For forty years Adrian Loos has supplied the soundtrack to people’s lives from his eclectic Kelmscott music store.
His shop persevered through each cataclysmic revolution in the music industry in large part due to his business savvy, but also because he offered the kind of old-school customer service that is becoming as rare as the obscure albums he tenaciously hunted down for his customers.
And they paid back his effort and kindness in undying loyalty.
That community is now mourning the loss of ‘the music man’, after his sudden passing last Tuesday morning.
“It’s so sad – he was loved by everybody. And he would do anything for them. He dedicated his life to that shop and to music,” Stargate lotto kiosk owner and friend Effie said.
There’s been a relentless stream of customers travelling from all parts of Perth to pay their respects since, and the condolence book out the front of Abbott’s Music Centre is rapidly running out of blank pages – a poignant indicator of the impact both Adrian and his life’s work had on people.
“This industry is all about memories – when people come looking for something it’s always about a memory. And he would go the extra mile for them,” Tony Kelly, who worked with Adrian for 40 years said.
“It gave us a lot of pleasure to find something someone really wanted.
“And as far as I know he had no plans to retire – he just loved what he was doing.”
Adrian Loos was one of those rare people who got to live out his life’s dream.
As a young boy in Ceylon, he was fortunate to be surrounded by new release records and cutting-edge technology.
“My dad worked for a company called Lewis Browns & Company… so our house had the latest radiogram and all the latest releases of LPs. I was brought up in that music scene from a very young age, and you know, that was my interest,” he said in an interview for the Birtwistle Local Studies Library in 2018.
His early years were punctuated by the sounds of Bill Haley, Elvis, Fats Domino and Chuck Berry.
“When I was about 17, we formed a club called the Merrymakers and this club used to have dances and parties once a month at different houses. They used to call me the record man because I had all the records – they were the good old days,” he said.
In 1973, shortly after Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka, Adrian migrated to Perth to join his family.
He began work at Elders Metals in Kewdale where his general likeability put him in good stead with the storemen and the truckies after he was made warehouse manager.
He stayed at Elders for 12 years until he saw a record shop going cheap in Kelmscott.
“I said: ‘look at this record shop – this is what I want to do’… I was determined to do it,” he said.
His boss, Bill Irvine, was loathe to let a good worker go, but agreed to go guarantor on his new venture.
And so, Adrian became the proud owner of Abbotts Music Centre – purveyor of new and used vinyl and cassettes – at Kelmscott Village in November 1984. He stayed there for 24 years until his move to Stargate Shopping Centre.
At the peak of his business empire, Adrian also had four other stores which were mostly run by family members: in Gosnells, The Railway Markets, Maddington and Noranda.
Of course, it wasn’t long into the venture that CDs first made their appearance at Abbotts. The first two titles he stocked on CD were a re-release of Billy Joel’s 52nd Street and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
“And I remember when Dire Straits brought out Brothers In Arms; there was a big campaign on tv, and the stocks arrived before the day of the actual release,” he said.
“When I came into work on Monday there was a queue of people outside the shop, so I opened up and we were selling the Brothers in Arms CDs out of the boxes…it was unbelievable.”
Adrian quickly found a niche in hunting down and importing titles that record companies hadn’t released on CD in Australia, which put him in good stead when the big chain stores took hold.
“People have found over the years that we can get a lot of stuff others can’t. The big boys like JB and Sanity – they’re not interested in doing the hard work and finding CDs for people,” he said.
During the heady days of CDs, Abbotts Music was one of the independent stores at the centre of the nation’s music charts.
“We used to break the albums first; it was us that got the albums on the charts,” he said. “So, the record companies used to look after us really well.
“We used to get lots of samples and … whenever international artists came to Perth we used to get invited to a meet and greet.
“I remember I was invited one afternoon to meet Billy Joel as he was setting up for his sound check.
“John Farnham quite often, he was a really nice guy and he would remember my name. And yes, Tina Turner, Elton John and Joe Cocker.”
According to Effie, Adrian was inconsolable the day news broke that Tina Turner had died.
In the nineties and the naughties – before digital downloads and streaming services delivered a near-fatal blow to record stores – teenagers used to flock to Abbotts after school to listen to the latest singles and compilation CDs with headphones and take a turn at the racing car game.
Adrian also used to donate a gift voucher each week to Kelmscott High for students to win.
And local bands would stock their CDs at Abbotts, and on Saturdays they’d drum up hype through in-store signings.
“We used to do really well with the kids. But, you know, those days are gone,” he said.
He’s since pivoted his business to cater to mature listeners, stocking celebrated Irish musicians like Daniel O’Donnell, country music, and using his sixth sense to introduce discerning customers to their new favourite artist.
Adrian also cultivated a following through retired newsreader Peter Waltham when he started a regular program at Curtin radio.
The pair struck up a sponsorship deal with Waltham playing a feature album supplied by Abbotts each day on his show, and listeners often calling up after to purchase a copy for themselves.
When 78 Records closed down in 2019 after 48 years, Abbotts and Mills Records in Fremantle became the last two independent record relicts in Perth.
No decisions have been made yet about the future of Abbotts. But Tony said he’s happy to keep it going until there is more clarity. He sees it as a duty to the legacy of his mate.
“He was a good friend – there was never a feeling that he was the boss. And it would be a shame to see it go – it’s still a viable business,” he said.
Adrian is survived by his loving partner, his two daughters, his son, and his grandchildren.
He might no longer be here in person, but his memory will be carried on by those he inspired with his passion and the many people who loved him.
