Carlsbro was one of the best-known music retail chains in northern England. The Sheffield branch was originally a Carlsbro Sound Centre and later expanded into a large music superstore at 720 City Road, Sheffield. It sold guitars, amplifiers, PA systems, keyboards, drums and recording equipment.
The Sheffield store was managed by Nelson King during the early 1980s and was one of several Carlsbro retail outlets alongside Mansfield, Nottingham and Leicester.
The City Road shop changed ownership and branding several times:
Carlsbro Sound Centre
Academy of Sound
Sound Control
Reverb (before eventually closing)
Carlsbro itself began as an amplifier manufacturer founded by Stuart and Sheila Mercer in 1959 and grew into a major British music-equipment brand. The retail stores developed from the company’s original amplifier showroom business.
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