We never owned a record player when I was a kid. We got our first one when I was about 12. So up until that point all the music I knew came from either Top Of The Pops or the radio, or from cassettes when the cassette player worked.
Cassettes in the house were either sixties soul, Elvis or country. And a Beach Boys compilation that I obsessed over.
My prized possession was a radio. I'm not sure if it was the one in the picture. I definitely know it was a brown Grundig, and bought for me in about 1975 or 1976. I listened religiously to the chart rundowns, the breakfast show before going to school and Capital Radio in the night when I was supposed to be asleep. Capital Radio for those not from London is still going strong and is a London based station (the clue is in the name...). Their staple sounds on the late night shows were soul or soul influenced tunes and Bruce Springsteen. And when I hear a lot of Seventies soul tunes or Born To Run I just get this huge wave of nostalgia for my old radio.
Hall And Oates were huge Capital Radio favourites too, especially a song like She's Gone, with it's big Philly sounding choruses and moody 'hot in the city' feel to the verses. It would probably have come up as a request tune for some bloke called Gary from Holloway missing his girl Sharon who he'd just split up with. And the DJ all smooth and deep voiced would have said something like "It'll get better mate, meanwhile Sharon, he's missing you love something rotten. This one is for you from Gary. Hall And Oates and She's Gone..."
Seemed like some strange other universe to a seven year old.
Hall And Oates - She's Gone
Monday, 4 August 2008
Random Play - Hall & Oates
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9 comments:
you may be too young (i'm 45) but my greatest memory of Capital Radio was Little Nick Horne's "your mother wouldn't like it show" where he did a feature called six of the best where you had to phone in records that followed a suggested theme so for example Music to go to the park too threw up Dogs by Pink Floyd Poisoning Pigeons in the Park by Tom Lehrer Down in the Park By Tubeway Army etc. I discovered so many of the bands I really like listening to that show that wasn't constrained by The Capital playlist.
The there was Pete Young (now relegated to Smooth FM) The greatest Soul DJ on radio IMHO
Pete Young was part of my soul education! His soul cellar put me in touch with a lot of great music.
I'd completely forgotten that Nicky Horne feature as well; thanks for adding to the nostalgia!
Meanwhile in another world, AKA Devon.....I was that man, requesting records late at night for my girlfriend, I don't think to say sorry, probably just to say 'I missed her' even though we'd said goodbye on the Common half an hour before - 'Listen to the radio, I'll put a request in'. It being Devonair you stood a better chance than Capital I reckon. 'Dave in Churston for Sue' - I always got on. Sorry, am I blethering? x
No, you blether away; my blog's the equivalent of sitting around in a pub right now; seems best for the summer.
Now, whose round is it?
lol, I like the song!
"For You" anthologizes hundreds of fans stories... it forms a genuinely interesting social history, even for those with only a passing interest in Springsteen. Adorned throughout by a luscious range of colour and black and white photos... this is a treat for the eyes and the heart, really capturing the sense of a global fan community. www.foryoubruce.com
We had a record player from as far back as I can remember, and was obsessed (at about 18 months old) with colour of the labels and the way the singles would drop down from the spindle and play. I got my first portable radio covered in fake wood and brown leather(with a little mono earpiece) at about 10 - mainly listened to Radio One though Noel Edmonds brekky, DLT, Peel, Mike Read Evening Show as we didn't have commercial/local radio in Southend - The only alt. station was Radio Luxembourg who were very New Wave friendly - and had some great Barclays Ads by The Goons (I've got a flexidisc of these somewhere). My London cousins were all Capital listeners and had cartoon style posters of the presenters in their 'den'.
And a shout out for the late, great, Roger Scott, 3 to 7 weekdays, I believe (he was the guy that got London ready for Springsteen), and the late and maybe marginally greater Kenny Everett. Nicky was classic of course (I remeber he got clobbered for coming out around 1980, and I hardly understood anything of what he was saying), but the 11:00-2:00 guy was pretty solid as well. What great days!
I liked this one when I was a kid too, and also Rich Girl. I felt the same way, that these songs were a window into some foreign adult world.
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