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So.. as noticed - Abbey is about to close (25 Nov)..
Very sad news, and we are all hoping Billy finds a nice small new shop soon, as the only way to go is to downsize and keep the head down as well!
He had hinted that he had a new place to go, but it had fallen thru', so i hope the break over Xmas will help him get the head sorted out, and look to the future..
I first found Abbey in 1982 - chasing a cassette-single of SOUND OF THE CROWD by HUMAN LEAGUE.. A Canadian import i think - anyway, it never surfaced as it got chewed up, but i did see a shedload of stuff there that nobody else had.. At the time, the only place to be sure of finding things like Polydor releases on 12-inch, was GOLDEN DISCS on Mary St., but Billy Had them too, and alot more besides..
The abbey mall was a bit of a dive then, but it had Billy, and later another Record shop that did strictly clubby stuff - all imports from Germany and The states (was it BEAT records?) but their prices were very high for a 13-yo kid.. Billy had the full range, and the taste to know what was win, and what was fail..
At first, Billy was the place to buy 12-inch singles, he had that reputation since the shop was actually on Abbey street - in fact the first few times i went to look for him it was at the old address, so it took a while to actually find him - but later on (1985-88) it was the place to buy Clubscene, Electro Soul, Funk, Hip Hop and Rap.. The UK re-releases of all the big tunes were always there, and he kept a good stock of albums and the like too.. Sure, you could go to COMET off grafton street for the Indie 12-inches, but the soulfull non-rocky stuff was all Billy..
Soon He was on the list of places for the top pirate stations and clubjocks of the day - always with the upfront stuff..
By '89 he was the place for Ravey stuff and Belgian Hardcore, as well as a smattering of UK scene stuff - that wierd transition period between Rap and Rave!! My god what classics we found there..
The shop was perfectly placed, after a hard graft, to capitalise on the vinyl explosion of 1992-1998.. 25 shops came & went - each trying to grab a slice, and some doing very well, but the last one standing was abbey after the dust settled. During this time the Abbey Discs label started.. Giving local talent a release at home, and licencing stuff in that Dublin wanted.. The Peak of this part of the story was McCabe's MANIAC 2000 - which gave Abbey the Biggest Seller of 2000 & 10 weeks at #1 - outselling (to my delight) the likes of U2 and Boyzone! Ha!! NEVAR FORGET!!!!
So, the slide from then to here is a story we all know - the onset of CDs, downloads and sucky boring music reduced the need for people to actually buy records, and the addition of the Mainstream collapse of the music market heralded the end of this era.. (sigh) Don't forget that Abbey also had a branch selling mostly "normal" music at northside SC, and when that closed it's doors, the writing was on the wall..
From what i understand, rent at the premesis on Liffey Street is high - it's a biiiiig space, and without the space paying it's way with the non-specialist music sales, downsizing was gonna happen sooner or later.. So, Cry now, Laugh Later - it had to happen - let's just wish Billy & Family a nice Xmas, and thanks for ~30 years of selecting & importing the chewns, and hope that someone will be able to revive the Shop, in a smaller (back-to-the-mall) guise next year..
also: BAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Very sad news, and we are all hoping Billy finds a nice small new shop soon, as the only way to go is to downsize and keep the head down as well!
He had hinted that he had a new place to go, but it had fallen thru', so i hope the break over Xmas will help him get the head sorted out, and look to the future..
I first found Abbey in 1982 - chasing a cassette-single of SOUND OF THE CROWD by HUMAN LEAGUE.. A Canadian import i think - anyway, it never surfaced as it got chewed up, but i did see a shedload of stuff there that nobody else had.. At the time, the only place to be sure of finding things like Polydor releases on 12-inch, was GOLDEN DISCS on Mary St., but Billy Had them too, and alot more besides..
The abbey mall was a bit of a dive then, but it had Billy, and later another Record shop that did strictly clubby stuff - all imports from Germany and The states (was it BEAT records?) but their prices were very high for a 13-yo kid.. Billy had the full range, and the taste to know what was win, and what was fail..
At first, Billy was the place to buy 12-inch singles, he had that reputation since the shop was actually on Abbey street - in fact the first few times i went to look for him it was at the old address, so it took a while to actually find him - but later on (1985-88) it was the place to buy Clubscene, Electro Soul, Funk, Hip Hop and Rap.. The UK re-releases of all the big tunes were always there, and he kept a good stock of albums and the like too.. Sure, you could go to COMET off grafton street for the Indie 12-inches, but the soulfull non-rocky stuff was all Billy..
Soon He was on the list of places for the top pirate stations and clubjocks of the day - always with the upfront stuff..
By '89 he was the place for Ravey stuff and Belgian Hardcore, as well as a smattering of UK scene stuff - that wierd transition period between Rap and Rave!! My god what classics we found there..
The shop was perfectly placed, after a hard graft, to capitalise on the vinyl explosion of 1992-1998.. 25 shops came & went - each trying to grab a slice, and some doing very well, but the last one standing was abbey after the dust settled. During this time the Abbey Discs label started.. Giving local talent a release at home, and licencing stuff in that Dublin wanted.. The Peak of this part of the story was McCabe's MANIAC 2000 - which gave Abbey the Biggest Seller of 2000 & 10 weeks at #1 - outselling (to my delight) the likes of U2 and Boyzone! Ha!! NEVAR FORGET!!!!
So, the slide from then to here is a story we all know - the onset of CDs, downloads and sucky boring music reduced the need for people to actually buy records, and the addition of the Mainstream collapse of the music market heralded the end of this era.. (sigh) Don't forget that Abbey also had a branch selling mostly "normal" music at northside SC, and when that closed it's doors, the writing was on the wall..
From what i understand, rent at the premesis on Liffey Street is high - it's a biiiiig space, and without the space paying it's way with the non-specialist music sales, downsizing was gonna happen sooner or later.. So, Cry now, Laugh Later - it had to happen - let's just wish Billy & Family a nice Xmas, and thanks for ~30 years of selecting & importing the chewns, and hope that someone will be able to revive the Shop, in a smaller (back-to-the-mall) guise next year..
also: BAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Attached Files
NoT fOr ArMeR 
,Billy said that I had good music taste.I'll nevr forget it. Hope Billy,Tara,Derek and the rest of the crew has a nice X-mas and a new start.
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