Someone mentioned Violet May in another Thread.
I spent most Saturday mornings in the late 60's early
70's trawling round all the second hand record shops and
market stalls around town.
One of my haunts was Violet's store at the back of the Moor
(I did visit her old shop a few times down near what is now
Castle Square)
What a place - never mind the records the banter between
the punters and Violet was priceless.
She was a wily old bird - although she often miscalculated
the value of some of the Soul imports/demos she had in
the shop - so I picked up some bargains.
Who was the old guy who worked there - he was on other planet most of the time.
She once had a float in the Lord Mayors Parade and sat in a
rocking chair at the back of the truck.
I presume Violet is no longer with us.

Happy Days

Hi Chris, I remember as a kid when my sister wanted a particular record as she had joined the school choir and needed to rehearse at home. So for a few weeks we trudged down the moor to Violet May's shop and although we never got the record we enjoyed browsing without any hassle from staff. Great days.

I managed to get "Breaking Down The Walls of Heartache" by Edwin Starr on Import, from Violet's. It was for the Youth Club's Northern Soul Disco.
I liked it in there as browsing was welcomed. Lots of Jazz freaks in striped jerseys talking about Brubeck and the Newport Jazzz Festival.
It was where I first heard of Billie Holliday, who I'm now a big fan of.

Memories came flooding back when I read the letters with comments about Violet May. As a young teenagerI used to go to her record shops in the early days searching for jazz records. One shop was on South Street opposite the Old Corn Exchange opposite the bottom of the old Rag and Tag market.

She moved to a shop on City Road above Bernard Street. Later she moved to a corner shop at the back of the Moor near the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant.

She used a cigarette holder to smoke her cigarettes and seemed to have quite a collection of them, everytime I saw her she had a different one. She attended all the jazz concerts at the City Hall and cut quite a figure dressed in long dresses and smoking from a very long cigarette holder. She knew most of the musicians and her knowledge of jazz music was extensive. I remember her guiding my choice of records knowing what little money I could afford and Ithank her for developing my education in the music.

I once picked up two metal master cut recordings of Charlie Parker from her shop on City Road only to sell them back the following Saturday. At that young age I was disillusioned with them as they contained lots of false starts and stops. Little did I know that this was normal for 'The Bird', any jazz fan today would give his high teeth for those two unique recordings today.

Does anyone else remember this Sheffield character and the early jazz days in Sheffield?

Pop T

I was a 'Saturday girl' at Violet Mays back in the early 60's my moms neighbour Alan Simmonite got me the job (which ~Igot sacked from. I was a lazy little bxxxx back then.) happy days

I recall the shop well, used to search for back catalogue old 45's when I was a DJ.....Violet ALWAYS had copies of everything that had ever been in the charts in the 50's and 60's. The shop was piled to the roof with brown wooden boxes crammed with 45's, with the name of the label on the front of the box.

She used to puff away at her fags in real chain smoking style, the whole shop was a fog of smoke at the best of times......but what at atmosphere and great customer service. Saturday mornings at the shop were an essential part of life for any DJ in the 70's who wanted to complete their oldies record cases. She was a bit bad at adding up though and always got everything dirt cheap.

I was a regular at Violet's in the mid to late 60s when the shop was opposite the Rag market.

I picked up loads of gems there, but the one I recall most strongly was a 10" LP by Jesse Fuller. I don't suppose many people have heard of him. He was a one-man-band blues singer. Donovan had namedropped him in a magazine interview, so I decided to check him out. Paul McCartney later recorded one of his songs (San Francisco Bay Blues) on his Unplugged album.

Speaking of Macca...

I happened to be in Violet's shop in 1968 during the week that Hey Jude came out. It was playing continually on the little record player she had in the corner (the release of a new Beatles' single was a major event back then) and I couldn't help eavesdropping on Violet's conversation with another customer while I was browsing the racks. They were talking about Hey Jude (among other things) and Violet opined very loudly that it was "their best record yet".

As usual, she was spot on. Good old Violet.

Alas , I missed out on Violet May's shop.
I am a big jazz fan since 54 ,but I am afraid the shop is not in my memory bank.
From all the descriptions, I really missed something .
Glad to see Bushbaby is a Lady Day fan

I was saddened to learn a few years ago of the death of Violet May ---- . The atricle mentioned her surname - May was her middle name.
The shop was a part of history, an outpost of individuality which we never appreciated at the time. Nowadays, city centres are so similar. Walk down any street and see the names of the shops, are you sure that you're back in Sheffield, or could it be anywhere?

I was leafing throught the postings on the forum reliving my past at the Buccaneer, Down Broadway, the Chapel Walk Coffe bar and thinking about Hendrix and Nice and Family at the City Hall when I suddenly thought of Violet May and then I stumbled on this post.

I remember buying Billly Holiday records and I still have a vinyl copy of Bessie Smith recorded in 1936 which I got from Violet's.

I used to work Saturdays in a record shop in Mexborough but we only got new stuff. Viloets May's was like an Alladin's cave.

I guess the younger one's will have some difficulty imagining Sheffield as such a happening place

Yeah , one of the treasures of Sheffield , sadly disappeared.
I got aload of hard-to-obtain Piaf Records there in the early '60's.
Violet was a character. Is it my imagination or are there less "Violets " around , nowadays ? And if so , why ?

Originally posted by Fareast
Yeah , one of the treasures of Sheffield , sadly disappeared.
I got aload of hard-to-obtain Piaf Records there in the early '60's.
Violet was a character. Is it my imagination or are there less "Violets " around , nowadays ? And if so , why ?

it's not a case of their being less Violet's about, it's just that we are married to them now so they tend not to stand out so much :P

Rlass would have by by the throat if she ever read this :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

Well , Owldlad , you ought to be thankfull you're married to a character , however well you keep her hidden from society.
No wonder they've all gone missing! Tucked away in kitchens all over Sheffield ! Selfishness , I call it.
If I knew how to contact her I'd tell her what you've said and watch you get your true desserts--------from a distance !

Originally posted by Fareast
Well , Owldlad , you ought to be thankfull you're married to a character , however well you keep her hidden from society.
No wonder they've all gone missing! Tucked away in kitchens all over Sheffield ! Selfishness , I call it.
If I knew how to contact her I'd tell her what you've said and watch you get your true desserts--------from a distance !

Thanks pal, now I know why your in the Far East, it's the only safe place for you:P

How long is it since you were "back home" (starts to hum that sodding world cup song) and in which part of the Far East are you living.

Owdlad
I'm in China and I was last in Sheffield at the New Year 2004/2005.

Originally posted by Fareast
Owdlad
I'm in China and I was last in Sheffield at the New Year 2004/2005.

Thanks for that Fareast, come on then fill us in on all the rest of the gossip, why China and which area (it's a big place) and what is it like. For sure it's a long jump from Auntie Violet's.

Owdlad
Well , I don't have a lot of time at the moment. It's 8.p.m. here and I've a bit of work to do. Also , I suppose it's trespassing on Aunty Vi's territory !
But , briefly , I'm a teacher and I'm in a fairly big city [6,000,000] about 2 hours by train , south-west of Beijing.
I've been to China before , for 4 months in a place about 2 hours south-west of Shanghai but I didn't like that particular school.I came back to the U.K. for a year but decided to give it another go out here.I like it at this school. We have about 6 ex-pat teachers but only two of us from the U.K. In the city as a whole there are about 200 ex-pats-----enough to keep 2 or 3 bars going anyway [with a bit of help from the Chinese].
Everything 's on a huge scale here. I've never seen so many blocks of flats and there's loads of building work and economic activity everywhere. The streets and shops are packed. It's not exactly a "fun city " but I suppose they'll soon learn to let their hair down if they watch us for a bit !
Must stop now----tell you more later.

Thanks for that Fareast, when you get the time it would be good to hear how things are in China seeing as all we ever hear is what the major news networks want us to hear.

I'm after somekind of indoor hanging basket.. sumat small for my bedroom.. can anyone tell me of a of a shop in sheffield please?

I'm after somekind of indoor hanging basket.. sumat small for my bedroom.. can anyone tell me of a of a shop in sheffield please?

Have you been at the cooking sherry :huh:

In the late 70's/80's when Violet May's was run by my mate's stepdad, it was my source of all the new releases, and the place where I got my first ever single, the boomtown rats' 'I dont like Mondays', top shop, top tunes, happy days. :D

Have you been at the cooking sherry :huh:

why?.. I've no room 4 pots of flowers so I need 2 hang em!

A friend and I are contemplating a booklet reviewing a history of Violet May and her many shops and would like to hear from anyone who had dealings with the lady as a customer, dealer or friend via this site or perhaps direct email - Barkworth

Hello you all

I have just had an inkling to type in 'Violet May' into Google to see what comes up.

I was a young 13 year old lad when I worked just behind the moor for Violet in 1970. What an experience!

Its fantastic to hear that others still remember this directly spoken but totally loveable person. I am so sorry to hear of her demise - but given her age and her chain smoking, its hardly surprising.

Does anyone know of the details of her death or where she is buried? I would like to pay my respects.

Kind regards

hillbilly20

It has been great reading all these postings. I was married to Violet Mays granson and am still very much in touch with the family. As such I knew Violet May on a personal level as well. She was a bit of an excentric, we always addressed her as Grandma Barkworth and she was very much the head of the family.
I remember that after she retired she bought a small bungalow but insisted on taking all her furniture from her huge house with her! If you looked on the back of furniture and pictures in her home you could see the names of who would receive them after she had gone. She would say to us if you like put your name on it.
Only yesterday I tried to blag some old vinyl from my ex-husband because he inherited all her stock, he told me where to go! Apparently its worth a fortune.
She has been greatly missed.

blast form the past violet mays brill ,someone said all the shops are the same you are right there. i was so sad when retuned back to sheffield after 10yrs ,i did not expet the place to be the same ,but i did expet a lot of improvements there was that alright why so many hotels ,there was the lovely gardens greart for the kids on a hot day then you have the big green house with 2 big hotels next to it which kills the efect.some parts have not changed but the pubs have were are all the proper pubs in the city (yorkshire man now could the lamb and lire got that right) glad i was only there for a few days

Does anyone remember the "listening booths" in Violet Mays behind the Moor? I used to love going in there to listen before I bought records. It was a fabulous shop.

My first visit to Violet Mays was when my grandad and grandma gave me a load of old 78 records,i didnt have a clue what to do with them so my mother took me to Violet Mays with them and she swaped then for two 45 singles,one was Cum on feel the noize(spelt as on the lable) by Slade and the other was My ding a ling by Chuck Berry so the year must have been 1973. i can just about remember the trip when i got there i was looking through a box of singles on the counter, Violet said i wouldnt look through them you wont understand them,(to this day i dont know what the records was) then she asked what music i liked i said slade just because they were in the charts at the time and i loved the top 20. Thats why i became a dj. i must have been around severn at the time.

PopT, if my memory serves me correctly, Violet's first shop was at the location you mention (City Rd/ Duke St), then she moved to her South St location which is where she became well known. I used to go there regularly to buy old traditional jazz records, as I played in a Sheff Univ jazz band in the 60s. What a great selection of oldies she had.

I started this thread a few years ago - great to see the recent comments.
Only last week I dusted off a demo Willie Mitchell LP I remember getting from Violet . I seem to recall I got it for less than a quid.

Great days

Chris

Found two albums purchased at Violet May's, 'Naturally' featuring Nat Adderly, and 'Little Johny C,' featuring Johny Coles. They've been all over the place with me, not much good now though. I got them when she was in Duke St, must've been when she first opened. When was that?

Late 50s is as precise as I can be, Texas.

I'm after somekind of indoor hanging basket.. sumat small for my bedroom.. can anyone tell me of a of a shop in sheffield please?

I don't know personally, but Violet may.

Violet May finished her life living in a flat on WIncobank Avenue about 100 metres from the Roman Ridge on the same side going towards Windmill, I did a little work for her I do not think she had much left to show for her years of work a pity really.

Just a litle bit of trivia for you all to share

Hello,

I am doing a book on the Record Shop, A Lifestyle. I would like to feature Violet May's shop . Any more memories or stories would be great. I especially need a photographs of the shop. Also any shop bags if they had a design or logo on them. You can send me a message here and we can exchange emails

Thanks

Leon.

Hello,

I am doing a book on the Record Shop, A Lifestyle. I would like to feature Violet May's shop . Any more memories or stories would be great. I especially need a photographs of the shop. Also any shop bags if they had a design or logo on them. You can send me a message here and we can exchange emails

Thanks

Leon.

I came across an interview with VM recently. It was in a Sheff Univ Jazz Magazine dated feb 1967. It's in the form of a transcript. She talks abt the movement of her store from Duke St, to South St to Broad St, her very catholic taste in music, how old records are good for feeding our nostalgia , and lists some of the "famous names" who visited the store: Acker Bilk, George Lewis, the Black & White Minstrels, Wild Bill Davidson, and more. I'll send you a PM.

I used to go to that store a lot as I played in a university trad jazz band. incredible place. good luck with your bk.

Hi Rog,

I didn't realise that you had been on the trad scene. I played bass with the Gloryland Jazz Band, firstly at the Lyceum, in Pond Street and then at The Mail Coach on West Street, in the latter half of the 50's.

I bought the first of my George Lewis collection from Violet.

Regards,

Mike

I think I do remember the Gloryland band, Puffin. I played in a lesser known combo called the Addy Street Five. Three of us lived in a house near Addy St, Upperthorpe. The "Five" was unashamedly copied from the old Hot Five, as there were six of us. We were a university student band, playing mostly at dances (called "hops" back then). We played around a few pubs in town. A mixture of very good instrumentalists and ordinary ones (myself I'm afraid in the latter category), we did very well in the Inter University jazz competition, placing 2nd in the regional finals and 4th nationally. When we were on we swung, which made up for our imperfections. Good to hear from you, Mike.