THEY sold records, sheet music and musical instruments and before buying a record (all 78 vinyl, we are talking circa late 1940's early 1950's here although I think you could also buy the 12 inch which eventually became LPs) you could go into a soundproof booth and listen to the music of your choice before purchasing.

If it didn't sound like you hoped, you didn't buy it.

I can remember that the DECCA 78's cost 4/6d (old money, today 22 p) some of the other labels a little more, if you paid 5/6d (27p) that was a lot.

A group of us (all teenagers) used to go in on a Saturday morning most weeks and, depending on our pocket money, buy a record.

I had nearly all Dean Martin's records, who was my absolute favourite at the time, still is as it happens.

I also had the one and only (and I am open to correction on this) by Jeff Chandler namely "I Should Care".

There were two sides to each record, an A side and a B side.

The A side was the more popular well known song/music and the B side was not so well known, sometimes not known at all but sometimes better than the A side.

Over the years I collected more than 100 of these records, both vocal and instrumental.

I had them all listed in a little cabinet which was solely for record storage.

Heaven knows where they all went.

I certainly don't have them now, however one of them surfaced a while ago among my brother's collections: Flamingo by Earl Bostic.

If I did still have them I might have made a bit more than 4/6 and 5/- each.

May 30, 2003 09:30