Hope for 'Christmas miracle' to save music shop

Newcastle band Lindisfarne played to a packed audience outside JG Windows when they reunited to play a set

A group of football fans are hoping for a "Christmas miracle" to save a beloved music shop from closure.

JG Windows music store in Newcastle's Central Arcade has been permanently closed and the company is expected to go into liquidation on 12 December.

A group of Newcastle United fans has launched a fundraiser, hoping to raise the £500,000 needed to save it in a drive to "support the city and businesses".

Artists including Lindisfarne, Kathryn Tickell and the Pet Shop Boys have voiced their sadness at the planned closure of the historic store, which opened in 1908.

Directors said they could no longer compete with online retailers, but were hoping a buyer could step in.

Bronwyn Mogie, 31, from Jarrow, is among those behind the appeal.

"Although it is a big amount, miracles do happen this time of year so you never know," she said.

JG Windows music store in Newcastle's Central Arcade had traded since 1908

She said the fans knew raising the money would be just the first step, but she hoped together they could come up with a plan to put the shop "in the right market place".

She added St James' Park could fit 52,000 fans and if each of them donated £10 each, the target would be reached.

So far, more than £1,300 has been raised and Ms Mogie said the group was grateful for the support.

Fond memories

Newcastle band Lindisfarne said the shop had been "a friend" to the band since the 1970s.

It said: "When Rod, Jacka and Ray briefly reunited outside the shop last year to play a short set, the arcade was packed to the rafters."

Musician Kathryn Tickell, renowned for her love of the Northumbrian pipes, said she bought her first LP there and remembers using the shop's listening booths.

"I also remember going in there with a bag full of cassettes of me playing the pipes that they sold for me - I'd be about 15 years old," she added.

Many music lovers have contacted Ms Mogie since the launch of the fundraiser.

One told her: "It was always more than a shop - it is part of our northern music heritage and an iconic form of cultural history.

"I bought Sgt Pepper there, on the day of release in 1967 with my saved-up pocket money."

Another said he bought his first guitar there.

"What a wonderful store and a huge part of our city's music heritage," he added.