Nice to see your childhood "haunts" and how relatable this all is, even for someone who grew up in a different European country - the names of the chains and stores were different, but the memories remain. Also...it's very sad, the directions things have changed. People complain that "the high street is dead" and blame shopping centres and internet...and yet, the "high street" began to die well before things like Amazon were widely used, when all the stores started selling the same crap. Once, you would walk a commercial street and there'd be every kind of store selling every kind of product - and they kept stock, too. Then it became the case they only stocked "popular" things and you had to order the rest. And it morphed into what it is now - you walk any street (or shopping centre, they're the same) and all you see is clothing, fashion accessories and makeup. I for one have zero reason to ever go to the city centre for shopping, nor any of the shopping centres, except that 2/3 times a year I need some shirts or trousers (and even that - stores that have decent men's section are harder and harder to find!). For the last 10 years or so, all "the High Street shopping" cathered towards have been teenage girls and a certain type of younger woman.
Thanks for this. I had the privilege of being brought up in Twickenham and Richmond during the 80's around the same time as yourself, so this is also extremely nostalgic for me. I used to visit the Richmond Tandy, Dixons, and Boots (where most kids would go to type the '10 Print "*rude word*", 20 Goto 10' program into all the computers), and get my monthly copy of Zzap 64 from WhSmiths, where I also did my school work experience. Really appreciate being transported back into those innocent days, thank you. ❤
Mate I LOVED this. Thanks for sharing. It's a very special thing to catalogue. I know how it feels to visit "home" when you live abroad. I did exactly this same kind of thing in my home town of Tunbridge Wells in Kent in August 2024 with a school mate.
Yes, for those not in the UK, Boots., a Chemist, wanted to expand into other retail sectors in the late 70's, and so for most of the 80's was a go to for music, video and computer games and the kit to play them on. They pretty much pulled out of those markets come the mid 90's The same with W.H. Smiths which are better known as a stationers/news agents, Hardware and software galore... but still carry Books, Music, Craft Supplies and since they bought the remnants of Model Zone, model kits.
Man... I get to see my home town all the time because I never really moved that far away. I couldn't imagine going years or decades without seeing it. I'm so glad you got to experience it again and thank you for sharing the journey.
Tandy was a great shop for us nerd/geeks. I used to visit my local one in Shrewsbury nearly every Saturday to see what wonderous stuff they had. Awww the good ole days :)
In case someone reads this, Radio Shack want just the same sort of thing it was the same thing. Tandy bought RadioShack in 1963 and when they started opening in Europe they called the shops Tandy
Thank you for sharing this incredible trip down memory lane. It’s amazing to see your hometown and hear your stories-it feels like we’re all part of the same 80s time capsule. Looking forward to more nostalgia-filled content like this!"
Watching this video reminded me of many happy hours in WH Smiths, Boots, Dixons and John Menzies looking at 8 bit computers, games and magazines in my home town. Only Boots remains today.
I had a feeling this was coming. Nice little trip down memory lane, Peri! Lots of lovely sites and info. We really grew up in a special time in the '70s and '80s. And so fun to see some of this retro stuff make a comeback now.
I spent so much time in the local Radio Shack when I was in college. The manager was very nice and incredibly smart. Even the local electrical engineering students would come to him for advice. He’s really why I kept my Color Computer 3 around as long as I did.
Whenever I'm back home in Blighty I love going into W.H.Smith and sniffing the air, the smell of all those magazines is retro greatness. Wish they still sold computer games, the upstairs of the Southend store was where they were for me.
Unfortunately all the old computer shops in my old areas are long gone. So many specific memories of buying games in each one, including out the back of an art and hobby store where I got Rambo and Kikstart after buying my C128 in Dixon's with money my grandparents left me.
Nostalgia overload. Love vintage retro stuff (of course), but I also lived in the UK over 15 years ago and am a hopeless anglophile. This walk down the city centre hit hard-in a good way. I'm melted.
I am not into games or any of that. I am mainly watching Retro Recipes because of that soothing voice! Started my first real job in Twickenham, lived in Teddington and visit Richmond regularly. All very satisfyingly retro this ( for me at least)
How serendipitous that you found that C64 bread bin case in that random spot! This was nice. A sentimental journey and a look at today. Frankly, I despise how some things change so radically in such a short period of time.
@@RetroRecipes 52 here. Welcome back to this neck of the woods. Nice that you were able to include Puppyfractic in the adventure, so she can sample foreign pavements. 😄
I missed Tandy and Dixons. I used to work for Dixons for 11 years so I have a lot of fond memories there! But I also miss Tandy as I used to go there looking for electronic manuals and "bits" (i.e. capacitors, resistors, etc, solder, etc...). I think in the age we live in with the Arduino's, ESP32's, Raspberry Pi's, etc... and especially with all the electronic hobbyist out there, somebody should bring a similar store out now. Doggyfractic leaving their mark in London!!! 🤣 Just found out Tandy is alive and well, "online" only... COME BACK TANDY - we need physical stores !!!!
I think this resonates with most of us of a certain age, as I too often plot my way round my home town of Dunfermline and where I bought zx81/Speccy/Vic20/C64/CPC games in wee local shops and the high street regulars like Littlewoods, Dixons and even Boots back then, who had their basement devoted to games and retro. Good times. Great vid 😊👍🏻
Well, they had to take Puppyfractic. It was her idea for the whole trip and she’s the one who flew the RR Jet! 🛩️ 😁 (lLke Bruce Dickinson, she can fly a plane, but she can’t sing for Iron Maiden unless she’s in the shower!)
@@RetroRecipes Oh fantastic I'll have to check it out as I'm curious where you visited! Next time you're back in town you should show Teddington lock where they filmed the Monty Python fish slapping sketch and also the old location of They Walk Among us comics in Lion Square Richmond as that's where Spaced was filmed. The shop moved location many years ago and is now Raygun comics but you probably already know this! (Mad Andys used to be next door too!)
Ah man.. Richmond green... spent so many good times there. Bumping into and having a pint with Richard Attenborough at the Cricketers.. rehearsing some ol' Shakeyspeare after drama school before going into the Orange Tree for a show.. walking through it after ushering at Richmond Theatre.. getting a telly for one of my first flats from the Dixons there.. you took me right back.. but rather you than me.. ancient history to me now, sadly.. :)
You filmed half of my childhood gaming/computing history there too! I also went to WHSmiths, Boots, Dixons and Tandy, but I also went to Rumbelows and Dickens and Jones to get games also. Think Dickens and Jones isn't there anymore (next to the Old Ship pub) and Rumbelows was almost opposite WHSmiths. Rest of the shops i went to were in Kingston and also Selfridges on Oxford Street where they had a big toy/games dept where I lusted over Vectrexes, Amstrads, Ataris and things :) I didnt realise there was a small Dixons there. Great video mate!
Thanks! Rumbelows for me too. Where were the games at Dickens & Jones? I don’t remember that. But my mum loved that store. So funny story, when I’m in an undecorated stairwell just before showing the Ted Lasso pub, that IS Dickens & Jones. I snuck in to see the building work inside and managed to get up to the top floor where the canteen used to be. It’s now half built offices with no floor and a sheet glass panoramic set of windows. I had lunch with mum there all the time. Good days 🙏
Excellent video Peri! I had a really retro experience yesterday myself. On an amble around a distant village I stumbled upon a red phonebox which was free to call landlines (I'm guessing the village has poor mobile signal and parish council sponsor it). So naturally I called home, like I would have done 30 years ago, and spoke to my mum. It felt familiar after all this time. I still have a smile on my face. 😊 All the best to the Fractics
This reminds me of the times I used to go to Hammersmith in the early 1980's to visit Maplins to buy parts for an electronics project. I have even just found a Maplin build guide i bought from there at the time for an early stereo synthesiser keyboard. Happy times.
Nice to see you home town and the memories, thanks for sharing👍. I remember a lot of the same stores where I was going into my home town centre, Tandy, Dixons, our price , WHSmith, looking at all the computers, computer magazines, where it all started for me, sparked an interest, started a decades long journey to my eventual profession as an IT Engineer, so anything you need broken am your man 😂. Sadly most of these iconic stores are all gone now from high street. Most UK shopping centre are poundland, discount shops, e cigarettes, mobile phone shops, cases😢. Miss those days 😞.
I am from the UK, now living in Australia. I used to work in a certain high street computer shop brand as my first job, just as the Amiga CD32 launched. Thanks heaps for the throwback.
Posh Richmond boy!!! haha!! wish i'd known would have bought you a drink!! holy crap TANDY!! I bet you are shocked at how much other stuff have changed as well.
Tandy was my father's temple and it became mine after so many visits. Still morn the demise here but am lucky that my city has a decent replacement for anything electric and electronic: Gotron.
Loved this !!! Sigh😢 Even just hearing names like Dixons reminded me of going inside the Dixons in Folkestone in 1981 to get me the Commodore Vic 20 Christmas bundle pack. Lovely memories of me and m'dad together. "Thankyou for such beautiful present Mr Fawlty!"😉
I so loved this, it's both sad and real nice to go back and see how things have changed from back in the day. I had a Dixons, Tandy, Woolies, John Menzies and WH Smiths a long with a few little coputer shops in the mix to get stuff from. Got my Atari 800xl and my C64 from Dixons and that's when my love of computer truely started. Games back in the day for the C64 started from £1.99 to £9.99 (no i didn't copy them and take them back for a new game, well maybe 1 or 2) Just loved the box art work or even the cheap cassette art work. Ofc prices went higher come the Amiga days. Hope the family had a blast in the UK tho a bit cold. Looking forward to the next video so until then you all take care and have a great weekend.
I'm in Canada, I got my hardware from some place just across the Can/US border because there was a huge price difference. After that a local TV/Audio shop had a room dedicated to Commodore stuff and I would go at least once a month to get Compute and Compute Gazette. It is a tire shop now but I can still picture the computer room that used to be there.
I've always hoped you'd go home and show us your hometown streets where you bought stuff. Mine was Falmouth high street in Cornwall. Buying my zx spectrum games from John Menzies 😄😁
That was a great nostalgic trip down memory land for you. It's a shame you didn't find a Time Corridor alleyway "Goodnight Sweetheart" style taking you back to the 1980s. Roberts was and is a great brand. I have their Digital Radio and CD Player to listen to Radio 4 Extra for vintage radio programs. Good to see the whole family creating nostalgic memories together on your trip. Magical.
Isn't it someone's birthday soon? Lovely video - Richmond has changed so much shop-wise since I last went there (which, funnily enough, was when Dixons still existed lol).
I remember the early 90's near my school in chelmsford was a 'special reserve' computer shop, I think you had to be a member or something to buy anything, bought most of my Amiga games there. God knows what's happened to that company, it was quite big though, had adverts in all the magazines and more than one location. Ahh the good old days.
I’m a Londoner who’s now moved to Essex but I have many fond memories of the Commodore 64, now I’m 53, looking back. Remembering I use to have a Commodore VIC-20, which was the poor man’s version of the Commodore 64. 😂 But I remember my Dad wasn’t sure I was into computers at the time or was it just a fad, so, he bought me that but I never did move up to the 64, whilst interested in other things as well, like BMX’s and Tamiya Radio Controlled Cars. Although, I did have a Vintage Radio Shack Radio Controlled Lamborghini Racing Car which I bought from Tandy back in the day… I didn’t know you was originally from Britain but now I think about it you don’t really have an American or British accent but something in between, like a South African accent. Well, that’s what it sounds like. My brother still has a Sinclair ZX Spectrum in good condition with some games. Remembering, the Ant game I use to enjoy playing on it when I was a teenager… You know, Britain really should have an Apple of its own or something along those lines because it was an innovator in computers and coding but sadly, unlike the American government, the british government are clueless how to support British innovation, turning our ideas into products and exporting them to the world. Which is why ARM and many tech companies coming out of the golden triangle that includes London, Cambridge and Oxford end up being taken over and taken overseas to the US.
Love a bit of nostalgia; I got just that when I played Rex for the first time in 35 years on The Spectrum. I'm surprised not one person said PCBWayyyyy when they walked passed you; must do better Richmond.
Great video I'm from Putney and I went to all of the shops you showed.l in the video.I ended up driving a taxi in Richmond for a while but quit when I moved to Sweden.
Ahhh memory lane. We have only one computer shop here from back in the day. Still running strong but you won’t get that 80’s vibe anymore. Btw. Did you use a clip from Pet Shop Boys Always on my mind?
I well remember spending hours and an obscene amount of money in Adelaide's (Australia) only decent Amiga store in the city. Ended up having every major model from the 500 to the 4000 over the years, and software collection my budget could not afford but I simply HAD to have. All gone now of course, along with the magic.
That was awesome. We had Tandy here in Australia, and quite a selection of other electronics component retailers. We have a couple left- Jaycar Electronics, and Altronics. Memories. Cheers
This is so cool! I haven't been back to my home town for getting on 20 years now, will definitely be doing something similar with my family when I eventually make it back. Google Maps is a nice substitute in the meantime!
I don't remember many shops from my teenage years in The Netherlands, we had Escom (they sold the last Amiga's from Escom Technologies i believe) and Gameshop for my PC games and retro console games.
I loved going in Tandy and looking at all the things I would never be able to afford. Ironically kind of like the retro section in a CEX where some of the stuff can have crazy prices these days.
We had a dixons in my town as well in the netherlands.. but a many snes and computer game there.. still have my original command and conquer boxed sets from there. Even with the receipt :)
Love the video, I loved going into Tandy and Dixons spent many happy hours looking at computers and games Is your house safe? the fires look horrifying and was hoping everything in America was good for you.
It looks a bit like Woodgreen in North London, that has a CEX shop too, it did have Gamestatton and GAME too but not no more I think Tandy became Maplin that closed down too.
Went back to my childhood town recently, and near everything/everywhere I cherished and spent time fondly in my youth 45 years ago is sadly now gone and replaced by modern ‘development’. Still looks similar, but its heart and soul are gone. Nothing meaningful anymore. Only nostalgic memories now. Thank you for your tour of Richmond. We had very similar childhoods, and I feel lucky and thankful we were able to grow up in that era. It was a very different time. Kids today live in a self exiled electronic dopamine fuelled prison. They will never experience curiosity freedom and learning in the real world.
Not sure what's the deal with Radio Shack these days, but there is an "electronics" store in the next town over that has Radio Shack on the on their sign and they still have some of the parts drawers and stuff. Pricing for items is pretty expensive compared to what we're all used to now with online dealers. But if I realize I'm missing a part, it's nice that I can run over there and grab it immediately without waiting for shipping.
As you were an Atari 400 owner, did you visit Silica Systems on Tottenham Court Road or in Sidcup? I do remember catching the train from Charing Cross many times.
@@RetroRecipes Perhaps you could do a follow up on the TCR shops? Do any of these ring a bell? Lasky's Games Centre (I think) Lion House REW Shekhana Computers (they rented space in another store) Some of the music shops sold Atari software as well, but you would have had other reasons to go into those. Additionally, there were Selfridge's and Hamley's nearby.
CEX is pronounced "sex" now, ( imagine saying i need to visit the local sex shop !! ), I used to love the tandy / radio shack ( as opposed to r.s. ) battery club.
GREAT VIDEO! NICE CASE BTW! It's such a pity that our high streets have lost the old charm and coziness they once had, sure it looks nicer now. But the new facades, the terrible backdrop of modern architecture, it's so sad, I don't like the new "style", it so uniform all the same all over the world, very dreary. And weirdly enough, a lot was done to it the last 20 years. I miss the 80s and even the 90s up until the mid 90s. Aaah Richmond Green, I strolled there a lot back in 2002 when I worked for BetFair. It was my Sunday stroll from Fulham here I had a very overpriced "shoebox" as a flat. Maybe we walked passed each other back then but we didn't know...
Should have popped in to Argos (inside Sainbury's) for C64 and Spectrum fun!
Already done on the Patreon a couple of weeks ago along with a trip to Twickenham 😊🙏 patreon.com/perifractic
@@RetroRecipes Nice!
Another great video that pulls at the heart strings ! Let’s all just go back in time for a while !
It’s so much easier to get lost in a retro world!
Welcome back to blighty…I am in your age group and my dad as the manger of Tandy shop in Nottingham…that brings me right back…
This channel always makes me so happy. All the best to Fractic family
Nice to see your childhood "haunts" and how relatable this all is, even for someone who grew up in a different European country - the names of the chains and stores were different, but the memories remain.
Also...it's very sad, the directions things have changed. People complain that "the high street is dead" and blame shopping centres and internet...and yet, the "high street" began to die well before things like Amazon were widely used, when all the stores started selling the same crap.
Once, you would walk a commercial street and there'd be every kind of store selling every kind of product - and they kept stock, too. Then it became the case they only stocked "popular" things and you had to order the rest. And it morphed into what it is now - you walk any street (or shopping centre, they're the same) and all you see is clothing, fashion accessories and makeup. I for one have zero reason to ever go to the city centre for shopping, nor any of the shopping centres, except that 2/3 times a year I need some shirts or trousers (and even that - stores that have decent men's section are harder and harder to find!).
For the last 10 years or so, all "the High Street shopping" cathered towards have been teenage girls and a certain type of younger woman.
Thanks so much for sharing your family trip and memories with us.
Thanks for this. I had the privilege of being brought up in Twickenham and Richmond during the 80's around the same time as yourself, so this is also extremely nostalgic for me.
I used to visit the Richmond Tandy, Dixons, and Boots (where most kids would go to type the '10 Print "*rude word*", 20 Goto 10' program into all the computers), and get my monthly copy of Zzap 64 from WhSmiths, where I also did my school work experience.
Really appreciate being transported back into those innocent days, thank you. ❤
Small world!
Mate I LOVED this. Thanks for sharing. It's a very special thing to catalogue. I know how it feels to visit "home" when you live abroad. I did exactly this same kind of thing in my home town of Tunbridge Wells in Kent in August 2024 with a school mate.
Glad to hear it resonated with you! 🕹
Yes, for those not in the UK, Boots., a Chemist, wanted to expand into other retail sectors in the late 70's, and so for most of the 80's was a go to for music, video and computer games and the kit to play them on. They pretty much pulled out of those markets come the mid 90's
The same with W.H. Smiths which are better known as a stationers/news agents, Hardware and software galore... but still carry Books, Music, Craft Supplies and since they bought the remnants of Model Zone, model kits.
Man... I get to see my home town all the time because I never really moved that far away. I couldn't imagine going years or decades without seeing it. I'm so glad you got to experience it again and thank you for sharing the journey.
Tandy was a great shop for us nerd/geeks. I used to visit my local one in Shrewsbury nearly every Saturday to see what wonderous stuff they had. Awww the good ole days :)
In case someone reads this, Radio Shack want just the same sort of thing it was the same thing. Tandy bought RadioShack in 1963 and when they started opening in Europe they called the shops Tandy
Thank you for sharing this incredible trip down memory lane. It’s amazing to see your hometown and hear your stories-it feels like we’re all part of the same 80s time capsule. Looking forward to more nostalgia-filled content like this!"
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I had so much fun putting this one together.
Welcome home :)
Watching this video reminded me of many happy hours in WH Smiths, Boots, Dixons and John Menzies looking at 8 bit computers, games and magazines in my home town. Only Boots remains today.
Yes, I would always buy the latest Elektor or ETI magazine, but also have to steal a "top shelf mag" now and then. The '80s were the best.
Thanks for this trip down your memory lane. England is so beautiful.
it used to be not anymore
I had a feeling this was coming. Nice little trip down memory lane, Peri! Lots of lovely sites and info. We really grew up in a special time in the '70s and '80s. And so fun to see some of this retro stuff make a comeback now.
I spent so much time in the local Radio Shack when I was in college. The manager was very nice and incredibly smart. Even the local electrical engineering students would come to him for advice. He’s really why I kept my Color Computer 3 around as long as I did.
Whenever I'm back home in Blighty I love going into W.H.Smith and sniffing the air, the smell of all those magazines is retro greatness. Wish they still sold computer games, the upstairs of the Southend store was where they were for me.
Unfortunately all the old computer shops in my old areas are long gone. So many specific memories of buying games in each one, including out the back of an art and hobby store where I got Rambo and Kikstart after buying my C128 in Dixon's with money my grandparents left me.
Nostalgia overload. Love vintage retro stuff (of course), but I also lived in the UK over 15 years ago and am a hopeless anglophile. This walk down the city centre hit hard-in a good way. I'm melted.
I am not into games or any of that. I am mainly watching Retro Recipes because of that soothing voice!
Started my first real job in Twickenham, lived in Teddington and visit Richmond regularly.
All very satisfyingly retro this ( for me at least)
Thank you for your kind words! Means a lot 👍🕹️
Also don't go over the Hill, there lies Mordor... O.K. (New) Malden😉
How serendipitous that you found that C64 bread bin case in that random spot! This was nice. A sentimental journey and a look at today. Frankly, I despise how some things change so radically in such a short period of time.
'Over 50s Life Cover' - They saw you coming !!
I’m 51. It was perfect.
@@RetroRecipes 52 here. Welcome back to this neck of the woods. Nice that you were able to include Puppyfractic in the adventure, so she can sample foreign pavements. 😄
Tandy sadly gone but not forgotten would spend my weekends in tandy thanks for the trip down memory lane 😂❤
Lovely! Those memories
Hope you all had a lovely time back here in the Arctic Circle!! Great to see that you were able to bring Juni with you too. Woof. Good dog!
I missed Tandy and Dixons. I used to work for Dixons for 11 years so I have a lot of fond memories there! But I also miss Tandy as I used to go there looking for electronic manuals and "bits" (i.e. capacitors, resistors, etc, solder, etc...). I think in the age we live in with the Arduino's, ESP32's, Raspberry Pi's, etc... and especially with all the electronic hobbyist out there, somebody should bring a similar store out now. Doggyfractic leaving their mark in London!!! 🤣 Just found out Tandy is alive and well, "online" only... COME BACK TANDY - we need physical stores !!!!
I think this resonates with most of us of a certain age, as I too often plot my way round my home town of Dunfermline and where I bought zx81/Speccy/Vic20/C64/CPC games in wee local shops and the high street regulars like Littlewoods, Dixons and even Boots back then, who had their basement devoted to games and retro. Good times. Great vid 😊👍🏻
Wow , that really is a family holiday , even the dog.
Well, they had to take Puppyfractic. It was her idea for the whole trip and she’s the one who flew the RR Jet! 🛩️ 😁 (lLke Bruce Dickinson, she can fly a plane, but she can’t sing for Iron Maiden unless she’s in the shower!)
Thanks for squeezing us in during your travels!
As someone who grew up in Richmond/Twickenham and still lives here, this is cool!
I did some additional exploring in Twickers recently on the Patreon 😊
@@RetroRecipes Oh fantastic I'll have to check it out as I'm curious where you visited! Next time you're back in town you should show Teddington lock where they filmed the Monty Python fish slapping sketch and also the old location of They Walk Among us comics in Lion Square Richmond as that's where Spaced was filmed. The shop moved location many years ago and is now Raygun comics but you probably already know this! (Mad Andys used to be next door too!)
Ah man.. Richmond green... spent so many good times there. Bumping into and having a pint with Richard Attenborough at the Cricketers.. rehearsing some ol' Shakeyspeare after drama school before going into the Orange Tree for a show.. walking through it after ushering at Richmond Theatre.. getting a telly for one of my first flats from the Dixons there.. you took me right back.. but rather you than me.. ancient history to me now, sadly.. :)
You filmed half of my childhood gaming/computing history there too! I also went to WHSmiths, Boots, Dixons and Tandy, but I also went to Rumbelows and Dickens and Jones to get games also. Think Dickens and Jones isn't there anymore (next to the Old Ship pub) and Rumbelows was almost opposite WHSmiths. Rest of the shops i went to were in Kingston and also Selfridges on Oxford Street where they had a big toy/games dept where I lusted over Vectrexes, Amstrads, Ataris and things :) I didnt realise there was a small Dixons there. Great video mate!
Thanks! Rumbelows for me too. Where were the games at Dickens & Jones? I don’t remember that. But my mum loved that store. So funny story, when I’m in an undecorated stairwell just before showing the Ted Lasso pub, that IS Dickens & Jones. I snuck in to see the building work inside and managed to get up to the top floor where the canteen used to be. It’s now half built offices with no floor and a sheet glass panoramic set of windows. I had lunch with mum there all the time. Good days 🙏
Excellent video Peri! I had a really retro experience yesterday myself. On an amble around a distant village I stumbled upon a red phonebox which was free to call landlines (I'm guessing the village has poor mobile signal and parish council sponsor it). So naturally I called home, like I would have done 30 years ago, and spoke to my mum. It felt familiar after all this time. I still have a smile on my face. 😊 All the best to the Fractics
Oh wow!
This reminds me of the times I used to go to Hammersmith in the early 1980's to visit Maplins to buy parts for an electronics project. I have even just found a Maplin build guide i bought from there at the time for an early stereo synthesiser keyboard. Happy times.
Which side of King Street? They moved across the road to larger premises.
@@ninoinoz4437 It would have been about 1981 I went there but I don't know if it was the original shop or the bigger one you mention
@@howardkey1639 That would have been the original one.
I got a kit there for my AS-Level Electricity and Electronics project.
Christian Simpson - The Fresh Prince Of Richmond Park
😆
I truly love this comment! 😂
Great video there were lots of shops that sold 8 bit and later 16 bit computer games all gone now so much fun back then .
You grew up in a lovely little town. Thanks for sharing. So glad you were able to bring puppyfractic along.
Nice to see you home town and the memories, thanks for sharing👍. I remember a lot of the same stores where I was going into my home town centre, Tandy, Dixons, our price , WHSmith, looking at all the computers, computer magazines, where it all started for me, sparked an interest, started a decades long journey to my eventual profession as an IT Engineer, so anything you need broken am your man 😂. Sadly most of these iconic stores are all gone now from high street. Most UK shopping centre are poundland, discount shops, e cigarettes, mobile phone shops, cases😢. Miss those days 😞.
I am from the UK, now living in Australia. I used to work in a certain high street computer shop brand as my first job, just as the Amiga CD32 launched. Thanks heaps for the throwback.
Posh Richmond boy!!! haha!! wish i'd known would have bought you a drink!! holy crap TANDY!! I bet you are shocked at how much other stuff have changed as well.
I really was! There’s an unnecessary amount of coffee shops in Richmond now. Like 14 on one road.
@@RetroRecipes you guys headed back already? how was the flight with the little one and is it hard getting a dog across the pond?
Tandy was a treasure trove . My first job after uni . Maplin was also fun by mail order
Tandy was my father's temple and it became mine after so many visits. Still morn the demise here but am lucky that my city has a decent replacement for anything electric and electronic: Gotron.
Safe travels Fractic Family!
Thanks Craig!! No more standing behind buses for me!
Great video! If you're still in the UK and fancy a jaunt to Brighton, I'd love to grab a coffee or show you around!
Sadly the moment has passed but I really appreciate that
@@RetroRecipes ah well, maybe another time! Hope you had a great trip and that everything's ok back home.
Great video!, nice to look back to the good old days👍.
Loved this !!! Sigh😢
Even just hearing names like Dixons reminded me of going inside the Dixons in Folkestone in 1981 to get me the Commodore Vic 20 Christmas bundle pack. Lovely memories of me and m'dad together.
"Thankyou for such beautiful present Mr Fawlty!"😉
I so loved this, it's both sad and real nice to go back and see how things have changed from back in the day. I had a Dixons, Tandy, Woolies, John Menzies and WH Smiths a long with a few little coputer shops in the mix to get stuff from. Got my Atari 800xl and my C64 from Dixons and that's when my love of computer truely started. Games back in the day for the C64 started from £1.99 to £9.99 (no i didn't copy them and take them back for a new game, well maybe 1 or 2) Just loved the box art work or even the cheap cassette art work. Ofc prices went higher come the Amiga days. Hope the family had a blast in the UK tho a bit cold. Looking forward to the next video so until then you all take care and have a great weekend.
Ahh good times…
I'm in Canada, I got my hardware from some place just across the Can/US border because there was a huge price difference. After that a local TV/Audio shop had a room dedicated to Commodore stuff and I would go at least once a month to get Compute and Compute Gazette. It is a tire shop now but I can still picture the computer room that used to be there.
I've always hoped you'd go home and show us your hometown streets where you bought stuff. Mine was Falmouth high street in Cornwall. Buying my zx spectrum games from John Menzies 😄😁
That was a great nostalgic trip down memory land for you. It's a shame you didn't find a Time Corridor alleyway "Goodnight Sweetheart" style taking you back to the 1980s.
Roberts was and is a great brand. I have their Digital Radio and CD Player to listen to Radio 4 Extra for vintage radio programs.
Good to see the whole family creating nostalgic memories together on your trip.
Magical.
You know I dream of finding an alleyway like he did
Isn't it someone's birthday soon? Lovely video - Richmond has changed so much shop-wise since I last went there (which, funnily enough, was when Dixons still existed lol).
No more gifts you’re too kind!! 🙏🙏
I remember the early 90's near my school in chelmsford was a 'special reserve' computer shop, I think you had to be a member or something to buy anything, bought most of my Amiga games there. God knows what's happened to that company, it was quite big though, had adverts in all the magazines and more than one location. Ahh the good old days.
Good to see you back in Richmond. Still a lovely place to mooch about in, but things are changing fast nowadays.
I miss Rat Shack. Being able run to the store and pick up basic components for whatever project I was working on at the time.
Lovely stuff and I never knew Henry IIIV used to be the Earl of Richmond. You've got to love a Perri-fuelled fact.
Ah, if only the shops were still there. My old Dixons is now a Lloyds bank. And Tandy - I don't know - I should go and find out!
I’m a Londoner who’s now moved to Essex but I have many fond memories of the Commodore 64, now I’m 53, looking back. Remembering I use to have a Commodore VIC-20, which was the poor man’s version of the Commodore 64. 😂 But I remember my Dad wasn’t sure I was into computers at the time or was it just a fad, so, he bought me that but I never did move up to the 64, whilst interested in other things as well, like BMX’s and Tamiya Radio Controlled Cars. Although, I did have a Vintage Radio Shack Radio Controlled Lamborghini Racing Car which I bought from Tandy back in the day… I didn’t know you was originally from Britain but now I think about it you don’t really have an American or British accent but something in between, like a South African accent. Well, that’s what it sounds like. My brother still has a Sinclair ZX Spectrum in good condition with some games. Remembering, the Ant game I use to enjoy playing on it when I was a teenager… You know, Britain really should have an Apple of its own or something along those lines because it was an innovator in computers and coding but sadly, unlike the American government, the british government are clueless how to support British innovation, turning our ideas into products and exporting them to the world. Which is why ARM and many tech companies coming out of the golden triangle that includes London, Cambridge and Oxford end up being taken over and taken overseas to the US.
Love a bit of nostalgia; I got just that when I played Rex for the first time in 35 years on The Spectrum. I'm surprised not one person said PCBWayyyyy when they walked passed you; must do better Richmond.
Great video I'm from Putney and I went to all of the shops you showed.l in the video.I ended up driving a taxi in Richmond for a while but quit when I moved to Sweden.
Ahhh memory lane. We have only one computer shop here from back in the day. Still running strong but you won’t get that 80’s vibe anymore. Btw. Did you use a clip from Pet Shop Boys Always on my mind?
No but it looks like it. I forget the name of the movie but it isn’t well known.
I well remember spending hours and an obscene amount of money in Adelaide's (Australia) only decent Amiga store in the city. Ended up having every major model from the 500 to the 4000 over the years, and software collection my budget could not afford but I simply HAD to have. All gone now of course, along with the magic.
Tandy. Lasky. Maplins - even Morgan's bucket shop. All these these places are gone like DMA settings in the AUTOEXEC.BAT
Time to upgrade.
Ah memories of buying computer magazines from WH Smith's, and also standing there reading them for free...
That was awesome. We had Tandy here in Australia, and quite a selection of other electronics component retailers. We have a couple left- Jaycar Electronics, and Altronics. Memories. Cheers
thanx for sharing the memories
This is so cool! I haven't been back to my home town for getting on 20 years now, will definitely be doing something similar with my family when I eventually make it back. Google Maps is a nice substitute in the meantime!
I remember dixons and tandys i always used to buy sega master system and gamegear games from there. Special times back in the 90s in england!
I don't remember many shops from my teenage years in The Netherlands, we had Escom (they sold the last Amiga's from Escom Technologies i believe) and Gameshop for my PC games and retro console games.
IIRC, Tandy in North America was a leather crafting store but it was the parent company of Radio Shack.
I loved going in Tandy and looking at all the things I would never be able to afford. Ironically kind of like the retro section in a CEX where some of the stuff can have crazy prices these days.
We had a dixons in my town as well in the netherlands.. but a many snes and computer game there.. still have my original command and conquer boxed sets from there. Even with the receipt :)
good material
Yep, Tandys was great!
Here in New Zealand and I think Australia we have Jay-Car which is very much like Tandy as I remember it back in the UK as you do from the '80s
Love the video, I loved going into Tandy and Dixons spent many happy hours looking at computers and games
Is your house safe? the fires look horrifying and was hoping everything in America was good for you.
It looks a bit like Woodgreen in North London, that has a CEX shop too, it did have Gamestatton and GAME too but not no more I think Tandy became Maplin that closed down too.
How did you manage to get Puppy Frantic in the UK as well - WOW - Did she go on the plane with you?
Went back to my childhood town recently, and near everything/everywhere I cherished and spent time fondly in my youth 45 years ago is sadly now gone and replaced by modern ‘development’. Still looks similar, but its heart and soul are gone. Nothing meaningful anymore. Only nostalgic memories now. Thank you for your tour of Richmond. We had very similar childhoods, and I feel lucky and thankful we were able to grow up in that era. It was a very different time. Kids today live in a self exiled electronic dopamine fuelled prison. They will never experience curiosity freedom and learning in the real world.
Now imagine going to all those places and struggling to find the feeble BBC B shelf :p
Nice to hear from y'all again. Happy New Year. How did you get Puppy Frac into the UK without putting him (her?) thru a 6 month quarrantine?
Quarantine is no longer required but there are lists of other requirements. Wasn’t easy but also doable.
Multi Broadcast used to rent out MSX computers in 1985. Think they did Atari consoles in 1982! Crazy times.
Would have freaked out walking theough Richmond and seeing you
Think Tandy was owned by Radioshack, or had some connection. I used to have Tandy branded CB radios that had Radioshack stickers on the PCBs
Bought my very first cd player in Tandy’s in Basingstoke. Loved Tandy’s. Such a shame it disappeared
Not sure what's the deal with Radio Shack these days, but there is an "electronics" store in the next town over that has Radio Shack on the on their sign and they still have some of the parts drawers and stuff. Pricing for items is pretty expensive compared to what we're all used to now with online dealers. But if I realize I'm missing a part, it's nice that I can run over there and grab it immediately without waiting for shipping.
I didn't expect to see the dog lol
Didn't get a C64 until 1988 when I was 16, got it from my local tandy store.
That's the smallest Dixons store location I've ever seen! 😮
I believe they may have only sold camera stuff or developed photos when it first opened
As you were an Atari 400 owner, did you visit Silica Systems on Tottenham Court Road or in Sidcup?
I do remember catching the train from Charing Cross many times.
I did!!
@@RetroRecipes Perhaps you could do a follow up on the TCR shops?
Do any of these ring a bell?
Lasky's
Games Centre (I think)
Lion House
REW
Shekhana Computers (they rented space in another store)
Some of the music shops sold Atari software as well, but you would have had other reasons to go into those.
Additionally, there were Selfridge's and Hamley's nearby.
So bravyfractic to walk around London with your phone out like that 😂 Love you guys, all the best! ❤
Oh shoot I didn’t even think of that. Richmond is perhaps slightly safer.
YES! New video
I kind of expected you getting sloshed at the Slug... BTW Is Henrys still there or has been starbucked?
80s kids were lucky. Unless you got an Amstrad! Bl00dy hell!
Richmond was expensive in the late 90s now its even more expensive.
The Retro Fuzion Breadbin Case Set is $95 online
It would of been very surprising to still see a c64 on the shelves....
CEX is pronounced "sex" now, ( imagine saying i need to visit the local sex shop !! ), I used to love the tandy / radio shack ( as opposed to r.s. ) battery club.
It went from Tandy to Randy
Tis video said only 60 views a few minutes ago, now its already 645 lol.
GREAT VIDEO! NICE CASE BTW! It's such a pity that our high streets have lost the old charm and coziness they once had, sure it looks nicer now. But the new facades, the terrible backdrop of modern architecture, it's so sad, I don't like the new "style", it so uniform all the same all over the world, very dreary. And weirdly enough, a lot was done to it the last 20 years.
I miss the 80s and even the 90s up until the mid 90s. Aaah Richmond Green, I strolled there a lot back in 2002 when I worked for BetFair. It was my Sunday stroll from Fulham here I had a very overpriced "shoebox" as a flat. Maybe we walked passed each other back then but we didn't know...
There is a radio shack style shop in ealing and unfortunately it's finally going!!