Our Team
Anthony
Anthony, Co-Founder, Director, and Stock Buyer at Dig Vinyl, lives for the thrill of the hunt! From dusty attics to Florida thrift stores, he leaves no stone unturned on his quests for wax. His tastes range from the legendary (The Velvet Underground) to the local (Echo and The Bunnymen), with a healthy dose of raw punk and post-punk thrown in.
Anthony’s love affair with music began while watching Adam & The Ants on Top Of The Pops as a teenager; imagine his joy when a few decades later Adam Ant came to Dig Vinyl for a record signing in 2015! Prior to co-founding the shop, Anthony pursued business studies at Liverpool John Moores and in the early 90s decided to follow his entrepreneurial spirit to open a record shop in Liverpool’s cherished Quiggins. He spent the following two decades selling at record fairs all over the UK and into Europe, in addition to selling via mail order around the globe. He even spent time living in Amsterdam where he spent countless days trawling the flea markets and junk shops for vinyl.
These days, Anthony globe-trots in search of super rare and elusive titles for our customers, but he’s happiest when right in the heart of our shop, surrounded by a sea of records. He loves staying active in the vibrant local music scene, and chatting to our staff and customers who share their latest discoveries. His most recent vinyl obsessions are J Dilla and Throbbing Gristle, quite a mix! His advice to anyone aspiring to work in music? Be fearless, take that leap of faith and pursue your dreams with reckless abandon. Dig that…
Carl
Co-Founder, Director, and Stock Buyer at Dig Vinyl, Carl spends the majority of his time surrounded by stacks of wax - whether it’s travelling across the country and abroad sourcing stock, or pricing piles of vinyl destined for the shop racks. His genre specialties are house, techno, drum & bass, hip-hop and jazz. He’s got a nose for the obscure and loves to seek out & revive forgotten tunes.
Growing up, Carl’s house was filled with the sounds of The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Disco, and Philly soul - the kitchen was like a never-ending radio party. His love for music eventually led him to DJing, working in record shops, and running his own label. In the 90s and 2000s he played across Manchester at venues such as Ten Bar and released drum & bass and downtempo tracks under his label Beatnik. Carl spent many years buying and selling records around the North, and in the early 2010s became determined to open his own record shop after witnessing the decline of so many beloved secondhand shops across the UK.
Carl is also an academic and researcher around social justice at Manchester University. When he’s not there or at Dig HQ, you can also catch him DJing, hosting radio shows or working with musical partner Tim Robinson on their project Nightdubbing, serving up tunes in the realms of balearic, disco, and dub-house. As one of our main stock buyers, Carl understands the importance of staying up to date with the ever-changing music industry - attending gigs, digging in record shops across the globe, and keeping up with music publications & books.
One of his favourite memories is stumbling across a superb 1990s house/deep house/rave DJ collection of over 1000 tunes in a garage in Allerton! But what he really loves is seeing customers digging in our shop, hunting for their next obsession, and sharing his own recommendations with anyone who comes through the doors! He's all about staying curious, finding that killer break and sharing the freshest suggestions, so next time you see him, be sure to ask!
Yvonne
Overseeing all things business and operations related at Dig HQ, Yvonne is always on the go between our shops, armed with spreadsheets, boxes of vinyl, and an endless supply of chai lattes! Starting out as our shop manager back in our original basement emporium, Yvonne has since overseen three expansions of our Bold Street location, the creation of our West Kirby branch, and countless Dig Vinyl pop-ups and festival stalls across the UK.
When she’s not busy brainstorming new business strategies or planning the next Dig event, you can find Yvonne DJing across the UK, with recent slots spinning at Eurovision Village, We Out Here Festival and LIMF, as well as playing opening sets for Bush Tetras and Sonic Boom. Her DJ sets reflect the diversity of sounds you find in record shops and her tastes are the inevitable product of years of crate digging! Yvonne’s genre specialties include 60s psych, neo-psych/surf/garage, trip-hop, dreampop, synth & new-wave.
Outside of the vinyl world, Yvonne can usually be found cuddling up with her pets (2 dogs and a cat!) reading a good book, going for hikes around the country, and travelling abroad to visit family in America or seeking out new destinations across the globe (and stopping in a few record shops along the way of course…).
While Yvonne's professional achievements are impressive, it’s the joy she finds in seeing young people embrace physical music that truly drives her. Witnessing the musical journeys of customers who've grown alongside our shop and the sense of community built here are what truly make her work worth every beat.
Elliot
With us from our humble beginnings way back in 2014, Elliot is the original wax maestro! Initially joining us as a sales assistant in our original Bold Street basement shop, Elliot is now our Sales & Stock Supervisor, overseeing our inventory across all of our sites and online! You can often find Elliot flicking through boxes of stock at one of our shops or traversing around the North (and beyond!) sourcing some of the incredible stock that fills our racks. Recent travels have even taken him to Europe for the world’s largest record fair! His genre specialities include 70s Bollywood, reggae, global psychedelia, funk, breaks n' boogie bangers, Northern Soul, jazz, Bossa-Nova, hip-hop, Afro and Caribbean rhythms - but as one of the main cogs in our crate digging paradise, he has the expertise to offer you a recommendation for any style of music you can think of!
When Elliot isn’t behind the counter or out digging for wax, he likes to keep busy as a DJ, radio host, promoter and music writer. You can catch him at his monthly reggae dance party ‘In Fine Style’ at Kazimier Garden, and listen to his monthly radio show ‘The Chapel of Wax’ on Melodic Distraction. His DJing journey began on the reggae sound systems around the north-west, and early on in his career he co-founded the legendary Howling Rhythm club nights in Manchester. Over the years he has graced stages at the BBC6 Music Festival, Kendal Calling, Africa Oye, Positive Vibration, BBC1 Presents, Liverpool Psych Fest, Sound City, International Jazz Festival, and many more. His UK tours have seen him share the limelight with musical legends like Azymuth, Betty Harris, Smoove & Turrell, Pama International, Martha Reeves, and the Stax Music Co.
Alongside his musical endeavours, Elliot is also a devoted and fun-loving dad - you can often find him cruising down Otterspool Promenade on his longboard, accompanied by his youngster Gruff. He's a connoisseur of good food, a sun-worshipper, and has an uncanny ability to dig up wax that will fill the hole in your collection you didn’t even know existed! Yes, he’s that good! Pop down to one of our shops and find out for yourself today!
Danny
Joining us back at the start of 2020, Danny is now our Retail Supervisor, ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the counter at Dig Bold Street! He’s worked in the vinyl world for over a decade, but his love for wax goes beyond the professional - he’s also an avid collector, specialising in jazz and music from the Caribbean and Africa. He also oversees the new releases and classic reissue titles you can find dotted around our shops, so if you’re after something, be sure to give him a shout!
When he’s not playing his alto-saxophone or cheering on the Reds, Danny can be found on the decks. As a former hip-hop DJ, he honed his skills by studying the beats of classic DJs and mastering the art of mixing. Over a decade on, these days you’re more likely to find him spinning tracks from Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Latin America, and West Africa, that he’s picked up while crate digging around the globe.
Back in 2014, Danny’s talent caught the attention of renowned record label Soul Jazz Records, leading to him compiling two extremely well regarded albums for the label, “Calypso” and “Nigeria Freedom Sounds.” As a resident on NTS Radio, Danny shares his rare finds on his popular monthly radio show “Rum Punch Sounds”.
One of his most memorable Dig adventures includes discovering a rare South African pressing of a David Bowie LP in a woman’s conservatory on the Wirral. The album eventually found its way into the hands of Henry Rollins of Black Flag, all the way in California! Whether you’re on the hunt for some rare Caribbean beats, itching to add some jazz to your collection, or you’re looking for some new release recommendations, Danny is your go-to guy!
Marc
Marc is one of our resident rock, metal & punk connoisseurs, and you can find him behind the counter at our Bold Street and West Kirby shops when he’s not skateboarding around town, walking his dog Larry or at band practice! If you’re into obscure 70s rock & psych, then Marc’s your guy - he loves chatting with fellow diggers, especially when he gets to live vicariously through the stories of our customers who frequented gigs back in the day.
Marc was a shop regular in the early days of Dig before landing a job as a Retail Assistant back in 2019 - these days he’s progressed to working with our online inventory listings, and he hopes to continue to learn & develop his skills to eventually be a stock buyer for Dig!
Outside of Dig HQ, Marc plays in local heavy rock band Requiem Blues and organises and promotes gigs around town as Sonic Rendezvous. The most prized record in his collection? An original copy of Leaf Hound’s self titled debut - it’s a rare 70s heavy blues rock masterpiece from London, and his copy still contains the original poster insert!
Sam
Introducing Sam, the guy behind the buttons! Armed with media savvy and a knack for social media, Sam looks after our online presence… and he’s also the reigning champion of the bowling lanes at the annual Dig Vinyl Christmas party! Sam joined the team back in 2021, and can usually be found behind the counter at Bold Street.
Sam’s personal playlists are filled with indie and psychedelic grooves - his current favourite spins include Orion’s Belte, Yin Yin and Black Moth Super Rainbow. He’s always on the lookout for new sounds to add to his growing collection, and following his debut DJ set at Future Yard last summer, is keen to cut his teeth on the decks!
A huge film buff, Sam is also an avid collector of soundtracks & film scores - his favourite is the underrated score for Indian horror film “Tumbbad”. With his keen eye for scoping out everything from hidden gems to blockbuster must-haves, he’s now our store’s score master!
Outside of Dig HQ, Sam enjoys running and exploring vintage shops - whether it’s clothes, rare films or special edition records, he’s always on the hunt!