A Life in Records: (a trip down memory lane)

A Life in Records: (a trip down memory lane)

To those who have always loved them, the enduring appeal of records is overwhelming. The smell of the disc as you ease it out of its inner sleeve. The feel of the record as your hand balances it precariously between edge and label and lays it carefully down onto the turntable. The ‘hiss’ and ‘pop’ of the needle as it settles into the opening grove. All that wonderful album cover art to look at while the record’s playing. The leisurely perusing of the liner notes. Even flipping the record over as one side finishes is all part of the magical experience: a short intermission to ponder what you’ve heard, whilst anticipating the musical gems to come. A Life in Records is a celebratory memoir of the lasting appeal and sheer wonderment that records have held for the author since the age of 8. The book begins with his birth, which as luck would have it, coincides with the dawning of rock and roll in the UK. It looks at his earliest musical influences, vinyl purchases and concerst; their impact and significance at different parts of his life to the present day; all set against the cultural changes of the decades in which they feature. As well as the author’s family and friends, the book features ‘walk on’ parts by Jimmy Page, Van Morrison, David Crosby and Graham Nash, Kenny Everett, Sir Laurence Olivier, David Gilmour, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Frampton, Malcolm Young, the Zombies, Kenney Jones, Stephen Street, Damon Albarn, Chrissie Hynde, Ben Langmaid, Pattie Boyd, Marie Helvin, Florence Welch, Glyn Johns, Marcus Mumford, Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Steve Martin, Richard Branson, Oliver Reed, and Christine Keeler. Harry Armfield is a professional copywriter and the author of Cool. The Complete Handbook (Pavilion); and Status. What it is and How to Get it (Grafton). At last count, he had about 3,000 LPs, 1,200 singles and a final ultimatum from his long-suffering wife to sell, or else .