SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE

So as i'd said in previous entries, my introduction to music was my parents' record collection, which became mine, and my Dads record player, which was passed on to me when i was about 8 (1984), when he purchased a brand new stack system,which took pride of place in the living room. This now allowed me to indulge my musical passion more or less whenever i wanted. A couple of years later i was given a small radio/cassette recorder for Christmas, and i eagerly took the opportunity to start recording the Top 40 chart rundown on a Sunday evening. Sitting there with finger hovering over the pause button in a futile attempt to stop the tape in that split second before the DJ started talking (always over the end of the song to much annoyance!) is an oft-repeated memory of anyone who was a kid in the 1980s', although some of the people they get on those nostalgia shows on tv are too young to have been more than a glint in the milkman's eye back then.

Anyway, i now had my own private little world of shiny black wax i could lock myself away in. But the records were still inherited, and though they provided an education i am still grateful for, it wasn't until i was 10 that i finally had some records of my own. I'd been listening to, and taping the hits of the day off the radio, and listening to Duran Duran, Madonna, Madness, and other pop greats of the time round at my friend James' house, and watching TOTP on an almost weekly basis. In addition to this, we had a weekly assembly at junior school where the kids were encouraged to bring in records and stage their own little plays and performances. Taking singles from the early 70's (which i did on occasion, to the hilarity of my classmates) wasn't really an option, But it was good to hear what others selected: the teacher who organised these assemblies, Mr Hogg, was quite a fan of the Norwegian pop band A-ha, who whilst providing pin-up material for screaming adolescent girls everywhere, had quite a dark core under the candy coating, particularly in the strange, existential lyrics of chief songwriter Pal Waaktaar. So "Take On Me" made a regular appearance. And a new compilation came into the house: Now That's What I Call Music 7. And amongst the hits by Level 42, A-ha, The Housemartins, and Stan Ridgway (Camouflage was a particular favourite with my younger brother Dean, who was fascinated by anything to do with wars), one band stood out: Pet Shop Boys. One of those classic electronic duos of the time, they've enjoyed a 40-odd (and odd) career and are now considered elder statesmen of pop. Back in 1986, they'd enjoyed a huge No 1 hit with "West End Girls" after a couple of years of false starts, but the follow up, "Love Comes Quickly had stalled at 19, and it was their third single, "Opportunities", which - to quote the lyrics- would make or break them. The version on the Now! album turned out to be the first version of the song, which had been released a year or two before, but failed to set the charts alight, rather than the current re-recording, which pitched up at No 11. With their electronic dance sound, clever and witty lyrics, and the posh diction and vocals of Neil Tennant, they had - and still have - a sound that is very identifiably their own. So i listened with interest over the next few months as the follow up, "Suburbia", got them back into the Top 10, and finally, their return to the top spot in the summer of '87 with the epic "It's A Sin", a damning indictment of Tennants' Catholic school upbringing. I'm listening to it as i type this, by way of their 1987 album "Actually" (the one with Neil yawning on the cover), which in itself is a work of absolute sonic beauty. On my 11th birthday, i finally received this single. (I was also given "Star Trekkin'", a novelty hit at the time by The Firm. It disappeared out of my collection after a year or so). And so began my own record collection.