Iconic record store Vinyl Revelations to celebrate 30th anniversay at Luton's Hat Factory

Entrepreneur and music promoter Andy Chesham is known and loved in Luton for his iconic Vinyl Revelations shop in Cheapside – soon to celebrate its 30th anniversary with an extravaganza at The Hat Factory.

But what many of his fans may not know is that he was Luton Town Football Club’s youngest stadium manager while still a teenager.

He recalls: “It was a high profile and stressful job, with all the problems associated with the game in the 80s and early 90s.”

But he was made redundant in 1994 and the proceeds gave him the wherewithal to open the record shop he’d always wanted.

“I jumped at the opportunity,” Andy smiles. “My obsession with music and records had me buying and selling records while still at school – some to classmates at Stopsley High and others via mail order. My chance finally came when we opened on May 2, 1994, in Luton’s indoor market in the Arndale Centre – now The Mall.”

Andy, 56, claims he became ‘mad on music’ when he discovered punk rock: “The first record I loved was the Sex Pistols’ Pretty Vacant, although the first record I bought was two years later in 1979 - their cover of C'mon Everybody.

"Within weeks I was passionately buying 45s every week. Bands like The Undertones, Sham 69, UK Subs and The Clash. The first record I bought to sell was The Specials debut LP. I made a whole £1 profit . . . which bought three or four 45s.”

Vinyl Revelations is a family business – Andy’s wife Sharon and daughter Debbi run the online business – VinylRevelations.com

Andy admits: “I’m not great in the office. I deal with the shop side of the business . . . I'm in my happy place chatting with other vinyl junkies at Vinyl Revs.”

They have in the region of 100,000 items online and about half that in their bricks and mortar store in Cheapside. Some new titles are stocked but the majority are from collections bought from the general public or specialist sources.

He’s itching to get his hands on several vinyl treasures, including The Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen on the A&M label: “I’m also a massive reggae fan and for some reason I've still not found Alton Ellis’ Still In Love.”

If you pop in, you may well bump into a renowned musician, actor, producer or DJ. Andy is too discreet to name names but says: “It's nice they can shop with us without getting harassed by fans. And my customers are way more interested in records than famous faces.”

He started putting on live events before Vinyl Rev’s opened – his first was at The Railway Club in Midland Road in 1991. Since then, there have been many different venues in many different towns. Currently, his main events are in central London, some with business partner Colleen Considine and others with author John King. He also puts on gigs at The Hat Factory, Club 85 in Hitchin and Esquires in Bedford.

In addition, he DJs with Cali-R’s Sid Hudson for reggae/soul specials and the relatively new 80s party sound – Back to the 80s.

The anniversary party on May 4 will be a star-studded event with two live bands. Visit the Culture Trust's website for tickets.