Oldham Street
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Oldham Street is the heart of Manchester City Centre's Northern Quarter, in northwest England. The street runs from Piccadilly Gardens to the Industrial Village of Ancoats.
At the Ancoats end of the street is the Frog and Bucket comedy Club. Many of the top ranking stand up acts have appeared here. Further down the street is independent music venue and bar The Night and Day Café, and Dry Bar.
There are a wide variety of shops on Oldham Street. Holier Than Thou is a world class piercing studio and sell a huge variety of jewellery. Magma is a retailer typically catering for the graphic designers, and for the Sci Fi fan there is Forbidden Planet. A little further along is Affleck's Palace, a leading centre typically catering for alternative and individualised fashions. There has also been a recent boom in retro/vintage clothing stores on the street: Pop Boutique, Ryan Vintage, Retro Rehab, American Graffiti, Oxfam Originals.
Vinyl Valley
In addition to Oldham Street's reputation for alternative fashion outlets it is also known best for, with the exception of Affleck's Palace, the abundance of second hand music stores (owing to the affectionate title of Vinyl Valley). Oldham Street and the surrounding side streets hold a wealth of music shops specializing mainly in collectible and new vinyl (although 2nd hand CDs are also readily available in many stores) ranging from obscure rhythm & blues/soul to folk to classic madchester to the latest techno, drum & bass and dubstep.
Below is a list (although not complete) of Vinyl Valley record stores:
- Vinyl Exchange
- Eastern Bloc
- Oxfam
- Fat City
- Piccadilly Records
- Vinyl Revival
- Big Pink
- Vox Pops
- Beatin' Rhythm
