All that glitters is not gold, but there's definitely some real treasure for vinyl collectors and pop-culture lovers to unearth at Glitter Records in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.
Riley Fitzgerald is the owner and manager of Glitter Records, a brick-and-mortar record store nestled along the ultra-urban California Lane near the corner of Brunswick and McLachlan streets.A former music journalist, Riley began trading vinyl in the lucrative online space, driven by a curiosity to explore the dynamics of pop-culture and a desire to preserve the physical media of our past.
What started as an online side hustle has quickly blossomed into a full-time business. "The curiosity started when I did some blog posts about record stores," Riley explains.
"I was a longtime vinyl collector, I think a lot of people in the 2010s would have engaged with vinyl in some way, if you're a music fan. I wanted to know more about what it is, the human aspect of it but also where did it come from and why are some records so rare and others just sit around.
"I got curious about objects and vinyl and how that interacts with this bigger culture of music. This whole ecosystem of pop-culture, trying to make sense of it. Objects and pop-culture just fascinated me."
Within three years, Glitter Records has grown to become one of Australia's largest collections of vinyls and CDs plus older and unusual formats, housing some 35,000 titles along with a diverse trove of unique memorabilia and oddities.
"The more I got immersed in the culture of vinyl and physical music, CDs and these older formats like shellac and Edison cylinders, the more interesting it became," Riley says.
"The scale of it after a year started to grow and I was engaging with people with big collections of what I call UMOs – unidentifiable musical objects. Some of the rarest records in the world are these 78 [RPM] shellac discs, original blues artists like Muddy Waters from back in the '30s."
As a record store owner, Riley has found that rarity often lies in the eye of the beholder; one man's trash being another's treasure. Nevertheless, his vast collection includes some truly prized gems of music history.
"We have Australia first-pressing AC/DC records in near-mint condition," he says. "Just a nice run of their pre 'Back In Black' stuff. The key distinction that drives collectors wild is that the first Australian pressing on the label strap on the vinyl itself has a little stamp of a kangaroo. There's a lot to this era of AC/DC, it's nuts.
"It seems to be with AC/DC [records] is that every time they re-released it the label decided to change the artwork for the label. Some labels like Atlantic are pretty consistent; other labels it seems it changes.
"As a consequence of that, all these different versions create a lot of excitement with collectors because they like the familiar thing with a twist. There's always a new version of rare."
Image © Caytlan Koljndrekaj
From curious collector to conscientious curator, Riley has built Glitter Records into a living archive of music and pop-culture history.
Whether you're buying your first vinyl, looking for something special or interested in finding out what your own collections are worth, Riley can help. "This is the one cardinal rule of a record store, and I always have to say this," he says.
"I buy record collections, so if you're thinking of selling your collections or there is something in transition that you don't know what to do with, please get in contact with me.
"You're welcome to stop in at the shop and have a chat anytime or reach out online. We're always happy to talk to people and engage."
Visit Glitter Records on California Lane in Fortitude Valley (Brisbane) or online.
