Rough Trade in Notting Hill celebrates 50 years of independent records

Fifty years ago a small record shop opened its doors on Kensington Park Road in West London. It was called Rough Trade, and in 2026 the globally recognised independent music brand is celebrating half a century.

Rough Trade describes its first shop as more than a place to buy records. From the start it was a community space built on a DIY ethos and a passion for new sounds. Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records, put it simply: "This year means it's 50 years since the day the first shop opened its doors on Kensington Park Road."

Director Nigel House started working at 202 Kensington Park Road in 1981. "For someone obsessed with music it was a dream job," he says. He has watched the business move from one shop in West London to ten, with seven stores across the UK, one in Berlin and two in New York. In 2024 Rough Trade opened two new UK stores, in Liverpool and on London's Denmark Street.

At the heart of the anniversary is a curated series of 50 essential albums from 1976 to 2025, with records by artists including Patti Smith, Aphex Twin, The xx, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Björk, Rina Sawayama and Pulp. They are being released as Rough Trade Exclusive vinyl editions in five drops of ten titles, one for each decade, with the first arriving in February and the last in October.

Collectors can also join Rough Trade Club: Essential, a new year-long subscription limited to 500 members, who receive one hand-picked album a month.

Live music has been part of the celebrations too. Working with promoters Bird On The Wire, Rough Trade announced a rare appearance by Jim O'Rourke with Eiko Ishibashi at Union Chapel, and a reformation show from Glaswegian art-rock band Life Without Buildings at KOKO on 20 November, 25 years after their album Any Other City.

In April the company announced Rough Trade 50, a three-day takeover of the Southbank Centre from 17 to 19 July, with Pulp headlining the Royal Festival Hall, Scritti Politti in the Queen Elizabeth Hall and a screening of Kes with a live soundtrack by Elysian Collective, introduced by Jarvis Cocker.

Across its venues, Rough Trade hosted more than 1,500 live events in the past year, and its vinyl sales rose by over 20 per cent. For managing director Lawrence Montgomery, it has always been about more than selling records: "it's been a community space built on passion and a shared love of discovery."