first LP

We (the band) were chatting one night after a gig (in Germany) about the first records we ever bought.  My first single was Runaway by Del Shannon.  

This conversation provided much misty-eyed recollection about saving up (now there’s a concept that might be unfamiliar to some) to exchange 6s/8d (6 shillings and 8 pence) for a 7” 45rpm record.  

The process of ‘saving up’ was sometimes referred to by sociologists, when describing middle-class values, as ‘deferred gratification’ and by romantics as ‘delicious anticipation’.  For those of us who grew up in working-class homes, saving up was simply a necessity.  But it’s also true to say that we did anticipate and when we got home and carefully placed our purchase on the Dansette, we were gratified.

Then we got onto the subject of LPs.  Much laughter at Neil’s admission of a schoolboy crush on Doris Day and subsequent purchase of a collection of her greatest hits (circa 1962).  

My first LP was this one.  By amazing coincidence, this was also the first LP purchased by bass player Tim.  Being some 5 years older than him, mine came first - secondhand for 5 shillings from a classmate - because I was still at school when I discovered the Blues.  Although just how this happened is currently shrouded in mystery - it’s not something I would have inherited from my parents.  

Anniemay’s first LP (a Christmas present, apparently) was “something by the Merseybeats”.  It’s not in our record collection……. unlike mine.