It’s fitting that the day on which the world’s oldest person died; the world’s oldest record store was threatened with closure.

On Monday, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bolden (born in 1890) died in the Tennessee nursing home in which she had been living for several years. And on Tuesday, The Guardian circulated reports that Spillers Records in Cardiff Wales, U.K. , (established in 1894) may have to shut its doors if it can’t make payments when its rent soon is increased.

Something of the same magnitude happened earlier this year, when the historic New York City venue, CBGB’s, closed because its lease was not renewed. And like the club that originated U.S. punk, Spillers seems poised to go out with guitars blazing.

When CBGB’s closed in October, its farewell show was headlined by frequent guest Patti Smith. And the way things are shaping up for the English record shop, there might be a “Save Our Store” benefit on par with the final scene in “Empire Records.”

But let’s be honest, that’s the lamest part of the entire movie. And if Spillers isn’t careful, it will suffer the same fate. Not the fate of the film’s fictional store, in which everything ended up okay and enough money was raised to keep the place open. Rather, the fate of “Empire Records” – good soundtrack and a few great moments. But ultimately there just wont be enough substance to keep people coming back after age 15 – there’s a lot of sentimental value there, but it’s just not the same once you’re an adult.

It’s funny that the legions of now 20-somethings who grew up dreaming of working at a place like Empire Records, is the same generation that will see Spillers close – the same generation many people blame for its closure.

The reason it seems headed down the same path as CBGB’s is due in large part to The Manic Street Preachers, the Brit-pop mainstays who have been a staple of the genre for 15 years and shopping at the soon-to-be-defunct shop for even longer.

The band released a statement saying, “Spillers was a lifeline, it gave us our musical education. The only record shop in Whales where we could find the music that made us who we are.”

A petition demanding that the store be saved and requesting that the landlords acknowledge its historical significance has surfaced with more than 2,000 signatures. Additionally, Columbia Records – which claims to be the world’s oldest record label –asked British bands on its roster, The Coral and The Zutons, to sign the petition. A benefit concert is also in the works.

Aside from the Preachers, Cerys Matthews of the Super Furry Animals also frequents the shop. Because or maybe despite of this, the store’s current top-seller is a limited edition single by Candylion, which features fellow Furry Animal Gruff Rhys.

Even half of the members of the Welsh assembly signed another statement that supports the shop; while Cadw, an organization that promotes the conservation of Wales’s historic landscapes and buildings, was contacted to help.

Despite all this public outcry – the shop that got its start 112 years ago selling phonographs, wax phonograph cylinders and shellac phonograph discs – looks poised to close.

After the store’s owner, Nick Todd, went over his financial figures, it became evident the store will not be able to afford its rent in the near future. Todd, who has worked at the store for 31 years, was told his landlords would raise the rent once two large shopping developments open adjacent to his property.

It’s the same old song and dance routine for independent record shops as of late. The industry is slanted toward big retailers, and the state of album sales has put even those stores in jeopardy. The recent fall of Tower Records in the United States doesn’t bode well for large chains. If a business with 89 locations, and another 144 run by licensees in nine countries, must file for bankruptcy and close, what chance does Spillers have?

It may rest in people groups like The Manic Street Preachers. Or it may rest in the ability of people like Todd. But in the end, it comes down to a landlord’s willingness to embrace historical significance and ignore a history of late payments.

But if CBGB’s is the model Spillers Records appears to be following, that’s not a good sign. After months of public debate and attempts by artists to raise awareness of the New York staple’s plight, the landlord ultimately – and abruptly – sided with his pocketbook.

Let’s hope the developers Helical Bar, currently the group in charge of Spillers’ lease, has a bit more appreciation for the arts. But we probably shouldn’t count on it.

Daily Herald BEEP, Dec. 13, 2006