Rough Trade (shops)

Rough Trade is a group of independent record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London.

The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Ladbroke Grove district of West London. Travis reportedly took the name from the Canadian art punk/new wave band Rough Trade.[1] In 1978, the shop spawned Rough Trade Records, which became the label of bands from The Smiths to The Libertines. In 1982, the two separated and the shop remains an independent entity from the label, although links between the two are strong. At the same time, the shop moved from its original location on Kensington Park Road round the corner to Talbot Road. In 1988, a shop opened in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden. At various times there were also shops in San Francisco (on Grant St., then Sixth Street, then Haight Street and finally 3rd and Townsend Streets), Tokyo and Paris. They were eventually closed following the rise of music sales on the Internet. Rough Trade replaced these stores with an online music store. In 2007, it also opened in Dray Walk, Brick Lane, in east London.