Royal Republic

Passers-by keep a respectful distance as one leather-jacketed Swedish rock musician boots another in the balls. Royal Republic’s singer Adam Grahn incrementally increases the impact on guitarist Hannes Irengård’s nether regions as Classic Rock’s photographer shoots away, Grahn’s sheer enthusiasm for the task putting their scheduled morning’s record-shopping with £50 of our cash momentarily at risk.

Injury averted, the duo descend into the vinylfilled basement of north London’s Flashback Records, where they display similar recklessness, trampling every rule of rock taste as they rummage the racks for a unique selection, in which Kurt Cobain and Ginger Spice both figure.

Flashback’s small, packed basement is divided into myriad categories, and the tall, moustachioed Grahn heads straight for Soul and Funk. “This has got every element,” he says, reverently holding up Smoovin’ by the Martyn Ford Orchestra. Its sleeve shows a female saxophonist wearing little more than leggings. And on roller-skates.

“It’s the saxophone,” Grahn explains, “which I’ve just started playing, and the woman is smoothing and grooving. And in our infamous video from our last record, we were on roller-skates.”