Pump up The Jam

I've just stumbled upon an article in the Daily Telegraph listing the top ten most valuable records of all time and, to be honest, it makes for predictable reading. Old and/or special-edition vinyl by what the industry now calls 'heritage artists' (The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and others) command the highest prices, while vinyl made while the format was supposedly dying in the 1990s is also becoming desirable. So far, so obvious.

To highlight the other end of the collectable music scale, I have toyed with the idea of creating a feature on this blog entitled either 'Nik Kershaw Watch' or 'Charity Shop Chart' to show the vinyl that is most readily available for next to nothing. The list in the article (included below) appear to confirm my suspicions of the abundance of certain records, though I personally would beg to differ that they were somehow less collectable:

Genres worth collecting:
1. Progressive rock
2. Reggae
3. Northern Soul
4. Jazz
5. Top classical soloists
 
And those not…
1. Pop music
2. Novelty songs
3. 'Unfashionable’ singers
4. 'Popular’ classical artists (such as James Last)
5. Compilations

I'm happy to be corrected on this point, but anyone who collects records from any genre or artist does so because they like what they're collecting. If you're taking your chances with music you don't like in the hope that you will make a quick buck, then you're simply chasing a trend that will eventually pass. Besides, if prog rock is so desirable, why do I waste so much time at flea markets flicking through so much Yes and Alan Parsons Project before I find any vinyl I like?

In contrast, I can well believe that Northern Soul and reggae are collectable. Frank Wilson's 'Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)', a great Northern Soul song, famously sold for over £25,000 in 2009 on 7" because there were only two copies in existence. Reggae also has a following. I would also include ska, judging by some of the prices I've seen paid online paid by people chasing records by The Specials and other acts on the Two Tone label. I was lucky and managed to bag Ghost Town and The Special AKA EP for a few quid each. Here, as indicated elsewhere in the article, I believe prices increase in relation to the disposable income of buyers of a certain age trying to reclaim their youth – and it's a period a good decade before my own teenage years. It's why people drop the Boy George and Bros and pump up The Jam instead.

Jazz and classical soloists may indeed be coveted, but they're not for me. I suspect certain recording are prized by completists collecting a performer's entire career, even if the musical notes have remained the same for hundreds of years. But for me, personally, the perceived unpopularity of pop music is great news. For as long as my pursuit of No.1s involves a genre that isn't trendy or might contain 'unfashionable singers' (call the taste police, someone) or the charity-shop fodder in the rest of the second list above; my hobby remains fun and cheap. With a bit of luck, I might even have collected all the 80s classics before people with much more disposable income than me decide they'd like to do the same.     

Good things come to those who wait

This morning I needed to get out. So I looked online for flea markets in my local area, found one, jumped on a train and checked it out. At first glance, it was the usual mix of old clothes and household tat. To make matters worse, it was pouring down with rain – so most items were covered in tarpaulin and couldn't be inspected. What vinyl there was on show was the predictable, uninspiring mix of James Last and K-Tel compilations. Things weren't looking good.

After fifteen minutes, I was about to head for home. But having had nothing to eat or drink before I'd rushed out of my flat, I decided to get a coffee from the burger van there. Behind the two guys serving, there were three crates of 12"s (singles and albums) and one little basket of 7" singles. The records looked like they had been packed away because of the rain. I asked if I could look through them from the back of their van. Bizarrely, this was the idea! 12" records were CHF 5.00 each (£3.26) and 7"s were CHF 2.00 each (£1.30), I was told. But you had to attract the guys' attention while they were serving food and drink. They turned round to you, took your cash for the records and then went straight back to their Bratwürste!

But by now, the rain was easing off and I had some serious rifling to do. Was I going to leave a pristine, 1985 German issue of the first Erasure single (Who Needs Love Like That) in the racks? Not on your Nelly Furtado! Someone else is currently trying to flog it online for £10.99. Bee Gees 12" (You Win Again)? Yep, I'll have that too. Terence Trent D'Arby's debut album (Introducing The Hardline According To ...)? Oh, go on then!

My attention then turned to the 7" singles: M – Pop Muzik, John Farnham – You're The Voice, Black – Wonderful Life, INXS – Original Sin, among others. But then things got much better:

The Assembly – Never Never was Vince Clarke's brief project with producer Eric Radcliffe (name-checked in the Yazoo album title 'Upstairs At Eric's'), featuring guest vocalist Feargal Sharkey. I've wanted this single on vinyl for years! And then ... after Wot by Captain Sensible ... there he was, staring back at me ... like a slightly more grown-up Fred Savage:

So at least now I can knock another No.1 off my list. Hurrah! This is not the UK picture sleeve. My copy is from the Netherlands. Earlier this week, I very nearly parted with seven English pounds for the UK version online. My very patient girlfriend has inevitably suffered as a result of my vinyl obsession, so when I asked her opinion concerning pricing, her actual response was:


"Well, you don't drink, don't smoke; what do you do?"


The answer, of course, is that you leave overpriced Glenn Medeiros and Adam Ant online exactly where they are. You wait for them to turn up elsewhere, first.