“When I think back to my childhood, in fact my earliest memories of existing on this planet, it was filled with music. It’s not a surprise, it’s nothing new, and I’m sure you’ve heard this story a thousand times before, but it’s a love story that started from an early age that has continued into the present. My love affair with vinyl.”
“Just like distant memories of it always being sunny in the summer holidays (when in fact it probably rained for the most part—it was the UK after all), vinyl reminds me of the nostalgic days of childhood.
Saturday afternoons and evenings always stand out. My dad, taking advantage of my mum’s afternoon shop, would often drag out his record collection and create the most wonderful sound track, shouting out across the roof tops of East London. It was the sound of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s expertly blended by my own personal DJ, my dad.
Phil Spector songs with groups such as The Rosettes and the Crystals were a big feature as well as the usual suspects of the Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Beatles, and Bob Dylan. You could expect Queen on a Saturday night and an array of disco floor fillers too, mixed in with the beautifully emotive tones of Otis Redding and Nina Simone.
Sandie Shaw was also a regular, and has a special place in my heart for when I was really young. I was convinced that my mum was in fact Sandie Shaw. No, honestly, I really believed this! And not as in that I was adopted, but that my mum, Monica Martin and Sandie Shaw, were one and the same person.
Fast forward to my teenage years, and my journey with music continued with a fanzine singles club where you could mail order 7” singles from new bands—slightly hit and miss with quality I must admit, but made for the discovery of something great even more of a thrill. Then there was the beloved Sister Ray and Rough Trade record stores, to name a couple, where an afternoon could disappear in a flash working my way through the A-Z of every genre. Happy days and may they continue ever more.”
—Angela Martin
“Never Let You Go” by Bugeye is in stores now via Repeat Records/Badger Recording Co.
