5,000 square feet off Brick Lane, with a stage at the back.
- Shop
- Rough Trade East
- Address
- Brick Lane
- Town
- London, United Kingdom
- Established
- 2007
- Formats
- Vinyl, CDs
- Crates
- Indie, Rock, Punk, Electronic, Folk, Soul
- In the shop
- Cafe, Step-free access, In-store gigs
- Opening hours
- Mo-Sa 10:00-19:00, Su 11:00-17:00
Rough Trade East opened in July 2007 in a courtyard off Brick Lane, in the old Truman Brewery. At 5,000 square feet it was a deliberate bet against the idea that record shops were finished, and it beat its first-quarter sales expectations by 20 percent. David Adjaye designed the space: racks across every genre with real depth in the alternative end, a wall of music books, a photo booth, a cafe, and a stage at the back that has hosted more first London shows than most venues. The Rough Trade name goes back to the shop Geoff Travis opened off Portobello Road in 1976, which became the label that signed The Smiths.