Some Kinda Mushroom

[vintageaxeman]

Wasn't there a fashion boutique called Some Kinda Mushroom off behind the Moor?

[Sheffielder by Sea]

I don't remember that , but I do remember in the 70's a record shop in Chesterfield that went by the same name . My parents had a caravan in Derbyshire at the time and we went shopping in Chesterfield once whilst visiting  and I bought  'Think Pink'  by The Pretty Things and Pink Fairies drummer Twink there. Sold it on fleabay a few years ago - got nearly £200 for it !!!

[31dec1966]

On 02/03/2018 at 09:26, Sheffielder by Sea said:

I don't remember that , but I do remember in the 70's a record shop in Chesterfield that went by the same name . My parents had a caravan in Derbyshire at the time and we went shopping in Chesterfield once whilst visiting  and I bought  'Think Pink'  by The Pretty Things and Pink Fairies drummer Twink there. Sold it on fleabay a few years ago - got nearly £200 for it !!!

SKM was near the hospital. I was ill in 1974 and thought I'd had it, and walked out of the Royal in my pyjamas and dressing gown to go to SKM and bought the first Ducks Deluxe LP, still have it, cost £2.57.  Earlier I worked with a lad called Rob who was something to do with the first band I ever saw SHAPE OF THE RAIN. SKM  was a great shop. Incidentally I saw Pink Fairies at the Marquee in london and at somehwere in Derby.  Brilliant.

[Paul Worrall]

Some Kind of Mushroom was run by a guy called Dave Macvee (or Macfee) who also owned the Chesterfield shop, it was a meeting place for the alternative set. Eventually in the early seventies Dave changed from selling records to second hand books. I saw him couple of years ago when we went on guided walk about the railways of Chesterfield and he was one of the leaders. He was living in one of the Derbyshire villages and still deals in second hand books.

Weren't Shaped of the Rain a Chesterfield band? Somewhere in a box in my loft I've got one of their CD's, this posting has spurred me to see if I can find it. I saw them a couple of times in Chesterfield at the Vic Ballroom which was an excellent rock venue in the late 60's/early 70's. I can't remember who they were supporting because I saw Free, Blodwin Pig, Mott the Hoople and several other top bands there.

Wazzie Worrall

 

[RockinInTheFreeWorld]

Some Kinda Mushroom was a well cool Record Shop (on two levels) on St.James's Street near The Cathedral, which opened in 1970. It was owned and run by Dave McPhee who was also the manager of local band Shape of the Rain - who are still alive and gigging and their debut album is about to be re-released as a 3-CD box-set, would you believe?

The name of the shop came from one of the most iconic songs of psychedelic rock, 'White Rabbit', which uses imagery from Alice In Wonderland to illustrate the surreal effects of taking hallucinogenic drugs and was written by singer Grace Slick when she was still a member of The Great Society and when she joined Jefferson Airplane, in 1966, she offered it while the band was recording their second album, 'Surrealistic Pillow' - and the rest is rock history.

In addition to the Sheffield store Some Kinda Mushroom had started out on Newbold Road in Chesterfield in the late sixties and existed until around 1972.

Dave ran the store as a fore-runner to what Virgin Records would start out as - and not the faceless high street 'just another major' they eventually became. There was every conceivable style of music here on glorious vinyl - not just psychedelic rock or progressive, but blues, r 'n b, soul, jazz - including real hard-to-find imports and deletions. Downstairs was clothing and footwear (something I also discovered on my first visit to a Virgin store, in Leeds, in 1972), as well as a whole host of sundries such as posters, patchouli oil, incense sticks and other accessories of the time.

What helped, as much as the wide choice and quality of what was on offer, was the fact that you were always made welcome regardless of how little or how much you bought - and sometimes we'd just visit and buy nothing (not having much money to start with) and just 'hang' or 'chill' - back then not knowing what 'chilling' or 'hanging' entailed! It was just a great place 'to be'.

It was the first small independent record store (something Sheffield has proved to be adept at providing over the years) I ever went to.

Dave now runs the High Peak Bookstore out near Buxton.

 

R.I.P Richard Taylor - Dave's assistant here at the Sheffield 'Mushroom' (thanks to Gary for the update)

 

[31dec1966]

On 17/04/2020 at 15:33, RockinInTheFreeWorld said:

Some Kinda Mushroom was a well cool Record Shop (on two levels) on St.James's Street near The Cathedral, which opened in 1970. It was owned and run by Dave McPhee who was also the manager of local band Shape of the Rain - who are still alive and gigging and their debut album is about to be re-released as a 3-CD box-set, would you believe?

The name of the shop came from one of the most iconic songs of psychedelic rock, 'White Rabbit', which uses imagery from Alice In Wonderland to illustrate the surreal effects of taking hallucinogenic drugs and was written by singer Grace Slick when she was still a member of The Great Society and when she joined Jefferson Airplane, in 1966, she offered it while the band was recording their second album, 'Surrealistic Pillow' - and the rest is rock history.

In addition to the Sheffield store Some Kinda Mushroom had started out on Newbold Road in Chesterfield in the late sixties and existed until around 1972.

Dave ran the store as a fore-runner to what Virgin Records would start out as - and not the faceless high street 'just another major' they eventually became. There was every conceivable style of music here on glorious vinyl - not just psychedelic rock or progressive, but blues, r 'n b, soul, jazz - including real hard-to-find imports and deletions. Downstairs was clothing and footwear (something I also discovered on my first visit to a Virgin store, in Leeds, in 1972), as well as a whole host of sundries such as posters, patchouli oil, incense sticks and other accessories of the time.

What helped, as much as the wide choice and quality of what was on offer, was the fact that you were always made welcome regardless of how little or how much you bought - and sometimes we'd just visit and buy nothing (not having much money to start with) and just 'hang' or 'chill' - back then not knowing what 'chilling' or 'hanging' entailed! It was just a great place 'to be'.

It was the first small independent record store (something Sheffield has proved to be adept at providing over the years) I ever went to.

Dave now runs the High Peak Bookstore out near Buxton.

 

R.I.P Richard Taylor - Dave's assistant here at the Sheffield 'Mushroom' (thanks to Gary for the update)

 

SKM Chesterfield lasted longer than that. I was seriously ill in 1974  and, oh, I've already posted that earlier !! Anyway I think it lasted until about 76.  I've still got my copy of Riley, Riley, Wood and Waggett, it's  a superb album.   So good, when I found one at a boot sale about 20 years ago, I bought it without looking at it.  The record inside was Max Bygraves !    I like the sleeve anyway ! I saw them at the Civic (Pomegranate) in Chesterfield.