[78-L] Did The English Take Better Care Of Their Records?

[Matthew Duncan]

Record fairs, record lists and record shops with a 78s section here in the UK all mainly offer better condition records of all kinds - due to coming from post-78 era collections put together by people wanting decent copies of old records when (in the 60s/70s etc) there were lots of 78s to choose from and individual records could possibly be encountered more often or upgraded more easily than perhaps now.

Junking - junk shops, charity shops, car boot sales, flea markets, responding to ads in the paper of 'old records for sale - 78s' ....these are a variety of everything...I often see classical 78s in poor shape!!  that always surprises me considering the presumption that they are always nice (a presumption I used to make myself)...jazz and dance band records found when junking in England are varied too...but often worn or damaged...at the end of the day these were party records of the period...so they were played to death by people who enjoyed them and at a time (20s/30s) when most machines and needles etc weren't so kind to them aswell as their owners..

50s records - rock and roll or similar are often in poorer shape then pop/crooner type items...this is because rock n roll records tended to be bought in England by teenagers who may not have had as much money as Mum and Dad but also - leaving money to one side...the music excited the young people...of course a 17 year old teddy boy or 20 year old rocker is going to wear out his Vince Taylor/Larry Williams/Gene Vincent/Bill Haley/Little Richard/Chuck Berry/Frogman Henry/Buddy Holly records....they want to hear them again and again...they are crazy for them....they got scratched and scraped because the owner couldn't wait to put them on the record player again...

Some records of all kinds (especially in the more affluent 50s)  would have been bought 'on spec' more than in earlier days (i.e. without purchaser being 110% certain they wanted the record before buying it) and also as gifts...any record you would be given wouldn't be played if you didn't like it, so in 2010 it should be a nice copy!

I find comedy/music hall records are either pretty beaten up (through heavy use due to being funny / liked by the previous owner) or near mint (bought in error by original buyer or bought to have a selection of the latest record hits in their posession but didn't care for them much)...

But throughout the 78s period (c.1900 to 1960 in England) the records remained pretty expensive for the most part so records were either cared for due to being a luxury item you wouldn't want to see get broken or damaged and rendered useless .....or they were seen as things you needed to get maximum use from (so they were played until they were grey..)..

Just a few thoughts..
Matthew
UK




________________________________
From: Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com>
To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Sat, 5 June, 2010 1:36:08
Subject: Re: [78-L] Did The English Take Better Care Of Their Records?


The Brits on the list might be in the best position to add to these
comments because they are the ones that see ALL of the records in their
junking.  Maybe only the best make it across the pond!

It has been discussed here before that the British had a fetish for the
use of fibre needles, so this might be a large reason for the condition
differences noted here, yet generally I feel U.S. classical records are
found in as good a condition as British classical records are.  I am not
sure how much this fibre fetish reached into the lower classes playing
popular records.  A further factor might be that the middle-class
generally taking better care of their pop records and that there was not
as much use of phonographs in lower class British homes compared to that
in the U.S.  Not meaning to be elitist or racist at all, we all know
that country, hillbilly, blues, and race records are on the average
found in much, much worse condition that the average pop, band, or dance
record.  Records might have been more universally used by the entire
population in the U.S. than in England.  

When it comes to jazz records in England, in the reading I have done
recently it seems more and more evident to me that jazz was considered
by British fans as much as an art form as classical, and that record
care was of similar importance.  It was ephemeral music here in the U.S.
and the records were more likely to be played to death.  While I came
across a 1938 article in the American Music Lover describing a Summer of
record shopping in England by an American who marveled at the lower
prices of classical records in England, records might have been more
expensive to the average Brit, and thus they might have taken better
care of them.  Also note that many British record stores sold their
records in those heavy stiff sleeves with stitched sides, thereby
creating an inherit feeling that the records were important.


Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  

  


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [78-L] Did The English Take Better Care Of Their Records?
From: "Robert M. Bratcher Jr." <bratcher at pdq.net>
Date: Fri, June 04, 2010 6:38 pm
To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>

At 02:39 PM 6/4/2010, you wrote:

>A lot of them were probably imported to North America because the 
>originals were long out of print. I turn up nice HMVs and 
>Parlophones in radio station collection and at jazz conventions. Of 
>course the ones you really want to get are the Australian laminated 
>pressings, which are extraordinary..even of run-of-the-mill 12" 
>Deccas like the Paul Whitemans.
>
>
>
>dl
>

I've noticed that the big band, pop, & rock 78's (of US artists) that 
I buy in English pressings on Ebay are often in better shape than 
the US pressing of the same records. Either they weren't played as 
much or they were better taken care of by a past owner or owners. 
Where I find both US & English pressings in the same great shape is 
mid to late 50's pop & rock 78's as here in the states the 45's were 
played much more than the 78's (of the same record) were. Often I've 
found a near mint to very good condition 78 rpm of a record where the 
45' is often in poorer shape but still playable until a better one 
comes along. At least thats how I've found many 50's era US issues to 
be. The English 45's might be in better shape but I honestly don't 
know if they are or not as I really don't look for English 45 rpm 
issues of American records although I do own a few from the 60's & 70's.

> > From: malcolm at venerablemusic.com
> > To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> > Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2010 15:34:40 -0400
> > Subject: [78-L] Did The English Take Better Care Of Their Records?
> >
> > I swear, after listing and grading several thousand records, 
> every time I run across English (or other European) issues of 
> various jazz and country records, they are nearly always in 
> pristine shape compared to their American counterparts. Most every 
> Parlophone or HMV I come across is in E to E+ condition! In fact, 
> I'm trying to remember ever having an English issue record in less 
> than VG shape? I'm not always sure how the English issues got back 
> here to the States (other than the obvious years of trading), but 
> surely they would have been enjoyed just same on the other side of pond?
> > Is it just that Europeans understood the importance of a fresh 
> needle? What gives?
> >
> > Malcolm

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