I once asked this on the old Word site, but it’s been a long time so worth asking again,,,,
What was the first single, album and CD that you every bought with your own money ? And, do you still like / listen to them ?
For me….
Single : Queen / Don’t Stop Me Now (1979 ?)
– saved up my pocket money / paper round money and bought from WH Smiths in Sheffield City Centre when I was 11 /12 years old. Still one of my favourite Queen tracks.
Album : Queen / Jazz (also 1979 – by the time I bought it)
– you can tell who I liked when I was young ! More pocket money saved and it was the full album. Probably also from WH Smiths in Sheffield.
CD : Genesis / Wind & Wuthering, Kate Bush / Hounds Of Love, Dire Straits / Love Over Gold, Police / Greatest Hits (all together 1987)
– during my summer vacation after 1st year Uni, I worked for Philips in Stockport and with the bursary they gave me, I splashed out on a CD player from the staff shop. Bought these four CDs together one (probably rainy) afternoon in Manchester city centre. Still listen to all of them, although the original CDs have all been replaced with remastered / SACD etc versions….
Over to you lot…
Gatz says
Single: Masterblaster, Stevie Wonder. In my defence it was also the coolest single I bought for the next decade.
Album: Rainbow, long Live Rock and Roll. Not one I listen to now, but much more indicative of my taste then.
CD: Tom Waits, Rain Dogs. As everyone knows, the finest album ever made. So that’s ok then.
JustB says
Single: I don’t know for sure, but I think it was Crazy For You by Madonna.
Album: Hunting High And Low by A-Ha.
CD: In Utero by Nirvana.
count jim moriarty says
Single: Telegram Sam by T. Rex
Album: Slayed? by Slade
CD:Astral Weeks by Sir George Morrison.
Neil Staughton says
Single : Lately by Stevie Wonder. I still love it, at the time I had no idea he was capable of so much better
Album : Love Over Gold by Dire Straits. Still love Private Investigations and Telegraph Road, but now cringe at Industrial Disease.
CD : Edge of Darkness Soundtrack by Eric Clapton. Came on a 3″ cd with the little plastic thingy!
Locust says
Single: Like Gatz, it was “Master Blaster (Jammin’) by Stevie Wonder. Love it.
Album: Like the OP, it was a Queen album, but in my case it was “Queen Live Killers”. Never bought any other Queen albums after that. Prefer the live version of the band, but was never a fan. I don’t really know why I felt such a strong need to own that album, but as soon as I picked it up from the rack in the store, I was struck with the desire to buy it. I haven’t ripped my vinyl copy to computer yet, so no, I never play it nowadays.
CD: Jarre – Oxygene. I remember sitting in my new (first) flat, looking at my new stereo system – including my very first CD player – blinking with red and blue lights as this cool, futuristic music was playing, swiveling in my brand new chrome’n’leather arm chair feeling like I was living in the film “Diva”…feeling very cool indeed.
Ah, the folly of youth!
Play it? Only if random play drags it up from the vaults. it’s good, but doesn’t really fit the vibe of my life today.
deckards says
Single: Shang a lang – Bay City Rollers. Bought it for my sister who had just has a tooth removed.
LP: ABC Lexicon of Love (on cassette ). Very close to my number one album. I still get enormous pleasure listening to this.
CD Don Henley The End Of The Innocence.
Moose the Mooche says
Hadn’t your sister suffered enough?
Moose the Mooche says
Single – Golden Brown. I’m 8 years old and grooving on a psychedelic song about heroin by four horrible hairy old men. Hurrah!
Album – Prince Charming. Ridicule me if you like – I’m not scared. Also magnificently age-inappropriate – the final track “Sex” in particular. Elsewhere – pirates, highwaymen, Picasso on the planet of the Apes and a lot of stuff about Georgian England and westerns. Probably the most bonkers album ever released.
I still love both of these records. Adam’s Scorpios in particular is a great gallumphing brassy masterpiece.
Moose the Mooche says
CD! This is a good one. The Clash – the US version, which for a few years was the only version available on CD in the UK, rather bizarrely. It was the best use of my WH Smiths voucher, and if you really believe that it’s not a better album than the “real” first Clash album then I respectfully say unto, nay. It’s got Complete Control, White Man and even I Fought the blimmin Law on it. Robert Christgau has called this US version the greatest rock record ever manufactured, which is high praise from the grumpy old bastard.
Moose the Mooche says
Music download – I’m pleased to say it was The Dukes of Stratosphear’s Chocolate Fireball. Closely followed by Rubber Toy by Ivor Cutler. Oy-oy-oy, what a toy!
SixDog says
The US version of The Clash is probably undeniably the best rock record ever. Mr Christgau has it spot on.
Harry Tufnell says
Single – Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris
LP – Pinups by Bowie
Cassette – There’s The Rub by Wishbone Ash
CD – Knife by Aztec Camera
Can’t remember my first download!
SixDog says
Single – Antmusic – Adam & The Ants
LP – Kings of the Wild Frontier – Adam & The Ants (bit of a theme here in 1981)
CD – Guns n Roses – Appetite for Destruction
plumb1909 says
Single : The Legend Of Xanadu – Dave Dee, Dozy , Beaky, Mick & Titch
bought from the NAAFI in Rheindahlen, Germany, sometime in 1968.
Choice was extremely limited , and all their stock was out on, one solitary wire rotary display stand.
Album : Rubber Soul ~ The Beatles
bought from the same NAAFI in the fatherland. I wish I could remember how much we used to pay,
but I cannot recall. I know when we first arrived, we were getting eleven marks to the pound.
No wonder my father never wanted to come back home.
CD : 90125 ~ Yes and Island Life ~ Grace Jones
one of the salesman in the garage I worked, managed to acquire a boot full of CD players.
I couldn’t hand over my £50 fast enough.
Obviously I now needed something to play.
I tore down to Our Price in Aldershot to search for a sonic masterpiece, that I could play to my
unsuspecting GLW , and convince her, that this was worth spending £50 plus on.
Choice wise it was dire. Probably as bad as the NAAFI twenty years previous.
Finally I selected just two, but which one should I get?
Yes or Grace Jones?
They were thirteen quid EACH, a ruddy fortune at the time.
Fuck it , I bought both and worry about her indoors later..
The only disc still played regularly is of course The Fabs!
Vulpes Vulpes says
And at 11 to the pound, it was SO convenient that a shilling (that’s 5p kids – so 20 the pound) was EXACTLY the same size and weight as a DM, and the fag machines took coins…
Curtis from Ohio says
Single: ABC by The Jackson 5. All these years later it is on my iPod, along with several remixes
Album: The Partridge Family Album by ,er, The Partridge Family. Er, no.
CD: Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis. replaced it in 1997, when a much improved version was released, but still a favorite.
RubyBlue says
First singles: Banana Republic, Boomtown Rats; Dreaming, Blondie. Bought when I was 10 at a record fair at Redcar racecourse.
First albums: probably Parallel Lines or U2’s October (I would have been 12). Actually it was more than likely ‘The Arrival’ by Abba, as I know I played it at a very early birthday party. I used up whatever spare pocket money I had on records (still true today).
RubyBlue says
Ah that can’t be right; I must have been 12 for the singles. Which sounds much more likely.
Junglejim says
Single: The Israelites – Desmond Dekker & The Aces ( though this was a present as I liked it on the radio). First one I handed over pocket money in person for was either Mama Weer all Crazee Now – Slade or Metal Guru – T Rex, which ever came out first.
LP: Piledriver – Status Quo – £2.29 from a record shop in a dinky square in tge Lanes, Brighton. Stared at the vinyl all the way home to London on the train.
CD: No recollection at all
Never downloaded anything
Wheldrake says
Single: Funky Moped by Jasper Carrot (for the b-side, naturally, a rather risqué version of Magic Roundabout). I still have the single but no turntable.
Album: Vienna by Ultravox – still love this and play it from time to time (on CD now, but still have the LP).
CD: Rattlesnakes by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Still have it. Can’t remember the last time I played it though…
Tiggerlion says
Single: Jeepster – T.Rex
Album: Electric Warrior – T.Rex
CD: What’s Goin’ On & Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye. Two albums on one disc! A miracle!
Alias says
Single – can’t remember, but I do remember buying one of my older sisters Without You by Nilsson for her birthday on the basis that it was number one in the charts at the tie.
Album – Slayed, my first favourite band.
Cd – Classic Funk Mastercuts Vol.1. I finally succumbed to purchasing a CD player when new albums I wanted were only being released on CD and cassette. I remember being hugely disappointed by the sound quality. I compared a track I had on vinyl with the CD and the vinyl was miles better. Thankfully mastering has significantly improved in the last 25 years.
Moose the Mooche says
Slayed is stunning. Great garish sleeve, and the record is so magnificently LOUD.
Tiggerlion says
Neither of you can own a genuine copy any more. Both of you have omitted the crucial question mark!
It’s “SLAYED?”, ok?
count jim moriarty says
See my entry above! Question mark present and correct. Still think it’s a great album. Play LOUD!
Tiggerlion says
Hats off to you, count. You are obviously a true fan and roughly my age, maybe a year younger.
duco01 says
Alias – are you sure you’re not my wife under … well, under an alias?
Because the first LP that Mrs duco01 ever bought was “Slayed?” by Noddy, Jim, Dave and Don.
deckards says
Prolonging the agony!
Moose the Mooche says
I think more charitably you might have bought it on the basis that, “She’s suffered, so perhaps the whole family should all suffer”. Very commendable. I think.
Rigid Digit says
Single: Human League – Don’t You Want Me
Album: Barron Knights – Knights Of Laughter
CD: Jimmy Page – Outrider (bought from a mates Britannia account – 6 months before I owned a CD player. Therefore, I had to wait 6 months before I was disappointed by it)
Rigid Digit says
Single is so over-played now, I am completely ambivalent to it.
Album replaced by Best Of CD, which makes occasional visits to my lugholes.
Haven’t listened again to the CD for years
Rigid Digit says
Own money?
Barron Knights was a Christmas present (honest!). The first with savings/pocket money was Iron Maiden – Number Of The Beast. £3.99 from Listen Records, March 1982
Bingo Little says
Single: Arnie and the Terminators – “I’ll Be Back”. I’m 12 years old. Explains so much.
Album: De La Soul: “Three Feet High and Rising”. Pure luck. I’m 11 years old. The band’s name is in Spanish and I’ve owned and worn a De La tshirt for two years because it’s dayglo and has a green CND sign on it. Those are my sole reasons to purchase, I’d never heard a note. Turns out to be one of the greatest albums ever made.
moseleymoles says
Wow that is lame, even by the standards of 80s cash in novelty hits. They have possibly the worst Arnie impersonator in the world up front there. Reminds us that DJs have a long and unfunny history writing ‘comedy’ records – this one from the Steve Wright ‘posse’ , stretching to the late unlamented Chris Moyles
Vulpes Vulpes says
Single – When You Are A King by White Plains, in 1971
Album – Bridge Over Troubled Water – S&G, in 1970
CD – Caravanserai – Santana, as soon as it was re-released on polycarbonate, so I could play it really loud and enjoy the new fidelity of the Compact Disc that would reveal heretofore hidden depths to the recording. Not.
Fiction Romantic says
Single – Leo Sayer The Show Must Go On
Album (cassette) – Slade Sladest
Album (vinyl) – Eddie and the Hot Rods Teenage Depression
Album (CD) – Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde
NigelT says
Single: I Want To Hold Your Hand – Fabs
LP: With The Fabs
CD: The London Years box set – The Rolling Stones
ganglesprocket says
Single: Relax- Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Album: Welcome To the Pleasuredome- Frankie Goes To Hollywood
CD: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back- Public Enemy
Jackthebiscuit says
Single – A Beatles EP. The only track I remember was “Thank you girl”, must have been 62/63 time, dont remember much about it, lost/pinched many, many years ago.
Not sure what my first album was, but it may well have been Abbey Road (Anyone spotted a trend yet?)
Simonl says
First single – Kim Wilde ‘Kids In America’ I was 12, Kim was pretty much my first ‘teen’ crush, and the first time I decided I wanted to be a musician. Kim’s bass player to be precise, positioned to the back and right of Kim as she danced. 34 years of being a musician because of that. Still love it, but Chequered Love is better.
First album – First vinyl album I owned was given to me, rather than my own money. But it was one I wanted, Blondie’s Parallel Lines, along with the first two Blondie albums. Yep, another blonde singer, and in Jimmy Destri, on the Plastic Letters sleeve, my smoking idol. I copied his smoking pose when I was a smoker so many times. And I became a keyboard player in a band fronted by a female singer. That band were called Ginger. Yes.
Blondie are Blondie, love em to bits, will never stop loving them.
First CD – I bought 3 in 1989 from the Our Price on Leicester Square, an Edwyn Collins Hope And Despair, Patti Smith’s Horses and The Jam’s All Mod Cons. The Edwyn hasn’t aged very well, but the other two are two of my all time favourite albums by anybody. Listened to both of those within the last couple of weeks.
Moose the Mooche says
Roger than on J. Destri – see also the reverse of Eat to the Beat. That mofo knewed he was cool.
Paul Wad says
Single – Pop Musik by M
Album – One Step Beyond by Madness
CD – Jordan: The Comeback by Prefab Sprout
Moose the Mooche says
Good call on all, esp. Jordan. The vinyl was atrocious.
Uncle Wheaty says
On my13th Birthday I bought Parallel Lines by Blondie and Out Of The Blue by ELO on cassette.
Two great albums that I can still happily listen to.
badartdog says
single – Crazy by Mud
LP – Kimono Myhouse by Sparks
Cassette – Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
CD – MTV Unplugged by Nirvana
download – Grace Kelly with Wings – Piebald
Listen to them all but Mud, just cos I don’t have it on mp3.
Bargepole says
Single – T Rex -Get It On
Album – Slade – Slade Alive
Cd – Hounds Of Love – Kate Bush
Lando Cakes says
Single – Follow you, Follow me – Genesis
LP – Selling England by the Pound – Genesis
Neither of which I have listened to for many years.
CD – Substance – New Order
Rather stands the test of time, I think.
Hoops McCann says
Single – School’s Out by Alice Cooper. Bought from W H Smiths record dept in Plymouth. They had a turnstile you had to go through to get to the record dept.
LP – Band on the Run by Wings. Probably bought from HMV as I can only recall buying singles in Smiths.
CD – Why Don’t you try me tonight by Ry Cooder. I had just started a new job and had invested some of my first pay packet on a Sony CD Walkman.
SteveT says
First single with my own dosh was either Spencer Davis Group – Keep on running or Yardbirds Shapes of things. I can’t remember which one was first but they were most likely only a week or so apart. I still love them both.
First album was either Simon and Garfunkel Bridge over Troubled Water or a Steppenwolf album that had Magic Carpet ride on. Still love S&G, to be honest I can only recall 2 Steppenwolf songs – the aforementioned Magic Carpet Ride and Born to be Wild.
First cd I think was Eric Clapton unplugged. I resisted the temptation to buy a cd player for a few years believing it to be a gimmick.
Leedsboy says
First Single – Oliver’s Army – Elvis Costello.
First Album – Faith – The Cure.
First CD – Kill Uncle – Morrissey.
Argot says
First single: Lene Lovich – ‘What Will I Do Without You’
First album: ELO – ‘Out of the Blue’
First CD: Antal Dorati, Detroit Symphony Orchestra – Stravinsky, ‘The Rite of Spring/The Firebird’
The ELO and the Stravinsky fall into periods of ‘in vogueness’ and get played a lot, and then get filed away – sometimes for years. Lene hasn’t been played since sometime in the 1970s but on occasions such as this I sometimes seek the song out on YouTube.
ianess says
First single was ‘The he kissed me’ which would have exhibited immaculate taste, had it not been a Woolies ‘soundalike’ on the Embassy label.
First album was to be’With the Beatles’, but they’d sold out. Instead, I made the fateful decision to go with another chart-topping foursome and went home witha copy of ‘How Do You Like It’ by Gerry and the Pacemakers. I liked it so much I scrawled ‘I’d rather have the Beatles’ in orange crayon alongside the title on the back cover.
My first CD was Sgt. Pepper which I think I got free with the new mini-system.
Hawkfall says
First Single: Beat the Clock by Sparks. Still love it, and them.
First Album: The Fine Art of Surfacing by the Boomtown Rats. Lost it a long time ago and never replaced it.
First CD: Floodland by The Sisters of Mercy. Like others here, I bought it before I had a CD player, but knew I was going to be buying one. I bought the remastered version a couple of years back. It sounds pretty much like the original one. Buying a remastered version of an album I bought on CD when it came out made me feel a bit old.
chilli ray virus says
First single – American Pie – with a Boots record token under the influence of my elder brother. Still have it. Haven’t played it for years but can still sing all the lyrics and so can the wife.
Album. Beatles “Red” double album – Followed quickly by “Blue”. I think John Denver’s Greatest Hits was next and then “Dark Side of the Moon.” My tastes at the time were rather eclectic.
CD. Honestly cant remember but Elvis Costello’s This Years Model was the last vinyl I bought.
Bladderman says
First Single: Love is Blue – Paul Mauriat & his orchestra – 1968
First album: Sgt Pepper – 1970
First cd: Whatever – Aimee Mann
Haven’t heard Love is Blue in decades but think I’d still quite like it. Other 2 I still love especially Aimee Mann.
Sniffity says
Single – “Mouldy Old Dough” by Lieutenant Pigeon. Gift for a friend, but he told me someone else had given it to him first, so i might as well keep it.
LP – Same friend’s big brother had a copy of Rick Wakeman’s “Six Wives of Henry The Eighth” and I was most impressed by the “Catherine Of Aragon” track, sooooooooo…
CD – Roy Wood compilations dwarf his actual recorded output; I figured the reduced-price one before me might as well be my first (as with those above, possessing no player).
mikethep says
Single: What Do You Do/It’s All Happening by Tommy Steele (1958 – on 78!)
Album: I was fortunate enough to have a very compliant and suggestible friend called Dave who had more money than I did, and he used to ask me what elpees he should buy, heh heh – I didn’t even have a record player at the time, and we used to play them at his place. I think the first LP I ‘bought’ was probably Me and My Shadows by Cliff Richard (1960). The first I actually bought with my own money was probably Modern Sounds in Country Music by Ray Charles (1962).
CD: I think the first CD was Changesbowie, early 90s. I didn’t have a CD player at the time – I bought it at a boot sale.
Junior Wells says
album- hey jude beatles compilation
single – whole lotta love backed with livin lovin maid
CD- no idea
James Taylor says
Single. Shang a Lang Bay City Rollers. Please don’t laugh too much. Bought somewhere in Fareham Hampshire when staying with my grandparents.
Album – get this a live album for my first – Remember Me This Way Gary Glitter. Bought from WH Smiths in Sutton Coldfield, and bought on the same shopping visit as a metallic green toy roadsweeper with moving brushes and everything. Amazing the detail that I can recall of the 7 or 8 year old me.
James Taylor says
Sorry forgot to mention. The important detail,, the roadsweeper had an orange cab.
Mousey says
Single – “Semi-detached Suburban Mr James” by Manfred Mann
Album – I honestly can’t remember the first one I bought with my own money. The first one I actually owned was Sgt Pepper given to me by my parents on my 14th birthday.
CD – It was actually one by my own band The Umbrellas, it was in 1991 at the beginning of the CD era and we didn’t even have a CD player in the house (because we couldn’t afford one). It was called “Age Of Elegance” and later this year it will be available on iTunes and stuff, but the band is still going and here’s a track from our most recent release. (Apologies to those who are offended by blatant self-promotion…)
Locust says
Nice! Reminds me of the most whimsical pieces by Satie.
Is that you on the balcony, @mousey ?
Mousey says
Yes @locust tis moi…
mikethep says
Just caught up with that – it’s brilliant! Nice work, @mousey.
mojitojoe says
single… Hold Your Head Up… Argent
album… Vindicator… Arthur Lee
cd… Robbie Robertson… Robbie Robertson
and I still listen to Vindicator often… try it !
pencilsqueezer says
My memories from my pre drug binge days are a bit vague. My memories from during my drug binge days are even more vague but I think…
Single. Probably by the Beatles. Most likely Let It Be. Although I have a distinct memory of owning Bits & Pieces by The Dave Clark Five. My big Sis may have bought me that though. She bought or gave me a lot of singles when I was a boy.
E.P. Easy. I do remember this one clearly. Magical Mystery Tour.
L.P. I think it may well have been The Strawbs Live At The Queen Elizabeth Hall. Either that or Are You Experienced or Ummagumma or Tumbleweed Connection.
C.D. Lionheart by Kate Bush.
Diddley Farquar says
Single would be Caroline by Status Quo. One of their better ones, before the rot set in. I still have time for it.
Album on vinyl I think was Goodnight Vienna by Ringo Starr. I liked his version of Only You and thought the cover was kind of cool. He is the alien from the film Day The Earth Stood Still standing with the robot by his spacecraft. Not his best album but not without merit.
CD maybe was Breeders Last Splash. It was around that time anyway, 1993. I still play it now and again. It’s pretty good. Previously it had been mostly cassette tapes I bought. First pre-recorded tape was It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll by the Stones. This is I think is one of their best post Exile works. There is some filler but around 4 or 5 excellent tracks.
JQW says
My first single would have been something terrible on a budget children’s label such as MfP’s Surprise Surprise. Likewise my first album would have been something similar, possibly a Wombles one, and perhaps on cassette.
First CD? Love Over Gold and Oxygene from WH Smiths on the day I acquired my first CD player. I wouldn’t want to listen to either again.
fentonsteve says
With my own cash
7″: Come On Eileen
12″: Blue Monday
LP: Dare
Cassettes: Too-Rye-Ay & Rio (purchased together)
CD: The Breeders – Pod
Didn’t like the sound of cheap CD players and couldn’t afford one I liked until my early 20s. Pod had been out for two years by then. Last LP was PJ Harvey’s Dry, which I bought at the same time.
I still think they’re all great – even Rio.
Zanti Misfit says
7″ Single: I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Cat – Tweety Pie & Sylvester The Cat
12″ Single: Norman Bates – Landscape
EP Work Rest And Play – Madness
LP: BBC Death & Horror Sound Effects Vol.1
Cassette album:Monty Python Lie At Drury Lane
Cassingle: Novacaine For The Soul – Eels
CD album: Mad Not Mad – Madness
CD single: Love Love Love – Pere Ubu
CD mini single – Mayor Of Simpleton – XTC
Download album – The Yamaha Years -John Shuttleworth
Download single F**king Boyfriend – The Bird & The Bee
Moose the Mooche says
Love Love Love! Tuuuuuuune!
I can’t believe that.
I can’t believe it.
I can’t believe that I can’t believe it.
Number Six says
Single – Sideshow Barry Biggs.
Album – Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder.
CD – QCD. http://www.discogs.com/Various-QCD/release/931994
Moose the Mooche says
Bloody hell, the first covermount CD? It’s the Magna Carta of UK music magazines.
Number Six says
Still play it as well. Any value?
Moose the Mooche says
Hmmm. Not sure I’d start looking at speedboats just yet 😉
Jim Cain says
I bought Monster by R.E.M. with my birthday money, after my parents bought me Out of Time and Automatic for the People for said birthday. All on cassette.
My first singles, again on cassette and purchased at the same time, we Alright by Supergrass and Roll To Me by Derek Amitri, known as Del to his friends.
davidks says
First single – “Livin’ on a Prayer”, Bon Jovi. A school disco classic…the opening bars make me feel very nostalgic
First album – that’s a tough one, I think it was maybe “Bad” by Michael Jackson.
Baron Counterpane says
First single: I think Teenage Dream by TRex. It still sounds extraordinary despite the passage of years.
First album: Harder. I think it was possibly A New World Record by ELO? I don’t skip if it comes up on shuffle.
First CD: Still Got The Blues by Gary Moore. Occasionally listen to the title track but that’s about it.
Dogbyte says
Single: Rubber Bullets – 10cc
Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
CD: Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits
Billybob Dylan says
First single: Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever by the Beatles.
First LP: Electric Warrior by T.Rex.
First CD: don’t remember.
Black Celebration says
Single – The Freeze, Spandau Ballet.
LP – a Gary Numan twofer Christmas present (Replicas and Pleasure Principle). Life changing.
CD – Immaculate Collection, Madonna.
Declan says
First single: House of the Rising Sun by the Animals. It was1964. Jeez, what a start. Had been listening to my parents’ stuff before that: Chubby Checker, Bachelors, Shadows, Clancy Brothers, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and ..the Beatles.
First LP: Mr Fantasy by Traffic. It was 1967. My favourite “band” at the time. Yes folks, they were no longer “groups”.
First CD: Won a copy of John McLaughlin Trio’s Live at the Royal Festival Hall off our local jazz radio show, finally forcing my hand into buying a CD player, not new-fangled at all any more as it was already 1990. I just wasn’t all that keen on all the perfect blah forever schtick. Early CD players sounded like dentists’ drills but they didn’t click and pop so they had to be better. And no, I’m not an analogue diehard,
Still love them all, natch. My kids are nuts about that Animals chestnut.
LesterTheNightfly says
First single – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool by Little Jimmy Osmond. Bought for me by my grandma as she thought my 4 year old self resembled Little Jimmy (cheers nanna!)
First single bought by me – XTC – Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me) and Joe Dolce – Shaddup Ya Face. February 81 with birthday money from WHSmiths in Scunthorpe.
First album – Adam And The Ants – Kings Of The Wild Frontier bought on the same day as singles above. Bill came to about £6.30 and I thought I was spending a fortune!
First cd – Rush – Exit….Stage Left – Again purchased from WHSmiths Scunthorpe. Always loved the vinyl version so decided to buy this as it was half price in the sale (£6.99). As it was the early days of cd technology though (early 1988) Passage To Bangkok was omitted as space wouldn’t allow it. I’d bought a cd midi system with staff discount as I worked at Wigfalls (remember them?) Bought out by Currys/Dixons group and closed May 1988
Still got them all, and even though I have the remastered Stage with Bangkok on it I refuse to get rid of the original
retropath2 says
45: Living in the Past/J.Tull: quite chuffed by that, as it remains a corker, depute liking little else of their beyond the first 2 tracks on Aqualung. I was as precocious at 12 as I am now. (The 2nd was Man of the World, F Mac, and the 3rd Si To Dois Partir, Fairport. Little changes!)
33: My big sis bought me the mono Sgt Pepper for my 10th birthday, but the first I bought for me, with accumulated birthday/xmas monies was L.A.Woman/The Doors, followed by Pictures at an Exhibition/ELP. I listen to the former more than the latter.
Cassette: 10 Hail Mary’s and 10 Hows Yer Fathers (was it?)/E.C. ,cos it was only on cassette, as was Home and Away by B+Gregson & Collister, a signed copy thereof was subsequently stole from my car, which still peeves me to this day.
CD: Harder to remember, as I had become already profligate on spending all available dose on music. Sneaky feeling it may have been the Rod Stewart compilation out at the time, with a good selection of old and good stuff, some crap from then and his still rather wonderful version of Downtown Train. (Do I listen still? Difficult, the first ex took it. Not inconsolable.)
DL: come off it….. How the deck would I remember that? I remember trying on my old dial-up compuserve(?) , via some dodgy link, getting about 3 bars of interference taking about half an hour, giving up until a faster computer and the original napster.
man.of.soup says
Ah… go on then, I will.
Single: two of ’em – “Yellow Submarine” and “Get Back” by the Fabs, both 59p from WH SMiths in Burgess Hill, about 1977 I think. Probably prompted by seeing the movies in a Christmas season on telly, judging by the choices. I can still claim to love them – how could I not?
Album: “Help!” by the selfsame, also almost certainly prompted by the film; again, probably about 1977 or maybe 1978. £3.35 from the same place (how that dates a man on so many levels…). Still my favourite Fabs album, purely for sentimental reasons.
CD: not sure, would have been early ’90s sometime. Probably one of the “Pebbles” garage rock comps – getting hold of obscure old stuff was a big driver in buying my first CD player.
Weirdly, I don’t even have t’internet at home, so I’ve never actually downloaded a song in anger, though I’ve used Spotify and Last FM in the past. At the moment, I’m full of the (sometimes dubious) joys of secondhand vinyl.
Deviant808 says
First single : “Going Underground” – The Jam
First 12″ single : “Heartland” – The The / “Shellshock” – New Order (bought at the same time)
First Album: “Out of the Blue” – ELO
First cassette album: “Back in the DHSS” – Half Man Half Biscuit (as it had an extra track, “I Left My Heart In Papworth General” maybe?)
First CD album: “Substance” – New Order (which I bought two days before I had a CD player)
First CDsingle : “Cars and Girls” – Prefab Sprout
Could probably work out the first 3″ CD single or 10″ vinyl single if I thought about, but I think that’s enough for now.
paulwright says
First Single – Back Home by the 1970 England World Cup Squad
First Album – A collection of Beatles Oldies but Goldies
First CDs – Tallulah by the Go-Betweens, and The People who Grinned themselves to Death by the Housemartins. Nearly all my first ever paycheck was taken up my buying a stereo. The CDs were all I could afford to buy to play on it for a month.
duco01 says
First single : Well, the first decent one was “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” by Sparks (which I still like), but before then there were ones I’d rather forget, like Ernie (the Fastest Milkman in the West).
First 12″ single : I think it was probably Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”. I bought it for the B side, “I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That”, which was unavailable elsewhere at the time.
First (vinyl) Album: “Elton John’s Greatest Hits”. I was disappointed that the album didn’t have a nice inner sleeve with all the lyrics and photos and whatnot on it. It was just a plain white inner. Boo!
First cassette album: Elton John – “Lady Samantha”. This was a cassette-only collection of early tracks and B-sides. Some of those songs, like “Skyline Pigeon” are among my favourite EJ numbers.
First CD album: Kate Bush: “Hounds of Love”
First CD single : Hmmm …. I hardly bought any of those. The only one I can think of was “Beds are burning” by Midnight Oil, which I wouldn’t choose to listen to today.
First 10″ vinyl single: That was OMD’s “Souvenir”, I think. I really liked those first few OMD singles.
First CD boxed set: “Citizen Steely Dan”. Music: great. Packaging: shite.
Phil Pirrip says
All a bit vague but,
Single: either ‘Back Home’ by the England 1970 football squad or ‘Two Little Boys’ by some convicted aussie bloke.
Album: Sladest (which I still own) or a German import early Beatles compilation long since dispatched to a second hand shop in the 80s
CD: Dire Straits, On Every Street, which I didn’t hear until I bought a CD player nearly a year later. Disappointing
Badlands says
1st Single: The Searchers :”When You Walk In The Room” (1965)
1st Album: The Shadows: “The Shadows Greatest Hits” – I defy you not to get your guitar out and play along.
1st Cassette : Eric Gale : “Touch Of Silk” – effortless and understated Jazz/Funk Guitar by a master – doesn’t overplay – if you like Ernest Ranglin – you’d like this.
1st CD(s) : Wishbone Ash: “Argus”, Sandy Denny : “The Best Of….” – both bought in Swordfish Records in Birmingham early 1990s as a present for my late wife. she loved the ‘Ash’ album.
1st Boxed CD Set: Jellyfish : “Fan Club”
Ainsley says
Single – Blockbuster by The Sweet. My mam gave me the money to buy Elton’s “Daniel” and to my eternal shame I told her they didn’t have it so I bought the Sweet instead, which wasn’t true. I never ‘fessed up.
Album – Don’t Shoot Me… By Elton. Bought from Rumbelows in Hartlepool, upstairs record department. My own money this time.
CD – Running In The Family by Level 42. Never had a bass sounded so slap-tastic as through my new CD player