My Little Red Dansette

Do you remember the EP? They were played at 45 rpm on seven inch discs with two tracks on each side. Until I had a regular Saturday job and some spare cash, Mum was in charge of buying records to play on the Little Red Dansette. She was a fan of the extended play format. Not only did a number of her favourite artists release EPs, she saw they were good value too - twice as many songs for an extra four shillings and sixpence. Some of the songs on these discs have stayed with me: the Peter, Paul & Mary version of "Blowin' In The Wind" (w. Bob Dylan);   "Everybody Loves Somebody" by Dean Martin (w. Sam Coslow, Irving Taylor & Ken Lane);  and my absolute favourite "The Summer Wind" by the peerless Frank Sinatra (w. Heinz Meier & Johnny Mercer - English lyrics). The light and breezy arrangement by Nelson Riddle perfectly suits both this song that tells the story of a summer love and Sinatra’s style. As a fan on the family forum put it, “I can ...

I remember walking into the lounge one Saturday to find my dad standing over a box with wires protruding from the back that was set up in the corner of the room. What is it? Is it? It couldn't be. It is and the evidence is right in front of my eyes - a portable record player - a little Red Dansette. How did Fred know this was what I wanted ?  Christmas was a few months away. So was my birthday (my twelfth ).  Of course this was a present for the whole family and not just me. Ever since John Bird, five years my senior and lived across the street, popped over with his portable record player and a copy of Dylan's latest LP  "Bringing It All Back Home" , I knew we must have a record player at 43 Lansdown Road. The Dylan record,  by the way,  made hardly any impression on this nine year old. My favourite songs on the radio at the time were  " Help !" by The Beatles (w. John Lennon & Paul McCartney)  and Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" (w....