The First Record I Ever Bought
This page is a space for people to share the precious stories of the first record they ever bought, whether it was from a beloved Birmingham music shop or any other shop! After all at one time newsagents and TV shops used to sell records, didn't they? Any others?
If you want to tell us the story about the first record you ever bought then email us at thebirminghammusicmuseum@gmail.com
Tony’s First Record: Fresh Cream by Cream
My name is Tony, and the first record I ever bought was Fresh Cream by the supergroup Cream. I was a big fan of the band, especially with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce in the line-up. The album featured tracks like “Sleepy Time Time,” “Sweet Wine,” and “Toad,” and I thought they were all fantastic musicians.
I bought the record in 1968 from a shop on the Dudley Road when I was about 15 years old. I went back to that same shop many times afterward, picking up more albums by Cream, as well as records by Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, and Black Sabbath.
Kath’s First Record: Cherish by David Cassidy
My name is Kath, and the first record I ever bought was Cherish, the debut album by David Cassidy. I purchased it in 1972, not long after it was released, from a shop on Dudley Road in Birmingham.
I used to visit that shop regularly, as I was a huge music fan and loved listening to songs that were in the charts. I was especially fond of artists like David Cassidy, David Essex, and The Beatles. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that I attended my very first concert.
Diane’s First Records and the Soundtrack of the Sixties
My name is Diane, I was born in Aston, Birmingham in 1952. My childhood was in the main a happy one, but times were hard in those early years, there wasn’t much money left for treats.
In 1963, at aged eleven, the family moved to Kingstanding after a brief spell living in Ladywood. My first single was bought for me by my mom. It was ‘From Me to You’ by The Beatles, they were the new kids on the block at that time and every young person wanted their records. After my constant pleading my mom went and got the record as a surprise for me one day. That same year my mom saved up to buy me an Dansette record player for my twelfth birthday. As you can imagine I played that record again and again.
The first records I went to purchase myself were ‘Always Something There to Remind Me’ by Sandie Shaw and ‘I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself’ by Dusty Springfield. I had wanted Gene Pitney’s ‘Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa’ but it had sold out.
My dad had given me the money and it was a thrill to go by myself to the record department in Mattees television shop, it was a small department but there was a booth where you could listen to your records before buying it if you wanted to. I didn’t need to do that as I had already heard the records played on the TV programme ‘Ready Steady Go’, a very popular show with us teens.
At that same time many new well known Birmingham groups were emerging on the scene, like The Moody Blues and The Rockin’ Berries. ‘Go Now’ by The Moody Blues made number one in the UK charts, and I went and bought it. It’s still one of my favourite all time singles.
Those were great days and I only wish that I could live just one of them again. The pure joy of collecting records and buying posters of my favourite bands was an experience I will always feel privileged to have known. For younger people the music was our world. It blotted out the grey landscapes and derelict bomb sites, still waiting to be cleaned after the second world war. The sixties heralded a new era of freedom and gradually things got better. The slums were replaced with new flats and housing estates, whilst they weren’t that popular with a lot of people at least they were brighter, with inside toilets and bathrooms.
I guess the music and fashions were an escape somehow. I could go on forever about these times but I hope I have at least conveyed something of the vibe around back then and how my hometown of Brum played a major part in the sixties musical revolution.