Ever since he was dancing at the weekends with his wife-to-be as a 17-year-old at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom, Jim Sandison’s love for music hasn’t faded.
Music has been his life. He’s owned record shops over the years as well as two of Aberdeen’s most-loved music venues – Tunnels and Café Drummond, which he has now recently sold off both of his 50% stakes in.
Now, Jim is focussing all of his attention on Spin Aberdeen.
The record shop, bar and venue space on Littlejohn Street regularly hosts a wide range of events from music to comedy and even weddings.
Its bar is open seven days a week and houses a large range of premium beers and spirits with cocktails also available upon request.
With its diverse offerings, Jim, now 70-years-old, reckons Spin is one of the best venues in Aberdeen.
“We’re the best for record shopping in Aberdeen by miles,” says Jim.
“The place lends itself to being a space where you can just come down, relax and enjoy yourself.
“It’s not posh or pretentious; we allow everyone to come in, enjoy themselves and have a good time.”
Big-time record collector
Having seen just about every big band in their heyday during the 1960s, Jim began collecting vinyl records at the age of 14.
Some years later, he had a bit of a predicament. He’d amassed a collection of almost 200,000 records and didn’t have the space to store them all.
So, he decided to buy a site at Carnegie’s Brae in Aberdeen to house his records, which today is known as the popular music venue, Tunnels.
“I bought Tunnels when it was run down and spent a year doing up the place,” says Jim.
“I was looking for somewhere to keep all my records, but I thought instead of storing them in Tunnels, why don’t I sell them from here instead?
“Tax and other costs inevitably got involved, so eventually, I turned it into a live music venue instead.”
New opportunity
Jim’s legacy in Aberdeen’s music scene is also prevalent at The Cavern record shop and Café Drummond, both of which he had owned for a number of years.
It was five years ago while at Café Drummond where Jim was handed the opportunity to take over Spin Aberdeen.
“When I was asked if I’d like to take over Spin Aberdeen, I thought, ‘great! It’s got a record store upstairs, a bar and diner downstairs, that’ll do me,’” Jim explains.
“Spin has had a lot of incarnations over the years. It’s been a few clubs, a student’s union, it was also a bottlecap brewery at one point too – there’s still some of the brewery stuff upstairs.”
Challenges
Most recently, Jim has been navigating the challenges of the pandemic whilst trying to keep Spin – as well as his other former venues – afloat.
With restrictions easing and the live events schedule getting busier, he is keen to welcome back familiar faces to the venue, and plenty of new ones too.
“We haven’t had the chance to change a whole lot about the place from the way we had it pre-Covid,” Jim explains.
“It’s taking its time to build it up to where it was, but we’re just being patient.
“We want people to know that we’re open for business again and are keen to spread the word.”
Music and drink hub
Split across separate floors, Spin Aberdeen has a record shop located upstairs while downstairs is home to a bar and live venue space.
Open seven days a week, age ranges vary from 18 right up to 70 depending on the types of events held downstairs.
While food is currently off the menu due to the venue’s chef retiring during lockdown, there’s still plenty of drinks options to sink your teeth into.
“Our beers are really good. We have a wide range of popular Beavertown products like Neck Oil and Gamma Ray,” says Jim.
“We also have a really decent gantry filled with a lot of whiskies, rums and gins. We have around 50-60 gins and probably around the same amount of rums and other spirits.
“We do cocktails too. There’s not a specific menu per se, if someone asks for a specific cocktail, the bar staff are happy to make things by request.
“If it were me, I’d be happier with a shot or a nip!”
Relaxed feel
Whether it’s a late-night gig or a casual browse through some records, Jim says that Spin’s “couthy” atmosphere is what keeps people coming back.
“What we always say is, if you come to Spin, you’re guaranteed a couthy evening,” he says.
“People come in and know that they’re in a nice, safe environment. They like the décor and ambience of the whole place, which is good.
“If people come, they tend to come back – which is all we can ask for.”
Record fairs are also a regular instalment at Spin.
Seeing younger generations of record collectors come through, Jim is always keen to lend a hand to youngsters visiting the venue.
“I’m always happy to give younger ones advice for their records,” says Jim.
“People are better coming here. If they go to along to HMV, they’ll get charged a huge amount of money for a repressing of a record.
“But they can come here and get the original second-hand for half the price.”
Honesty is the best policy
Looking ahead, Jim is keen to continue patiently building Spin’s profile to bring it back to its pre-Covid levels of popularity.
Yet, even though he admits himself he may be “of an age now,” Jim still has plenty of passion to put into his work yet.
“We’re very honest and straightforward here,” says Jim.
“I’m personally not going to be four to the floor anymore – those days are gone – but you can sit and listen to music all day if you wish, you can do your crossword or things like that.
“I’ve been raking through records since I was 14 and it’s still a great joy for me – even if people come in with rubbish records.
“Because you never know, you might just find the one!”
A round of questions with Jim Sandison of Spin Aberdeen…
Most underrated drink?
Inch’s cider.
If you were a drink, what would you be and why?
I’d be a malt whisky, because I’m smooth.
Choice of drink at a music festival?
A pint of anything I can get! Tennent’s would be fine.
Most unusual drink you’ve ever tried?
Oh no, I’m 70-year-old and drank an awful lot of rank stuff in my days! I do remember having a horrible Absinthe once, I’d say that.
Wine or whisky?
Whisky – I don’t drink wine.
You have to create a music themed drink. What would it be?
I’ve actually seen quite a few bands like Iron Maiden making their own beers and things. I’m not sure what I’d go for – anything with vodka!
Best food and drink pairing?
Steak, fried onions and a beer.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what three drinks would be there with you?
Malt whisky, Diplomatico rum, and another malt whisky. Or perhaps a nice brandy.
You have to serve your favourite musician a drink. Who is it and what do you serve them?
That’s easy! It’d be Terry Reid – the guitarist who turned down Led Zeppelin and has played at Tunnels and Café Drummond three or four times – who asks for a drink every five minutes of Glenfiddich 18-year-old with lemonade in it. It breaks my heart!