The owners of a video shop museum say people are travelling from as far as the US to enjoy the 1980s experience of picking out a VHS Tape.
Rob Lane, 50, and Chris Annable, 48, run ‘The Straight To Video – 80s Video Shop’ in Alfreton, Derbyshire, which features nearly 1,000 original VHS Tapes that were previously used to watch movies on.
The pair both grew up in the 1980s, so they were inspired to create a museum where people could browse VHS Tapes, look at vintage movie posters, and even play on retro arcade machines.
They say that people have travelled from America and all over the UK to come and visit the store – so they can have the experience of seeing original VHS tapes in real life.
Lane said: “We have people come from all over the country.
“We’ve even had people come to visit the shop from America – they heard about us from a YouTube video.
“The enthusiasm from people is fantastic.
“It’s not something people expect to see, but once they step through the door, they get taken back to the video shops, where they used to spend loads of their time.”
Annable, of South Normanton, Derbyshire, and Lane say that they think the museum, which is only open on weekends, is so popular because of a “a combination of different things.”
This includes the 1980s having a big impact on pop culture and the Netflix show ‘Stranger Things,’ – which is set in the time period.
Lane said: “I think it being so popular is down to a combination of different things.
“Nostalgia never really goes away.
“The 1980s had such an impact on pop culture – even though it was four years ago.
“You’ve got things like Stranger Things, which is good because the younger generation are then familiar with it when they come in.
“The physical media side has been lost for quite some time and now people are wanting to hold the VHS tapes.”
Lane previously collected original VHS tapes — which have gone into the museum — but hundreds of them have also been donated by the public.
However, you are unable to rent them and can only look at them so you can “see what things were like back in the 1980s.”
Lane, of Loscoe, Derbyshire, said: “People come in and ask ‘it looks cool, but what is it?’
“They want to know if they rent the tapes or buy the tapes.
“But it’s a video shop museum, so we want people to come in and see what things were like back in the 1980s and experience it again.”
You can visit their website here: http://www.80svideoshop.co.uk/
