Last month I purchased some absolute gems for our record player. (Technically vinyl is plastic but I sort of excuse myself as it is all second-hand). At the beginning of the month I picked up two classic albums from the early eighties: Paul Young’s No Parlez (1983) and Adam & The Ants’ Prince Charming (1981). Both cost £2 from charity shops.
Adam & the Ants’ is even a gatefold album:
This is the first time I’ve owned work by either artist and, listening to it on the turntable, it has made me realise a) what a great voice Paul Young has and b) how innovative Adam & the Ants were – although they still sang what is essentially pop music.
Moving on from these purchases I spent a whopping £2 on vinyl for my husband’s birthday (plus other presents – I’m not that tight). They included 7 inch and 12 inch records and are rather like a snapshot of his early life (and mine). There’s the original Wombles single from 1973:
Then two one-hit wonders from 1985 and 1991:
And the 12 inches are a real find. Like the second-hand clothing I pick up from time to time I can’t help but wonder about the original owner(s). They must be a similar age to me and I’m impressed that they would own what are among the biggest hits of 1984,5 and 6:
Pet Shop Boys’ ‘West End Girls’; Madonna’s ‘Papa Don’t Preach’; Tears for Fears’ ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’
Needless to say when hubby unwrapped the vinyl he was very happy!
Second-Hand Tales 
I had some of this stuff – my parents eventually got rid of it as they had nowhere to store it and I had no means of listening to it.
Nice for you now!!
The record player we picked up at Christmas wasn’t that pricey and I’ve spotted a few second hand ones on sale. Coupled with being able to pick up cheap vinyl in charity shops it’s feasible to start playing records again if you’re interested.
Adam and the ants! I recognised that image straight away! How cool!
I know – one of the eighties icons! (Makes me feel old especially when my kids refer to the records as giant CDs!)
Tee hee! Giant CDs eh!
I actually own Prince Charming since I was given in for Christmas in 1981. I recently bought it on CD for £ 1 from Tesco. It is a great record.
Yes it is a good album and listening to it on the record player has made me reassess what I thought about Adam and the Ants.