When did your shop first open?
During the Covid lockdown - 2020.

Who owns it/runs it?
Steve Greenhalgh owns it and got it up and running. He's Mr. 'Meeter and Greeter'.
Steve Kelly mostly handles the vinyl & CDs.

How did you get involved in the first place?
Necessity being the mother of invention - it was a way to carry on trading during very challenging circumstances. The Cafe and The Cellar (the music venue) were both closed due to Covid restrictions.

What do you specialise in - new/secondhand? chart/independent/specialist? local/national/international? any particular genres? vinyl/CD? LPs/singles?
95% secondhand vinyl (LP's and singles), CD's and DVD's. We don't specialise in any particular category of music - it's whatever comes across our paths that we think we might be able to sell!
As Fruits De Mer stockists we have a range of their recent catalogue.
We also stock new releases by local artists - especially Sendelica.
At the moment we also have a handful of Mint condition Taylor Swift limited edition, coloured vinyls in stock!
The Vinyl Lounge itself is situated within our live music venue - The Cellar - so that's our real specialism - or at least that's our rival passion alongside the vinyl.
We're like two kids with the keys to a sweet shop! Long may it continue!

Do you offer a mail order service?
Not formally but we can always arrange that.

Can you describe your typical customer?
No typical customer as such. Generally an 80/20 male/female split. Our customers cover most age ranges - predominantly, but not exclusively, over 30.

Which two or three artists are you currently seeing most demand for?
We'd name a few more than that - the usual suspects: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie - Brit Pop if we had any ..... Reggae / Ska / Blue Beat if we can get our hands on anything in half way decent condition...
Incidentally our experience is that the demand for artists such as Elvis Presley & Michael Jackson has flat-lined - especially Elvis.

How do you see the next two or three years for the shop?
Hopefully we can gradually expand the quality and depth of our stock - generally we're hopeful that things will continue with the current steady flow of customers.
In the main a gradual expansion of public awareness of our existence.

How do you feel about Record Store Day?
Being awkward buggers we call it Record Shop Day - and whilst it does produce some collectable items - it does uncomfortably smack of agressive U.S. commercial hype. Overall not mad keen. Besides which our set up doesn't qualify us to participate even if we wanted to ....

You can find the two Steves at The Vinyl Lounge downstairs at the Cellar Cafe, 25-26 Quay St, Cardigan SA43 1HU