27th December 2011
Like many of you I have records.
No, not a criminal one, although some would say the sound playing in the background is!
I mean vinyl.
I have uncovered my limited collection of albums and the singles are still lurking somewhere in order to record them onto my computer hard drive and from there onto whatever digital thing is in my pocket.
I don't have that many, partly because I couldn't afford them at the time and partly because in some moment of madness my Dad gave them away!
Do you detect an emotional scar there?
So here I am with vinyl spinning at 33rpm on a turntable connected by a cable to the lap top which is sucking in the songs.
On leafing through the pieces of plastic I've found that most of the songs I want I've actually purchased on a later CD or indeed as a single track download.
Playing just now is an early Simple Minds album, the music is taking me back to a sweaty club venue in Edinburgh about 30 years ago. It was a still, cold December night outside but as these venues can be it was hot, sweaty and jumping inside.
On stage the band thumped out their early limited repertoire, mega stardom and vast stadia tours still a few years hence. The front man Jim Kerr was dressed in some style cross over of new age romanticism with a hint of le desert by Gaddafi.
His limbs cavorted around, it seemed at times independently from his body as he led the throng in the dance.
To be honest I had little idea of who they were. The memory of asking for their single
"I Go"
Rather than the correct
"I Travel"
Still brings a warmth to my cold cheeks at the recollection.
So here I sit listening, reminiscing and wondering what happened to my wardrobe from that era now that would be a blog post. It can't be replicated either the designer having recently met with an unfortunate (for him) end. His own criminal records catching up with him.
