A Day In The Life Of A Record Collector.

[Nai Noswad]

1977 proved a year of change.. the rear guard were wanted gone.. and "never trust a Hippie" was the strapline. A bored copper strolled past Virgin Record Shop and saw this:

He promptly arrested my mate Chris.. charging him with indecency!
Shortly after my birthday, I attended the court case.. it was a riot.. John Mortimer called Richard Kingsley, a Nottingham University Professor of English to explain the history of the Saxon word Bollocks. Consequently the case was thrown out.. With said album clutched in hand.. Rotten signed my cover and we and an entourage hit a local bar to celebrate.

 

[Nai Noswad]

Anyway I had troubles of my own.. school had gone west and I took to painting houses to fund record buying and concert going. Punk had one thing going for it.. Cheap gigs- I saw The Human League.. with Gang Of Four for £1.00.

Human League - Being Boiled.
I was on elastic to The Roundhouse, Dingwalls, Hope& Anchor, 100 Club, Marquee, Eric's and countless clubs, miners welfares, pubs, halls and various dives.
Problem was I liked too much.. and not having a significant other time and cash were all my own.
In a nutshell.. I dug this:

The Floaters- Float On.
and this:

Generation X - Your Generation.
and then this:

The Dictators - Search and Destroy.

 

[Nai Noswad]

1979-80,a bearded Mick Jagger was around and I got to see Led Zeppelin - 'cause I dug The Meters and got to see Stanley Clarke and Zigaboo playing support to Led Zep with Keith and Ron as The New Barbarians.Now waged and earning good cash I was able to secure much stuff that I was curious about, one thing about following a band like The Stones is that they made me curious about the artists they cited. Hank Snow, Arthur Alexander, Don Covay, Bobby Troop, Pinetop Perkins and even Cyril Davis.. all became wants on my list. If I attended a soccer match in Birmingham, London or Sheffield... a visit to neighbouring Record Stores was de regur.
Same with holidays, lost count at the amount of ladies that stood outside shops whilst I tirelessly flicked thru' A's B's and EP's. Tuning into American Forces Radio, was like turning a key to a door of exploration and grew to love West Coast, Doo Wop, Soul, Chitlín and Yacht music no less!
2 miles outside of Nottingham lay four well stocked 2nd Hand Record and Music Shops.. I'd hop off the bus and purchase stuff off a Norton, Speciality, Kent, Chess and Checker, London, Brunswick and Capitol labels.

Joe South - Chills.
Link Wray, Sleepy Lá Beef, Carl Perkins and Elvis seemed in good supply and £3 for tri- centred 45rpm I deemed as no robbery.
Word was out that I was officially an 'anorak'.. through my Brothers girlfriend I started supplying salons, boutiques and stores with regular updated mix tapes... which in turn bolstered my bank balance to buy stuff mail order. My humble bedroom became walled in a hotpotch of shelves and racks to hold my hoard... in saying that my Mom often stopped by with a stack of ironed laundry and listened to Nick Drake, Roy Harper.. she liked my Lee Konitz and Sidney Bechet 180g import albums too!

 

[Nai Noswad]

.. You can see how my mind worked here:

Slim Harpo-I Got Love If You want It.
Obviously the interest stemmed from I'm A King Bee...but the Sun single a short time later had my 88's rattling the window panes.

Even though with stubby mitts and being a leftie- i never really put the guitar down, a Les Paul junior suited me and got hooked on open tuning and 'action'... Kept me out of trouble and off the streets. Soft Cell and New Romanticism rubs shoulders with post punk and my other passion Roots Reggae. I juggled work around gigs and trained it to Barbarellas one night to see a capable and very funked up Duran Duran.. the Roxy Music artschool thing was very in vogue at the time.. I wasn't opposed to a bit of Steve Strange or Spandau Ballet.

 

[Nai Noswad]

Trips and gigs to the Big Smoke were a weekly affair and to afford these jaunts i dossed down on half the countries railway platform benches, shivering under a parka.. slightly warmed by the ear buzzing from the likes of Lemmy's bass bin.
This man proved most enjoyable.. and his 'chat' was quite addictive..

Ranking Joe - Armageddon.
(Brixton Record Booth purchase.)

 

[Nai Noswad]

By the time 1984-5 arrived, I was reasonably settled in employment and was working my way to the heady heights of Head Forklifter!!
For some time I had been doing 'All Nighters' and 'Two Dayers'.. with help from my pals Viva van I'd arrive at said house with crates of records, sound system and a roll of black plastic garbage bags and a craft knife. Sealing all the windows and glass panels with the opened sacks.. the partygoer could not distinguish night from day and the real groove would start.
Speed, and Red Stripe kept me going.. and I secured dub mixes from near Yardie Criminals.
The age of the CD had arrived, my first purchase ( maybe..) Brothers In Arms album. It was sad to see almost overnight, vinyl racks shrinking down in Record Stores.. but I noticed a glut of huge bargains and I was buying vinyl by the foot!
Punk had grown up- as had pop, Joe Jackson, The Cure, Sisters Of Mercy, Iron Maiden, The Cuban Heels and Dio.. all seemed to morph into one.. for me anyway.
Going to the Donington Festival for years gave you a chance to see ten or so major headliners at the one venue.. and be educated by a lesser known act, that later would take centre stage.
Britpop hit the scene.. but the Blur/Oasis war that raged... meant Jack shit to me.
Trying to juggle domesticity and an insatiable lust for music was fairly testing.. But Record Fairs gave a working man a fighting chance, as rarities arrived at your YMCA on a Sunday morning... and for a fiver you got in early, so as to catch that mint copy of
Riot On Sunset Strip... Still wrapped, on the Tower Label or that Trí centered London single you have bin' chasing.
In all honesty I have likely spent the last 20 years mirroring my vinyl collection on CD..
All the stuff I bought on Sunbeam, Rare Bird or Checker I replaced.
When I moved out here to Ireland.. I had to get them insured separately and built a purpose built bolthole.
Most on 2" racking, floor to ceiling and Stones stuff is in cabinets.
I file them alphabetically, and in chronological order in terms of the bands releases... So basically Aerosmith and AC/DC all the way to Zappa and Zeavon.
Though I also store their 12" releases in with the relevant artist too.
Singles and EP's are in the living room.. No room anymore!
The plastic protective sleeves create a space and weight problem.. but have proved essential over the years... none are in direct sunlight or near a heating source.
What to do with 4000 soundtracks depicting my life is a question I often ask.. especially when I see my kids listening to a credible piece of music compressed thru' a cell phone..( the sort of compression Keith would have devoured during his laying down of St. Fighting Man.)
Some will go into the old furnace with me,
hopefully one of my kids will pick up the baton and continue the legacy.
One thing is for sure... time is a thief.. and the passing this year of two major players within Uriah Heep.. makes me not only thankful for being in that Album Epicentre of the 1970s... but proud that I got out there and saw most of them on stage, and harbouring some major memories.
Not a bad hobby.
Never ever tíre of this:

 

[Nai Noswad]

December 2021 ( and everybody's)
Most on here know I don't actually buy vinyls anymore, I do for only 3 acts- Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Small Faces. Mainly re-issue on fancy vinyl or record day singles. Recently a friend has given me over 500 ( now.) rock albums in mint condition, which the shelves have spread to the sitting room ( much to the old lady's annoyance.) Anyhoo, on a recent trip to the UK and visited a real 2nd hand record store.. I actually was shocked, on the walls in plastic sleeves were many of what I owned-
Ogdens Nut Gone Flake (pic disc) £100.
Between The Buttons ( 1st issue.) £80.
Beggars Banquet (1st issue.) £90.
Led Zeppelin (1st issue.) £140.
i could go on, scary stuff indeed, dare'nt say how much they had Leaf Hound and Blossom Toes up for... but I only paid loose change for them in the bargain bucket in Hindleys way back when.
I know it ain't about value but listenable quality is at the forefront... but that is subjective too. Anyway due to here- I am finding some lost treasures... via your lots suggestions.
Ian.

 

[SanguineRemedy]

Anyway I had troubles of my own.. school had gone west and I took to painting houses to fund record buying and concert going. Punk had one thing going for it.. Cheap gigs- I saw The Human League.. with Gang Of Four for £1.00.

Human League - Being Boiled.
I was on elastic to The Roundhouse, Dingwalls, Hope& Anchor, 100 Club, Marquee, Eric's and countless clubs, miners welfares, pubs, halls and various dives.
Problem was I liked too much.. and not having a significant other time and cash were all my own.
In a nutshell.. I dug this:

The Floaters- Float On.
and this:

Generation X - Your Generation.
and then this:

The Dictators - Search and Destroy.

I saw Billy Idol as a solo artist before. He came from the Gen X...

 

[Nai Noswad]

At the moment I'm going through the process of having to revalue via the interwebs my collection.. as I now have to insure them separately - ridiculous what some gangsters are asking, and the Record Collector Bible isn't that reliable.
I must have had a thing for :New Riders Of The Purple Sage at one time.

 

[SanguineRemedy]

^ Isn't that one of Jerry Garcia's side projects... I'm a Deadhead courtesy of dad... He also played in a group called Old and In the Way I think