From Doghouse Music to Bridport Music Centre
An adventure in vinyl, resilience, and bringing something back home.

It began life in a slightly unexpected place — at the back of Animal House Bridport.

Doghouse Music was tucked behind sacks of dog food and rows of collars.

Customers would come in for pet supplies and leave with a jazz LP or a classic rock album. It wasn’t conventional, but it was fun — and it worked. A small but loyal music community quietly formed in that back room.

In 2016, the business moved and joined forces with Clock Tower Music on St Michael’s Trading Estate. It was a new chapter and a different environment. As with many independent ventures, it came with lessons and challenges. Eventually, the two businesses went their separate ways.

Clock Tower continued, and the music business moved into its next phase.

That phase was a warehouse.

No shopfront. No casual browsing. Just buying and selling records, building stock, refining systems and keeping the music side alive online. It was quieter, but it strengthened the foundations and sharpened the focus.

Then in September 2022 came the opportunity to take on 33A South Street — the long-established home of Bridport Music Centre.

The shop itself has existed on that site since the 1970s. For close to 40 years it was run very successfully by Piers and Stephanie, who built it into a cornerstone of Bridport’s music scene.

They created a proper music shop — built on knowledge, conversation, passion and community.

Benny and Jane later reinvented the space as a bar and live music venue while continuing to sell music and instruments, adding another colourful chapter to its story.

Taking the shop on in 2022 wasn’t about starting something new. It was about continuing a legacy.

Having owned Doghouse Music as both an online and physical business since 1994, the aim has always been simple: to keep that original music ethos alive — a real shopping experience, a place to browse, talk music, discover something unexpected and reconnect with physical formats.

Moving into 33A was, without question, the best business decision I’ve ever made. Everything that came before — Doghouse Music, the Clock Tower chapter, the warehouse years — led to this point.

Today, Bridport Music Centre supplies a wide range of new and pre-loved vinyl LPs, CDs and musical instruments, rooted firmly in Bridport and built on a genuine love of music.

It’s been fun. It’s been unpredictable. It’s definitely been an adventure.

And the journey is still unfolding.