Lucy Rose, The TVD First Date

“I grew up listening to the radio. I had a few CDs that I shared with my sisters but no record player in my house. When I moved out and headed to London over 10 years ago, my mum let me go through her old vinyl collection and take some with me. I remember she had so much Barry White and Rod Stewart. That was the beginning of my record collection.”

“I was also really lucky with my mum’s friends. As their kids weren’t so into records, I was given a fair few to start me off. For a while I didn’t have a record player but loved looking at the artwork and reading all the notes inside. By then I had some of my favourite records, Blue, Harvest, and desperately wanted a record player. My birthday came around and my parents had found the perfect record player for me in eBay selling for £4! They drove to Leeds to pick it up and I still think to the day it’s one of my most treasured possessions.

It now sits in my kitchen. It’s an old ’60s cabinet record player with speakers built in either side—open the lid and their lies the record player. It’s become a big part of my life, putting on old and new records, sitting down and enjoying the quality of music and character that you can only get from listening to vinyl. It’s something I can’t explain but somehow everything means more when I listen on vinyl and study the details in the artwork that the artist has spent so much time considering.

Of course I listen to music when I’m doing other things, cooking, gardening or reading (what a thrilling life I lead) but I’ve found it’s important to also just listen. I know the time and effect it takes to make a record, and as a listener you’ll never make the most of a record until you give it your full attention to see the beautiful that is hidden below the surface.

When it comes to buying records, I have quite a talent of spending a small fortune every time I go into a record shop. I have a constant list of old records I want and new ones that have come out recently. I have to admit I’m one of those people who listens to a lot of new music on Spotify and then a certain record stands out to me and I have to get it on vinyl, the last being Amen Dunes. I also seem to gravitate to a record store in whichever city I’m playing on tour and collect as the tour goes on. It definitely helps if it’s a driving tour, as lugging home records on a plane is a little tricky. I learnt this the hard way.

And it’s important that these stores stay open, selling music in a physical form, giving you a connection to a record that you can only get from holding it. That’s why I don’t feel too guilty spending most of my money on records cause I want these places to stay open. I want to support the artists as well as the shops—it’s the only way I can show how much I appreciate the music. It’s a small thing but it adds up!”
—Lucy Rose