A handful of music-loving Montrealers conducted a weekly music-purchasing scramble Thursday evening, trekking down St. Catherine in a frantic quest for new music.Rohinton Ghandhi discusses his experience in the Nov. 2017 Quebec Heritage Magazine, describing himself as a "vinyl runner," a title reserved for only the most determined album seekers.
His weekly ritual began early in the week as local radio stations would tease music fans by spinning music that only hit stores Thursday evening.
Record stores posted their top 40 lists in their windows to indicate what was hot that week and sound shoppers would consult it to see what merited their attentions.
Ghandhi, who came to Crawford Park Verdun from Bombay at the age of six with his family in 1967, dabbled as a weekend DJ from 1976, a pasttime that required him to be on top of all of the newest tunes through the disco, punk, new wave and other eras.
Albums so popular that they were difficult to find included Pink Floyd's The Wall, The Pretenders, Frampton Comes Alive and various hard-to-find imports, including New Order 12" The Beach, which sold for $60 at Pierre Musique.
Ghandhi, as DJ, sometimes purchased and played records he didn't much like, including Chris de Burgh's ever-requested The Lady in Red, and he would conversely spin music sometimes that he liked more than his crowds, such as Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass
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Ghandhi's mom died when he was 13 and his father followed suit when he was 17, leaving him with the enormous responsibility of trying to persuade government officials to allow him, as a 17-year-old to take charge of his two younger brothers.
Ghandhi, who is related to Mahatma Ghandhi, spent weekdays working part time at various restaurants at the downtown Les Terraces Complex and on weekends would shoot photos and spin music at local weddings, often at events held at the Legion in Verdun.
In spite of that packed schedule, Ghandhi managed to conduct his weekly scramble for Thursday releases from 1976, eventually owning around 3,500 albums, a total he has now reduced to 400, as he parted with his beloved records along with his DJing equipment.
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Here's where his quest would take him as he recounts in his excellent original article, which he took two full years to research and write.
1-A&A records was housed in the impressive former firehouse at 1621 St. Catherine, near Guy, a sprawling spot he recalls for its creaky floorboards. The joint was Ghandhi's favorite as it had well-managed promotional displays and a DJ booth with a powerful sound system playing the latest wares.
Salespeople took satisfaction in setting shoppers on the right path towards wise purchases, while rockers ranging from Brian Adams to Honeymoon Suite dropped in for promo visits during its run between 1972 and 1993.
2-The next stop on the trekk eastward was a quick tour at the nearly-adjacent Cheapies, run by the Discus chain where a promo albums, recognizable by a large round hole in the cover, were put on sale for a low price.
3-Dave's import Discount Records, a dark one-room shop on Bishop just below St. Catherine was next. Owner Dave Silver had an uncanny ability to showcase only records that were in demand and many faces were seen beaming with delight as they left with a hard-to-find import or bootleg.
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| Manager Lori Morrison on Halloween at a Montreal Discus store in 1991 |
5/6/7-Dave Silver's Record Cave was next at 1318 St. Catherine W., the store, opened in 1966 was later duplicated with another at 1238 Crescent. Silver worked tirelessly until 1973 when he sold to Adrian "Dutchy" Arts, who renamed them Dutchy's Record Cave., which also sold hard-to-find vinyl until 1980. (Dutchy later sold those stores and opened a place on the Main just north of Demaisonneuve.) 1318 St. Catherine became Pierre Musique which focused on new wave records. The store on Crescent became Downtown Records in 1980 and Rock en Stock in 1982. Dutchy Arts died in 2013.
8-The eastbound hike then continued past Peel which, during those times did not yet offer the landmark HMV which recently closed at the Southeast corner of St. Catherine. Instead it would be on to the Discus/Music World store in Les Terraces, which was known for its John Cougar Mellencamp promo for Scarecrow which involved real chickens and hay. The place lasted from 1976 to 1986.
9-Labyrinthe at 492 St. Catherine W. was a sort of flea market for vinyl which sometimes offered a find.
10-Sam the Record Man, at 397 St. Catherine W. was an essential stop after it opened in 1975 next door to the more familiar spot it inhabited later. The place was known for its insanely bright lighting and singles on the wall positioned in order of their spot on the hit list. Sam's was probably best known for its radical Saturday morning sales advertised in the Friday newspaper. Lineups for $2.99 copies of Blondie, The Knack of The Cars were routine. The store closed in 2002.
11-The Record Goldmine at Suite 110 of the Belgo building was another stop for those in the know. Dave Silver ran the place after 1984 when he returned from Toronto. Silver loved jazz, hated CDs and closed shop in the mid 1990s, donating his vinyl to the Salvation Army before dying in 2005.
12 Phantasmagoria started at 3472 Park on less than $2,000 before moving down a few doors to 3416 Park and had a hip ambiance that made the trek up from St. Catherine to Sherbrooke worthwhile. Eric Pressman, aged just 18, along with Marsha Dangerfield launched the store in November 1968 and named it after a Lewis Carroll poem.Guests likened them to John and Yoko, who they met at the famous 1969 bed in for peace. The second location, occupied in 1971 was twice as large and came with a hippie counter upstairs. The duo split in 1973 and Eric moved to Vancouver while he sister Linda took over. The store closed in 1995 after some difficult years.