While visiting a rather delightful bohemian café in Ventnor, I saw an advert for a chap who would pay cash for old LP records. For the past 35 years we’ve had stacks of them in our loft, sitting there in boxes and doing nothing. I rang the number given and the chap seemed very keen, so I told Sam to bring the records with him when he returned on the ferry from taking the grandchildren home. He thought it was a good idea to get some money for them, as practical as ever, he said that our sons would probably just chuck them in a skip after our deaths (yep, he is so right)!
Over to the Island came Sam on Thursday night with 3 large storage boxes of LPs – some of them 40 years old. There were even duplicates, where we had each bought the same record before we met. The album covers, especially the ones of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Queen, Supertramp and Fleetwood Mac, took me back to the time when Sam and I first got together. Other ones such as my treasured Be Bop Deluxe LPs took me back even further to my early teenage years (remember Axe Victim?). It was time for a nostalgia overload.
Some of the LPs my mother had cherished, and these took me back to being 8 or 9, especially Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Dot would play the haunting music and tell me the story behind it. I knew I couldn’t part with that one! There was also a Blues from the Deep South LP I always liked, and some Spanish guitar music. He wasn’t having those…
Right on time came the chap to the van to sift through our records. Apparently he prefers vinyl, as he is an evening DJ and he says the records sound better on his music system. Not sure how 35 years in a loft has added any sound effects apart from scratches, but he seemed pleased with the records and parted with £75. He left all the classical music, and Rod Stewart and Neil Diamond LPs to be dispatched to LP heaven. Poor old Neil has had to retire due to ill health – I always liked his voice. Perhaps I’ll save them from the rubbish tip and play his LPs again one day if I can find a shilling to put on the stylus!
rachaelstray said:
My husband is really into vinyl at the moment. For Christmas we both bought a record layer instead of other presents. My dad is also really big on vinyl. Vinyl sales are massively up and are outselling other physical mediums of music (ie not downloads or streams).
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Stevie Turner said:
This is what the chap said who visited us. I prefer CDs.
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rachaelstray said:
I like CDs for my car but I do see the appeal of a record – the sound is very different.
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Stevie Turner said:
Very scratchy on our turntable! All our LPs are 40 years old.
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rachaelstray said:
Have you tried cleaning them? My dad gifted us a record cleaning kit and it’s done a good job!
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Stevie Turner said:
Haven’t got many left now, as the chap bought most of them.
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rachaelstray said:
At least you have more space now!
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tracikenworth said:
Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
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Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for the re-blog!
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tracikenworth said:
You’re welcome, Stevie!
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dgkaye said:
Loved this story. And love your music. You reminded me about the 3 boxes full of LPs I have in my own storage locker LOL. I’ve transported those boxes through 8 moves and always back to the storage room lol. I can’t find myself giving them away and I’m tempted to purchase one of the newer versions of a record player I’ve seen advertised. Like you, I wonder if they’ve warped terribly through decades in a box. 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
Another way we’re similar, lol!
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dgkaye said:
Go figure!!! 🙂 x
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franklparker said:
They tell me vinyl is making a come back. And that list tells me you and I share the same tastes. Whenever you get tried of Sam . . .
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Stevie Turner said:
Ha ha, I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere for the foreseeable future!
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Darlene said:
We had to get rid of our collection of LPs when we moved to Spain. The kids took some of them as they are both into nostalgia and music. The rest we took to a charity shop. Glad yours found a good home and you made a bit of money. We saw Neil Diamond perform in Vancouver, Canada. He was a great entertainer.
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Stevie Turner said:
He had a lovely voice in his prime. We took the rest of the LPs to a charity shop in Newport today.
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P.J. MacLayne said:
I still buy used vinyl for my personal collection if I see something I want in stores or garage sales! And yes, I have a turntable so I can play them)
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Stevie Turner said:
We hardly ever play LPs. The turntable is gathering dust in the loft.
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Lisa V said:
I can totally relate.My husband and I were given a USB turntable to transfer all our vinyl to digital files. I think that was about 10 years ago. Needless to say, the USB turntable still sits there, untouched, and the vinyl (collected from my husband and myself) is still on the shelves in the other room. One day we’ll figure out what to do with them. 🙂
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Stevie Turner said:
A USB turntable? Never heard of that.
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Lisa V said:
Yeah. It’s a turntable that plays vinyl but has a USB connection so you can “record” onto your computer to turn the albums into files that can be played on your devices. Of course it’s probably more time consuming than the old days of listening to the radio and waiting for the perfect songs to make a “mix tape.” LOL We’ve never actually tried using it.
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Stevie Turner said:
Sounds a good little gadget.
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