Big Apple Records

Did You Know?

• The shop was named 'Apple Records' but changed to 'Big Apple Records' after the Beatles' record label of the same name threatened to sue.
• The logo used was a banana peel, chosen because it stood out the most on the page among apple designs.

History

The shop was founded in November 1992 by Gary Hughes, Steve Robertson, and John-Paul Kennedy. Hughes and Robertson were friends who brought on Kennedy only a few weeks before opening, as they needed further investment. In 1996, Hughes and Robertson were bought out, leaving Kennedy as sole owner, because pressure from nearby record shops made three partners unsustainable. Initially, the ground floor stocked Progressive House and Techno, while the first floor sold Jungle.

After Hughes and Robertson left, Kennedy invited Artwork to turn the second floor into his studio, and the first floor, now stocking Drum & Bass, was replaced with listening booths. Later, Hijak joined Artwork in the upstairs studio. DJ Chef would park his moped with an attached sound system outside so customers could listen to records. Neil Joliffe, a distributor supplying the shop, was given early dubstep productions by Benny Ill, which Kennedy suggested passing to Joliffe.

Joliffe's connections in the garage scene—with labels like Public Demand, Allstar, and Acetate—led him to form Tempa Recordings and Benny Ill to form Horsepower Productions. When garage became mainstream in the late 1990s due to crews like So Solid, the ground floor switched to garage to boost sales. DJ Hatcha was hired to help run the shop; his work, combined with Artwork's releases being shop exclusives, increased Big Apple's popularity with Jungle and Garage producers.

Skream started visiting the shop at age 14 because his older brother Hijak worked there, and he went most days. Hatcha, noted for salesmanship and deck skills, had a poor work ethic that caused tension with Kennedy. Coki was introduced to the shop by Mala, who said Coki's music matched the shop's style. The shop closed in November 2004, exactly 12 years after opening, partly due to declining vinyl sales from internet ripping and posts on The Dubstep Forums (DSF).