Records and Record Collecting part 2
The first entry here was inspired by a delve back half a century into the archives of 1974. Whilst that focused on the LP, which had grown in stature as the dominant format of its time, the seeds of musical change were already evident. A couple of years later they would explode into a musical and cultural revolution as Punk music became proper headline news.
As a musical genre it put the single back in the spotlight and the decade ended through 77 to 79 with a positive tsunami of singles. This was partly inspired by the DIY ethos (it was cheaper to record a single than an LP) and the abandonment of what had gone before. More importantly there was a seismic shift in a fattened, complacent music industry. Big, corporate record companies were caught off guard and scrabbling to catch up and stay relevant, a crisis necessitated by the slew of self-released records and independent labels that had sprung up to fill the void, threatening to topple the status quo.
The humble 7” suddenly got new clothes, with almost everything released in picture sleeves. Common in the 60s these had largely fallen out of favour as the single, despite selling in huge quantities, had been primarily relegated to radio and jukebox use and a house bag, in the UK at least, was deemed sufficient. With a new audience, however, the sleeve design became part of the marketing arsenal and general hype.
Disco, although on the wane in 1980, too played its part and the 12” single, intended initially to offer longer playing time to keep dancefloors moving, became another format to play with. It didn’t take record companies long to adapt and repurpose it, as limited editions, extended versions of anything and everything, with extra tracks, or mixes became a way of selling some people the same thing twice (guilty as charged, your honour!!). A new wave (pun intended) of record collectors had been created.
As a new decade dawned the independent record companies, who had been quick to respond, often out of artistic necessity, but also taking risks, leading the musical charge and shouldering the burden of trying to push new music had grown in stature. Being unable to compete with the budgets of the corporate giants, however, found them vulnerable to having their best artists picked up on lucrative deals by the establishment (RCA, WEA, Polydor, EMI, CBS, etc). Some of the upstart labels were even absorbed wholesale into this structure.
Others, unwilling to give up, however, successfully lobbied the official chart company for the creation of an independent chart as a platform to help them market their wares. It even had complex rules that excluded the corporates and begat the whole indie genre, although that term was more studiously applied than it is today. That, however, is a whole other complex story and books worth. Anyone interested could start with My
Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize, the Creation Records story that covers some of this and is a damn good read anyway.
First published in January 1980 The Indie Chart did its job and is in part the inspiration for the accompanying playlist, 45 45s from 45 years ago. The playlist, however, reflects that it was also just a great year for singles full stop and the mainstream and major record companies are very well represented through it. A second playlist may well have to follow as there is so much left out here to fit the 45 alliterations. It is worth noting that on a personal level, I started working in a record shop, so was on hand to ride this wave and my own, partially complete Discogs’ singles listings feature 138 entries for 1980.
Culturally John Peel was hugely important, but in print, the weekly NME was at its peak with a circulation of almost a quarter of a million copies, while Melody Maker, Sounds, Disc and others also thrived. Anyone who has seen Guy Garvey’s series, From the Vaults, on Sky Arts will probably be impressed with the amount and range of music that was shown on TV. His show only covers the ITV archives, and the BBC did its bit too. Even Top of the Pops was generally worth a weekly watch and MTV was still a year away. But music really was at the heart of youth and popular culture.
From a collector’s point of view, singles can add significantly to the story, but also the expense. Many of the records featured in this playlist sold very well, but command surprising value today. Condition is of course key and here is a foundation stone. Look after your records, follow the rules of handling and storage. Rarity can be about relative obscurity, but also about finding a pristine copy of something and covers, especially with singles, are often harder to maintain than the actual vinyl.
Some bands grow in stature and in 1980, The Cure were still a cult band, albeit a pretty successful one. The 12” version of A Forest is listed on Discogs, but there are only six copies available and the asking price starts at £123. Some bands don’t. The loose and louche tones of the Subterraneans, featuring the journalist Nick Kent appealed greatly to me, but not to others it seems and the record can be yours for 99p.
Some of you will have been part of this and might enjoy the nostalgia. For others, delving into musical history can be endless fun. No musical year ever happens in isolation, but some are important or especially significant. Whilst the alliteration is the contrivance here, the impact of the indie chart was huge, there were so many really great records and 1980 really does warrant a second playlist to do it justice. Whether we will make another 45 remains to be seen.
As a final note for this piece, the first entry on the playlist was actually released in 1979, but Where’s Captain Kirk was the indie chart’s debut number 1. Also, the record is bostin’, Spizz was a Brummie and a Villan. Legend!!
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