Tape The Top Forty

4,500 records in my flat and I tend to listen to the same three over and over again! I think I'm reverting back to when I was about nine and had, only three cassettes and I'd wear the batteries down on my walkman out by rewinding the same song over and over again. As I recall I had The Muppets Album (every household should have a copy, even if Hugga Wugga did have strong undertones of a Porno soundtrack), BBC Theme Tunes and Mike Reeds Top Forty. I think there was a Mini-pops Album floating around somewhere but having pictures of four year old girls caked in make up sporting bikini's on the cover I think my mum banned me playing it. The good thing about the Top Forty is that you were your own DJ - you taped the Sunday charts. The thing that p***ed off thousands of kids all over the country however is that Mike Reed didn't shut up, and you had to hold your finger ready on the pause button (usually simultaneously with the record button) and press down the millisecond he started to talk towards (but never at) the end of the song, and then repeat the drill in reverse when the next song comes on. This method wasn't good for an anxious child with OCD tendencies and often resulted in the tape reel wrapped around my Girls World head (Another toy my mum should have avoided getting me to keep up with the other mums - to every other little girl they provided hours of hair and make up fun, to me it was a head missing a body and I thought Santa was out to get me). To avoid the whole Top Forty tantrums I should've just waited for the next Now Album to come out. 

Ironically, following Mike Reeds recent bankruptcy, I'm buying his old 7inch chart hits off him in bulk  from whom I call 78 Man  at Broadway market in East London on Saturday mornings. He has a good 78rpm collection as well thousands of random albums to sieve through.

But I'm currently just listening OMD Architecture, Pixies Bossinova and Now, The Christmas Album. I know it's only November, but then some people start drinking at lunchtime.

The photo is of a latex print of vinyl. Another pointless but satisfying hobby.