“Each day after high school, my brother, some mates and I would walk from school, down the High Street and catch two trains and a tram an hour and a half across Melbourne to get home. On the walk from the school to the High Street tram we passed a small record store. Everyday we walked past this store, and never can I remember even noticing it existed, until one afternoon, one particular record, that had been placed in the window, caught my eye.”
“It was 2004 and Australian rock band Powderfinger were at the peak of their powers, they had just released their fifth album, Vulture Street, and I was obsessed, everyone was. It was two years after I first heard Powderfinger, a moment that with the help of Oasis sparked my interest in rock music and changed me.
While walking from school one day, I noticed, for the first time, the small record store I passed on my way home, this particular day, like never before, a record in the window caught my eye. It was a 12″ vinyl record, Powderfinger’s Vulture Street. I stopped and stared for a while—I didn’t realize vinyl still existed! I want IT! I knew my pockets were shallow, but I added up what change I had anyway. Alas, not enough.
Thankfully, my brother Fletch always held onto his money with a tight fist, saving it for the rainy days that never seemed to come. After noticing my excitement and desperation, he offered to loan me the money. At first it seemed the answer, but after considering the “you owe me” clause and the possible interest that would’ve come with the loan, I decided, with a heavy heart, to save up my money over the weekend and return triumphantly the following week to purchase the greatest, my first, record EVER.
That Monday at school was the longest I can remember, I swear the second hand on the clock started to tick backwards! Eventually the bell rang, and with new-found freedom, I took off for the record store. In what could only be described as a world record split, I was at the window of the store. No Powderfinger record… Now in the window display sat a record by U2. “Fuck U2, where’s the Powderfinger record gone??”
I walked inside and straight to the counter, “Excuse me sir, I’d like to buy the Powderfinger record I saw in the window last week!” A little tap of his computer, as all great record store clerks do so well, “Sorry mate, it’s sold out…” It’s hard for anyone to understand what this meant to me at the time, to this day, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (see what I did there.) Every single time I pass a record store, I go straight to the P section and hope Vulture Street appears, that was ten years ago. And every single time I go into a record store, there’s about 10 copies of that god damn U2 record. taunting me, rubbing salt into the wound, slapping me in the face!
But this isn’t a tragic romance between one young boy and a long lost love that got away, it stuck with me, changed me, and had a profound effect on my record collection. Since that day, I promised myself, if I ever saw a record that I wanted as bad as I wanted that Vulture Street record, I’d have my pockets just full enough to buy it on the spot.
And that’s what I’ve done since. Of course, with such a strong resurgence in the vinyl market, it’s much easier to find the records I want (except Vulture Street.) The Beatles, The Kinks, and Elton John records I picked up on my trip to the UK in 2008. A first edition 7″ of The Beatles singles “Help” and “Hard Days Night” from my trip in 2010, Jet’s entire Shine On album in a special edition 7″box set that Andy gave me for my 24th birthday. Coldplay Parachutes and The Black Keys purchased from our local Polyester Records store here in Melbourne. Sgt. Peppers and the Who’s Tommy “borrowed” from my Mum.
And at the top of my collection, Oasis’ What’s The Story Morning Glory, cover printed on the vinyl. A bit novel I suppose, but that record, along with Vulture Street was what sparked my interest in music in the first place, so it takes pride of place, alone… for now!”
—Lawrence Henry
Winner of the 2013 Australian Independent Music Award for rock album of the year, July Days’ The Night is for Hunting is on store shelves right now.
