The oldest independent record shop in the UK, once a favourite haunt of John Lennon’s, has been awarded a coveted blue plaque.
Musical Box on West Derby road first opened it’s doors in 1947. The family-run business is now in its 4th generation, with Tony and Paula Cain at the helm.
The story starts with music-lover Dorothy, who bought the shop after the war in 1947. She started selling 78rpm records, progressing to selling other musical items such as sheet music and guitar strings. Paula said:
“Dorothy always wanted a record shop, this used to be a fancy goods shop selling sensory records, but when the LP came in and Rock’n’roll went popular, she phased off the fancy goods and made it soul a record shop.”
Dorothy’s daughter, Diane, was the next to work in the Musical Box. She sold her first record when she was 13 years old, “dedicating her life to the shop” continuing to the age of 83, before covid restrictions prevented her from going back in 2020.
Diane’s son Tony was quick to get involved, working with both his Mum and his Grandma. Paula added:
“Tony also started serving when he was 13, helping his Nan out at dinner time.”
Over it’s 78 years the shop has had some well-known customers including Liverpool FC legend- Bill Shankly and after some extensive research, the family discovered a young John Lennon would regularly visit the shop.
“Tony’s Nan heard some girls go “that was the Beatles!” when two young guys went in 1961, my other in law use to think one was Pete Best because he lived local. So, when we met Pete Best at the Museum, we asked – did you ever come to the Musical Box? And he replied saying he was a frequent customer with John Lennon.”
Over the years the shop has received strong local support, becoming the local hub for records, with some customers buying their music from the shop for 60 years! In recent times the Musical Box has become a tourist attraction with many customers coming from Europe, America and Asia.
From 1980 to 2010, the number of record shops in the UK fell from over two thousand down to just over three hundred, this is due to the rise in online streaming. The Family put their success in staying open through these tough times down to “knowing their customers”, taking pride in their personal approach to selling records, building friendly relationships with their customers. Paula said:
“We love hearing the stories, what music people are liking and the bands they’ve seen too – it’s a community.”
The family have recently renovated the shop, turning the former living room on the second floor into a mini museum, showcasing photos of the shop throughout the years, with Diane’s record collection, memorabilia and her restored Piano open to play for visitors.
They also restored the exterior of the building to as it was in 1947, as a surprise for Diane. In the process they found a ‘ghost sign’ from the 1970’s which Tony and Paula had never seen before, which has since been displayed in the shop. Diane was over the moon with the restoration, adding even more sentiment to an already special day.
The blue plaque celebrates the hard work from the family over four generations, Paula concluded:
“It’s lovely for the family’s legacy, for my mother-in-law {Diane} to see, but we want to share it with our customers who have made it possible all this time.”
@merseynewslive The Musical Box in west derby gets its Blue Plaque!! Read the full story here: https://merseynewslive.co.uk/2025/09/30/liverpool-store-recognised-as-the-oldest-independent-record-shop-in-the-uk/ #recordstore #vinyl #news #music #Liverpool
