Jack Perry has opened JP’s Records in the basement of Ronan’s Coffee at 50a Walsworth Road, and the new shop is taking the town by storm.
We sat down with Jack to find out his five favourite albums of all-time and exactly what they mean to him.
1 – Definitely Maybe by Oasis
“I think Definitely Maybe is probably one of the best debut albums ever. From start to finish it’s just an amazing album,” Jack said.
“I was lucky enough to see them in Manchester last year and they are one of best bands I’ve ever seen live.
“They skyrocketed Britpop and indie music and they’ve been such a massive influence for bands like the Arctic Monkeys ever since, but they also played such a big role in influencing pop culture and fashion.
“Another reason why I love them is that they were just normal working class lads, and when you hear some of the interviews they did back in the day when they were kids, it’s so just so raw and you can tell they are loving what they do.”
2 – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
“I wanted to pick one of the Beatles’ albums because they’re one of my all-time favourites. It was quite hard to pick one, but I’ve gone with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” Jack said.
“Again, from start to finish, it’s just one of those albums you could just stick on and it’s got a bit of everything, from great guitar work to orchestral sections.
“With it being a concept album it’s got a story to it that you can follow and it’s also one of my favourite covers of a vinyl record as well. The artwork’s just incredible and so iconic.
“We probably wouldn’t have modern music as we know it without them. That’s how influential The Beatles were. It’s incredible to think what they achieved in just 10 years together.
“My mum was a teenager when The Beatles shot to fame and she always tells me stories about how crazy it all was. She always says that there wasn’t anything like Beatlemania and all the screaming girls until maybe One Direction came about. It’s a boy band thing, isn’t it?”
3 – Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses
“Appetite for Destruction was one of first albums I ever listened to. My brother got it on CD when I was about nine or 10,” Jack explained.
“When I started collecting vinyl, it was one of the first ones I wanted to get because it tells me a story of that time and reminds me of my family and my brother. Every vinyl has always got a story behind it.
“I just love the stories about Guns N’ Roses. I’m not a big reading fan but I read Slash’s autobiography about the music, the stories behind the band and the absolute craziness of some of the stuff that happened. Appetite for Destruction is just an absolute cracking rock album.
4 – Purple Rain by Prince
“I don’t really know why I got into Prince, but I think it was through my friends playing me Purple Rain,” Jack said.
“It’s an amazing album, it’s so, so good. Let’s Go Crazy is probably one of my favourite songs of all-time and Purple Rain might be the best song ever written.
“Prince and Purple Rain really broadened my musical horizons a bit more into funk and soul, and it made me listen to different genres which is another reason why I had to pick it.
“One of my friends has always been in bands and Prince was one of his biggest influences. There’s still so much love for his music even now.”
5 – Dookie by Green Day
“Choosing a final album for this list was very hard, but in the end I went with Green Day’s Dookie,” Jack revealed.
“American Idiot was one of the first albums I ever listened to because it came out around the time I was really getting into music, but Dookie is such a fantastic album that I had to go with it. It’s also got one of the best drum solos I’ve ever heard as well on the song Burnout.
“Green Day are one of those incredible artists that even after starting out in the early 1990s, are still popular, selling music and doing sold out tours.”