Bohemia Village Voice

Shaun Matthews of Penny Lane Music demonstrates guitar.

Bohemia’s credentials as a creative hub were enhanced last month with the opening of a guitar shop on the south corner of Bohemia Road and Tower Road, at the premises recently vacated by Furniture Corner. Penny Lane Music is one of a chain of shops owned by Gary Hutchins, including other outlets in Eastbourne, Brighton and Haywards Heath.
 The Village Voice spoke to Shaun Matthews, who works in the shop part-time, but will eventually work a five-day week once the business gets going. The shop sells copies of classic guitars – Fenders, Gibsons, even Rickenbackers – many of them bearing the Hutchins name. Shaun told us, ‘The boss gets someone to design the guitars who has previously worked in the industry, and then he gets them manufactured in China. But if someone wants a custom-built instrument he can do that too. All the ones you’ll see in the shop are good-quality copies, not bottom-of-the-range, and the prices reflect that.’
 Shaun plays guitar himself, though he says he is not in a band at the moment. ‘I just play for fun.’ But it obviously helps to know what you’re talking about. ‘We’ve sold a few guitars already, mainly acou-stics, plus strings and things like that.’ At the moment the shop only seems to be open 10am–5pm on Thurs-days and Fridays, and 9am–5pm on Saturdays, though in time Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be added to that schedule.

Penny Lane guitars.