Inside the UK's 1980s VHS shop that's loved by American tourists
The owners of a nostalgic video shop museum claim that visitors are flocking from as far as the United States to relive the 1980s experience of selecting a VHS tape.
Rob Lane, 50, and Chris Annable, 48, operate 'The Straight To Video - 80s Video Shop' in Alfreton, Derbyshire, boasting an impressive collection of nearly 1,000 original VHS tapes, previously used for watching movies.
Growing up in the 1980s themselves, the pair were driven to create a museum allowing visitors to browse VHS tapes, take in vintage movie posters, and even indulge in retro arcade games.
According to Rob and Chris, people have made the journey from America and all corners of the UK to experience the thrill of discovering original VHS tapes up close.
Rob exclaimed: "We have people come from all over the country.
"We've even had people come to visit the shop from America - they heard about us from a YouTube video.
"The enthusiasm from people is fantastic.
"It's not something people expect to see, but once they step through the door they get taken back to the video shops, where they used to spend loads of their time."
For Chris and Rob, the museum's weekend-only operation has become a sensation, thanks in part to a blend of factors, including the lasting influence of 1980s pop culture and the hit Netflix series 'Stranger Things', set in the same era.
Rob attributes the shop's popularity to this "a combination of different things.
"Nostalgia never really goes away.
"The 1980s had such an impact on pop culture - even though it was four years ago.
"You've got things like Stranger Things, which is good because the younger generation are then familiar with it when they come in.
"The physical media side has been lost for quite some time and now people are wanting to hold the VHS tapes."
Rob, from Loscoe, Derbyshire, who once collected original VHS tapes for his museum, many of which have been donated by the public, said: "People come in and ask 'it looks cool, but what is it?'".
"They want to know if they rent the tapes or buy the tapes.
"But it's a video shop museum so we want people to come in and see what things were like back in the 1980s and experience it again."
You can visit their website here: www.80svideoshop.co.uk
