Joe Theobald, aka DJ Captain Wormhole, Looks at all things vinyl 

THIS is week 100 of the column – a great milestone for me, the Swindon Advertiser, and indeed the great people of Swindon. To my loyal readers, thank you, you are both greatly appreciated.

For this special anniversary piece, I’ve revisited my very first entry, a prosaic tour of the town’s various vinyl outlets, and here’s the state of the scene nearly two years down the line.

Wormhole’s World 1 cited six distinct retail locations on the local map for veteran diggers and bandwagon boarders alike: IDL and Blood on the Tracks in the Tented Market, Prospect Charity shop on Commercial Road, Red House Records in Holmes Music, HMV and Baila Coffee & Vinyl on Victoria Road.

Since then we’ve sadly lost IDL. Leights (the owner) has struggled to find a new venue since the demise of the Tented Market but I hope he gets things back up an running in the new year.

Blood on the Tracks, as featured just a few weeks ago, are doing very well in their new, much cosier location at the top of the Brunel Centre.

Baila is still selling some records but it’s a greatly reduced selection compared to a few years ago. Whilst this is a shame, they are still flying the flag for wax and compensating with the best nights of vinyly sourced music the town has seen in years.

Prospect is still smashing it on the charity scene with a nicely ordered range and some bargains in the bottom bins. HMV is what it is.

On the new front, RPM Records (Devizes Road) opened in July last year, mainly offering reissues and new releases.

The shop was a welcome addition to the local scene for collectors, however the future for the business sadly looks uncertain as they’re currently listed on Rightmove. Still, if your pockets are particularly deep it could be a great opportunity to surprise the other half with a ready-made record store for Christmas.

Finally, very recently I’ve come across another new addition; there’s a fella who sells CDs and second-hand records at the Highworth market on Saturday mornings. He’s been there for the last couple of weeks with a decent range and prefers to only sell near-mint/very-good condition.