We’re a friendly group of local folk who like getting together every month at The Triangle in Shipley, West Yorkshire to play records, enjoy a drink and have a chat. We’ve been doing it since 2011. Here’s our story so far…

We heard about the record club idea from this BBC article, back in February 2011:
Are record clubs the new book clubs?

… and we thought ‘yeah!’ After a few tests (where we ditched the whole  “heavy listening” aspect) we started to run regular events later that year, throwing open the doors of the Kirkgate Centre in Shipley, West Yorkshire every month to anyone interested. Fortunately quite a few were and we spent 6 happy years running our events there.

In October 2017 we moved to a new home just around the corner at The Triangle in Shipley and now hold events in their upstairs space on the first Saturday of each month.

So, it’s a club, right?

Umm, not really. We just liked the name and it stuck. There’s nothing to join, no rules as (well, apart from one…). Just turn up and say hi. With or without a bunch of records!

What happens?

We play records! Or just listen to them.

The nights themselves are friendly, relaxed affairs where people are encouraged to bring along records from their collections for the enjoyment and illumination of others. It’s a rare night when you don’t walk away having heard something amazing you’ve never come across before!

As well as music and excellent company there is always a fine choice of beers, soft drinks available to buy. Think of it like a friendly pub but with great music and no fruit machines!

What do you play?

Most events are themed in one way or another. Depending on the theme for the night it could be whole albums, singles or a combination.

We normally nail down the theme a month or so beforehand. You can find out what the next theme will be by attending the events, checking our upcoming events page or the rolling blog on this site. Or out in social media land follow the Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Instagram posts (less so on Twitter/X nowadays because, well you know…).

Love the virtual thump of email in your inbox? We also have a good old fashioned mailing list. Subscribe here, no spam.

To keep the music varied and interesting we mostly (not always, mind) avoid themes by genre, so we tend to go for nice broad topics which can encourage people to dig deep and think laterally to find tracks and artists to play. To get a flavour, you can find out what our previous themes have been by looking at our past events page. Below is a random sample of past themed nights.

Occasionally someone will offer to run much of the night, especially if they have a theme they really want to explore. Alternatively, our very popular free-play nights encourage as many people as possible to bring stuff along all based round that night’s theme. We can quite easily crack through 50 tracks on a night like that.

Can I bring CDs and MP3s along?

Record Club is all about listening to vinyl. We’ve all been there, finding that killer track on your phone, CD, cassette but not vinyl. Its a shame but… well, it’s Record Club for a reason…

But don’t let that stop you coming along and hearing other people’s records! Plenty do. Not everyone who comes along actually owns a record player or any records. Or wants to play them.

Anything else you get up to?

Yes, as a matter of fact!

Since December 2015 we have had our own BCB Radio show every four weeks, called… wait for it… The Record Club Radio Show! Often this will mirror our most recent theme but we’re not averse to just playing stuff cos we like it!

Rob & Will run the programme with a rolling group of co-presenters or special guests, most of whom regularly come along to Record Club.

We also pop-up in places from time to time, getting involved in Saltaire Festival in 2016,  2017 and 2018, popping up with a bag of records at local events, running local record fairs, celebrating Record Store Day with open decks events at local record shops plus the odd birthday. If you have ideas then do get in touch!

Saltaire Record & Retro Fair

Since 2019 we have also been running the popular Saltaire Record & Retro Fair three times a year at the Caroline Social Club. Whether you’re a crate digger or fancy holding a stall, more details can be found here.

Your ideas

Record Club wouldn’t exist without them. All the events are based on your ideas.

If you have any suggestions, then let us know. You can also nominate interesting people who could run an event, or records that could be played.

Maybe you want to dig into your record collection and play them for the pleasure of others? With your input, Record Club should be a varied and enjoyable night out.

So, if you’d like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. If you just want to turn up, then do that instead!

Send us a message below, or tweet us @TheRecordClub