I am a big fan of 7” singles. For me, they represent the perfect meeting of form and function and are the greatest ever format for singles. I have too many of the things cluttering up the place in an assortment of random boxes; most of them from bands of whom I’d never heard, picked up on a whim from indie websites, car boot sales and charity shops. I’ve discovered a lot of great bands this way, and some that probably shouldn’t give up the day job.
The one thing I would say about the 7” format though, is that I’m not overly ‘precious’ about it: it, like many other media, is simply a device for transporting music. If I’m out somewhere and hear a great early 70s funk tune, I’m not going to go up and check that the dj is playing an original pressing, it’s the song that counts.
My first residency was playing soul and funk at a Northern night. I was, comfortably, the youngest dj there: being born many years after the Wigan Casino earned its reputation. The combination of my age, my fondness for many genres and my limited student income meant that I wanted access to the most tunes possible, for the smallest outlay, and it seems I committed a terrible sin: I bought compilations.
It didn’t matter that the compilations were on vinyl themselves, it didn’t matter that the compilers had tracked down rarities that were virtually impossible to afford, or even find, on 7” that the other djs hadn’t heard of. All that mattered was that I wasn’t playing original pressings, so I was second-rate.
All I know is that I loved the music, and so it seemed did the people who’d paid their money to get in and skate on talcum powder around their handbags. For the record, I do have a reasonable collection of 45s: original pressings, limited coloured vinyl etc, but they don’t leave the house. They certainly don’t get played on club 1210s set up with so much down-pressure on the stylus that each play eats halfway through the disc.
I’ve said this in previous articles, but for me it’s all about the music, it can be CD, mp3, vinyl, if you play good music I’ll hang around. And if you can find some of those rarities on a compilation that the hard-core collectors don’t have, more power to you. The irony of the situation for me is that it seems I bought some good compilations that, given what they’re going for used these days, seems like they’re becoming collectable themselves…
Fynn's House and Audio Tech Notes 