Suggested soundtrack for this post: Dear 23 by The Posies Everybody Moves Away Last weekend, Wunjo Bass shut up shop at No. 22 and moved out, but only as far as next door to the basement of No. 23, below Wunjo’s existing keyboards shop. The move has been prompted by a refurbishment programme being […]
Tuesday 22nd September, and a rather special thing happened at Regent Sounds: a personal appearance by legendary British guitarist Albert Lee. The wait in the queue outside before the doors opened was lightened by some lively conversation. Shortly after 7pm we were let in and Crispin of Regent Sounds introduced Albert to […]
Strictly speaking, Tom’s Drums is not on Denmark Street; occupying three floors of a late 19th century brick building at the western end of the street, its address is actually 126 Charing Cross Road. While most of the shops on the street are focused on selling guitars, Tom’s is in the unique position of […]
On Thursday, 10th September 2015, Wunjo Bass on Denmark Street received Juan Alderete, bass player with The Mars Volta and Racer X. Juan spent the evening talking about EarthQuaker Devices’ effects pedals and how he uses effects in both his live and recorded work. It was a fascinating and enjoyable insight into working musician’s thought […]
‘Stairway to Kevin’ announces the sign. The sign is not on a wall, but on the stairs up to Brian’s first floor office at Wunjo Guitars. The Kevin it refers to repairs guitars in a workshop a floor above Brian. ‘Office’ does perhaps have a another meaning, a bit of a misnomer. Brian has a desk tucked […]
No. 20 is one of eight listed buildings on Denmark Street. Originally a terraced house, it formed part of the estate development by Samuel Fortrey and Jacques Wiseman when Denmark Street was laid out in 1686-89. The rear of the shop runs into 16 Denmark Place, a 19th century warehouse. In the 1960s, No. 20 was the offices of publishers […]
Spread over several floors, No. 27 was the home of Andy’s Guitar Workshop betwen 1978 and 2007. After Andy’s went bust, Hank’s moved from No. 24. Luthier Graham Noden has his workshop in the basement. The adjacent passage used to lead to Denmark Place, with the site of the old 12-Bar Club to the left. The […]
The studied retro typography of Regent Sounds’ frontage is a sign of its owners’ awareness of the history of the building that houses their shop. The subtitle Recording & Phonographic Studios and pre-STD telephone number format (the shop’s actual number is 020 7379 6111) are conscious references to a heritage rooted in the early 1960s. […]
Graham Noden is talking on the phone with a customer when I arrive in his small guitar workshop in the basement of Hank’s Guitars on Denmark Street. A twelve-string Rickenbacker rests on the bench in front of him, its sunburst finish lit up by an anglepoise lamp that has clearly seen better days; a bent […]
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