The devastation of Denmark Street

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The devastation of Denmark Street

Postby RayL » Fri Apr 23, 2021 9:37 am

At one time, a visit to Denmark Street was a must when musicians visited London. Just about every shop was a music shop and you could walk up and down its 100 yards drooling at the window displays. If you were bold enough, you could spend all day trying guitars without buying anything.

Now, alas, it has been devastated by those three villains, The Developer, The Virus, and The Internet.
On the north side only 'Westside' hangs by a thread. All the other shops lie empty, claimed by the developers who are turning the north end of the Charing Cross Road and St Gile's Circus into a maze of skyscrapers.
On the south side a few shops remain, Regent Sound, Wunjo, 'Vintage & Classic Guitars, Rose Morris and Music Room.
Macari's, who had shops on the north side as well as further south on the Charing Cross Road have moved to, of all places, Haywards Heath in Sussex. If it's the place I'm thinking of, there was a music shop on Commercial Square that could be seen from the train. They must have taken over the premises.

While I'm talking about music shops, why don't they have full-length mirrors, like clothes shops? You don't just play a guitar, you wear a guitar. You can't pose with a guitar if you buy it on the internet.
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Re: The devastation of Denmark Street

Postby JimN » Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:50 am

Sad news indeed. I remember that Wunjo were actually ON the north side of Denmark Street, so they must have moved to replacement premises on the sunny side of the street. Rose-Morris have been on the south side for decades, of course, having moved there from Shaftesbury Avenue in the 1970s. Regent Sound have been there for years.

But the cavalcade of guitar and music shops once on the north (shady) side of the street is no more and is now a mere memory? Argent, Hank's,etc.

I am hearing similar tales of New York's 48th Street. Manny's had been taken over by a chain, but now the whole area is being redeveloped. Even Mandolin Brothers over on Staten Island has closed, though the LA Sunset Bvd. axis of Guitar Center [sic], Sam Ash and Mesa-Boogie is stil hanging on. I suppose we should have expected it. When I first got down to London, fifty-one years ago, it wasn't unheard of for musicians to be living in (admittedly pokey) flats in W1 and WC2. Today, that would be unthinkable because of the rents. And as expensive as we might think guitars are, the discounting from the early seventies onward meant that margins available for overheads (including rent) were shrinking all the time. Typically, pro quality electric used to cost around £150 in the early 1960s. Today, that would be the equivalent of around £3,200. But who buys regular guitars (Telecaster, Strat, etc) for that price? And a Gibson 345 (priced in 1965 at about £350) would now be around £7,000.

The result has to be that the market has switched over to the online world and also to lower rent space "out in the sticks". At least Hayward's Heath doesn't involve getting ripped off by the Congestion Charge, ULEZ and £10 minimum for parking.

Is the catering industry Jobcentre still there at the east end of Denmark Street? The queue of down and outs and rough sleepers looking for casual work there always put me off eating in the West End!
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Re: The devastation of Denmark Street

Postby JimN » Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:51 am

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Re: The devastation of Denmark Street

Postby dave robinson » Fri Apr 23, 2021 11:27 am

I bought two great guitars down on Denmark Street, A 1959 Gretsch Country Gent and a Gibson J-160e.
In 1971 I sold my Fender Telecaster down there as we were touring southern venues and my car engine blew up and I needed money fast.
I traded it in and finished the week with a Jedson Les Paul copy then ordered a custom made Strat from John Birch, having had the Telecaster for three years.
I used to love the 'buzz' of the area and often visited just to immerse myself in guitar & amp history. :)
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Re: The devastation of Denmark Street

Postby drakula63 » Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:26 pm

I remember visiting Denmark Street at least ten years ago, more like fifteen, with my mate Steven Crayn, when he was still living down there. He knew the area well, having recorded some songs in a small studio in Denmark Street. One of the songs was used on the Rimmel mascara ad. I remember getting him to have a go on a nice white Burns Marvin - possibly in Hank's. The place still had a certain vibe to it even in the early 2000s, but I suppose time marches on and things change. It was nice to think that this was once the epicentre of the British music industry and a regular haunt of the Shadows.
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Re: The devastation of Denmark Street

Postby Moderne » Sat Apr 24, 2021 12:50 am

I bought my white Burns Marvin in Andy’s in 1988...for £600!
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