The Parched Pea Podcast: Shawn Sharpe putting city on the mural map and keeping independent music stores alive with Action Records

Shawn Sharpe with his new mural Pic: Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport

Preston’s creative scene is behind the microphone for the latest edition of The Parched Pea Podcast.

John ‘Gilly’ Gilmore is exploring the people who make the city tick in the new podcast from Blog Preston and the Lancashire Post.

In the latest episode he speaks to city music legend and owner of Action Records Gordon Gibson.

Listen below to the latest episode of The Parched Pea podcast or via Podfollow for your podcast app of choice

Gordon told many stories of Record Store Days, the early days of the store, having bands like The Lathums play in the store itself, working with music artists and more.

Gordon’s seen it all and he sells it all with a huge range of music vinyl’s from massive artists such as Taylor Swift to smaller artists.

Gordon has owned the shop since 1981 and says it is still going strong in Church Street.

He said: “I feel that we still have a lot to give to the local community.”

Gordon Gibson being interviewed at Action Records Pic: Blog Preston

Shawn Sharpe also features in this episode, the mural maker who has been putting the city on the artistic map with his public murals.

He’s become a bit of a Preston celebrity since his ‘Mother’ mural appeared in Church Street on the side of Hogarths and sparked a planning row.

He spoke to Gilly about the inspiration behind his work, how he got into mural painting and his plans for the future.

Shawn said: “I’m now painting what I want to see and what I want other people to see as well
so I have to do a lot more research into the area. It’s been an interesting journey doing that and delving into the history of Preston.”

The Parched Pea Podcast is a collaboration between Blog Preston and the Lancashire Post, with Gilly exploring the people and places which make the city tick and will be available on Spotify, Apple and all other major podcast apps via Podfollow with new episodes being released each Wednesday.

The podcast has been supported by Preston Markets, where a number of the interviews were recorded, and Preston’s Business Improvement District.

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