Harrogate district music lovers from the 1990s and 2000s have fond memories of independent record shop Mix Music.
From Britpop to the indie boom to metal, dance music and hip-hop, the small shop on Oxford Street stocked a deceptively comprehensive selection of CDs and vinyl.
Award-winning comic book artist and cartoonist Tim Bird grew up in Harrogate and went to St John Fisher Catholic High School.
The 39-year-old specialises in drawing scenes that conjure up the history and memories of place.
Mix Music was a haven for teenagers that were into alternative music in Harrogate, which Mr Bird said made it the perfect place to draw.
“I used to go there in my school lunch hour, me and my friends. We didn’t necessarily buy music, we’d just hang out there.
“I remember buying the White Stripes there on vinyl, and Radiohead’s Kid A when that came out. It was that era of indie rock. There was lots of really obscure stuff too.”
The name Mix Music was a pun on the owner’s name, Mick, who was always knowledgeable and generous with customers.
Mr Bird said:
“I was a big fan of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and the owner would give me promotional posters cos he knew i was into them.”
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Mr Bird said he was surprised there was no trace of Mix Music ever existing online, which made it difficult to remember how the shop looked in its heyday. It closed around 15 years ago.
Now living down south, Mr Bird used Google Street View to help him with the cartoon. Part of the shop is now home to the cafe Baltzersens.
He added:
“Now everything has a record online forever, so it’s strange how this has just disappeared.”
Mr Bird has also done a drawing of Our Price, a chain of record shops owned by Virgin that was on Station Parade near the Victoria Centre. Although his first purchase there in the mid-1990s was not quite as cool as the White Stripes.
He said:
“I have a fondness for Our Price as it’s where I bought my first CD. It was the PJ and Duncan album. That’s really embarrassing!”
Our Price on Station Parade. Credit – Tim Bird
