We specialise in import, rare, promo, deleted and collectable vinyl LPs & 45s, CDs and more! The History of Rockaway Records (by founder and owner, Scott Johnson)
On a Saturday night in 1979, my brother Gary convinced our brother Wayne to take him to a record swap meet in Hollywood. It was the now legendary Capitol Swap Meet, where collectors would park their car in the Capitol Records parking lo
t and sell old records out of their car boot or put boxes on the ground. Both Wayne and Gary were avid music lovers but knew nothing about collectables. They were so amazed by what they saw, old records selling for as much as $100, they decided they needed a new "hobby". They started going to garage sales and swap meets looking for old records, and soon found enough to become a vendor at the following month’s Capitol Swap Meet. This was the start of Rockaway Records, which quickly became one of the best mail order collectables businesses in the world. In 1982, they ventured into retail when Rockaway purchased Rainbow Records, a small (65 sq m) record store in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, and began selling new and used records and cassettes in addition to collectables. Rockaway grew so quickly, it had to move two more times before moving to its current 465 sq m location in 2008. Then in 1984 our brother, Alan, opened a Rockaway store in Mesa, Arizona. And finally in 1992, Rockaway opened in Australia when my wife and I made the big step and opened a store in Brisbane. We outgrew four stores in different locations in Paddington, Ashgrove and Springwood, before opening in our current home in Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre in November 2012. And we're still rockin' away today thanks to the support of family, friends and a wonderful loyal customer base!!!!!!! We have faced the challenges of the constantly changing retail world and have established ourselves as Brisbane's best indie vinyl record, collectables and pop culture store. Our pop culture range is unbeatable, stocking one of the largest ranges of Funko Pop! Vinyl figures around. But that doesn't mean we have forgotten our roots. Our range of new and high quality vintage vinyl now exceeds 20,0000 records! For the collectors. We also have a huge range of original tour programs, concert tickets, posters, books, magazines, action figures and t-shirts (new and vintage). Why not drop in to say hi and see our amazing range, in the flesh!
