Thirty five years is a long time to keep anything alive in the music business.
A record store? That's bordering on miraculous.
Long before streaming, social media and algorithms decided what music you should listen to, record stores were where music fans went looking for something new. The really good ones became something more than just a place full of CDs and T-shirts. They were meeting places, hang outs and information exchanges. It was where people who liked music beyond the mainstream could find each other.
Rare Records was one of those places.
Doug Bear started Rare Records in Melbourne in 1991 as a mail-order business run from home, which quickly moved to a regular weekend market stall in Cheltenham. On February 2, 1996, Rare became a physical record store for the first time when the doors opened in Hughesdale. But it was during Rare's years in St Kilda that something truly special happened.
From the early to late 2000's, Melbourne’s collective of independent heavy, progressive and experimental bands was at its all time high and Rare Records didn't just sell their music, it gave them somewhere to belong. At one point the store carried more than 1000 different independent and local releases. There wasn't an elaborate selection process or someone deciding whether a band was important enough to deserve shelf space either.
If an independent artist wanted Rare Records to stock their CD, Doug put it on the shelf.
Some of those artists started hanging around the shop like it was a scene out of Clerks.
Members of Karnivool, Full Scale, Mammal, Rook, .hinge, Bushido and Sydonia became regular visitors. All of them would eventually play inside Rare Records.
Then there were the slightly bigger visitors.
Lamb Of God once brought 2200 people to an instore signing, the line stretching downstairs and around the block. They stayed for hours until every fan got what they needed. The Mars Volta wandered in one day and proceeded to spend thousands of dollars on vinyl. Another day, Doug's friend, legendary Tour Manager, Steve Varga, arrived with the entire Osbourne family and every member of Ozzy Osbourne's band. There were appearances and signings from Stone Sour, Mr Bungle, Karnivool and countless others. But ask Doug about that period now and the international stars aren't necessarily the thing that mattered most. It was the local instores. Bands, friends and kids crammed into a record shop together. Young fans discovering bands in real time because somebody behind the counter pointed them in the right direction. Rare Records became a true community.
And that community looks after its own. Rare Records would go on to be publicly voted Best Record Store by TheMusic.com.au and Best Record Store in Melbourne by Triple M. Recognition that meant more because it came from the people, not the industry.
But some of the musicians coming through Rare had a problem. They were making great music and nobody wanted to release it. Doug was managing several bands at the time and was getting nowhere with the major labels, so, in 2001, he did the logical thing. He started his own! The first Rare Records label release was The Grand Silent System's They Who Built. Doug’s All Time Top 5 Rare Records releases:
1. Flow - The Parallel Development (CD) (The band that became Twelve Foot Ninja)
2. The Grand Silent System - Gift Or A Weapon (CD)
3. Sunk Loto - Between Birth And Death (VINYL)
4. Testeagles - Non Comprehendus (VINYL)
5. Bushido - Mercina The philosophy behind the label wasn't particularly complicated either. Doug heard great music he thought was being criminally underrated, so he used every contact he had to try to get people to hear it. Twenty five years and more than 20 releases later, the Rare Records label is now entering another particularly active period, with 14 releases scheduled over the coming 12 months.
And some of the records from those early years are about to come back too.
Which brings us to Halloween 2026.
35 & STILL ALIVE
How do you celebrate 35 years of Rare Records and 25 years of its record label?
You start by getting the family back together.
On Halloween, Rare Records will bring Mammal, Sydonia, .hinge, Bushido and Tyson & Forbes from Rook / The Khyber Belt together for one very special night celebrating not simply a record store or record label, but the people and music that grew around them. For some, it's been a very long time. .hinge split in 2010 and will reform their original lineup exclusively for 35 & Still Alive. Doug wasn't even convinced they'd say yes. "I'm so excited for .hinge because I love their music and they're all bloody great humans. When I asked them to do this I honestly wasn't expecting them to say yes. But to my surprise they did, so happy days!"
Sydonia will return to a Melbourne stage for the first time since supporting Apocalyptica in 2016, appearing with a new guitarist and drummer. Then there's Mammal, whose connection to Rare began before there really was a Mammal. Back in 2005, Zeke Ox walked into Rare Records carrying a three track cassette demo and said "Have a listen to this.” At that point Mammal consisted of Zeke and Pete. There was no bass player or drummer yet, the drums on the demo were programmed and Doug believes he was the first person outside the pair to hear it. Mammal would soon become one of the most important bands emerging from the rapidly growing scene surrounding Rare, making their place at the top of 35 & Still Alive particularly fitting. Bushido return as another important part of that same Rare Records family, while Tyson & Forbes will represent Rook with special acoustic performances throughout the evening and introduce the night's proceedings. The full Rook lineup couldn't be assembled, with members currently overseas, but there was no way Doug wanted to celebrate this chapter of Rare Records history without them represented.
THE RECORDS ARE BACK TOO
The musicians aren't the only things returning. Three records from the Rare Records family will be released on vinyl for the first time ever to coincide with 35 & Still Alive. Sydonia - Given To Destroyers
20th Anniversary Vinyl Edition Bushido - Mercina
20th Anniversary Vinyl Edition .Hinge - Something To Adore
21st Birthday Vinyl Edition Each release will be strictly limited to 150 copies and available exclusively through Rare Records. Pre-orders will be available for collection at the show, giving fans the opportunity to have their copies signed by the bands, with a limited quantity also available from a special
Rare Records pop up store inside the venue on the night.
There will also be giveaways featuring rarities from previous Rare Records label releases and a $250 Rare Records gift card for the best dressed. After 35 years, countless records, thousands of independent releases, packed instores, international rock stars wandering through the doors, local bands playing between the racks and an entire generation of musicians and fans passing through its various incarnations, Rare Records is still here.
But Halloween isn't really about looking backwards. For Doug, it's much simpler than that, he gets to see his friends again. "I'm really just looking forward to seeing all my old friends in the same room again. It's going to feel like one giant Brady Bunch family reunion, a room full of old faces, old stories, and hopefully a few new memories to add to the collection.” 35 years of Rare Records.
25 years of the Rare Records label.
Old friends, old records and a few bands we thought we might never see again. Saturday, October 31
170 Russell, Melbourne
Presale: Fri, Aug 21 until Mon, Aug 24 @ 8.00am
Tickets
On Sale: Mon, Aug 24 @ 8.00am
Tickets
www.rarerecords.com.au | 
