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| Chen’s modest store houses a treasure trove of goodies, including vinyl LPs, cassettes, hi-fi knick knacks and erhus. |
When the sound of the erhu emanates from a particular stretch of
Pasar Besar Ipoh, Perak’s central market, that simply means Cheng Ah Lek
is at his record store for a day’s work. The proprietor of Perniagaan
Nanyang has been selling vinyl LPs for more than 40 years, having opened
his first shop on Osborne Street (now Jalan Dato Tahwil Azhar) in 1974.
“I
opened another shop in Yau Tet Shin market in 1984, but closed it two
years later when I fell ill,” said the gregarious 74-year-old.
Ultimately, the original Osborne Street store is what lasted longest,
and Cheng was there until the turn of the millennium, when the owner of
the lot eventually sold it.
This writer recalls visiting that
store in the late 1990s and leaving with cartfuls of records on a number
of occasions. With Chen having sold records for so long, he had an
amazing inventory then.
According to him, he had tens of thousands
of titles, though in the last 16 years, that volume has decreased
tremendously. Good titles can still be had, from the likes of Jimi
Hendrix, Bad Company, Deep Purple and BB King.
What’s great about
Chen’s collection is the condition of his records … they are largely NOS
(new old stock titles), effectively meaning, they are unplayed records.
And there’s been a copy of 10cc’s Deceptive Bends sitting there for months now, just waiting for the right music lover to claim it.
