Obituary - Death of record collector and store owner Ray Smith

Published: 28 April 2011
by DAN CARRIER

HE was the record collector’s best friend, and provided a haven for musicians wanting to pass the time and check out the latest sounds: Ray Smith, who set up and ran the record store bearing his name in Shaftesbury Avenue, passed away last week. 

Mr Smith, who was a regular face in Camden Town and lived after his retirement in Albert Street, was 76.

His eye for a rare record was legendary as was the famous “Hen’s Teeth” box he kept under his counter, full of gems and pulled out only for true aficionados – and those who could afford such treasures. He would strike deals that his customers would greatly benefit from. When band leader Chris Barber stumbled across a New Jersey warehouse full of rare Charlie Parker and Bebop 78s, it was Ray who took charge and made sure those who would appreciate them got pristine copies of such jazz gold dust as ‘Parker’s Mood’.

Ray was born in Ealing in 1934, and educated at a boarding school in Dorset, where he first discovered the two great loves of his life: jazz and cricket. An asthmatic, he found it hard to compete in school sports – but developed a devilish spin as a bowler, so much so that in later years he would give lessons at Lord’s. 

Ray joined Collett’s International Bookshop on Charing Cross Road aged 21, and it was here he helped sell not only books but jazz and folk records – and with its close proximity to such venues as the 100 Club and other Soho jazz venues, he could pursue his love of the genre. 

When Collett’s stopped selling records in 1983, Ray took over the business and sold both folk and jazz from a new shop in Shaftesbury Avenue. 

In 2002, with sales being eaten into by the internet and rents rocketing, he sold up, and his business moved into Foyles bookshop, where it continues today. Friends say he spent a happy retirement watching cricket from around the world on a big TV in his Camden Town flat, and listening to his vast record collection.

Ray was also a keen drummer. Clarinettist Wally Fawkes recalls playing in a trio with Ray in the 1950s, while turning out for an amateur cricket team, the Ravers, made up of jobbing jazz musicians. This was before Ray, the much-admired leg spinner, had taken up the drums.

Mr Fawkes, who had been playing in Humphrey Lyttleton’s band, said the role his record shop played in the jazz scene is legendary. Mr Fawkes said: “It was an oasis for the modern jazz collector and musicians. Not so much at first for trad jazz, but a mecca for moderns.”

And he recalls the extra lengths Ray would go for friends. Mr Fawkes said: “I had only been playing the clarinet in 1960, and I decided I wanted to try out the tenor sax.

“I found it was a huge problem for me. The fingering was very different and so was the blowing. I was having some real trouble with it so Ray said he might know some one who could help me.”

Ray had lived in a small flat in Monmouth Street with someone who could possibly help – the world-renowned saxophonist, Bobby Wellins.

Mr Fawkes added: “At Ray’s request, Bobby very kindly spent an hour and a half showing me the complexities. This was typical of Ray. He would help people.”

His funeral yesterday (Wednesday) was at Golder’s Green crematorium and featured the music of Charlie Parker. 

He is survived by his wife, Wendy.