Freebird Records Closing (1978 - 2009)

stovelid

Degsy wrote: »

On a side note..anybody remember the guys selling bootleg tapes on o'connel bridge from a small suitcase..you'd occasionaly see some bloke dressed all in black sprinting by being chased by the cops clutching his "valuable" collection of casettes!

Still have a load of these in my ma's house somewhere!

They would be on O Connell bridge or sometimes on Liffey Street where the statue of the two shoppers is now.

They always seemed to have an inlay made of that day-glo type paper in yellow or green. I remember buying a Smiths one (their last gig in the Brixton Academy) one and it had only the gig listed but the guy had slapped a load of Smiths peel sessions on the end on the tape for free.

I only remember Freebird being on Eden Quay, from around the late 80s. There use be a little basement place that I liked too -on South William street for a while in the early 90s?

Red Sleeping Beauty

The reason I asked is it really closing down is I heard he put up closing down signs before to drum up a bit of business...

Thats sad.

Remember going to Dublin twice a year with my mates to buy records and that was one of the main stops. Over 20 years ago..

Hard to compete with Discogs,internet, etc.

sweetie

I vaguely remember Freebird being on Grafton st but spent most of my student grants in Freebird. eden quay back in the mid nineties. Could go in with ten or twenty quid and get three or four decent second hand albums. The odd time things were really bad ye could pick up a new release pop/rnb album that they had on promo and "trade" it in Virgin/hmv/our price on henry st for something ye actually wanted. I used to go to City discs alot too when some of the Freebird guys started it up in the early noughties.

Degsy

Anybody remember the record shop in the abbey mall that was run by a big gothic bloke?
Actually there were two..one was run by a metal bloke and stocked nothing but thrash metal and the gothic place had the likes of Siouxie and old NME magazines.

lord lucan

Borderline used to be great for the bootlegs alright,i bought loads there in the early 90's. They also carried a lot of rare picture discs and stuff that was hard to get. With online retailing i can't imagine that business would be too great these days.

Anyone remember FM on westmoreland st,they done all the rock/metal gear,baseball caps/patches/badges etc.

Degsy

lord lucan wrote: »

Anyone remember FM on westmoreland st,they done all the rock/metal gear,baseball caps/patches/badges etc.

Downsatirs used to be called soundsaround..they sold badges,bondage trousers,t-shirts and studs..i studded my leather jacket from that place and bought my first set of tartan bondages there too.

lord lucan

Degsy wrote: »

Downsatirs used to be called soundsaround..they sold badges,bondage trousers,t-shirts and studs..i studded my leather jacket from that place and bought my first set of tartan bondages there too.

Lol. I used to buy all my band patches from there,sleeveless denim jacket over a biker jacket,great days!

Ally Dick

Rapidshare killed the record store

Red Sleeping Beauty

Ally Dick wrote: »

Rapidshare killed the record store

I bought a new album from Freebird on Wicklow St a while ago. They had it on special for the first week it was out. Lovely artwork and all that jazz. Much better than a megabyte.

Amalgam

Degsy wrote: »

Anybody remember the record shop in the abbey mall that was run by a big gothic bloke?
Actually there were two..one was run by a metal bloke and stocked nothing but thrash metal and the gothic place had the likes of Siouxie and old NME magazines.

That was Borderline. Borderline moved twice in the Abbey Mall. At the very start they were where Leo Burdock's is now, physically, then down the back wall.

That center in the 80's was so weird, basically just little Indie record stores and a travel agent. Always almost deserted.

I used to go in there for tea\coffee when mitching off school.

Edit: on a side note, the man with silver hair and moustache from Abbey Discs, you couldn't get a more agreeable and accommodating person to deal with.

Degsy, are we talking about the same Abbey Mall, it's the Food Emporium off Liffey Street now?

Amalgam

FM had two branches, one on O'Connell Street as well. The Unit beside Burger King, close to the bridge.

Hermy

stovelid wrote: »

There use be a little basement place that I liked too -on South William street for a while in the early 90s?

That was Freak Out. Good shop. It's badly missed.

Nolanger

Never mind those shops! Anyone remember Basement X?

DublinWriter

Ah, rare auld times, etc.

I remember Freebird in the late 80's in their original 1st floor Grafton St. premises. The 7's used to be right on the counter (to prevent shoplifting). A Ska-loving mate of mine found a rare Prince Buster single in it once and collapsed onto the floor in a state of St.Vitus Dance before we could bring him around again. It's still one of his most treasured possessions.

They next moved into the basement of Bus Stop newsagents on Eden Quay circa 1987. The basement shop was already a more mainstream 'Dolphins Discs' type shop.

The few days before ownership change, the previous owner decided to sell all the LP stock at 99p. Myself and a couple of mates used to run a stall in the old Temple Bar market at the weekends and cleaned up selling most of the stock of the orginal Eden Quay shop at 200% profit.

Most of us 'vinyl-heads' from the late 80's had a circuit we used to go around on a Saturday that included Macs records in the Grafton St. arcade and the old CIE club on Talbot St.

Ed Butler

Gaspode wrote: »

Strangely enough, my memory tells me thart Freebird on Grafton Street was originally upstairs, though I cant recall exactly where on the street it was.

I came across it a few years ago - open doorway with stairs and some sort of IT place on the first floor where Freebird used to be - possibly gone now as well