thefluteboy

The website Discogs is a terrific place. Anyone who wishes to build a vinyl collection has got it made on there. Search for those albums you had as a kid or a teen, especially if, like me, you bought all those Ronco and Telstar compilations of the 80s. You can scour the marketplace according to the condition of the record, as well as by price.

In October of 1986 I bought a double compilation entitled The Chart/The Chart '86. This was, I believe, the last instance of that "Buy The Chart and get The Chart '86 absolutely free!" sales practice. After that, they just sold compilations as proper double albums. Maybe it was the rising popularity of the CD that saw that practice fall into disuse? Anyhow, The Chart was a selection of then-current songs, including Boris Gardiner's limp follow-up to I Wanna Wake Up With You - the equally sappy You're Everything To Me. Its accomplice The Chart '86 was a roundup of some of the hits of the year so far - including the beautiful non-hit Graceland by The Bible. These two albums sat proud in my collection.

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a near-mint set of the two albums on Discogs, and for the thoroughly decent price of £5 plus postage, I went ahead and purchased. A week later they arrive. Two sleeves in great condition with PVC outer sleeves, and two pristine LP's - both of which were of the first album, but not the second. So two copies of You're Everything To Me and no copy of Graceland. B@st@rd! A refund of £2.50 did come.

Not to worry - just go back on the site and find a solo copy of The Chart '86 in a suitable condition. Found one for £4 plus delivery and ordered it. Two days later, the vendor lets me know that the record must have been sold because it wasn't in their stock! £4 plus delivery was promptly refunded.

Third time lucky, surely! Located a third solo copy of The Chart '86 and ordered that one. A day later, the vendor informs me that some of their stock was lost in a previous flooding of their Yorkshire shop, and that the record I ordered was therefore not available to send.

Talk about a merry dance! Trying so hard to locate that elusive half of this compilation. There are other copies apparently available on there, but do I honestly try a fourth or fifth time? Plus they appear to be in a lesser condition. These compilation LP's were always cut with a very fine groove that gave you a quieter than usual playback with reduced bass content. That in itself requires a copy in top condition, as a normal pop or click will be rendered LOUDER when such an LP is played at listening volume!

Anyway, here is the aforementioned Graceland, as written and sung by the fantastic Boo Hewerdine, who has worked with the likes of Eddi Reader and Chris Difford: