Spillers Records

Few things represent indie – or Cardiff cool – like Spillers Records, which having been going since 1894, prides itself on being the world’s oldest record shop.

Owner Ashli Todd, whose dad bought the business in the late 1970s, has worked here since childhood and took over the business in 2010.

“It’s a responsibility and a motivator knowing how fondly people think of Spillers,” says Ashli. “The big buzz for me has always been seeing somebody’s reaction to what they are hearing in the shop, or getting to know a customer well enough to recommend bands that sometimes go on to become their favourite artists. That is a privilege.”

To thousands of local music fans Spillers represents a rite of passage, a gateway to teenage musical discoveries in the pre-internet age. Today it remains a mecca for music lovers and vinyl junkies alike, located in the bustling Morgan Quarter where it rubs shoulder with many of the city’s other best independent shops.

“There’s definitely a feeling of being in it together in Cardiff, and a willingness to collaborate,” says Ashli. “Exciting things are happening here.”