I was born in 1949 and became interested in what was then modern music when I was nine years old. My brother – 10 years my senior – had a recording device, the legendary Grundig TK5, and so I found myself once a week trying to capture on tape what I had heard on either AFN or Radio Caroline in lousy quality. In the early days it was Cliff Richard and the Shadows, whose hits I recorded in monoaural sound (there was no thought of stereo then).
Later, Saturday Club, hosted by Brian Matthew, caught my attention. It was broadcast by an FM station called BFBS (the British Forces Broadcasting System), then in Rheindahlen. The disadvantage was that I never knew what I could expect from the programme, so I had to have a quick finger to start the recording just in time for the tracks I wanted to preserve. Also, Brian Matthew had the habit of talking way into the recording so it was rare to catch a track in its entirety without the interference of the spoken words.
I can still remember the moment when I heard the Rolling Stones for the first time. The sound was definitely different from anything I had heard so far. Together with the lyrics, this music had the rebellious spirit so fascinating for a teen in the 1960s.
Never a fan of the Beatles, maybe because the older generation had come to terms with them, I became a Rolling Stones fan. It was a time when you had to decide between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Had I chosen the Beatles, things might have been easier in terms of collecting. Yet no-one knew in the early days.
I tried to get hold of the records as soon as they were released, I sought to get as much written information as possible, which was hard with what little pocket money was at my disposal.
Things have not really changed that much as far as collecting the Rolling Stones goes. Some 40 years later I still try to get hold of new releases as soon as they become available, I still seek to purchase any written material on this my favourite band. Yet I am lucky: I can spend more than just my pocket-money…
