Shop talk

As is only right and proper, Gruff Rhys' tour of Cardiff's record shops - recorded as part of BBC Sounds' Counter Culture series to mark this year's Record Store Day - begins where it all started. Founded in 1894, Spillers is the oldest record shop in the world and somewhere that occupies a special place in the hearts of so many - including Rhys himself, who flexes his cred by noting that his first ever purchase there was a copy of Suicide's debut album.

He talks to owner Ashli Todd, who took on the family business, and Liam, a former customer and now employee who talks animatedly of the predictably chaotic IDLES instore set that had the floor shaking and records falling off the shelves.

From there, it's on to another family-run store, Kellys Records, located on the balcony in Cardiff Market - a mere whippersnapper, having only been open since 1969. Kellys' mark of distinction is either the much-loved Elvis statue (Rhys mischievously suggests that it might actually be the Welsh Elvis, Shakin' Stevens) or the fact that the shop was one of only 25 in the world to be personally selected by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon to receive an extremely limited edition vinyl copy of 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)'.

One particularly interesting observation is that the number of record collections coming up for sale has declined, with more people now preferring to keep hold of them - meaning that Kellys has branched out and started stocking new vinyl alongside the old.

Cardiff Record Exchange, out of the city centre on Whitchurch Road, is next on the itinerary. On what is Rhys' first visit, he bumps into collaborator and incorrigible crate-digger Don Leisure and talks to the owner about the global popularity of Welsh-language music, selling local artists' work for no fee and some of the fascinating letters, cards and notes you find tucked away inside the sleeves of second-hand records.

The final stop is Flipside Records in Cathays, a relative newcomer, whose owner expresses concerns about levels of footfall and reveals that his day job (as a paramedic) helps to fund his passion. It strikes the right note at the end of the tour, underlining that while we may be in the midst of a vinyl boom, the margins are fine and it remains a challenge to keep an independent record shop afloat and make it pay for itself. Spillers et al cannot survive on history and goodwill alone - they need continued financial support.