One of the stalwarts of the Croydon music scene since the period of peak punk, where singer Kirsty MacColl once worked in its mail order department, is to close next month. NADIA AZIZUDDIN reports
Sincere thanks: the sign of the times in 101 Records
Another key part of Croydon’s retail and cultural heritage will come to an end at the end of next month when 101 Records, on Keeley Road, shuts up shop for the final time.
101 Records has been such an important part of Croydon’s music scene for so long that it even has a plaque cemented into the pavement near East Croydon Station, part of the Borough of Culture Heritage Music Trail, which celebrates the time when the store was located on George Street and called Bonaparte Records.
A sign of the times was stuck in 101 Records’ shop window earlier this month.
“My sincere thanks to the succession of councils and landlords who have worked so incompetently and unprofessionally hard in the last 25 years running our once great town into the dirt – where would we be without you?”
This was written beneath the core details, which in big, bold letters said: “STORE CLOSING. Last day Jan 31st 2026”. It truly will be the end of an era, which began in Croydon at the peak of punk in 1977.
101 Records’ Keeley Road store is at the back end of Centrale, which since 2023 has been managed by URW, the now Paris-based shopping mall operators better known in Croydon as Westfield.
In the bag: in the days when people bought 7-inch singles, Bonapartes had a bag for them
In the 1970s and ’80s, people from across Croydon, and beyond into the further reaches of south London, Surrey and Kent, used to make a pilgrimage to 101 Records, or Bonapartes as was, or to Beanos off Surrey Street, to pore over each store’s collections of tens of thousands of vinyl records, either seeking the latest release from their favourite band, or to trade in old records or CDs (remember them?). Or just to catch up with some like-minded music lovers.
Beanos was the largest second-hand record shop in Europe, and a significant part of Croydon’s music scene for more than 30 years, until its closure in 2009.
The closure of 101 Records, given the tone of the farewell message in the window from owner Duncan Barnes, appears to be as much about the decline in trading conditions for retailers in Croydon as a symptom of the demise of physical media.
But let’s face it, when did any of us last buy a physical record on vinyl, as opposed to downloading the latest tunes on our smartphone? And what’s more, when did we actually go into a real life shop to buy that record?
Peak punk: Bonapartes, now 101 Records, moved to central Croydon in 1977
Nonetheless, 101 Records’ loyal customers expressed their regrets at the announcement, many on social media taking the view that shopping in Croydon is no longer exciting or worth it.
101 Records (the name stems from its former address, at 101 George Street, rather than anything darkly Orwellian) moved into central Croydon from Purley in 1977, the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and the Sex Pistols’ “God Save The Queen”. This was the year of “Never Mind The Bollocks”.
At the heart of central Croydon, Bonapartes did its often discount, bargain business with punks and mods and new romantics, and every subsequent musical fad for the past 50 years.
Selling often otherwise hard-to-find records, Bonapartes served its rapidly growing, young community with walls covered in posters and notices for live gigs and bands seeking musicians, and with star-to-be Kirsty MacColl working in its mail-order department.
Bonapartes was forced to relocate in 1991 due to town centre regeneration plans. It would take more than 20 years for Boxpark to emerge more or less where the record shop had once been. What became 101 moved to the back streets of Keeley Road, where there’s little in the way of passing trade.
Considering 101 Records’ stature as a cornerstone of Croydon’s music scene and the shop’s rich history, the relocation may have marked the beginning of the end. The start of online shopping, and exchange platforms like eBay, would fundamentally alter the business. By 2010, in an interview with the BBC, Barnes admitted that the majority of the shop’s business was coming from online sales.
Much missed: Beanos was once the biggest second-hand record shop in Europe. It closed in 2009
Now 101/Bonapartes is to follow Beanos into retail oblivion.
Founded in 1975 by David Lashmer, it didn’t matter that Beanos was on a side street off Croydon’s famous street market. Customers came seeking its treasure trove of vinyl and CDs, it was a hub for music lovers, and a pillar of the local music community.
Lashmer said he believes the reason he had to shut Beanos was in part due to the rise in illegal downloads and online piracy, as well as the competitive pricing of chains and supermarkets.
The recurring issues for all independent retailers appear to be rising rents and the unfulfilled promises of regeneration in the town centre. In the 21st Century, especially since covid, customers prefer convenience of online shopping over the high street.
According to a report by Croydon Council in July 2020, 14,000 businesses had already been impacted by the shift online – and this survey was largely looking into the position before covid had taken effect. And the arts and entertainment sectors were described as having “low resilience”, because of their heavy reliance on consumer behaviour.
Treasure trove: poring over thousands of records used to be part of growing up in Croydon
The closure of 101 Records comes while we are in the middle of a vinyl revival which defies the shift towards digital streaming. In 2016, vinyl sales in this country reached 3.2million, surpassing total sales from the previous 25 years.
And there’s a new generation of record shops opening in Croydon for this new era, such as Tenpin Records in Purley and RiffRaffs on George Street. Both opened in 2022.
Given the headwinds encountered over the past 50 years, it is a wonder that 101 Records survived as it did into 2026. Those independent record shops that have emerged in its wake will remain, as ever, on the Croydon public to support them if the businesses are to thrive.
Read more: Rewind: the real story behind Croydon’s rich musical heritage
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