Eel Pie Records is an independent record shop based in Twickenham which opened in 2017 and celebrates the resurgence of vinyl. 

The shop is run by longtime friends Phil Penman and Kevin Jones, whose mutual love of music was a constant topic of conversation. The shop is a story of a dream and endless discussion in the pub, which after a lot of hard work came to fruition. 

Phil has been working in the music industry for his entire working life, starting in a HMV store when vinyl was still a thing, and then having a career taking in a wide variety of roles in music retail and record companies over decades. 

Kevin describes himself as 'an obsessive music fan, collector and regular gig and festival goer' - so both are very passionate and knowledgeable about music. 

Since their opening in 2017, when a lot of their customers were 'older' men they have seen their customer base become more and more diverse and the range of music they have on offer has diversified to reflect this.

They told Nub News: "The response in Twickenham has been amazing – we quickly established ourselves from a standing start in a street not renowned for shopping, and now we see the street has changed with us too.

"We are passionate about music obviously, but the resurgence of vinyl is a joy! Enthusiasts love the packaging and the full experience of playing LPs – the physical nature is so much more engaging and absorbing than the passive nature of streaming."

"We have no ambitions to grow or expand dramatically. We'll always need more customers, but basically, we are happy to maintain everything we do – a steady, reliable, friendly record shop, working in the community of both Church Street and the wider area. With COVID-19 hopefully a thing of the past, we look forward to creating and hosting more events." 

The business has evolved a lot since it opened and they have gone from having one room of stock to now having thousands of LPs spanning over two rooms. 

They created an online shop during the COVID-19 pandemic and have also added two members of staff, Lucy and Leila – who add to Kevin and Phil's knowledge and perception of music and are joined by Lara at weekends for extra help.

Eel Pie Records runs a number of events to help people enjoy vinyl. (Photo Credit: Eel Pie Records).

In keeping with their hopes to be a pillar of the community, they host a number of events, have promoted a number of live gigs and hosted in-store performances, Q&A sessions and signings and even a Christmas Quiz. 

They also run the popular High Tide Festival in Twickenham every year and host a monthly 'new music night' on the 3rd Thursday of each month in Ricardo's (adjoining the shop) where they play on vinyl their selection of the most interesting new release albums and organise the Record Fair which is held in the Church Hall every 2nd Saturday of the month.

Find out more about Eel Pie Records here.