As the
title of this page suggests I am a total convert to the compact
disc. No vinyl records in my collection now but that wasn't
always the case.
READ ON...READ ON...READ ON...READ ON...
My
recall of these events is a bit hazy but the release dates
of the records have helped me put my memories into chronological order.
The reason for this page...I like hearing other people's stories
of similar events. Maybe this page will spur on others to
do the same and a new trend in music web pages will start....or....maybe
they exist already??
1960
to 1966 REEL TO REEL TAPE RECORDER YEARS
The
first music, other than nursery rhymes and children's songs, I
can remember getting into were instrumentals - Johnny & the
Hurricanes (Rocking Goose/Revival), Bert Weedon (Sorry Robbie/Easy
Beat) and the Piltdown Men (MacDonald's Cave/Brontosaurus Stomp).
Incidentally, the first two were great for practising air guitar,
but that's another story. The singles were bought by my
brother and I played them over and over again on my parent's radiogram.
I knew the B sides as well as the A sides. I've checked the chart
books and this was in 1960 when I was eight.
The first, and only, singles I managed to
persuade my mum to buy me were Heinz - Just Like Eddie (1963),
Dave Clark Five - Glad All Over (1963) and the Rolling Stones
- Not Fade Away (1964) which means I've had some sort of music
collection for over thirty years. The collection didn't grow
any bigger because my pocket money didn't stretch to buying
records as well as Superman and Batman comics. With the exception
of the three singles all the music I listened to was from the
radio.
My
Dad surprised the family by bringing home a second-hand reel to
reel tape recorder. At the time this was an amazing leap forward
and changed my listening habits. Sunday tea times were never the
same again. I would regularly record the chart show by placing
the tape mike in front of the radiogram speaker. I could play
my favourite charts singles whenever I wanted after editing out
the tracks I disliked with the pause button - magic!!! I treasured
the tapes, even though the background was filled with the hullabaloo
of family tea time chatter and the noise of the door catch pinging
as my mum went in and out of the room. The single which impressed
me was the Kink's All Day And All Of The Night (1964). Once again,
great for practising air guitar but that's another story.
I must have been twelve.
The first album I owned was the Beatle's Help
(1965). During 1964 to 1966 I had older friends who were buying
LPs and insisting that I listen to the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the
Who and Jimi Hendrix. At this time, albums had no appeal - too
long - singles were short and to the point.
1967 to 1969 TRANSISTOR RADIO YEARS
In 1967 I was bought a transistor radio. I can't
remember the make but it was my pride and joy. I used to strap
it to the back carrier of my bike, turn it on full blast and cruise
between my house and the local park. I spent the whole summer
sitting on the park with a group of friends listening to the pirate
radio stations - mainly Radio Caroline. One magic moment, which
clearly stands out in my mind, was riding home one sunny afternoon
with the Young Rascal's Groovin' echoing between the houses. There
were so many good singles released it's no wonder that they feature
heavily in my All Time Favourite Singles.
I can clearly remember the first time I went into a shop to
buy my first singles. It was in 1968. With cash in hand from
my Saturday job I bought America by the Nice and Amen Corner's
High In The Sky. From that moment on I was really hooked and
most of my Saturday job and paper round money went on singles.
To save money - or was it to get more singles for the same money
- I used to scour the second-hand shops - I was thrilled to
find Anyone For Tennis by Cream.
I
needed the world to hear what I was buying. I persuaded the teacher,
in charge of the School Youth Club, to let me play the singles
in the main assembly hall which was used for table tennis, darts,
snooker etc. I used a record player located in the projection
box at the back of the hall and on the next floor up. The deck
was part of the set-up used for piping radio education programmes
to classrooms around the school. I stretched a cable from the
cine projection window down to a speaker located on a projector
stand in the hall. I had to have special permission from the English
teacher to borrow the one and only microphone. I would then broadcast
to the assembled masses. One night I was distraught to find out
that the older kids regularly unplugged the speaker. My DJ/radio
days never really started.
However, one School Youth Club evening did
change my attitude to LPs. One of my friends borrowed two albums
from his brother and brought them down the club. The two albums
in question were Jethro Tull's This Was and the Door's Waiting
For The Sun. The music took second place to the presentation.
They were both single albums but had gatefold sleeves with artwork
and lyrics. I was hooked. My attention was then drawn to the
larger black circles of vinyl especially Jethro Tull, the Nice,
Family and the Groundhogs. If you're wondering what I was playing
the vinyl on it was still the trusty radiogram and occasionally
on my sister's record player - no it wasn't a Dansette but something
very similar.
1969
to 1973 MUSIC CENTRE YEARS
I
started work in 1969 and ordered my first music centre
(6 watts music power per channel - wow!) from a catalogue
and paid for it weekly. Albums bought with my first wage
packet were Canned Heat - Livin' The Blues (double), Free
- Tons Of Sobs and another I can't remember. My mother's
comment at the time was 'What a waste of money. You'll
never have any money'...and she was right. My collection
of albums and singles grew. Notable purchases were All
Along The Watchtower by the Jimi Hendrix Experience -
my first stereo 7" single and Black Sabbath's first album
- even the label was brilliant - never left the turntable
- a major influence at the time - even Led Zeppelin weren't
that heavy or metal!! |
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Strange
as it might seem I've never been over sentimental about any of
my record collections. The first collection was sold when I decided
to upgrade to another music centre (8 watts music power per channel
- yipee!). I then proceeded to start collecting the records all
over again. The reason for changing the vinyl was that I found
the better player would show up the damage done by the previous
stylus - lots of clicks, pops and frying pan noises. Incidently,
you'll be pleased to know that I found out the difference between
watts music power and watts RMS before upgrading to my next system.
1973-1975 NO MUSIC YEARS
Marriage loomed and in 1973 I made a decision
- yes I took the decision - to sell everything again. The money
went towards the deposit on a three up three down terraced property
and the money I wasn't spending on vinyl came in useful for all
sorts of household items. However, I did manage to extract a promise
that at some point in the future I would get a proper stereo and
start buying vinyl again. Married in 1974 - two years to settle
down...
1976 to 1985
BUDGET HI-FI YEARS
For Christmas 1975 I bought a budget hi-fi - Pioneer SA-5300 amplifier,
Pioneer TX-5300 tuner, Pioneer cassette player, Gerrard SP25 Mk
2 record deck (which was quickly upgraded to a Pioneer
PL12D) and a pair Wharfedale Linton speakers. (I'm still using
the tuner and speakers!!) [Both upgraded in 2000].
I
made a conscious decision to put all my buying power in to LPs
only...no more singles. However when Chicago released If You Leave
Me Now my wife bought it and this gave me the excuse to start
buying singles again...just in time for the singles boom of the
punk/new wave era. I was a closet punk fan - well I had to be
really - bald and 27 years old! I listened to John Peel's late
night radio show and bought anything and everything punk/new wave
on 7" and 12" singles - Sex Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks, Ramones
etc. etc. My first 12" single was the Boomtown Rats Looking After
No 1. Later on I got totally sucked into the 12" remix scene especially
the ZZT artists - Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Propaganda and the
Art Of Noise. The vinyl collection grew over the years to 350
LPs, 500 7" singles and 150 12" singles. The numbers would have
been greater but I became obsessed with getting records which
didn't have faults. For every ten I bought I must have returned
two because of one defect or another - scratches, warping, pressing
faults etc.
1987 to 1999 COMPACT DISC PLAYER YEARS
I kept away from the CD revolution until
a mate at work who I had not associated with music or stereos
calmly stated one coffee time that he had a CD player. Just so
that I could completely forget about ever buying one I asked him
to bring it round for a test spin. I'll give you one guess which
CD he played...you're right...it was Dire Strait's Brother In
Arms. The crackle and pop free sound was stunning but I was more
impressed with the ergonomics of the player - the display with
number calendar, track times, programming facilities, shuffle
play and the draw opening smoothly inviting me to put a disc in
the slot.
The
year was 1987 and I rushed out and bought a CD player. I listed
the vinyl albums and sold them off individually. All the 7" and
12" singles were sold to a local second-hand dealer. I made a
conscious decision, again, to keep to albums only and so
far I've not been drawn to CD singles. I haven't replaced all
my vinyl records as my tastes have changed over the years. But
as more and more back catalogue is released on budget CD I am
tempted.
1999 to 20?? CDR AND MINIDISC YEARS
Copyright
© Leo Reynolds 1995/1999/2000
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