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  • 2011
    Top Hat Records was formed by collector Nicholas with £20, a small stack of Bruce Springsteen albums and no idea what he was getting involved in.
  • Early 2012
    Nicholas originally started out selling on eBay, mostly doubles, oddities and rejects he’d picked up at various car boots, charity shops and junk stores, growing his personal collection to 500 albums and taking over his spare room in the process.
  • Mid 2012
    Having become disillusioned with eBay, Top Hat Records website was created, allowing Nicholas to have greater control over sales and helping to connect with like minded music fans .
  • June 2014
    Fast forward a few years and Top Hat Records had amassed over 3,000 albums, singles, EPs, picture discs, and boxsets online. Meanwhile Nicholas' personal collection had grown to nearly 800 albums.
  • September 2015
    Nicholas et al moved into new premises to hold the 5,400 records that he had in stock. By this point, an estimated 60000 vinyl had passed through his hands, and by his own admission his collection had grown out of control.
  • May 2017
    Nicholas finally found a turquoise copy of Led Zeppelin and was able to take a holiday (and upgrade his record player). He admitted to a collection size of 800, (actual size 1250 + singles).
  • January 2018
    Top Hat Records had over 7,500 records listed and Nicholas had re-discovered the joy of cassettes.
  • March 2018
    Top Hat Record starts to sell cassettes in the face of opposition - “Who the hell wants to buy cassettes?”
  • Late March 2018
    Top Hat Records sells an Oasis cassette (We told you so!)
  • September 2019
    Top Hat Records moved into bigger premises to hold the 9,000 vinyl, cassettes, and CDs that they had in stock.
  • December 2019
    Top Hat Records Marketplace was launched to allow anyone to sell their music for a fixed monthly amount, without paying extortionate fees.
  • February 2020
    Nicholas sits down in his office (with his little dog) to write this bio whilst avoiding he fact his personal record collection is reaching 1,600 and counting..

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