'Still like kid in a sweet shop' - 35 years running city record shop

He had gone from regular customer to salesman after growing disillusioned working at what was then Bonds so after a short while soul-searching took up shop owner Paul Wardell's offer of a job.

Out of Time Records & Memorabilia on Magdalen Street in Norwich. (Image: Archant 2021)

Now, 35 years later he still feels the same enthusiasm for the shop on Magdalen Street in Norwich, having risen through the ranks to first become manager and now partner at the business.

This month, 57-year-old father-of-two Mr White marks three-and-a-half decades at the second-hand record store having seen the music industry transform around him over this time.

Out of Time record store partner Eric White putting stock out in his Magdalen Street store. (Image: Archant 2021)

In his time at the shop, vinyl has gone through phase after phase, from almost disappearing completely to going through a huge revival - but the one constant has been Mr White himself.

He said: "The shop opened in 1984 and I was a loyal customer. When Paul offered me a job, I spoke to my father who said the most important thing about work is enjoying what you do.

Eric White, partner of Out of Time record store on Magdalen Street in Norwich, is celebrating 35 years on the job. (Image: Archant 2021)

"On my first day I was nervous, excited, but felt like a kid in a sweet shop. Now I'm far more relaxed and far more confident, but I still enjoy sharing my passion with my customers as much as I did to start with."

Music has always been Mr White's biggest passion and he was already working part-time as a deejay when he started - something he still does to this day.

Eric White, pictured at Out of Time records in 2001 (Image: Archant)

He added: "The Internet coming along was the biggest change for me and I was quite late to the party in that sense.

"It was actually my son Adam, who was 12 at the time, who turned to me and said 'if you don't get online, your business will fail'.

"There was a time when I thought about selling my soul, closing up and just doing a bit of online trading on the side, but I'm glad I stuck to it.

"The resurgence has been so gradual that I almost can't work out when exactly it happened, but now I have people in their teens coming in and wanting to go away with that album under their arm - and that's so satisfying."

Out of Time's top 10

Across Mr White's 35 years, the store has found itself with all kinds of rare and highly collectable LPs.

His top 10 most valuable sales are as follows:

1. Dr Z: Parts to My Soul (1971) - sold for £3,400
2. Elvis Presley: Test pressings (1956) sold for £3,000
3. Led Zeppelin I: limited edition turquoise cover - sold for £1,300
4. Wilton Gaynor: Blue Bogey (1959) - sold for £1,140
5. The Beatles: Please Please Me, gold print mono edition - sold for £1,000
6. Johanna Martzy: Mendelssohn violin concerto (1955) - sold for £1,000
7. Aphrodites Child: 666 (1979 double LP) - sold for £800
8. Pink Floyd: Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967 first edition) - sold for £800)
9. Genesis: From Genesis to Revelation (1969 first edition) - sold for £800
10. Kim Weston: Helpless (Tamla Motown demo) - sold for £500

Music in August 1986

Today, Suffolk's Ed Sheeran sits in top spot of the UK charts. When Mr White started, the Ipswich Town-supporting singer was five years shy of being born.

Instead, the top 10 was filled with artists such as Madonna, Rod Stewart and Robert Palmer, with Chris de Burgh taking up the top spot.

The top 10 this week in 1986 was:

1. Lady in Red - Chris de Burgh
2. So Macho/Cruising - Sinitta
3. Papa Don't Preach - Madonna
4. Camouflage - Stan Ridgway
5. I Want To Wake Up With You - Boris Gardiner
6. Let's Go All the Way - Sly Fox
7. Find the Time - Five Star
8. What's the Colour of Money - Hollywood Beyond
9. Every Beat of my Heart - Rod Stewart
10. I didn't mean to Turn You On - Robert Palmer