It takes tenacity and an iron will, along a real sense of doing what you love to keep going, even against the tide. Lee and all at Cool Discs are fighting the good fight still.. And At the heart of all the good fights is the sense of community, Cool Discs is more than a record shop, it’s a drop in centre for the those driven by imagination, its a lifeline to those who want to start a band, it’s a museum of song, a hub of think alikes It’s much more than merely a small independent business.. It’s bigger picture stuff! I can’t tell you how thrilled I was when I found the Frames section! There among all that greatness, my band had a place in this small shop on Foyle St, which allowed me imagine our place in the greater community of song.. It’s good to dream out loud! In fact it’s crucial..

This independent records day, head down and just hang out, and just be thankful that this shop is still there.. a deep well in a drought.. And if the well dries up, be ready to start digging!

Big respect to the good fight.. Glen

Fantastic day of music and craic, exactly as it should be in our local record store- Cool discs is exactly where any music lover should be, from Derry and beyond. Lee and Danny ya legends. Keep spreading the love of music to anyone willing to listen. It is a truly noble cause and one that has very few people fighting for it these days. You're an inspiration. Big Love, John & The Heads

"In the absence of light, darkness prevails".
This statement perfectly encapsulates the retail music industry in The North of Ireland. Except, ... EXCEPT for a little corner of Derry that every discerning music fan should cherish and make pilgrimage to at every opportunity. COOLDISCS on Foyle Street. As the industry crumbles or, as on this remote outpost we call home, ceases to exist, Cooldiscs continues to provide the best new music on every format (I'm a vinyl buyer. Can you tell ?) as well as a sanctuary from the elements and the Paul Weller / Beady Eye fans on the streets, grunting "modfather" at each other while squeezing each other's spots and singing "The Day We Caught The Train".
Take shelter from the rain and feel your hair and clothes dry in the heat of one of Lee's rants . (He could well be the angriest man in music.)
Ask Danny about any type of music and see if you can detect a tiny hint of smile as he realises that here's another poor sap whose taste in music is infinitely inferior to his own.
Or just enjoy the sounds being played in the shop, Bruce Springsteen (Lee), Villagers (Lee) or some tinny racket that sounds like it was recorded in one of Billy Childish's WWII helmets (Danny).
Cooldiscs is, quite possibly, the last of it's kind. A genuinely independent community record shop that puts stock in it's customers and continues to buck the trend of disappearing music stores. Long, long may they survive.
(If you do call, don't forget to bring Lee a cup of tea. Milk, one sugar.)