A weekend getaway

Tina Turner, Let it Be, a couple of beers, some funny rules and the coolest record store in Sweden: join me on this adventure...

In mid-May, during a weekend city break in Gothenburg (the second-largest city in Sweden), I had the chance to visit the legendary Dirty Records.

With Stephan at the entrance of Dirty Records

Imagine a record store coexisting with a cafe/bar/restaurant: funky deco, delicious food and drink, and tons of gems on wax to browse.

I later found out that the record store is in some sort of partnership or joint venture with Cafe Santo Domingo, a vegetarian eatery with a great selection of beers. A local brewery took over the restaurant a couple of years ago, I understand, which explains a lot of things.

Located a stone’s throw away from the picturesque Haga district, where cute little cafes and boutiques line up along quaint cobblestone streets, Dirty Records is a must-see for any vinyl lovers visiting Scandinavian shores.

As soon as you walk in, you feel you are stepping into another decade. Bluesy guitar riffs coming out of strategically placed speakers made me wonder for a split second whether there was actually live music being played somewhere (and trust me — I don’t mean to brag, but I think by now I can recognise the sound of vinyl quite well).

Nope, no live music: just vinyl, doing its magic. (Their amp is probably top-notch, but don’t let me spoil this with sound technicalities).

The posters on the walls only add to the overall feeling that you have stumbled upon the secret hideaway of rock and blues legends of some decades gone by.

In the toilet (restroom for my American friends) you are greeted with this picture of Zappa, casually doing what a man’s gotta do. Ah, if only we could all look THIS cool when we sit (feel free to add the “h” if you, er… feel the need) (sorry it was too good not to).

They have an outside area as well, where we chose to sit purely because it was sunny (something you can’t take for granted in Northern Europe in May).

Interestingly, due to some local regulations, we were not allowed to bring our beers outside ourselves: the girl at the till had to do the honours. “Some rules”, she said, with a hand gesture as if to show we weren’t the first and certainly would not be the last tourists standing there looking puzzled and slightly amused by this.

Speaking of regulations, Dirty Records has this rule whereby you can’t (or at least, you are encouraged not to) use your laptop after certain time of day (5pm, if memory serves). Pretty cool for socialising, I guess.

I couldn’t come back home empty-handed so I let Stephan enjoy another beer whilst I set about browsing the stalls. I don’t know whether this is a Swedish thing or specific to this store, but I was surprised to see that the records were not actually graded —that’s when visual inspections skills come in handy.

I found a 1970 US pressing of “Let it Be” in pretty good condition at a reasonable price. In the bargains section I found a 1971 German pressing of Ike and Tina’s “Workin’ Together” which I couldn’t leave behind. Both sound and look fantastic and I paid the equivalent of SEK 210 (roughly GBP 16 or USD 20) for both. Not bad for a country not particularly known for being cheap.

Two weeks later, we all heard the sad news of Tina’s passing. My friend

Brad Kyle

wrote a beautiful tribute which I urge you to read in case you missed it. May she rest easy (or nice and rough, as she sees fit). A true legend who gave her all, in music and in life.

Call it fate, coincidence or synchronicity, but I sometimes have this weird sixth sense with records. Some sort of connection between music and events, almost as if the records I choose or come across at any given time were giving me clues about things that are happening or about to happen. Like when I predicted Amy Winehouse’s death (I’ll save that story for another day — it’s actually quite spooky).

And talking of spooky, I had actually forgotten that Ike and Tina did a cover of, coincidentally, “Let it Be” (the song) on Workin’ Together. This may be pure chance, but I couldn’t help smile at the connection.

In any case, we came back home to London relaxed, well-fed, invigorated from all the walking, and feeling happy.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go spin some Tina Turner, trusting that, wherever she may be right now (fabulously dancing up there, I’m sure), I can count on her soul to shine a little light on me.

Thanks for reading or listening and, as always, happy spinning.