Small Wonder Records was a British independent record label on Hoe Street in Walthamstow set up by Pete and Mari Stennett in 1976.

It specialised in releasing music by punk bands up until its closure in 1983. Releases included Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus, the contriversial first single from Robert Smith’s The Cure Killing an Arab in 1978, which Fiction later re-released with a sticker refuting any racist intent and Crass’s Anarcho punk classic The Feeding of the 5000.

However, when music fan Neil Meads, a video journalist for BBC News, tried to find out more about the shop, he was dismayed to discover that there was no mention of it online.

As a result, he has set up an exhibition in Hoe Street Central and will be displaying artefacts and memorabilia from the Small Wonder Records Shop that have been stored away for almost 40 years by former customers and bands.

There will also be interviews with Pete Stennett and members of the label’s bands, such as Bauhaus and Crass, along with customers, fans and other key people from the period.

Neil explains why he wanted to jog people’s memories about the shop which made a huge impact in the area during the 1970s.

He says: “I felt it should be recognised as the label and shop made Walthamstow a destination for people from all round the world to buy punk, including from Australia, Europe and across the UK, as it was the only place to get that music at the time.

“It is just really telling the story of how Walthamstow became that destination. As part of the exhibition, we have got a scarily realistic recreation of the shop in one corner and people who used to go in the original shop have said how surreal it is.

“I’ve spoken to people who collected stuff and loaned items from that period to display them, so there are records, posters, banners. The treasures were just kept away in boxes for so many years but now some of the items will be going on display at Vestry House Museum after this exhibition.”

Neil was keen to make the exhibition realistic of the time period and also mentioned racial tensions that existed in London and around the UK in the 1970s.

He says: “The National Front got big around 1978 and there was a rise in the rock against racism and protests. So it ties in, as there was a lot of protest music at the time about all the trouble that was going on.

“It is also significant as one of the reasons the shop closed down in the end was due to the violence in the area. It really was a different time.”

Neil admits that due to being born in 1971, dance music was more his era but still felt it was important that he brought the music and history back to life.

His idea began four years ago and he spent six months collecting old items before setting up the event, which is part of Punk Waltham Forest, a project commissioned by the London Borough of Waltham Forest, produced by Beatroots Creative CIC and part funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The 44-year-old, who is from South London, says: “I’m not an official fan of punk, as I’m not quite old enough. I’m a fan of music and just thought it was insane that nobody had covered this.

“While researching it, I had so many responses from people in Walthamstow and people from record labels who have told me how inspiring the shop was, so it is definitely a significant period in history.

“I’ve never put on an exhibition before, as I normally make videos for the BBC website and social media, so it has been completely different to what I normally do and a big challenge but I just felt it was a story that needed telling.”

Small Wonder Records - The Exhibition, Central Parade, Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 4RT, until Sunday, September 25. Details: facebook.com/SmallWonderE17

By Rachel Russell