Jazz · avant rock · krautrock · folk York Road, Kings Heath since 1991
0121 441 5202 Mon to Sat, 12 to 7
the polar bear Records · Kings Heath · since 1991 What is in this Friday
35 years on York Road · the last of the six

The only Birmingham shop stocking Faust, Can and Henry Cow deep, since 1991.

Polar Bear opened in 1991 as one of six stores in a now-defunct nationwide CD chain. The other five are gone. Steve Bull took the keys in 1993 and has run the shop, solo, every weekday and Saturday since. Jazz, avant rock, classic rock, metal, prog and kraut rock, folk. Friday afternoons the new-arrivals list goes up.

1991Doors first open on York Road
1993Steve Bull takes the keys
35Years on the Kings Heath high street
See this Friday’s list Browse by genre
The polar bear shopfront at 10 York Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham. Painted white facade with red polar-bear silhouette, Steve Bull standing outside.
10 YORK ROAD · SINCE 1991 Mon to Sat, 12:00 to 19:00. The Friday list goes up Friday around 17:00.
1991Founded on York Road
1 of 6The last of the chain still trading
1993Steve Bull, owner since
6Genres curated deep
THE FRIDAY LIST · THIS WEEK’S NEW ARRIVALS

The Friday post, every Friday since the 1990s.

Steve has posted that week’s arrivals on the Polar Bear Facebook group every Friday for more than thirty years. The list mirrors here from this Friday onward, plus an archive that Google can index.

Get the list by email →
AVANT · REISSUE Faust, Faust IV indicative listing
NEW VINYL

Recent restock

The 1973 album, ECM-jacketed reissue on Tapete. Polar Bear stocks two formats: black LP and clear 180g.

in store
JAZZ · ECM Keith Jarrett, The Köln Concert indicative listing
NEW VINYL

Counter favourite

The 1975 ECM, perpetually on the racks. Steve keeps two copies, both move within a fortnight.

in store
KRAUT · ORIGINAL Neu, Neu ‘75 indicative listing
USED VINYL

German pressing in

A clean German pressing came in last week with a Cologne collection. One copy on the floor; ask at the counter.

used · one only
FOLK · REISSUE Bert Jansch, L.A. Turnaround indicative listing
NEW VINYL

Earth reissue

The Earth Recordings reissue series continues. Bert in 1974, recorded in California with Mike Nesmith producing.

in store
METAL · UK Electric Wizard, Dopethrone indicative listing
NEW VINYL

Repress

The 2000 doom landmark, reissued on Rise Above. One on the back wall, takes a fortnight to move on average.

in store
CLASSIC · USED Bob Dylan, Slow Train Coming signed sleeve in shop
SHOP COPY

The signed sleeve

Steve’s shop copy of the 1979 album, signed by Dylan. Not for sale. Behind the counter if you want a look.

display only

Titles marked indicative are placeholder examples of the kind of records that turn up on the Friday list. The live site publishes the actual week’s arrivals, written by Steve, every Friday around 17:00.

SIX GENRES · CURATED DEEP · THIRTY-FIVE YEARS

The shop in six sections.

Polar Bear is one of a small handful of UK record shops where each genre runs deep enough that a serious collector finds something they cannot find elsewhere. The architecture below is the architecture of the shop itself.

01 BLUE NOTE · ECM · IMPULSE · VERVE

Jazz

Bebop, hard bop, modal, spiritual, contemporary European jazz. New ECM releases land on the counter the week they arrive. Used Blue Notes turn up regularly via the collections Steve buys in the back room.

  • Blue Note
  • ECM
  • Impulse
  • Verve
  • CTI
02 FAUST · CAN · HENRY COW · THIS HEAT

Avant rock

The section that defines Polar Bear nationally. Faust, Can, Henry Cow, This Heat, The Residents, contemporary acts on Thrill Jockey, Drag City, Tzadik. Steve curates this personally; nobody else in Birmingham stocks it deep.

  • Thrill Jockey
  • Drag City
  • Tzadik
  • Tigerbeat6
03 DYLAN · STONES · FLOYD · ZEPPELIN

Classic rock

The broad section, anchored on Steve's 35 years of Dylan obsession. Original UK pressings, reissues, new vinyl, used. Neil Young and Joni next to Springsteen next to the Beatles, all priced honestly off the shelf.

  • Bob Dylan
  • Beatles
  • Rolling Stones
  • Pink Floyd
  • Neil Young
  • Springsteen
04 DOOM · STONER · NWOBHM · BLACK

Metal

The "hidden gem with an extensive metal section" customers write about in reviews. Doom, stoner, sludge, black, death, classic NWOBHM. Local Birmingham bands shelved alongside the canonical Sabbath catalogue.

  • Sabbath
  • Electric Wizard
  • Sleep
  • Mayhem
  • Bolt Thrower
05 NEU · CLUSTER · HARMONIA · CRIMSON

Prog and kraut rock

The specialism Steve is best known for nationally. Faust, Neu, Tangerine Dream, Can, Cluster, Harmonia. Prog from Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, ELP through to the contemporary scene. New reissues arrive on the Friday list.

  • Faust
  • Neu
  • Cluster
  • Harmonia
  • King Crimson
  • Yes
06 PENTANGLE · FAIRPORT · JANSCH · MARTYN

Folk

English folk revival, American folk, contemporary acid folk. Pentangle, Fairport, Bert Jansch, John Martyn shelved next to Townes Van Zandt and Karen Dalton. Reissues from Light in the Attic, Numero, Topic when they land.

  • Pentangle
  • Fairport Convention
  • Bert Jansch
  • John Martyn
  • Townes Van Zandt
SCENES FROM THE SHOP · YORK ROAD · 2026

Counter, racks, back wall.

The polar bear painted shopfront sign at 10 York Road, white facade, red lettering
01 The painted facade. White, red, black trim. The polar-bear silhouette in the window has not changed in thirty years.
Steve Bull inside Polar Bear Records, looking down a row of vinyl racks, posters lining the walls
02 Steve on the floor. New vinyl in the centre rack, the Miles Davis poster, a stack of Inhaled magazines on the right.
The counter end of Polar Bear Records, with stickers, posters and stacks of CDs and vinyl
03 The back wall, where the doom and the kraut sit shoulder to shoulder. Posters layered on posters layered on posters, all of them sourced over thirty years.
THE LAST OF THE SIX · 35 YEARS · ONE OWNER

One man. Six genres. Thirty-five years.

Polar Bear opened in 1991 as one of six stores in a nationwide independent CD chain. The chain shrank through the 1990s. Five sister stores closed. Polar Bear is the only one of the six still trading, 35 years on the same Kings Heath street.

Steve Bull took the keys in 1993. He had started working in record shops in the early 1990s after three years in the army. He has been behind the counter every weekday and Saturday since. The Friday-new-arrivals post he started in the early 1990s still goes up on the Polar Bear Facebook group every Friday in 2026.

“Strangers can become friends through nothing more than a shared love of music.” Steve Bull, in conversation with Enjoy Kings Heath, 2024

1991
Polar Bear opens at 10 York Road, Kings Heath, as one of six stores in a nationwide independent CD chain.
1993
Steve Bull takes the keys. He has run the shop continuously, solo, ever since.
Mid-1990s
The Friday new-arrivals post begins. It has run every Friday since.
2000s
Five of the six chain stores close. Polar Bear is the only one still trading.
2010s
Vinyl returns. The shop's back wall gradually re-orients from CD-only to new-vinyl and reissues. The CD floor stays.
2020
Lockdown trade through Discogs (polar-bear64) and the Facebook group keeps the doors open. Customers post records back. Steve replies to every one.
2024
Enjoy Kings Heath profiles the shop in its Hidden Gems series. Shopindex puts Polar Bear in Birmingham's top ten.
2026
35 years on York Road. Mon to Sat, 12 to 7. Friday list still goes up Friday.
Steve Bull behind the counter at Polar Bear Records, holding a Bob Dylan signed Slow Train Coming sleeve in a frame

STEVE BULL · WITH THE SIGNED SLOW TRAIN COMING SLEEVE

CUSTOMER VOICE · FROM REAL REVIEWS

What people who actually walk in say.

“This is a wonderful, slightly hidden gem of a record / CD shop. The owner Steve is quite nice as well, very knowledgeable on all sorts of music and a great man to have a chat with. He listens to far too much Bob Dylan.”
Wanderlog reviewer
“Hidden gem with an extensive metal section. Nice, easy to talk with fellow who has great knowledge.”
Wanderlog reviewer
“Best shop in Birmingham hands down. The walls are covered with rare records. All at a steal.”
Wanderlog reviewer
“Best record store in Birmingham. Owner Steve is very knowledgeable and always has good tunes on.”
Citymaps reviewer
FAQ · THE FIVE STEVE GETS ASKED MOST

Five questions, the answers on the counter.

Do you buy collections?

Yes. Steve will look at vinyl and CD collections in person, by appointment. House clearances are declined; the shop only buys what it would put on the shelf. Phone 0121 441 5202 to discuss a collection, or bring a representative selection in. The shop will not buy unseen.

What is on the Friday list this week?

The Friday new-arrivals list goes up every Friday around 17:00 on the Polar Bear Facebook group, with a mirror on this homepage. New jazz, avant rock, classic rock, metal, prog and kraut, folk. Reissues marked with a star. Email signup below if you want it in your inbox.

Are you open Sundays?

No. The shop is open Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 19:00. Steve runs the shop solo and always has. The Friday list goes up on Friday around 17:00. Record Store Day morning the queue starts on York Road from about 09:00.

Do you take phone orders or hold records?

Yes. Phone 0121 441 5202 during opening hours (Mon to Sat, 12:00 to 19:00) and Steve will hold a record at the counter for up to 48 hours. Card payment in person on collection. For overseas, the Discogs profile (polar-bear64) handles shipping.

Is the shop wheelchair accessible?

The shopfront is street-level on York Road; there is one shallow step at the entrance. Inside, the racks are reachable in a wheelchair down the main aisle; the back wall has narrower gaps. Phone ahead and Steve will help with anything off the high shelves.

VISIT · 10 YORK ROAD · KINGS HEATH

Come in. Have a flick through.

York Road is the Kings Heath high street, a five-minute walk from The Hare and Hounds (where UB40 played their first ever gig in 1979). The Heath Bookshop is across the road. Park on York Road or on the side streets off the high street.

Address
10 York Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7RZ
Phone
0121 441 5202
Email
stevepolarbear@hotmail.co.uk
Mon to Sat
12:00 to 19:00
Sunday
Closed
Discogs
polar-bear64

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One email a week, Friday around 17:00. New arrivals across all six genres, with a star next to anything you should not miss. Unsubscribe in one click.

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10 York Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7RZ. Five minutes from The Hare and Hounds, opposite The Heath Bookshop. Open in Google Maps ↗