“I think I was probably 24 or 25 and I’d been a DJ for a few years.” He begins, “Record buying was still a physical activity back then and digging in the crates was a lifestyle rather than a Saturday afternoon past time while you waited for the sports results. So there I am, in the city, on my lunch break, and I walk past a record store – HMV. I lived in a smallish city, so there wasn’t a great variety of shops, and this one had a good reputation for quality music.”
“Inside it’s busy, not packed, but there’s enough hustle and bustle.” He continues, shuffling in his seat to get comfy, “I head over to the vinyl section and take a look for any new imports. Imports were like square shaped gold bars to me back then, and I could get enough of them. Then I see it. A new CZR release on import Subliminal, it’s about twenty quid. I reach into my pocket and pull out five bucks… I’m devastated. I know I have money in the bank, but I don’t really have time to go to an ATM and come back, so I stash the record in a totally different section, like behind a Marilyn Manson album or something so it doesn’t get snapped up by some other House junkie.”
Sound familiar? This could be a transcript of an interview with literally 100’s of DJs who began their musical life during the birth of House music. It is, in fact, me. I began DJing in 1997 at the age of 21. I could have easily started much earlier and I was actually making pause tapes with CDs and recordings from the radio as early as 13 or 14, but I had decided House music was a hobby; something you listened to in nightclubs while to tried (and mainly failed) to hook up with girls. Turning 21 in the November of ’97 changed all that. Newly single, I put all my money – about £300 – into a super basic set up; Soundlab DPL1600 turntables, a ropey 2-channel mixer, a cheap but reliable amp and some stupidly large (for the room I was in) speakers.
Turning 21 in the November of ’97 changed all that. Newly single, I put all my money – about £300 – into a super basic set up; Soundlab DPL1600 turntables, a ropey 2-channel mixer, a cheap but reliable amp and some stupidly large (for the room I was in) speakers. I had been buying vinyl for about 4 months already from a second-hand shop in the bohemian part of town and I figured, I might as well follow things through to their inevitable conclusion.
I was still at my mum’s house then. Despite being a ‘grown up’, I was pretty immature and unready for the reality of renting yet. Learning to mix for those initial 6 months drove her nuts. Like kitchen knife to the throat “If I hear you play that noise again, I’ll end you” nuts. So I learned to play quieter (and put my speakers up high). By now I was hooked; no chance I was going to stop. Buying vinyl was like heroin to me. I needed more and more each time. I had a job as a support worker at the local hospital, so I had a steady income with real prospects, but the work never satisfied me like music did. My time off was mostly spent with DJ friends in some dusty old store on our hands and knees digging out original acid house tracks and second-hand 12’s the professional DJs would discard there. …Oh to be on the promo lists!
Buying vinyl was like heroin to me. I needed more and more each time. I had a job as a support worker at the local hospital, so I had a steady income with real prospects, but the work never satisfied me like music did. My time off was mostly spent with DJ friends in some dusty old store on our hands and knees digging out original acid house tracks and second-hand 12’s the professional DJs would discard there. …Oh to be on the promo lists!
A couple of years later, I took the plunge and made a career move into music retail as a Christmas temp. My obvious love of dance music stood me in good stead at HMV and I still consider my 3 years there as some of the happiest working days of my life. I began working as a full-time employee soon after Christmas; as the vinyl buyer. I increased sales in the first month by 75% simply by reorganising the displays and putting the music in
I increased sales in the first month by 75% simply by reorganising the displays and putting the music in genre not alphabetical order. I welcomed in a new fresh-faced crowd through networking on night’s out and word of mouth. And HMV, like many music stores around the turn of the millennium, became a hive of activity. Friendships were borne and connections made. Everything felt organic, for a while.
Nothing gave us greater pleasure than lugging a box of records around a mates house for ‘a bit of a mix’, and there were numerous times we’ve stayed up all night with nothing more than some music, a mug or two of Tea and a belly full of laughs. That was the real joy of vinyl for me, now it’s homogenised, commercial and used for hipster one-upmanship. And yet, despite the overwhelming shifts in music collection and consumption and the way in which vinyl ownership is seen, it still has a place in popular culture.
