A local record shop recently played host to a critically-acclaimed author, attracting music fans to join them for a special talk.

At Empire Records, Graham Jones, author of Last Shop Standing, spoke about his career and experience of the music industry.

The book, which originally documented the demise of the independent record store, has been re-released after record stores took a turn for the better.

Derek Watson, owner of Empire Recsords, was interviewed for the new edition of the book and was keen to invite Graham to the shop.

He said: “I wanted people to have a chance to meet a guy that made a huge mark on the independent music business.”

Graham Jones, who has had a 30-year career in the industry, said: “Independent record stores promote the local music scene and they promote new music and that is why they are important.

“The independent stores that we have now, like this one, have to be part of the community, putting on events. Getting the local community involved. I think Empire Records is absolutely fantastic.

“Empire is typical of the new breed of record stores which is heavily on vinyl, it looks good, the staff look out for people and they go out of their way to find things.”

The talk comes after the success of Record Store Day, which saw the shop multiply their profits by 10 as a result of the event.