Article 11
EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
:
08 April 2009
Collectors take vinyl for another spin in tactile music
revival
Published Date: 08
April 2009
By Sandra Dick
THAT couple of pounds of pocket money
would be scorching a hole in your pocket, the tranny radio
would be pressed to your ear and, naturally, your tiger feet
would be taking you in just one direction.
Saturday mornings spent hanging out at
the local record shop, flicking through thousands of albums
for the hundredth time, tuning in to the latest single
releases through a massive set of headphones . . . it was
where a whole generation of music-loving kids got their
kicks.
Hard to imagine the MP3 MySpace generation of today being
able to remember their first ever download with great
relish.
But for yesterday's youngsters – a growing number of them
now middle aged record collectors – the joy of walking out
the high street record shop swinging a 7in-square plastic
bag containing the 45rpm single was a childhood rite of
passage.
At home came the ritual of sliding the shiny black vinyl
from its sleeve before placing it delicately on the old
Decca portable record player. Tinny music would flood from
the sole speaker while the sleeve notes were studied and
then consigned to memory.
On the downside, the needle had a habit of jumping if you
walked past in your clumpy platform shoes, within weeks it
would be scratched or warped, the cover ripped by an
overzealous little brother.
Perhaps no wonder the onset of the mighty and allegedly
indestructible Compact Disc spelled the skip for many of our
vinyl collections.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of Eddy Arnold's
Texarkana Baby – the world's first seven-inch 45rpm single.
Yet, ironically, while the CD boom of the '90s spelled the
demise of the 45rpm single and their 12in 33rpm vinyl
cousins, it is the CD that is suffering a lingering death of
its own at the hands of the digital age. . . and for some
it's good old vinyl that is back. In fact, as World Record
Shop Day looms later this month and the golden era of vinyl
is celebrated with the release of The Boat That Rocked –
based on a pirate radio ship in the 1970s – there are those
who say they never really went away.
"Okay, vinyl nearly died," laughs Bruce Findlay, who ran
independent record shops before managing bands such as
Simple Minds and China Crisis in the '80s. "But now it's
like someone cloned it, used the DNA and now it's back.
"Agreed, it's not the way it was when everyone had a record
player and that's all you could buy. Today it's collectible
and it's what a lot of people want."
Indeed, today's artists are learning to cash in on the fans'
love of a classic vinyl disc.
Duffy, the Pet Shop Boys and a string of modern artists have
released tracks on vinyl, aware that the ethereal qualities
of digital sounds cannot match the thrill of actually
"owning" a piece of music. World Record Shop Day is being
marked by a string of vinyl releases from artists such as
The Smiths, Joy Division and Tom Waits.
"No matter how many people are on a band's MySpace page or
download their music, it's not a real measure of success,"
explains Kevin Buckle, boss of Avalanche Records in Cockburn
Street, one of Edinburgh's longest established independent
record dealers. "It doesn't really translate to how many
people actually go to their concerts or buy their CDs.
"The great thing about a record is you can put it on and
play it to your friends. The trouble is, kids are so used to
listening to music through headphones that they hardly know
what it's like to sit to listen any other way."
The other problem with vinyl is the dearth of anything to
actually play it on. For as CDs took over the world, record
players – and the collections of discs once lovingly
catalogued, polished and played – were mostly consigned to
the tip.
"I've had young kids coming in to buy a vinyl record and
saying that they were going off to their grandfather's house
to play it because he was the only person in the family with
a record player," adds Kevin.
"Record companies are obsessed with kids and computers and
mobile phones and everything they do is geared towards that.
They think no-one under 25 buys music, but I get plenty of
kids in the shop who want more than just a song on an MP3
player. They want badges, posters, stuff that's more tactile
than just the song."
It's a rising trend for a modern "antique" which is helping
ensure the survival of an endangered species – the
independent record shop. Once a feature on every high
street, they were hit by the rise of the record superstores
such as Our Price, HMV and Virgin.
Yet, just as vinyl is enjoying a revival at the expense of
the CD, small record shops insist they are holding their own
as the digital revolution engulfs the music superstores that
once threatened their very survival.
Today there are around 300 independent record shops trading
in Britain, and around half a dozen – the oldest of them
Ripping Records at South Bridge, Avalanche and Vinyl
Villains in Elm Row – in the Edinburgh area.
:
08 April 2009
Collectors take vinyl for another spin in tactile music
revival
Tommy Robertson
of second-hand record shop Back Track Music in Tollcross,
admits business is still a struggle but with an increasing
number of people seeing the potential rarity value in vinyl,
there is hope.
"Some actually prefer the snap, crackle and pop of a vinyl
disc," he explains. "Others like the fact it's something
solid that you can hold, and you can read the sleeve notes
better than you can on a CD.
"These days it's a throwaway society. But back then there
was something very real about saving your pennies and buying
a particular record."
David Griffen of second-hand record and book store Elvis and
Shakespeare in Leith Walk, agrees. "There's a completely
different aesthetic from vinyl to CD. I get people in the
shop much older than me who just come in to look longingly
at the stock and touch the covers."
Author Nick Hornby touched on the fascination of vinyl among
collectors in his novel High Fidelity. "They're as close to
being mad as makes no difference," he wrote.
Music impresario Bruce Findlay can identify with that.
"There are a lot of 'anoraks' out there, and I'm one," he
laughs, after quoting the catalogue numbers of a string of
rare discs off the top of his head. "The music industry is
going through massive change and the demise of the
superstore means record shops have an opportunity.
"What's emerging is a cottage industry with new artists
working in collectives, signing to local labels and bringing
out limited numbers of vinyl records to sell in these
independent stores.
"I wouldn't have said it two or three years ago but if I was
a teenager leaving school just now, I know what I'd do," he
adds with a grin. "Yeah, I'd definitely open a record shop."
Read a little bit more about the history of Backtracks
Music
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