Friday nights at Fopps with Ray Charles, Traffic, Sherly Crow, The Penguin Café Orchestra and more

Fopps, Covent Garden (actually Shaftesbury Avenue, London) is not only one of the few remaining CD retailers but the only one open until 11.00pm on a Friday night. A short walk from Leicester Square underground (Covent Garden underground s nearer but far too rammed on a Friday night) it’s surprising unpredictable in the user comfort stakes.

On March 11 at 10.30 pm is was comparatively quite. On other Fridays is seems full of inconsiderate idiots with rucksacks the size of wardrobes where one incautious move on their part can nudge one or more hapless browsers face-first into the CD racks. Anyway, even so it’s great place to unload a few quid. And so I do. Quite often. And i am not ashamed! Yes I am a music junkie!

The staff couldn’t me more helpful. The choice of music on the floors always appeals to me. They might stock hip-hop and rap but they have the decency not to play it. What you might get is music which although attractive is unfamiliar and yet you can’t easily shift it out of your conscience. More often than not it’s some obscure new music from Europe that initially people like me would dismiss as ‘superficial’ but actually isn’t.

So anyway Friday saw me there with £50 cash to gamble with

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