Rough Trade is a group of independent record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

district of

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

. Travis reportedly took the name from the Canadian

art punk Art punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and free-spiri ...

/ new wave band

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: * Rough Trade Records, a record label *Rough Trade (shops) Rough Trade is a group of independent record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London. The first Rough Trade shop was o ...

. In 1978, the shop spawned

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pu ...

, which became the label of bands from

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

. In 1982, the two separated and the shop remains an independent entity from the label, although links between the two are strong. At the same time, the shop moved from its original location on Kensington Park Road round the corner to Talbot Road. In 1988, a shop opened in Neal's Yard,

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. At various times there were also shops in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

(on Grant St., then Sixth Street, then Haight Street and finally 3rd and Townsend Streets),

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. They were eventually closed following the rise of music sales on the Internet. Rough Trade replaced these stores with an online music store. In 2007, it also opened in Dray Walk,

Brick Lane Brick Lane ( Bengali: ব্রিক লেন) is a street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest ...

, in east London.

Stock

Musically, Rough Trade specialises in the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

genre, but carries items through a range of genres, mostly within the alternative or underground scenes. Recently the shop has released several compilation albums, each focusing on an individual genre such as

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

, singer songwriter,

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

and

. Every January since 2003, it has released a compilation putting together the best (in the opinion of the shops' staff) of the previous year's music entitled ''Counter Culture''. In 2007, there was also the release of ''Counter Culture 76'', reflecting the music of year the shop opened. It also released a 4-CD box set for its 25th anniversary in 2001, and a special collection of songs chosen by customers was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary in 2006.

Rough Trade, Ladbroke Grove

The store was the first Rough Trade shop and opened at 202 Kensington Park Road in 1976. It later moved to 130 Talbot Road.

Rough Trade Neal's Yard, Covent Garden

The

shop opened in 1988 and was located in the basement of Slam City Skates in Neal's Yard. It closed down shortly before Rough Trade East opened in 2007.

Rough Trade East, Brick Lane

In July 2007, Rough Trade opened a shop in

. The shop, called "Rough Trade East", is located in the former Truman's Brewery in a courtyard off Brick Lane and puts on free music gigs on a high-spec stage, allowing for an audience of 200. The shop sells some chart titles, music from bands without distribution deals and a quarter of the merchandise is vinyl. Every item, vinyl and CD, has a written description to encourage browsing and discovery. Designed by David Adjaye the shop has a

fair trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and envir ...

café and a "snug" area with iMacs, sofas and desks. In the first half of 2007, CD sales had fallen by 10 percent and in the month of the shop opening the UK music chain

Fopp Fopp may refer to: * "Fopp" (song), a 1975 song by the Ohio Players from ''Honey'' * ''Fopp'' (EP), a 1988 EP by Soundgarden, featuring the song of the same name * '' Screaming Life/Fopp'', a 1990 compilation album by the American rock band Sound ...

went into administration. Stephen Godfroy, the store director, said, "I don't think music belongs on the high street as the high street exists at the moment", and that retailers, not the consumers, are to blame for the decline in sales. In September 2007, sales in Rough Trade East had exceeded expectations by 20 percent. Stephen Godfroy explained that "You've got to create an environment where people want to spend time. It's got to be complementary to modern lifestyles, distinctive and competitive on pricing and have confidence in recommending exciting new products and not rely on chart product." Rough Trade Shops has investors from

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been ran and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. Although only releasing an average of six albu ...

and Beggars Banquet Records causing some to question its independence.

Rough Trade New York

In April 2012, it was announced that Rough Trade would be opening a store in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn, in partnership with

Bowery Presents The Bowery Presents is the East Coast regional partner of AEG Live. It owns and operates multiple venues in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New Orleans, Virginia, and Maine. The capacities of the venues operated by The Bowery Prese ...

. The store, including a performance space and a coffee counter, was initially scheduled to open in late 2012. The store opened on 25 November 2013, becoming the biggest record store in New York City. Rough Trade closed the Brooklyn store closed in March 2021, moving to a new, smaller location at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in June.

Rough Trade Nottingham

Rough Trade opened a store on Broad Street in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

's Lace Market area in 2014. The store has a bar and performance area on the first floor.

References

External links

*{{Official website
Rough Trade Shops Compilations – Discography
Shop Independent stores Music retailers of the United Kingdom 1976 establishments in England