(Film 10 mins) In 1970 Mohammed Ayub founded Oriental Start Agencies in Birmingham. This record store and then label became one of the most influential and important parts of South Asian history and diaspora in the UK and worldwide. Before the store had to close in 2017, we rescued much of the record collection and other artifacts to archive them and keep them protected for future generations. As part of a 3-year project, we archived over 3000 records and artefacts collecting memories of the music and culture contained in these important records.

Request Line was the first exhibition of the True Form Projects vinyl archive. The 3000 records and other artifacts were rescued in 2017 from the Oriental Star Agencies store in Balsall Heath, Birmingham before it was forced to close. The records were initially played at BBC Radio WM at Pebble Mill by Mohammed Ayub, Anita Bhalla, and Farah Durrani as part of the ‘East in West’ radio show. As part of this exhibition, we are playing and showing some of the vinyl covers and the requests people sent in throughout the 1980s to the presenters.

The installation was hosted in the South Asia Gallery at Manchester Museum in 2023 throughout South Asian Heritage Month.