Shaun Leckenby Design x OTS

 Shaun Leckenby's design work for this blog's cult favourite OneTrueSaxon. It's perhaps not as iconic as Ewen Brown's art (which I once posted about once upon a time here ) for said brand, however there's some cool bits and pieces here...

Rob's Records Nottingham

 On a recent drinking trip to the Midlands, my Nottingham based (but Stockport born) mate was trying to paint a picture of what Notts most famous record store was like. I didn't believe him. I put it down to the fact we'd had one or three, and he was exaggerating...

Fast forward, from Friday night to Saturday afternoon, and he certainly was not. Never seen anything like it. Floor to ceiling of untidily stacked boxes and bags of records. Half the shop unstoppable, a wall of vinyl. On the floor snapped pieces of unloved LPs. 

There's hardly any space to shop, COVID rules need not apply. One chap tried to find a bargain in the unsorted bags, as he dug he dislodged and was buried under unknown tunes. 

That's Rob's Records, apparently. Come for the vinyl, stay because you've been crushed to death...

And I loved it.

Plenty to flick through and bargain prices. Between us we left with Beautiful South, The Farm, Paris Angels, The Smiths, Bryan Ferry, Inspiral Carpets, Roxy Music, Simple Minds and Erasure. A Wonderland indeed.

Can't wait to go back.

Blue Monday Deciphered

 Cult classic picked up yesterday in Durham. Blue Monday's sleeve, die cut floppy disc style designed by Peter Saville, was that expensive to produce Factory Records lost 5p on every record sold. They weren't bothered as they didn't think it would shift that many. It went on to sell approx 1.5 million copies.

The sleeve itself featured no words or labels (bar Factory Record 73 down spine) and the colour coded shapes down the side had to be deciphered using a guide on the Power Corruption & Lies album...

A New Record

Due a record player for Xmas from the old dear, so I've started picking up the odd vinyl. Just so happens Durham market has just got a new record stall in the form of the excellent Record Shed, so searching that and the other long established stall has proved quite fruitful. Here's some recent picks ups pop pickers...

Complete Madness

I like the concept of Record Store Day. Some nice limited edition vinyls from cult bands. But queing up outside all night to pay a small fortune for something you can't even play in the car? Nah, not for me.

Never been into records, grew up late 80s and early 90s where cassettes were the cheapest option for pocket money, and then CDs were about to monopolize the market, so as it is I've only got one LP to my name. Complete Madness.

Purchased in mint condition for three pounds from eBay in 2005 as an 'investment'. A quick scan on the auction website today sees them for roughly a fiver. But given ten years has passed and the average rate of inflation, this mintas EP has depreciated. Badly. And Madness have never been so popular. Complete Madness indeed.

Anyway this was an earlyish greatest hits from One Step Beyond (album) to 7. I'm sure it sounds great. But it's never been listened to as -

1) It's an investment. It's my pension etc.

2) I've never had, or any access to, a record player.

3) It's rotting away in the damp of my mam's garage.

Anyway. I'm off to listen to Divine Madness. On Compact Disc format. In the car.