Drop the Needle

In August 1990, Eugene Tam opened a small family-run record store on Yonge Street. Through word of mouth, Play De Record quickly became a magnet for college radio and club DJs who spun new sounds far from the mainstream. Through Tam’s contagious work ethic and steady guidance, the store became more than the sum of its parts: an essential hub for up-and-coming dance, hip-hop and electronic artists and a vital part of Toronto’s underground music ecosystem. Today its impact on the music scene in Toronto—and, by extension, Canada—is without question. This is the story of Play De Record.