Reliving my youth through vinyl

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted here following all the excitement of having a film crew visit my home and being interviewed for an American music documentary at the end of last year (story here for those who missed it). There’s a couple of reasons for the silence:

WORK – whilst it would be nice to be a full time music blogger I don’t think it would pay the bills so unfortunately I have a full time ‘day job’ which has recently taken over my life. Thankfully I’m making moves to change all that and, whilst I can’t quite afford to retire just yet plans are under way to free up a bit more ‘me time’ in the very near future.

FAMILY – I have an 87 year old dad who lives 80 miles away and who hasn’t been in the best of health since Christmas. He needs his family around him more than ever since we lost our mum 3 years ago so any spare weekends I have are typically spent keeping him company while he’s glued to Vera, Doc Martin or any of those other repeats he constantly watches on ITV3!

Oh yeah, and I actually BOUGHT A RECORD PLAYER! I have hinted at doing this previously but I finally purchased a turntable as a ‘new years’ gift to myself and can now listen to all those old vinyl records which I dragged out of their dusty hibernation back in November. This was the first time I have bought a turntable in over 30 years!

So it’s not all been ‘doom and gloom’ and this partly explains my recent disappearance from the blogging world while I have been re-discovering the sounds of my youth – complete with all the original clicks and crackles in all the places I remember them! Over the past few weeks I have realised that there really is no better way to immerse yourself into an album than sitting down with a beer or glass or red wine and and listening to it on vinyl whilst reading the sleeve notes. It’s total bliss and, for me at least, conjures up many happy memories of the days of my youth and when I first took ownership of these great albums.

So what have I been listening to?

Anyone who follows the Music In the Attic Instagram page will know that I’ve not been entirely off the radar. Since purchasing my turntable I have been sharing a few of my little trips down Memory Lane over there and the response has been brilliant. Within a few days of posting about vinyl records my Instagram following increased to over 1000. I already feel that I have become a #vinyladdict and part of the #vinylcommunity…. and what a great community it is! I’ve even had a ‘Like’ from Candice Night – wife of legendary Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore after I shared these photos of me with my Rainbow Rising album – a Christmas present from 1978!

Here’s a selection of the (mostly classic rock, metal and prog) albums I’ve had on heavy rotation since the turn of the year…

Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains the Same (1976)

I can actually remember buying this album (and Black Sabbath’s Paranoid) from Virgin Records in Nottingham on Christmas Eve, 1980 with some money mum had given me as a last minute Christmas gift. I also remember going to see the film at the Odeon Cinema when I was about 13 or 14 years old. It was on a triple bill with Pink Floyd The Wall and the fantasy animation ‘Heavy Metal’. It was a long old afternoon at the cinema but me and my mate loved every minute of it! 😀👍

Marillion – Clutching At Straws (1987)

Absolutely adore this album from one of the best times of my life. Marillion – Clutching At Straws. Great to hear it on the vinyl album I purchased back in the 80s again. Still sounds gorgeous 35 years later 

Rush – Signals (1982)

I’ve been a fan of Rush for as long as I can remember and have every album they ever released on vinyl up until 1990 (when I switched to CDs). I played this on the second anniversary of drummer Neil Peart’s death and raised a glass to ‘The Professor’ – my all time favourite musician. Subdivisions is one of my favourite tracks by the band.

Rainbow – Rising (1976)

A totally epic rock album and another of my favourites from the era. Everything about it is pure class from the musicianship (Dio, Blackmore and Cozy Powell in the same band for starters) to the production and the cover art. I really must do a post of ‘best album sleeves’ one of these days!

John Cougar Mellencamp – The Lonesome Jubilee (1988)

The only non-rock/metal record I’ve played so far but a cracking album all the same. I listened to this on the the 34th anniversary of going to see him in London when he toured to promote the album.

Saxon – The Eagle Has Landed (1982)

I marked the the 39th anniversary of my first ever gig by blasting this classic live album by metal gods Saxon. The memories came flooding back!

Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

This is my original 1971 copy of Led Zep’s iconic IV album. The sleeve has seen better days (well it is over 50 years old!) but the record itself played perfectly well. I just love that inner sleeve advertising other albums of the time. I should really try to find out if this copy is worth anything…

Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast (1982)

I found a couple of little treats inside the sleeve when I played this. First a vintage fan club merchandise leaflet. Look at those prices! Anyone for an original ‘Eddie’ mask?!

Secondly I had placed the original price tag inside the sleeve as a reminder that I bought this from Revolver Records in Nottingham for £3.49…..for what was a brand new album at the time. Bargain! 🤘😀 Can’t believe this mint record is now 40 years old….

Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction (1987)

Another classic from the collection, my original 1987 copy of Appetite for Destruction by Guns N Roses, complete with banned sleeve art and the stickers which have remained intact inside the cover for 35 years! 😳😮🤣 (Does anyone else still have those?!)

Motorhead – Bomber (1979)

And my final vinyl (for today at least) – how could any discerning ‘metal head’ not have at least one album by the legendary GODS OF METAL in their collection? Thankfully I have several! Sadly all 3 members of the band which recorded this epic (Lemmy, ‘Fast’ Eddie Clark and ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor) are no longer with us. They will no doubt be making one hell of a racket wherever they are now. What a band. What an album…

So there you have it. I am well and truly back in the land of vinyl and will no doubt be sharing more of my rediscoveries over the coming months, including some very ODD looking record covers from the past! Stay tuned…

Vintage Vinyls back on view

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10 thoughts on “Reliving my youth through vinyl

  1. It’s true that keeping the original price tag adds to the memories of each vinyl purchase, even the shop logo too. Several of my buys from HMV/virgin also included the date the tag was printed.

    1. We can be proper geeks at times can’t we…?!

      Joking aside, just picking up one of these albums and staring at the sleeve (even smelling the record!) can evoke memories and take me right back to a time in my life.

  2. Nice Post!
    As a musician, making vinyl is a great way to give your fans a unique and authentic experience. Vinyls have a warm, natural sound that cannot be replicated in other formats. In addition, the vinyl manufacturing process allows you to customize the design and presentation of your music, which can be a great advantage in an increasingly competitive market.

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