Game Over’s Dave Browning has amassed some 10,000+ records and has the stories to explain how.
Long before Game Over boss Dave Browning started promoting legendary techno parties for Carl Cox at Space Ibiza, he was busy making a name for himself as the rave scene’s most obsessive vinyl hustler. In 1977, by the age of 15, Dave was already scouring junk shops looking for rare soul, funk and disco cuts, as well as promoting small dance parties around his local area.
When he turned 18, Dave moved to London. Without a settled job, but still hustling records, he started selling the vinyl he found in second-hand record shops at Portobello Road market. Before long he’d built up a circle of regular clients and was starting to purchase stock from US record dealers based in Chicago. When a friend of his suggested they trip across the Atlantic to source those rare vinyl cuts for themselves, Dave replied, “Sure, fuck it, why not.” It was 1983. He was 21 and had nothing to lose.
Below is Dave’s story in vinyl: how he became a rampant collector, the lengths he took to get the rarest records and how, with more than 10,000 records, he has one of the biggest collections in Ibiza, where he promotes parties, most notably One Night Stand with Carl Cox and WILDCHILD at Heart.
What happened when you landed in the US?
Before we left we sold everything we had so we could afford to buy flights to New York. There were also six internal flights included as part of the package. We did a little research and found out there was a wholesaler in Indianapolis and another in San Luis Obispo on the west coast. But we didn’t have a clue what we were going to find. Would we find 50 records or 50,000? The first thing we realised when we landed was that not many people were doing what we were doing.
Where did you go after New York?
We flew to San Francisco. We were advised to head over to Haight-Ashbury. I remember walking into the first record shop we visited and realising, once again, that no one from the UK had been there either.
What did you find there?
A goldmine. For people like us who were used to scrubbing around gloomy record shops, these warehouses were crazy. On that first trip we found at least 3000 amazing records and spent all the money we had. There was one album by Sylvia Striplin that was really in demand. I’d never even seen a good copy, but we found a whole box. When we got back to London people were literally fighting to get hold of it. We were buying copies for a dollar and selling them on for £50.
How long did you hang in London before flying back to the US?
It got to the stage where I would come back to the UK for two or three weeks, then fly over to the US again. I’d stick a pin in the map and say, ‘right, let’s fly to Dallas.’ Then when I got there I’d rent a car and drive to the nearest town. After that it was a case of finding a phone box and opening up the yellow pages. If the record shop page was still in one piece I would tear it out; if it wasn’t I knew another dealer had been there before me and I’d drive on to the next town.