OPENED in a cacophony of beats and booming bass drums, Fareham's Four Four music store is aiming to be nothing less than a centre of excellence.
Drummers from top bands Feeder and Death in Vegas helped take the wraps off the shop, in what may have been the noisiest opening on record.
Housed in a specially constructed 5,000 sq ft warehouse, Four Four has an entire floor dedicated to drums and percussion, with a second devoted to guitars.
Another key part of the fledgling business is a series of soundproof rooms, purpose-designed for drum, guitar and vocal lessons.
Top rock drummers such as Simon Hanson from Death in Vegas, Mark Richardson from Feeder and Darrin Mooney from Primal Scream will be going to the centre to give lessons, along with other musicians.
With backing like that, it's hardly surprising the facility has been at capacity at weekends ever since the store launched, and weekday slots are also increasingly thin on the ground.
"I don't think there's another store like this in the south of England and, to be honest, I don't think anywhere else has taken the approach we have," said Gary Sallows who, together with co-founder and fellow musician Graham Payne, has turned a dream into a reality with Four Four.
"We have started off in an innovative way and we are trying to make this a centre of excellence in terms of how to retail a product. It has accelerated quickly and we are delighted."
Four Four can be found at Unit Five in Axis Park, Fort Fareham, Newgate Lane.
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