Known as an ‘Aladdin’s cave of hard-to-find vinyl oldies’, Backtracks Music and Games has been a fixture of Edinburgh’s cultural scene for decades.

In his 33 years as owner, Tommy Robertson has stood at the centre of this treasure trove on Brougham Street, musical trends and the capital itself changing around him and his store remaining ever popular. 

Now, Robertson, amidst his stacks of vinyl, stands immortalised in the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).

Michael Youds, a gallery attendant at the NGS, spent 10 months creating a portrait of Robertson entitled ‘Labour of Love’. It went on to win third prize in the BP Portrait Award 2020. 

The Herald: 'Labour of Love' by MIchael Youds depicts Tommy Robertson in his Backtracks store'Labour of Love' by MIchael Youds depicts Tommy Robertson in his Backtracks store (Image: Michael Youds/National Galleries of Scotland)

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The portrait has recently been acquired by the NGS, and is now on display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

“It’s amazing. It never even crossed my mind that it would actually happen. It’s a bit surreal”, says Youds, who was impressed by both the store and its owner. 

He explains: “I wanted to do justice to how I feel when I walk past and when I’m in there. It does feel quite claustrophobic, but it is a very interesting place. Tommy himself can talk to you all day if you let him. You go in there for a minute and you realise you’ve been in there two hours. He’s an engaging guy.”

For the subject himself, being featured in the gallery came as a pleasant surprise. “The gallery is a hidden gem”, says Robertson, who also gigs as a mobile DJ under the name ‘Mad Hat Man’. “The building inside is amazing. A lot of people, especially from the older generation, would never think of going into some of these places, because it was a different class that went into them. That’s all changed, because anybody can go. 

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“A normal working guy like myself never expects to be on the walls in that sort of gallery. I’m not a singer, I’m not a footballer, I’m not a politician or king. I took my mum to the gallery. She’s just turned 90. She’d always lived in Edinburgh, but in 90 years she had never visited the Portrait Gallery.”

The Herald: Tommy Robertson and his mother Mary Robertson at the 'Labour of Love' portrait in the Scottish National Portrait GalleryTommy Robertson and his mother Mary Robertson at the 'Labour of Love' portrait in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (Image: Michael Youds/National Galleries of Scotland)

Robertson was “gobsmacked” by the portrait’s acquisition, and attributes the honour to good fortune. “I’ve looked at it very much in the context of a ‘Sliding Doors’ moment. Michael said he’d passed the shop a number of times with the thought of asking, but he didn’t know me or how to approach it, or how I would respond.

“I could have said no and none of this would have happened, or he could have just gone on to something else.” He’s impressed by Youds’ work, saying: “Most people who’ve seen it think it’s a photograph, which really tells a story.”

“It’s very exciting, and extra special because I work in the gallery. I always wanted more people to get a chance to look at it. That’s the main reason why I opted to donate it to the gallery”, says Youds. The portrait is named ‘Labour of Love’ partly because it features UB40’s 1983 album of the same name, but also “my labour of love over the painting, spending almost a year on it, and Tommy’s labour of love with the shop.”

“I used to walk past the shop on my way to work”, he recalls. “You can’t miss it. It’s absolutely crammed full of stuff. It’s not just records, he sells all sorts. Electrical stuff, musical instruments, golf clubs, pedal bikes…”

He adds: “It was initially the shop I was drawn to, but the shop IS him.”

A second-hand music, games and equipment shop in the capital’s Tollcross area, Backtracks has remained relevant for over 30 years despite the music scene into which it was born looking unrecognisable in 2023’s world of Spotify, TikTok and YouTube.

The Herald: Tommy Robertson (left) and Michael Youds with 'Labour of Love' at the Scottish National Portrait GalleryTommy Robertson (left) and Michael Youds with 'Labour of Love' at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (Image: Michael Youds/National Galleries of Scotland)

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There are, however, some similarities. “I’ve been here for 33 years, and have seen things change very radically, then come back to vinyl. There’s also a resurgence in tapes”, says Robertson, adding: “in a lot of ways with the younger generation, that was due to the Netflix series (Stranger Things) with Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. People now want to own cassettes of Led Zeppelin or Kate Bush.”

In a world where the likes of HMV, Virgin and Our Price have fallen by the wayside, to what does he attribute his longevity? “There’s a lot of people in shops nowadays where you go in, ask for something and they give you a blank look. 

“I know the music.”