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In an era when the latest releases are downloaded digitally at the touch of a button, the idea of music recorded on to a groove in a piece of vinyl (as shown in this photo of an antique vinyl recorder I discovered recently in a Georgetown record shop) may seem archaic, but records were crucial in the development of pop music and popular culture through the new portable record players.
Sixty-five years ago this week, RCA Victor launched a small, round, plastic disc that we all fondly remember as the ‘single’ – and thus begun the people’s love affair with the 45rpm single. Everyone remembers buying their first single: mine was Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Middle of the Road back in 1971 – ah, Sally Carr and her really, really short & very tight hot pants!
For decades they have been thought as a dying breed – but the amazing thing is that vinyl has tapped into a new market and making a comeback, with its popularity last year boosting the fortunes of all those remaining independent record shops. If you are a proud owner of a very old vinyl player and it still works, then you can go ahead and play your records, just like you did back in the day. But you might want to see if your records are still as clear as they were when you first brought them. Sometimes with records, they can become quieter in sound if they haven’t been played in a while. But that’s nothing to worry about. By doing a quick internet search into something like Graham Slee HiFi deals, you’ll be able to find the right equipment to help solve this issue. It’s definitely worth the money, especially if you want to still be able to enjoy those classic albums that you grew up with. And I heard the amusing story of a friend who got his young niece one of those small portable record player and an album last Christmas. She was tickled pink with her Crimbo pressie – so much so that all day she repeatedly played the A side of her first and only vinyl album. But after a few hours, her father asked why she didn’t turn it over to also listen to the B side. The puzzled teenager replied: “What do you mean ‘turn it over’?” – yes, correct, she didn’t realise you could do this with vinyl!