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.