Sandbach Nub News aims to support our community, promoting shops, businesses, charities, clubs and sports groups.

We will be profiling some of these businesses and organisations regularly in a feature called 'UP CLOSE in Sandbach.'

Today we spoke to John Beddows, who trades weekly at the Sandbach Markets with Backtrax Music.

Vinyl records have always had a dedicated following over the decades, but one Sandbach dealer says they have found their way back to the mainstream.

John Beddows says his love for the medium goes back to his days working in the music industry.

He told Sandbach Nub News: "I've been involved in music for years. I used to stage and tour manage bands until I got a proper job at a local college. The records are a hobby, but a hobby that has taken over my life.

"The idea was that I would sell records I had duplicates of, but then people just asked me, 'do you want to buy some records?' and I said yes. It took off from having about three boxes to 18 or 20 boxes with 100 records in each. So I must have 1,000 records for the stall at least, which is separate from my own collection."

Among his collection is The Beatles White Album top loader and Bob Marley's Catch a Fire, which comes in a Zippo lighter case.

While he is a fan of the ease of modern music streaming services provide, John is adamant there is something special about vinyl records.

"The album is so tactile; you open it up, it might have a poster in it with stickers and pictures; it could have the lyrics. Some of them are just amazing pieces of art," said John. "Alright, you have to get up and change it over, which you don't have to do with a CD, but I think the sound is so different. They're more about the experience."

Young people are once again turning to vinyl, which was first invented in the 1940s, with The Mirror reporting today that sales are at their highest point since the 1990s.

Current artists like Harry Styles and Kylie Minogue have released LPs, climbing their way up the vinyl charts.

John said: "People always think it's a very male-orientated thing, you know old men holding onto the memories. But you'd be surprised as a lot of women, and there's a lot of young people buying records.

"I try and encourage that when they come [to the stall]. Young people always get a nice little discount because I want them to come back. And I want them to pick up stuff and think, 'oh God, that's brilliant'."

John says other retro mediums like cassettes are also finding new popularity, including a release of the Arctic Monkeys' 2018 Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino album.

As well as his stall at the market, John also runs the Sandbach Record Fair, which is set to make a return on 18 April where people can buy a range of records, CDs, cassettes and memorabilia from sellers.

"It is a phenomenal business that people don't see. They might just see it as a retro thing, but there is now this huge new market and lots of shops are now selling new vinyl's," John said.

One way that John reduced waste from any broken records is to donate them to Sandbach High School's technology department who have used them to make themed lamps and other designs.

If you're interested in taking a look at what John has to offer, he trades at the market hall every Saturday with a return set for 17 April in line with the governments' lockdown road map.

For more information and updates, you can follow the Backtrax Music Facebook page.