Does anybody remember the Capitol Records Swap Meet?
 

The Rhino Records thread got me thinking about the legendary Capitol Records Swap Meet.

From some time in the late 60s (I was too young to remember when it started) until about 1980, there was a monthly record collector's swap meet in the parking lot of the Capitol Records tower in Hollywood.

Vendors ranged from those selling cheap used LP's from the trunks of their cars to those that set up makeshift stores to sell all sorts of rare records and memorabilia.

The most intriguing thing for me as a teenager back in the late 70s was that a lot of the dealers were selling bootlegs right there in Capitol's lot!

By 1980 the meet was moved indoors to various locations and the bootlegs were banned, but none of the indoor locations captured the counter-culture spirit of the original.

Wow, I was too young and didn't live in LA, but that sounds pretty amazing.

Went many a time. I just remember rows and rows of Sex Pistols, Ramones, Buzzcocks, Plimsould, Go Gos etc pins, buttons, skinny ties, scarves ... It was part of the Saturday night drive around Hollywood.

Met Rodney Bingenheimer there a few times. And David Lee Roth pulled up one time in a long gold limo wearing spandex. He was a fixture on Sunset Blvd at that time.

Re: Does anybody remember the Capitol Records Swap Meet?
 

I was stationed at March AFB at the time, and I and my then girlfriend used to go there regularly, looking for comedy albums, Beatle bootlegs and whatever caught our eyes.
I remember the giant mock-up cardboard album covers, the local hot dog stand and Dr. Demento shopping for even more dementia to add to his collection. Good times.

Re: Does anybody remember the Capitol Records Swap Meet?
 

Wow, an 18 year thread bump!

These were great times alright and since it was so close to such legendary venues as the Masque and the Cathay De Grande, there were always punk rockers there too.