‘Teddy boy, he’s got them all’: An interview with Ted Carroll about Rock On, Chiswick and Ace Records

Growing up in Ireland, Ted Carroll came of age during the rock ’n’ roll boom of the late 1950s, and ultimately moved to London where he set up the Rock On record stall near Portobello Market in 1971. Rock On, which later opened as a shop in Camden, would play a huge role in the underground music scene throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and the record label that grew out of it, Chiswick Records, was one of the first independent labels in the United Kingdom to release punk records by a number of key bands. Carroll and his partners would go on to expand and diversify their output, particularly on the enduringly successful reissue label, Ace. Carroll has opened a new Rock On shop in the last year, and here discusses collecting, punk rock and independent labels with Michael Connerty.