The Entertainment Retailers Association has paid tribute to its former Chair Paul Quirk, who died last week after a period receiving treatment for cancer.
"ERA is indebted to Paul Quirk", says the organisation's CEO Kim Bayley in a statement. "Not only was he a strong and passionate voice for music retailers for more than three decades, he was the longest-serving Chairman of ERA itself, a prime mover behind Record Store Day in the UK and a mentor to countless people across the industry. He will be missed right across the business for his enthusiasm, humour and passion for record retailing".
Quirk, along with his brother Rob, began his career in music retail when they transformed their family's chain of electrical stores into five record shops in Merseyside and Lancashire.
When the British Association Of Record Dealers - which later became ERA - was founded in 1988, Quirk was sceptical, wondering why he should sit at the same table as his main rivals such as Woolworths, Our Price and WH Smith. However, in 1997 he joined the board. He became Deputy Chair in 2003 and then had three stints as Chair between 2007 and 2017.
Having been part of the team that brought Record Store Day to the UK, Quirk continued to work on the project for a time after he had stepped down as Chair of ERA.
"I worked alongside Paul for sixteen years of my seventeen years at ERA", says Bayley. "He was not only a sharp and knowledgeable chairman, but a true friend who was unstinting in his support".