Meet St Helens’ Sunflower Records owner Paul who’s turned his hobby into a blooming new business

Collecting vinyl was a hobby that threatened to take over Paul Clark’s home as he added new records to his ever-growing collection.

But now the 53-year-old from St Helens has transformed his pastime into a brand-new business – and Sunflower Records which he launched just over a month ago is positively blooming!

The music lover who opened his shop at Inglenook Farm in Rainford in June says:

“I’ve been really busy which is good.”

“People are coming in to look around and have a chat, and they’re coming back. I’ve been blown away by it to be honest.

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“And it’s not just the business here, I feel like I’m part of a community with all the other indie stores, which is really heartening.”

And Paul smiles:

“My wife is delighted too, because we can finally see the floor of the lounge again!”

A sports writer and journalism lecturer who’s originally from Maghull but now living in Rainford, Paul seized the opportunity to establish the business after taking voluntary redundancy from his university role last year.

He was originally selling vinyl online and at record fairs across the northwest, and while the dream was always to have a shop alongside the online part of the business that felt a long way off in the future.

He says:

“But when the chance came up to lease the unit at Inglenook Farm which has a sunflower field and sells sunflowers, it seemed like kismet, the perfect place. It was too good a chance to turn down.

“I almost saw the shop as a storage unit for the boxes which were building up, but it’s become a lot more than that. I’ve already got regulars.”

Paul has been a music enthusiast for years saying:

“I’m of that age, I started working in Argos in County Road, Walton, and after getting my first wage I went straight across the road to Robert Crease’s and spent it on records from there.

“As I got a full-time job CDs were coming in so I bought those, and not just one album, if a band brought out a live version, I’d get that too. I have thousands.

“For the last 10 years I’ve gone back to collecting vinyl … thankfully my wife Vivienne is very forgiving.

“I like vinyl because you don’t just put it on a listen to it in the background. You put it on, sit back with a drink, and really listen to it.”

A fan of the Beatles, Echo & the Bunnymen and Tears for Fears, who he named Sunflower Records in homage to – they mention sunflowers on their 1989 album Sowing the Seeds and on their recent album, Songs for a Nervous Planet – he has widened his tastes even more after launching the shop.

Paul says:

“My background is probably indie, alternative, and electronica, but as I’ve been cleaning up and checking second-hand records for quality, I’ve been listening to different music that I wouldn’t have listened to previously like prog rock, and liked it.

“I’m really pleased with how the shop’s going and, because I love music, it doesn’t feel like work.”

Paul now stocks around 500 second hand vinyl records and a similar number of new releases, with plans to keep expanding and developing as people go in to ask for different sounds.

It means there’s everything from Olivia Rodrigo to Stone Roses, and the Carpenters to Paul McCartney and Harry Styles.

Paul admits:

“With second-hand especially it’s a bit pot luck. People ask if you want to buy collections and you have a look to see what’s there.”