Dub Vendor

Reggae record shop and distributor. The business’s roots date back to Clapham Junction market when reggae fans John MacGillivray and his school friend Chris Lane opened a record stall at a time when the music was reaching a new, broader audience. A year later, in 1977, John and Chris set up the first Dub Vendor shop in Peckham, although this proved short lived, and Chris left the retail business soon after. In 1979 John expanded the company’s reach, launching Dub Vendor Mail Order to cater for the growing worldwide reggae fan base, quickly recruiting another knowledgeable fan, Noel Hawks, to manage that side of the operation. As the business flourished, John opened another shop in Ladbroke Grove, the Dub Vendor Record Shack, managed by Redman aka Red Man, for years a respected operator on the reggae scene. The shop was very successful and eventually moved from its’ original location at Ladbroke Grove underground station to larger premises on the corner of Ladbroke Grove and Cambridge Gardens. The Record Shack closed in 2008 when the lease expired. Reggae shops invariably end up releasing tunes and a couple of Augustus "Gussie" Clarke produced releases on the Dub Vendor label surfaced before John and Chris started Fashion Records in 1980. In 1982, John opened the flagship Dub Vendor Record Store in Clapham Junction with Papa Face and Phillip ‘Godfather’ Wilks aka Phillip "Clive" Wilks controlling the counter. In the early years the A-Class Studio was in the basement of the shop and a successful dub cutting business owned by Chris ran alongside the 4 and then 8 track recording facility before the operation moved to Forest Hill. The growth of the online business in the 2000s meant that in 2011 the decision was made to close the store at Clapham Junction and concentrate solely online.