History Needle

I post this for the benefit of nostalgia.  This is a needle on a 'record player' scratching its merry way across a black vinyl disc called a 'record.'  I suggest that those reading this may well be able to recollect such an item, even if they can only dimly remember them.  The fun of ensuring the needle did not get damaged, the fun of listening to the scratchy beginning before the silence and then the music that awaited the listener.  These records were light, came in covers that informed the buyer of the contents and later developed into works of art in themselves. Of course the lightness disappeared when several were carried at one time as they suddenly became a ton weight!  John Peel, the late lamented DJ had a huge collection of records, so many that the floor had to be reinforced to carry the weight in the store!  There were disadvantages beyond the need to care for the precious needle, and replacing needles was always a problem as the right one was hard to find.  A scratch on such a record could spell disaster.  On occasion it may be missed by the needle but on other times the needle would hit the scratch and jump the groove or, worse still, stay at the one spot and repeat, repeat, repeat the same spot over and over until action was taken.  Record made in the early fifties, which contained the great Rock and Roll stars of the day, suffered badly this way as the material used in the making was particularly fragile.  In the eighties I heard a fifteen minute programme in the US Army radio service (whatever it was called, I forget) in which the DJ played several original Rock and Roll records.  The first one or two were in good condition but each one following had more and more scratches, jumps and the last appeared to be broken in several places.  No mention or apology was made for this, they were just played and the next introduced!  I still have a reasonable collection of records, almost all Long Playing ones with excellent covers, and many obtained when the Library was selling them off to introduce CDs, the modern way to listen. There were many great Jazz records available one day but by the time I had made it home and returned with cash they had gone!  Tsk!  Many are still fetching good prices on E-Bay, and some shops do good business with vinyl only sales.  I think myself I would still go for CD's if I bought anything today, or even downloaded them the modern fashion if I ever have the cash.  At least if a CD is available it is always with you, and not lost when the PC dies I suppose.  However there is something missing with CDs and that is the large area that a Long Playing record cover gave us. Arty covers do not make such a splash when small.  One day these records will be considered with the same amusement that we have for a phonograph with a dog sitting in front of it!  It's a sair fecht so it is!



   

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