Talk about Coventry music for long enough, and the chances are that “The Poster Place”, will get a mention at some point. It sold Posters (the clues in the name), badges, concert photographs and gig tickets. The tiny shop, was little more that a “bolt-on” to the Coventry Theatre (where it was located), but its memory and legacy remain.
Just under two years ago local music and sports fan Suky Singh, opened his “Hall of Fame Memorabilia” shop in The 2-Tone Village on Ball Hill fronting onto Marlborough Road. Selling badges, signed photos, posters, records, CD’s, patches and beautifully mounted displays of music, film, TV and sporting celebrities. The shop is unique in the city, and has grown from strength to strength. Though one comment Suky hears off his satisfied customers on a daily basis, is “Your shop really reminds me of The Posters Place, it’s like going back in time”. “I hear it nearly every day” says Suky. “That shop was part of my growing up too, it was very important to me. I Recall I took my school dinner money, and every Monday I bought a single vinyl record from Jill Hanson’s, and a badge and patch from Poster Place, and had just enough to buy a Chelsea Bun each day of the week to live on”. “It’s an honour to be compared with such an iconic Coventry shop, because reliving golden memories is what myself and The 2-Tone Village are all about”.
Now Suky wants to pay tribute to The Poster Place, by introducing a book into his shop where customers can write down their own memories of The Poster Place. “The thing is” Said Suky, “we are of a generation that remembers the joy of this shop, a shop that positively screamed out for your pocket money, a shop of pure delights. Most teenagers nowadays will shop on-line, and will know nothing of a retail experience like The Poster Place, so we want people to tell us their memories of one of Coventry’s most unique shops, before it’s too late.
Do you have a memory of The Poster Place? Visit “Hall of Fame memorabilia” Unit 1 The Courtyard Rear Of 74-80 Walsgrave Rd, Coventry, CV2 4ED.
The Poster Place
The Poster Place was located in Hales Street, it was originally the theatre’s box office and later sold sweets to the theatre goers. It opened by former theatre manager Geoff Robinson and his wife Janet, it was retailing for 27 years closing in June 2001.