“Being relatively young (25), I am not part of the ‘vinyl generation’ and growing up the concept was a little alien to me. I do come from a music loving family however, and my dad amassed a huge record collection over the years. It was only in adolescence that I began to take an interest in vinyl and it’s an interest that has grown into a hobby.”
“My dad no longer collects vinyl and when I took an interest he handed me his collection; there was a lot of great LPs in the collection which I’ve grown to love. A lot of The Clash and great punk records and there are some shockers too that got put in the loft swiftly like the Michael Bolton LP. (jeez!) He claims he doesn’t know how that ended up in his collection.
I now collect vinyl and wherever possible get buy new releases on this medium. The great thing about new releases on vinyl is that they often come with a download code also, so I can get the album on my ipod or whatever. Whenever I’m in town I love going into a record shop and sifting through the LPs looking for a bargain. I’ve started to collect a lot of Motown records and they sound absolutely fantastic on the record player. As you can’t skip songs on records, it forces you to listen to the full record. I see this as a positive when compared with today’s disposable throwaway culture.
The thing about vinyl and a lot people say it because it’s true, it’s not just the music, it’s the excitement of going to the record shop to look for an LP, finding a bargain, the anticipation of getting home and putting it on whilst looking through the artwork and sleeve notes. You get something you can hold, admire the artwork – you don’t get that with a Mp3!
I have a couple of favourites in my collection from the past; John Martyn, Solid Air is one and Fleetwood Mac, Rumours is the other. Both fantastic albums to listen to all the way through whilst chilling out.”
—Gary Neil, Bass
