If I’m being honest, I can’t say I did a lot of shopping at Footlight Records on 12th Street, just east of Fourth Avenue. This is not to say, however, that I didn’t like the place. I mean, given their emphasis on Broadway cast recordings and soundtracks, it just wasn’t on my regular list. I mean, I do love a few show tunes, but rarely did I require a whole store full of'em. I liked that it was there when I needed it, though.
I remember scoring a few choice finds at Footlight back in the day, notably Gheorge Zamfir’s haunting score to Peter Weir’s “Picnic at Hanging Rock” on vinyl and the original soundtrack to “Dumbo” on compact disc (which I was after for the surreal “Pink Elephants”). Even if you weren’t looking for something specific, it was always a fun browse. The places left to do that are virtually extinct.
In any case, because people fucking suck and New York City’s rent is obscene, Footlights closed in 2005, much to the consternation of many a Broadway zealot and vinyl collector. It was a vacant shell for years afterwards, but is now a soulless real estate agency, doubtlessly staffed by dead-eyed replicants with zero appreciation for art and culture. But, I digress…
A week or so back, a former colleague of mine sent me a link to an article in Slate that highlighted the vintage NYC photographs of Robert Herman. Among them was the shot below, captioned Playing Pinball at Footlight Records, NY, NY 1980.
Now, I didn’t set foot in the place until about 1991, probably, but I certainly don’t remember a pinball machine, do you? Moreover, Footlight would never have been a shop I’d have expected to be selling Elvis Costello 7”s (see the sleeve for “Accidents Will Happen” above her right hand?). Does this ring true with the Footlight regulars?
Incidentally, Footlight kinda lives on online (although I don’t detect a lot of activity after 2014), but it’s not really the same experience as going there.
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