Hey Joe

My name’s Marc and I opened Hey Joe Music & Coffee in Brentwood, Essex in February 2020 (just 4 weeks before the first lockdown), with lots of help from friends and family in those first few weeks. I grew up around record shops, with my parents owning their own chain back before I was born through to my early teens. Naturally, my first weekend job at 18 was in our local HMV, which was meant to be for a gap year that accidentally lasted a couple of decades. After all that time, I decided I wanted to focus on the part of the business that was always of most interest to me and wanted to be in a place where people would want to spend time. So in early 2019, following a spark of encouragement from my Dad, the idea for Hey Joe Music was born.Opening my own store has 100% been the best decision I ever made and has allowed me to re-explore my own music history and expand my own tastes, while also having the time now to have fun chats about music with all the lovely folks of Brentwood.Despite a challenging start through Covid etc, earlier this year, my better half Sarah was able to leave her long term job to come and help full-time at Hey Joe Music. She was instrumental in setting up our website that launched this summer and is now a vital part of every bit of the shop.