Cult Hero

My brother sent me on an errand to find Maurice Pialat’s «Sous Le Soleil de Satan». It’s a Masters of Cinema DVD, and I knew that I needed to go to some specialty store to find this DVD. Now although I didn’t find that particular DVD at The Ape Shop, I certainly found other things. One of those things is the movie Spirited Away, which I’ve been looking to buy for ages.
All in all, this place has a good selection of CDs and DVDs, and they vary things up by having overseas DVDs mixed in with the mainstream. The staff is friendly as well. When I was here, the rep directed me to the nearest Curry’s.

You no longer need to be in on a secret to find this small but well stocked music shop, which now sits on North Street instead of in the North Laine. It’s one of the best places for music in Brighton, with a wide indiscriminate variety, and a good choice of £5 bargains.

Ape is a pretty cool music/​dvd/​book shop, with a nice, chilled out atmosphere, well categorised stock, and a generally pleasant feel to it. The film choice is fantastically indie, with a good range of avant-​garde/​alternative films on offer for a reasonable price. Music here, similarly has a very alternative feel, with a lot of lesser known artists sprinkled in with the typical mainstream acts.

Ape is a version of the sadly deceased Fopp. It is a small shop on North Street with a great selection of CDs, DVDs and books. There is a mix of bargains and new releases so that you can always find the latest CD as well as pick up an older classic for a neat five pounds (and by old I mean anything from Miles Davis to the last Flaming Lips). Despite the bargain element, Ape is not a bargain basement shop– it has a classy selection with a good insider knowledge of the usual indie, rock, dance as well as an excellent small collection of jazz, country, folk. Unexpectedly they also have some great books– the more logical music biographies alongside new novels, great editions of classics and some unusual editions of things like Hunter S. Thompson that make good gifts. If you long for the return of Fopp– the one stop Christmas gift shop!- then find your joy at Ape.

This gem of a music shop used to be on Duke Street nestled in between the chocolate and clothes stores. Earlier this year, it moved to this bigger location on North Street — where it seems to attract more passersby.
The layout and aesthetic of the shop is reminiscent of Fopp with racks of CDs, DVDs, books and vinyl all making good use of the space. There’s special offers introducing new albums and re-​issues for the bargain price of £5 and the rest of the stock is reasonably priced too.
Rock, pop and indie lovers will find what they’re looking for but there’s also strong mini-​sections devoted to everything from techno, drum’n’bass and electronica to R&B, soul, funk, classical music and soundtracks. The DVDs range from music to cult and world cinema flicks and the books are great too. Think Bukoswki, Burroughs and books on classic cities and design eras.
If you’re new to Brighton and fancy going to some gigs, they also sell tickets for most of the local venues and have lots of posters and flyers advertising forthcoming shows from Peaches to Florence and The Machine.