Record Store Day 2025: A love letter to Jumbo Records
Hate is a strong word and one which perhaps gets banded about too readily in the modern age. Still, I can say without any hyperbole or exaggeration that I hated being 12. It’s a difficult age for most people, attempting to navigate the boundary between child and teenager while dealing with an onslaught of hormones and a seemingly constant sense of confusion. If coming-of-age films are to be believed, your preteen years are supposed to be spent figuring out who you are as a person. The closest I ever got to achieving this feeling of belonging somewhere was upon my first visit to Jumbo Records in Leeds, searching for a CD copy of Lazaretto by Jack White.
Prior to scaling the escalator at the St John’s Centre in Leeds to bask in the otherworldly atmosphere of my first record shop experience, my music-buying habits had been fairly limited. To my recollection, my only listening habits up until that point consisted of my dad’s CD collection and whatever was being written about in the now-defunct Total Guitar Magazine. As such, that first visit to Jumbo felt like something of a spiritual journey, a definitive step into carving out my adolescent personality. One decade later, Jumbo Records still feels like home.
A record store can be an intimidating atmosphere, particularly for a 12-year-old. I think I probably assumed it would be full of much cooler, much older, and much more knowledgeable people dealing in High Fidelity-esque elitism. Immediately, though, Jumbo proved itself to be about as far removed from that perception as it is possible to be. The dedicated team of music lovers behind the counter have since guided me throughout every major musical milestone in my life.
It was at Jumbo that I bought my first Specials album, where I first heard of Sonic Youth, and even where I witnessed my first proper ‘local gig’ when Menace Beach played an in-store in 2017. At the time of that show, which was in support of the band’s then-newly released album Lemon Memory, I remember being far too impressed and intimidated by the group to go and speak to them or get my copy of the album signed. In later, more confident years, however, I have bumped into former Menace Beach songwriter and current Yard Act bassist Ryan Needham in Jumbo and stopped for a chat.
Come to think of it, it was in Jumbo that I bought Yard Act’s first single, a band that I quickly became obsessed with and continues to hold a special place in my heart. It was also where I bought a ticket for the best gig I have ever been to – Confidence Man at Brudenell Social Club. These experiences were essential, both in my musical education and in my development as a person. Jumbo provided me with a sense of belonging and happiness.
My story is certainly not unique; Jumbo has been serving music obsessives in Leeds since back in 1971. It has moved location numerous times before settling in its current home in the Merrion Centre, but the organisation itself has seen the rise and fall of countless musical movements. From northern soul to punk, grunge to Britpop, and indie sleaze to post-punk revival, Jumbo has stood firm in supporting these movements and subcultures.
In more recent years, with the added space of the shop’s new site, the shop has also become a location for bands to perform. Jumbo has seen in-store performances from some big names, but it is the local performers who seem to feel the most special. Seeing a grassroots group play to an audience mere meters away from a notice board full of ‘Guitarist/Singer/Drummer wanted’ adverts is a truly inspiring experience that never loses its sheen.
It might be an affectation, but there is scarcely a time when entering Jumbo and viewing all the posters and adverts for local groups on the walls does not fill me with a sense of hope for the future. With seemingly constant venue closures in Leeds – punk mecca Boom being the latest victim – that sense of hope for the future of music in the city is utterly essential, and Jumbo has always been a tireless supporter of the local music scene.
Modernity dictates that the high street is on its way out, as consumers increasingly spend their money online. Jumbo, on the other hand, exists in defiance of that attitude. The shop is a haven for human connection and physicality, which is one of the things that is so special to me – and to countless others – about the record store. In an age where algorithms and AI seem to dictate the media you consume, brick-and-mortar record stores seem to be one of the last places where you can make a true and organic cultural discovery.
There have been multiple times when I have entered the shop determined to buy one specific album, only to come away with something completely different on the recommendations of the staff members. This is how I discovered some of my favourite artists, from Sven Wunder to Derya Yıldırım. In truth, I would not be where I am today – a music journalist living in Leeds – if Jumbo Records had not existed.
After all, my first flurry into music journalism – the largely-forgotten punk fanzine Headaches – was largely composed of music that I had discovered through the racks of Jumbo. In fact, one of the only things that spurred me on to continue writing that zine in the face of a non-existent readership was the fact that Jumbo would let me stock it in their shop.
Whether it existed as a mystical world to visit on my weekends, a much-needed moment of zen after a university lecture, or an evening spent watching a local band, Jumbo Records has provided me with so much over the years while asking for so little in return. So, as we approach Record Store Day 2025, now seems like a good opportunity to salute Jumbo and hope that it continues to provide a haven for music lovers in Leeds for many years to come.
