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What was your first single?
Tuesday 31st March 2009, 10:29AM BST.
Sixty years ago today the very first 45 rpm single was released, and despite the onslaught of CDs and internet downloads, the format is still healthy, writes Andrew Owen.
In fact, the vinyl single has been making something of a comeback in recent years, with some bands and record labels still choosing 45 rpm as well as the other options available.
- What was the first single you bought? Tell us in the comments box below.
Paul Usher, manager of HMV in Shrewsbury’s Pride Hill Shopping Centre, puts it succinctly: “As long as record companies still make them, we’ll still sell them.”
That said, far fewer singles are released these days, on CD or vinyl. Today’s music market is about CD album sales or downloaded tracks.
Sixty years ago, it was a different story.
The first 45 rpm disc was Texerkana Baby, by Eddy Arnold.
It was released in the USA by RCA on March 31, 1949.
The single was made out of green vinyl, part of an early attempt to arrange music according to genre, with red vinyl for classical music and yellow for children’s songs.
The seven-inch peaked thirty years ago. In that year 89 million singles were sold.
In 2001 sales amounted to less than 180,000.
But the collectors are still out there.
Colin Easton has been running Cobweb records in Shrewsbury for the past 23 years.
He had various stores in the town, but has since moved on to cyberspace.
Most of his business these days is in CDs.
“I still do sell singles but the days of vinyl are greatly reduced,” he says. “There are still collectors out there.”
He says the major labels still produce vinyl singles occasionally, but most vinyl singles are produced by small independent companies.
“You’ve got to keep the older fans happy,” says Colin.
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Little White Bull by Tommy Steel
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Heh, my first 7 inch single was “Rupert The Bear” by Jackie Lee on PYE Records which I had as a present at Christmas 1970 – its the theme tune to the Rupert The Bear ATV/ITC TV show………
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“Terry” by Twinkle from Wildings in Shrewsbury
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Paul Usher manager of HMV in Shrewsbury’s Pride Hill Shopping Centre says that he will still sell vinyl singles as long as they are available. Well could he please tell me where in the shop he sells them because I haven’t seen any since last year when HMV Shrewsbury stopped selling them?
There are the odd exceptions like the last Oasis single but in general no vinyl singles are for sale in HMV anymore.
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Sparky’s Magic Piano ~ Still have it in my loft and im 51 !
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Wings of a Dove by Madness.
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West End Girls by the Pet Shop Boys, bought from upstairs of Preedy’s in Bridgnorth. I learnt all the words on my dad’s tape recorder. It’s still the only song I know the words too!
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Vic Reeves and the Wonderstuff – Dizzy!
(From Oswestry)
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My First 7″ single was Do yo really want to Hurt me, by Culture Club. it cost 90p and I still have it over 25 years later.
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The Reflex by Duran Duran. 79p in Boots!!
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My first single – Jon Bon Jovi “Blaze of Glory”
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Anyone who had a Heart by Cilla Black in 1964
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Mama Weer All Crazee Now by Slade . . . and I still can’t spell!
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‘Bat out of Hell’, Meatloaf from the bargain bucket in that great record shop on Waterloo Terrace in Bridgnorth (shut years ago inevitably…)
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Radar Love by Golden Earing purchased from Durrants of Shrewsbury
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what do you do with a drunken sailor, bought in 1979 when on holiday in south wales .They were selling them for 10p it was not a chart hit and when i got it home and played it i knew why. I never bought another single then for a few years. I then bought a single where some american was singing about some bird called gloria i was not in to music when young i just liked the bird on the cover .
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“Poetry in Motion” By Johnny Tillotson, 1960.
Bought it becuase it reminded me of a certain girl named Sheila Artlett in my class at school … who I “rather liked” at the time.
School was in East London – so fairly safe naming names!?
What a wonderful time the late 50.s and early sixties were …. transition from 78′s to 45′s – and the birth of transistor radios listening to the Pop pirates! … Radio Caroline, Radio Essex, Radio London, Radio city
Sadly .. the young of today with Mp3′s etc just doesn’t quite seem the same!
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A 10yr old Glenmorangie,after that it was all doubles
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London calling by the clash, purchased from woolies in shrewsbury
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askeric dotcom – 1960!!! Gramophones new technology eh ;o)
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Can’t remember which was my first vinyl but it was from ‘Charlies’ in Shrewsbury a fab independant record shop – anyone remember this?
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house of pain – jump
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Y Mab Darogan…
Never mind 1960 Gramophones – we had windup turntables with a “horn” for the audio reproduction directly from a Pickup using “columbia 99″ needles – guaranteed to get 99 plays from a 78RPM record…
And we had Bill Haley, (Rock around the clock… Elvis Presley – “just wanna be your Teddy bear … ALL on 78′s !)
AND the gramophone came later, with a REAL magnetic pickup connected to a Murpy (Valve) Radio for the the “amlififier” – and that started me on a life long journey of electronics, radio and beyond.
Sadly – the young of today I dont think will ever experience the true “thrill” of making it “all work” by yourself”
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I wish it could be Christmas everyday by Wizzard.
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Durrants in Shrewsbury was the place to buy records in my teens! my first one was Albatross by Fleetwood Mac :-)
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Never had a single. Always been married women…
Oh I see, single record. That will be ‘Roll Away The Stone’ by Mott The Hoople. Still got it in the attic. And I agree with previous comments, Durrants was THE place to buy records. It was one of the main focal points of whole music scene in the town when I was a youf.
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Cast your Fate to the Wind by Sounds Orchestral sometime in the 1960s
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I used to go to Durrants to buy electronic bits and bobs ! Is that the same shop ? I remember about half of it was ‘non radio ham’ but can’t remember records there . Or did they have two shops ? I was gutted when I visited Shrewsbury and it had shut and had been replaced by, I think, a CHEESE shop.
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Major Tom, David Bowie
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hi ho silver lining by jeff beck
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It’s a way of life by Family Dogg
Bought for 8/6d from a small electrical shop in Oakengates (can’t remember the name but its where Brileighs is now) in 1969
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Speedy Gonzales by Pat Boone. I really intended to buy a Shadows record but it had sold out.
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Come together, by the Beatles in 1969 from a tiny electrical shop in Wem, towards the raliway crossing I think but I can’t remember the name. I had bought albums before but this one of the few singles I ever bought.
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Think it was Go Now by the Moody Blues otherwise Lucky Old Sun by Emile Ford
Hiary
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My first single was Virginia Plain by Roxy Music, and my brother’s was You aint seen nothing yet by Bachman Turner Overdrive!!
The memories !!!!
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Most of the oldies mentioned I have in my vinyl collection – I bought a Jukebox two years ago and had no records since giving them away many moons ago. I have had great fun collecting these treasures from charity shops.
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The first 45 rpm I got of my own was “A good heart” by Fergal Sharky :/ I was only a kid though and mummy bought it me. Classic song though haha.
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Now is The Time by Jimmy James and The Vagabonds in the summer of ’76
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Green Door by Shakin’ Stevens. Still loving it!
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48 Crash by Suzi Quattro from Woolworths in Oswestry for 49p.
Read’s in the town then became my record shop of coice every Saturday
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Rat Trap by the Boomtown Rats
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“I lost my heart to a starship trooper” by Sarah Brightman and Hot gossip.
Cost me 78p in 1978 and I still have the receipt for it, I believe.
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Dave Will – The record shop in Oakengates was called Sheldons
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What Do I Get? by Buzzcocks when 12: only because I was too poor to buy previous punk stuff and had to rely on radio taping from Peel etc for things before that!
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My first single was Mull of Kintyre by Wings (Paul McCartney)
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“Mathew and Son” by Cat Stevens, which I still have, and which gets played on my wife’s Juke Box!
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