Dave: (Rises to feet) My name is David Gregory and I am a vinyl addict. It all started in the early 1960s at my friend Ant Climpson\’s house. He had a big sister called Les, and she had lots of these little black discs which you placed on a turntable. When you did that, a party started, and my arms and legs would jerk uncontrollably in spasms of pure joy. It was obvious that I was enjoying this a little too much for comfort, and in no time at all I was hooked.
As I grew into my teens the cravings got worse. I didn\’t have money to spend on a supply, so would beg and borrow from friends, often making copies on my cheap tape recorder.I landed a Saturday job in a Swindon department store around Christmas 1968, allowing me to make my first actual LP purchase, Fleetwood Mac\’s \’Mr. Wonderful\’. It had the lot…laminated gate-fold sleeve with black-and-white photos on the inside set in \’charred\’ frames, next to amusing liner notes by John (and Biscuit, the dog) Peel. The heavy record was clad in a glossy paper sleeve lined with polythene.
Aaaaah….polythene…..o most holy petroleum by-product, how shall I extol thee? On a clear day I can still smell it. Quality. Blue Horizon Records obviously cared about the quality.
The following week, I scored the Bonzo Dog Band\’s \’The Doughnut In Granny\’s Greenhouse\’, with gate-fold sleeve, bafflingly humorous 12-page booklet, irresistibly entertaining music – and it smelt good. The motherlode.
Today, I am no better. Every Sunday I schlep over to the car-boot sale near where I live and hunt for vinyl, like a pig after truffles. The dealers, of whom there are several, schlok the stuff out at knock-down prices so I am able to indulge my habit without breaking the bank, and take a chance on other brands I may not be familiar with. I cannot wait to get home, clean the dust out of them, and wallow in that supreme analogue, musical warmth that only it can provide. Sometimes, I dance.
My collection currently stands at around 2,800 45s and almost as many albums. I cannot wait to hear what Plane Groovy do with our \’English Electric\’ opus, and I thank them for giving us the opportunity to put it on sale, and for adding it to my collection. Will I ever be cured?
The following week, I scored the Bonzo Dog Band\’s \’The Doughnut In Granny\’s Greenhouse\’, with gate-fold sleeve, bafflingly humorous 12-page booklet, irresistibly entertaining music – and it smelt good. The motherlode.
Today, I am no better. Every Sunday I schlep over to the car-boot sale near where I live and hunt for vinyl, like a pig after truffles. The dealers, of whom there are several, schlok the stuff out at knock-down prices so I am able to indulge my habit without breaking the bank, and take a chance on other brands I may not be familiar with. I cannot wait to get home, clean the dust out of them, and wallow in that supreme analogue, musical warmth that only it can provide. Sometimes, I dance.
My collection currently stands at around 2,800 45s and almost as many albums. I cannot wait to hear what Plane Groovy do with our \’English Electric\’ opus, and I thank them for giving us the opportunity to put it on sale, and for adding it to my collection. Will I ever be cured?
Andy: I clearly recall standing on a stool & leaning into the record player area of the family radiogram & stacking up 45’s – it was substantial piece of furniture. Amongst them were Sweet Pea by Manfred Mann & Hold Tight by Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich which belonged to my parents.
We graduated to a Sanyo music centre with wall mounted speakers at the same time as my first ventures into buying prog rock. I had a couple of Queen albums – Sheer Heart Attack & A Night at the Opera but was intrigued by the band Yes that I kept reading about in Melody Maker. Having never heard any of the music, I speculatively bought Close to the Edge. I loved it. The following Christmas my parents bought me Yessongs. They kept it hidden in their bedroom before Christmas & I would sneak out each album in turn to play it wearing big white headphones. But they knew my little game & on Christmas Day asked me how I was so familiar with the music “oh its live recordings & I have the studio albums” I blagged as a confident 14 year old.
I joined a municipal record lending library when I was 16. They would check the condition of each album & record any scratches on circular white cards. It was a ritual for many years to cycle down to the library.
I treated myself to a Linn Axis turntable in 1988 along with a copy of 20 Years of Jethro Tull. The shop delivered & set it up for me. I really wanted a Linn Sondek LP12 but it was beyond my budget. I still have the Linn Axis connected up & all ready for English Electric Part One !
We graduated to a Sanyo music centre with wall mounted speakers at the same time as my first ventures into buying prog rock. I had a couple of Queen albums – Sheer Heart Attack & A Night at the Opera but was intrigued by the band Yes that I kept reading about in Melody Maker. Having never heard any of the music, I speculatively bought Close to the Edge. I loved it. The following Christmas my parents bought me Yessongs. They kept it hidden in their bedroom before Christmas & I would sneak out each album in turn to play it wearing big white headphones. But they knew my little game & on Christmas Day asked me how I was so familiar with the music “oh its live recordings & I have the studio albums” I blagged as a confident 14 year old.
I joined a municipal record lending library when I was 16. They would check the condition of each album & record any scratches on circular white cards. It was a ritual for many years to cycle down to the library.
I treated myself to a Linn Axis turntable in 1988 along with a copy of 20 Years of Jethro Tull. The shop delivered & set it up for me. I really wanted a Linn Sondek LP12 but it was beyond my budget. I still have the Linn Axis connected up & all ready for English Electric Part One !
![David: I think it is probably best if I begin as all good vinyl albums begin, with that anticipatory crackle of the stylus making touch down. You know what I\'m talking about don\'t you? The headphones are on and the gatefold is wide open. We also know that great albums were really portals that transported their willing listeners into a parallel realm. If only for a few minutes. It all began for me with Ian Radford, who had an all encompassing passion for rock music. He would play music in the Radford family front room and there we sat listening, nodding our heads in time to the rhythmic pulse. We\'d sway in time like mesmerized cats before the speakers. It is because of Ian exposing the young me to those albums, that I discovered the music that still resonates with me, even after all these years. Sound familiar? As I moved into my teens, I would often catch a lift into Nottingham with my parents or go in on the bus with my friend Sam. Time would be spent leafing through the vinyl in the giveaway section. The giveaway section was where the affordable vinyl was to be found. The back catalogues of the great and the good were in those bins and all at a good price. I still miss those small independent record shops and all those wonderful misspent hours browsing even now. These days, it is mainly Compact Discs that take up the lions share of the space on my studio book cases but if you glance down below, the vinyl is still there. I still take it out for a spin from time to time and it still sounds great! English Electric came out on the 3rd Sept 2012 and Jared Jackson [a friend of mine and vinyl junkie] asked if we [BBT] had considered releasing it on vinyl. At that point we had not but weirdly enough the option to do so presented itself shortly after. Be careful what you wish for Mr. Jackson.](https://planegroovy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/david.gif "david")
David: I think it is probably best if I begin as all good vinyl albums begin, with that anticipatory crackle of the stylus making touch down. You know what I\’m talking about don\’t you? The headphones are on and the gatefold is wide open. We also know that great albums were really portals that transported their willing listeners into a parallel realm. If only for a few minutes.
It all began for me with Ian Radford, who had an all encompassing passion for rock music. He would play music in the Radford family front room and there we sat listening, nodding our heads in time to the rhythmic pulse. We\’d sway in time like mesmerized cats before the speakers. It is because of Ian exposing the young me to those albums, that I discovered the music that still resonates with me, even after all these years. Sound familiar?
As I moved into my teens, I would often catch a lift into Nottingham with my parents or go in on the bus with my friend Sam. Time would be spent leafing through the vinyl in the giveaway section. The giveaway section was where the affordable vinyl was to be found. The back catalogues of the great and the good were in those bins and all at a good price.
I still miss those small independent record shops and all those wonderful misspent hours browsing even now. These days, it is mainly Compact Discs that take up the lions share of the space on my studio book cases but if you glance down below, the vinyl is still there. I still take it out for a spin from time to time and it still sounds great!
English Electric came out on the 3rd Sept 2012 and Jared Jackson [a friend of mine and vinyl junkie] asked if we [BBT] had considered releasing it on vinyl. At that point we had not but weirdly enough the option to do so presented itself shortly after. Be careful what you wish for Mr. Jackson.
It all began for me with Ian Radford, who had an all encompassing passion for rock music. He would play music in the Radford family front room and there we sat listening, nodding our heads in time to the rhythmic pulse. We\’d sway in time like mesmerized cats before the speakers. It is because of Ian exposing the young me to those albums, that I discovered the music that still resonates with me, even after all these years. Sound familiar?
As I moved into my teens, I would often catch a lift into Nottingham with my parents or go in on the bus with my friend Sam. Time would be spent leafing through the vinyl in the giveaway section. The giveaway section was where the affordable vinyl was to be found. The back catalogues of the great and the good were in those bins and all at a good price.
I still miss those small independent record shops and all those wonderful misspent hours browsing even now. These days, it is mainly Compact Discs that take up the lions share of the space on my studio book cases but if you glance down below, the vinyl is still there. I still take it out for a spin from time to time and it still sounds great!
English Electric came out on the 3rd Sept 2012 and Jared Jackson [a friend of mine and vinyl junkie] asked if we [BBT] had considered releasing it on vinyl. At that point we had not but weirdly enough the option to do so presented itself shortly after. Be careful what you wish for Mr. Jackson.
Nick: I just love vinyl. The way the needle sounds when it hits the record is just great. I have a pretty decent collection of vinyl from when I was a kid and when my former band Spock\’s Beard had our 10th release \”X\” put out on Vinyl I got real excited and pulled out my old records.
My older brother Mike was a vinyl enthusiast when he was younger and spent tons of money on a stereo system and made sure I took extra good care of my records if I wanted to play any of them on his high end gear. I purchased new liners for every record, made sure they were as clean as possible every time I played them and took extra good care putting them away. Good thing I did all of that because 20 years later they are still all in great shape and sound amazing even though I only have so so gear. One day I will definitely invest in the proper gear so I can live with my vinyl into my old age.
I\’m not living in the past here at all. Vinyl just sounds great and has vibe. There is just something special about that needle hitting the record and sound coming out. It is warm and just feels good to the ears. I am seriously excited about hearing BBT that way.
My older brother Mike was a vinyl enthusiast when he was younger and spent tons of money on a stereo system and made sure I took extra good care of my records if I wanted to play any of them on his high end gear. I purchased new liners for every record, made sure they were as clean as possible every time I played them and took extra good care putting them away. Good thing I did all of that because 20 years later they are still all in great shape and sound amazing even though I only have so so gear. One day I will definitely invest in the proper gear so I can live with my vinyl into my old age.
I\’m not living in the past here at all. Vinyl just sounds great and has vibe. There is just something special about that needle hitting the record and sound coming out. It is warm and just feels good to the ears. I am seriously excited about hearing BBT that way.
Greg: About five years ago I was having a bit of a sort-out and decided it was time to consign some of my LP\’s to the local charity shop. If I\’d had any uncertainty about letting go of part of my once expansive collection, I dismissed it when my kids (then 11 and 12 years old) had a look through the pile of stuff which was likely to be going to the shop, picked up some of the LP\’s and asked me, in all seriousness, what they were.
The LP was, clearly, passing into history and it was time to move on.
And yet…
The more time I spent sorting through my LP\’s the longer I found myself pausing to look at each cover, open up the gatefolds and read the lyrics. Many of the albums held memories and others were simply beautiful things (for example: Peter Hammill\’s Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night and Anthony Phillips\’ Wise After the Event.)
So, in the end, most of my LP\’s ended up back on the shelves and, this time, not hidden away. They were just too lovely and too important to me to let go of.
And now, some time later, I find myself dusting off my old Acoustic Research turntable and waiting to lower (gently…gently) the stylus onto English Electric, the first Big Big Train album to be released on LP. It\’s a moment that, a few years back, I never thought could happen.
Comparing the CD (or the downloaded music file) to the LP..well, it\’s like comparing a diesel train to a steam engine. And we all know that it\’s the steam engine that sounds and looks right, and is the thing that will stop you in your tracks.
The LP was, clearly, passing into history and it was time to move on.
And yet…
The more time I spent sorting through my LP\’s the longer I found myself pausing to look at each cover, open up the gatefolds and read the lyrics. Many of the albums held memories and others were simply beautiful things (for example: Peter Hammill\’s Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night and Anthony Phillips\’ Wise After the Event.)
So, in the end, most of my LP\’s ended up back on the shelves and, this time, not hidden away. They were just too lovely and too important to me to let go of.
And now, some time later, I find myself dusting off my old Acoustic Research turntable and waiting to lower (gently…gently) the stylus onto English Electric, the first Big Big Train album to be released on LP. It\’s a moment that, a few years back, I never thought could happen.
Comparing the CD (or the downloaded music file) to the LP..well, it\’s like comparing a diesel train to a steam engine. And we all know that it\’s the steam engine that sounds and looks right, and is the thing that will stop you in your tracks.