The Bristol Community Festival presents dozens of local bands, DJ's, sound systems, and poets on six stages in the gorgeous grounds of the Ashton Courts Estate on the outskirts of the city.

Record Shops
With so many students, ex-students and prospective DJ's, Bristol is a great source for records, especially vinyl - both new and used. As well as some unusual little stores run by local enthusiasts, the city also has branches of the main chains - HMV, Our Price and Virgin.
There's nothing more beautiful on this little rock of ours than a vinyl junkie in full flow. The souls whose love for a flat bit of black plastic with a hole in is beyond any rational explanation. These people don't need help they need space - to store their floorboard-threatening accrual of tunes, and to, if you will, wax lyrical on this most emotive of formats. As vinyl junkies go. Mick Spick's addiction is relatively mild. He bought his first record, 'A Hard Day's Night', from Boots in Stroud in 1964 and has since gone on to accumulate a mere one thousand singles and fifteen hundred LPs. He even lets CDs contaminate his collection which is, by his own admission, only "roughly alphabetical." Contrast this with the absurd purity of fellow Crazy Bones band member John McLean's obsession. "He's arranged them not just alphabetically but by date. So you get 1959 A to Z, 1960 A to Z cetera. Then there's John Stapleton. He's got fifteen thousand seven inchers, twenty thousand LPs and he refuses to buy CDs if it's humanly possible to get it on vinyl." "I used to work at Virgin," continues Mick. "They were always short at lunchtimes, so I worked then, but they used to pay in records. I was in charge of the rhythm and blues section. It was like that scene in 'High Fidelity' when they set out to sell the Beta Band records. I would stick on Sonny Boy Williamson and people would come up to me and ask, "who's this?" As a recording artist himself, he concedes to feeling "disappointed" at the measly artwork on his CDs. "I bought 'High Tide and Green Grass' by the Rolling Stones and remember poring over every picture, wondering what they meant. CDs are tacky and non-tactile." Two shops vie for the title of his favourite. He's been buying at Disc 'n' Tape since 1970 - "the prices and selection are always good" - while relative newcomer Imperial is also heartily recommended. Another stalwart of the Bristol music scene, Gerard Langley of Blue Aeroplanes fame, also bigs up Park Street's Imperial. "I go there first because they're most likely to have what I want. For secondhand, it's Replay in the Haymarket" He estimates owning between two and three thousand records but readily releases items he hasn't played for some time. "Space is a consideration, so when I want some new stuff I box up and exchange. Records and CDs hold their value better than books or videos so it's a very economical form of entertainment." Recycling notwithstanding, Gerard also points out the longevity of vinyl compared to the alternatives. "It's the only long-term proven medium. The ink on CDs can eat into the metal while tape oxidises. That's why they're called records." He believes vinyl sounds better than other formats ("they don't get scratched if you look after them") and even LPs' duration weighs in their favour. "There's something about forty minutes a side. It's a natural attention span." Some of his stuff is now worm a pretty penny. The Sandy Denny EP he bought for £3 is valued at £160. He considers his most prized records to be a Dylan bootleg and a rare pressing of his own, simply because they'd be so difficult to replace. He fondly remembers his first purchase in 1971. "It was at Wakefield's Record Bar on the Wells Road. It was run by a little man and had a sweet shop out front I bought 'Stormcock' by Roy Harper for £2.'10." leatherette sleeves and Wagon Wheels - beat that, Napster. It's not all blokes coming over all unnecessary at the thought of inner sleeves and run-out grooves. Bristol DJ Queen Bee estimates her collection at around ten thousand LPs and 12's, with about fifty CDs. "They're for home listening, freebies or are of world music you can't get on vinyl," she explains. She still plays her first record, 'Inside Out' by Odyssey, which she bought from a shop "near Kickers, on the same side", getting on for a quarter of a century ago. Her DJing takes her all over Europe and naturally her vinyl is equally well travelled. Should she end up on a desert island, Stevie Wonder's 'Songs in the Key of Life' would be the record to keep her sane: "It's a double LP' so there's more to listen to!" You can hear her peripatetic pressings of her regular Storm FM session. As with Gerard, it's the irreplaceable nature other rare tunes that makes them special. "I was playing 'Intimate Connection' by Kleer a couple of years ago, and a bloke came up and offered twenty, thirty quid. I told him to go away! It's not even available on compilation. DJs hate it when a really rare early eighties twelve turns up on a compilation." She nominates Rooted and Imperial as her first ports of call when record trawling. "They (Rooted) are nice guys, and their choice is always good." If 'High Fidelity' got you in the mood for some serious track tracking-down, dig out the Peter Storm, think painfully, willfully obscure, perfect the chin-stroking and head-nodding, then set off on this guide to the vinyl frontier.

AZAD'S VIDEOS 369 Stapleton Rd. (0117) 951 0595
Don't be confused by the name - Azad sells a healthy selection of bhangra CDs and cassettes by chart-topping acts like Bally Sagoo and B21 (yep, they're from Brum.) Lots of film soundtracks and classical Asian music. Bhangra notaries Alap and Attaullan have flicked through the racks. RECOMMENDED

BACKYARD 31 St Stephen St. off Corn St. (0117) 926 4968
The hip-hop's cutting edge but the atmosphere's definitely friendly at this tucked-away choon heaven. Weekly imports from the States and Jamaica mean the new skool is always new, while there's reggae and funk reissues on 7" and the occasional secondhand collection if the selector wants to rewind. The sofa makes for chilling with your illing. Videos and t-shirts also sold.RECOMMENDED

BANG BANG 80 Colston St. (0117) 9227377
One of only fifteen shops nationwide whose sales contribute to Pete Tong's Cool
Cuts chart, this place is DJ vinyl nirvana. Styles vary all the way from tech house to hard house to new skool breaks in the modern,
esoteric ambience. Nick Warren, Sasha and Way Out West's Jody have all stocked up here.RECOMMENDED

BRISTOL CLASSICAL DISCS 59 Broad St. (0117) 927 6536
The best selection of classical CDs in the city, according to man-who-knows Roger. They're currently doing a lot of music taken from books, with Vikram Seth's 'An Equal Music' selling well, alongside something about a captain and his mandolin. Wagner tops the opera stakes right now, displacing Puccini. Pavarotti is waning, presumably his doctor's pleased. Top conductor Sir Charles Mackerras has brought his baton here.

BRISTOL TICKET SHOP 12 The Arcade. (0117) 929 900,8
The move from the back of Our Price means these lovely people are busier than ever before. The shop for local and national gigs and West End show tickets. Stocks Bristol label compilation CDs and stuff by acts like Rita Lynch and Apache Dropout. Look out for PJ Harvey or Paul McGann in the queue ahead.

CD EXCHANGE UNIT 2, St. Nicholas Market. (0117) 927 7300
Going nine years and specialising in indie, alternative and rock and pop, nu-metal hoodies nestle between the cult vids and CDs on sale. Modest vinyl choice. 10% discount with NUS card. John Peel once bought a Fall record here. Quite simply, none more indie.

DISC'NTAPE 17Gloucester Rd. (0117) 9422227
Unashamedly top 40 oriented, with singles on 7" still, but also worth checking out for imports and rarities. The friendly, knowledgeable staff offer students 10% off, and have sorted out Henry Rollins with a Fall LP before now. What is it about intense musos, the Fall and Bristol record shops?

EAT THE BEAT 11 St Nicholas St. (0117) 9251691
Dance music specialists with a whopping 90% vinyl turnover, there's a milk bar feel brought by the dinky cafe here. This helps the laid back atmosphere, added to by helpful and willing staff, so music snobs -with attitude can go elsewhere. Jazzy Jeff didn't. Three listening posts but no scratching.RECOMMENDED

FOPP 43-45 Park St. (011 7) 945 0685
Following the success of shops in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Sheffield and Leamington Spa, Fopp's simple 'Blue' and 'Brown' (£5 and £10) pricing structure has arrived on Park Streeth. Quality, low prices and good service underpin their operations, with chart and specialist CDs, books and videos on sale. It's the sourcing and re-pressing of classic vinyl, though, which will really get the wax-lover's pulse racing. With Gil Scott Heron's The revolution will not be televised' and Roy Ayers' 'Everybody loves the sunshine' among me top ten sellers, start forming a salivating queue now. Rock guru Alan McGee lias said tliat irrespective of new technology and integrated e-commerce (both heartily embraced here) "there will always be Fopp." Famous and Dandy. RECOMMENDED

GENESIS 226 Stapleton Road (0117)9025674

MUSIC STOP 43 Gloucester Rd. (0117)9423044
Long established , with mainstream, DVDs and jazz for Clifton types, and more emphasis on vinyl and back catalogue for the Gloucester Rd kids. Smallish but friendly, very much like Micliaela Strachan, whose hubby drops by, along with Radio Bristol's John Turner. Rock 'n' roll!

NUBIAN RECORDS 148 Lower Ashley Rd
This is a popular well stocked Reggae store.

PLASTIC WAX 222 Cheltenham Kd. (0117)9427368
Legendary Bristol outlet with a massive 100,000 items on sale. In amongst lhat little lot you'll find everything from the 50s to the present day, on formats from 78s to DVDs. £60 will buy you a rare Mersey Beats LP, while discounts can vary between 10% and 20%. Si Hedges of Bristol faves Airbus once worked at the long gone cross-town branch.

PRIME CUTS 85 Gloucester Rd.
Terrifyingly impressive selection of vinyl no lunch hour can do justice to. Open six months but already a firm fixture on any record-buying trawl. Found downstairs at Repsycho, so you can leave your other half buying Baader-MeinhofAdidas tracksuits if they don't appreciate all those lovely must-have DJ tracks. Talking of which. Cash Money popped in to get his hands on 'I Believe in Miracles' by the Jackson Sisters. RECOMMENDED

RAYNERS COMPACT DISCS 84 Park St. (0117)9300999
Allegedly the oldest record shop in Bristol, the name pretty much sums up what they sell. They used to have me best carrier bags in the world, incorporating "loots and me Maytals' legendary '54-46 dial's my number' track into me artwork. Now all forms of music life arc here, classical, folk, jazz, mainstream, pop, country and metal. Some vinyl, mainly 80s.

REPLAY 9a Haymarket Walk. (0117)9041133
Punk's not dead as long as Replay keep'on keeping on down at the bus station. The tunes lean toward rock and metal, with indie, hip hop, jazz, funk and reggae also represented. There's a respectable 30% vinyl content rifled through by Bristol's punk rockers, who appreciated the recent Coal Chamber signing. Quite what Steve Davis made of it all when he popped in to ask for directions is anyone's guess.RECOMMENDED

REPLAY 73 Park St. (0117)9041134
This might be the sister shop to the above but the two bear little relation. Although the emphasis is similarly on non-poppy/chart tracks, it's dance, reggae, roots and indie floating the boats of the students blowing their loans and trust funds here. Those loveable Park Street scamps skateboard in for hip-hop hoodies and t- shirts. while DJs pick up decks and boxes, too. Roni regularly sizes up the selection. A pale imitation of it's former self.

ROOTED RECORDS 9 Glourestrr Rd. Bishopston (0117)9074373
What was once a superbly stocked tobacconist has been, for me last two and a half years, an equally smokin' record shop. Pete and crew maintain an underground feel with dance, funk. soul, reggae, techno, UK garage, hip-hop and electronica. There's Latin/jazz, Brazilian and Afro beats, too, in an exemplary 70/30 vinyl/CD split. The atmosphere is brilliant, representing, as it does Gloucester Road's colourful characters. DJ accessories draw in the professionals. Grant of up-and-coming Bristol combo Massive Attack often roots through the racks.

RUBBER SOUL S3 West St. Old Market. (0117)9411790
Secondhand music and memorabilia mayhem! With a beety 75/25 vinyl/CD ratio you're likely to find that fifties or sixties cut here, while the seventies stuff is punk, two tone or mod revival, and there are more recent indie tunes too. Mark Lamarr, with disappointingly flattened hair, gets his rock 'n' roll and ska here, daddyo.

SOUNDSVILLE RECORDS 320 Gloucester Rd. (0117 9427791
If you're looking for R •n' B on 12" or album, like the song says, don't look any further. Opened in 1981, the mix of top tunes and sorted punters, with a creditable one third vinyl selection, makes this place a must on a Gloucester Road record shop crawl. MCs and DJs rub shoulders witli studes and okl boys looking for dance, reggae, hard house, trance, two-step and garage and if it ain't in, they'll get it in.

SUBWAY RECORDS 74 Stokes Croft. (0117)9030580
Perfect 100% vinyl stockists. House purists need look no further. Hard house, techno house and progressive house are all liere, and the knowledgeable staff know the difference between them. Despite such esoteric tunes, there's afriendly dub and reggae backdrop welcoming real people to a wicked and chilled atmosphere.

10/15 MUSIC EXCHANGE 52-54 Gloucester Rd. (0117)9248970
Extensive collection of secondhand dance, drum 'n' bass, techno, trance (lots of), soul, R'n'B and garage from the sixties onward. Two thirds vinyl, one third CD/tapes with a few vids, too. Guitars, amps and studio kit for Johnny Marr wannabes as well as hi-fi and computer equipment for budding knob-twiddlers. DJ Die wouldn't be seen dead anywhere else, allegedly.