The Spinners (the Liverpool ones!)
Mike Harding
John Phillip Sousa
Toscanini conducting The New World
Paddy Roberts
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Rolf Harris 
Thatās what I can remember from what is about 50 years or more back. That, and the tutting over āTop of the Popsā.
My choice in music came from many diverse areas. However as I went into Secondary school my choice of music was also a bit of rebellion against my parents
You brought back another memory for me - the Edgar Broughton Band. I remember seeing them at Salford University (guess around 69 or 70). They were amazing to me at the time. My mate had their Wasa Wasa LP.
As for my LZii album I think it cost 37/6d which was nearly two days work at my Saturday job at Tesco. We were paid Ā£1 per day 
I remember the standard price for an LP in my local record shop around that time was 37/5. Why 5d not 6d I donāt know!
(For people reading this unfamiliar with pre-decimal British currency, that was 37 shillings and 5 pence. There were twenty shillings to a pound and 12 pence in a shilling, so Ā£1.87 in decimal currency.)
My old man was a classical nut. He collected the great composers set, with vinyl arriving weekly for a couple of years.
Me ma was all about the jigging (not rude; thatās Glaswegian for dancing). She loved Little Richard and, in later years, Sly & the Family Stone. She danced around the kitchen to whatever pop she could find on the radio, until pa came home and harrumphed.
My first record at age 9 was Theme from 633 Squadron, which instantly converted the back of the sofa into a Mosquito cockpit. The recordās still a cracker.
First purchases;
Single āForever Autumnā (Justin Hayward from War of The Worlds)
Album either Abba Greatest Hits or Heavy Horses (Jethro Tull).
CD. I think 10,000 Maniacs āIn My Tribeā
Bruce
Some reflections on music style preferences:
In my formative years the first music I fell in love with was classical, then came prog & heavy rock. I disliked most mainstream pop, and jazz was an unpleasant noise to me. No change to any of these over the decades - and I still enjoy my very first purchases. However whilst I didnāt like opera when my parents had on on the radio, I discovered a love for it in my forties - though I am not keen on just hearing isolated arias which is all I heard as a kid, very much preferring to listen to a whole opera. Folk and soft rock didnāt grab me back then, but I didnāt dislike, and now listen a little where I didnāt bother then.
I worked for an Italian Opera house for ten years, and photographed a lot of Opera.
It is something I never really got into, as visually it is quite predicable. Attending an Italian Opera House for an Opera, is an interesting experience. The public will hiss a boo if a singer misses a note, or if they do not like the production.
Listening and watching a complete Opera can be enjoyable. But I cannot stomach the various Pop Opera artists like Bocelli.
Interesting what you say about Italian audience is that many years ago or still recently? I have read about it happening in Pucciniās day, but wanāt aware of it continuing in latter part of last century or in this. Iāve seen a few operas in Italy, and no such reaction, thank goodness- but of course that could mean the Italians thought they weee good, as I did! However, only one was in z as n opera house, and maybe that us significant.
When I was a little boy, I liked to listen to two records of my parents.
These were a āBest of Aidaā and a record of labour songs.
And then came the revelation on the radio: āShe loves youā by the Beatles.
That was my music.
I grew up in East Berlin and it was hard to listen to beat music. There was the German-speaking service of the BBC that played the latest hits from England on Tuesdays from 20:45 to 21:00. There was the RIAS and the SFB (two West Berlin radio stations) that played the music of my generation.
When I turned 14, my parents gave me a Tesla tape recorder and a radio. From then on I could not only hear the music but also record it.
My thanks go above all to BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service). He transferred entire albums every Saturday morning. Joe Cocker, The Who ā¦.
When I came to the apprenticeship, my circle of friends expanded and I got the first real LPs to copy on tape. These were Woodstock 2, Paranoid by Black Sabbath and Trilogy by Emerson Lake & Palmer.
I bought the ELP and still own it today.
Since there were no rock records from England or the USA to buy in the GDR, the LPs were bought illegally. The price was between 80 to 120 DDR marks. My monthly income was 360 DDR marks.
My passion was very very expensive.
Of course, I also bought the best stereo system that existed in the GDR. A āHiFi 50 ā.
It consisted of amplifiers, speakers and a turntable. Plus my tape recorder.
When I migrated to West Berlin in 1984 with my wife and three small children, I had to sell the plant. We came into a completely different world with 2 backpacks and the children in hand. And we had nothing but us.
I then saved three years to be able to buy a system.
That was a Thorens 318 TT , a small Luxman amplifier and a pair of ELAC speakers.
The first record I bought in West Berlin was a double LP by King Crimson.
That was my restart.
What a great account of your music past, many thanks for sharing @ftre. Very different to most on this forum.
Back in the late 70s and early 80s I worked for the UK chemical company ICI. We used to get a trickle of visitor from the former eastern block countries and many of them had āobtainedā some British pounds to buy various goods. On one occasion I recall taking one of our guests to a music shop where he purchased a small music system, as such items were unobtainable where he lived. I also remember him saving some British pounds to take back then he could get his music system through customs via, let us say, a small donation of British pounds to the customs officer!
Wow! Amazing story, @ftre . As is so often the case, we who grew up in the west were so fortunate and still take it all for granted. Thank you, mein Freund.
Vague bits of pre-school age, we had a wireless (not a radio, even though there was a hell of a lot of wire) weekdays included Housewives Choice, Workers Playtime on the Light programme, I think this was followed by Listen With Mother, Womans Hour, then Iām not sure. Weekends had Uncle Mac, Forces Family Favourites followed by the Billy Cotton Bandshow.
At some stage dad built a record player, earliest recollections were his collection of Harry Mortimerās Men OāBrass, favourite track The Whistler and His Dog. There was Russ Conway, Semprini.
Sunday evenings was Sing Something Simple.
Every year featured Last Night of the Proms, the Remembrance Service and Carolās at .
Further variations would be visits to paternal grandparents. They had TV! Grandmother was a dancer, so there was Victor Sylvester. Grandfather was the George Mitchell Minstrels and Gilbert and Sullivan.
Early teens I met all sorts and horizons expanded. One uncle took me to jazz, places like the Old Duke. Another was a cricketer, his home ground I think opposite the Air Balloon at Birdlip. After the match the team would repair to the pub where he would play Chopin from memory.
My first āconcertā memory was a Gilbert Briggs speaker demonstration, then brass bands. There were a mass of folk and blues clubs.
For some reason, my first LP was Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick and Tich.
In our house it was Top of the Pops that my sister and I enjoyed, but for long periods no record player or any radio. For a while there was a valve powered radiogram a few Beatles singles and for some reason a Chubby Checker for twisters only lp. At thirteen I went to boarding school for a few years, it was here that formed my musical tastes. The older boys had studies and the sounds coming out of them fascinated me . The Yes album, Leonard Cohen, Juicy Lucy,Melanie Candles in the rain , King Crimson, Family anyway. Back at home, still no record player, my first wages went on a Garrard sp 25 , which rumbled quite a bit, an Amstrad 2000 which was appalling and some home made Wharfedale Lintons , a bit closed in sounding. My first albums were from Comet ( remember them) Leonard Cohen songs from a room, Family Music from a Dolls House and King Criomson in the Wake of Poseidon. My friends at home encouraged me more Moody Blues Jethro Tull Lindisfarne . For a while there a lot of Singer Songwriters but around the time of Natalie Merchantās Tigerlily, my taste pivoted to female led bands and singers, which is were it still is. Currently enjoying Florence Welch, London Grammar ,Rosalia. Saw Thea Gilmore early last year some excellent music ,Demi Marriner recently . Life goes on and lots to listen to, Love and Peace ,Mark.
When growing up I remember that early seventies my parents got themselves quite ok Philips stereo equipment (receiver, speakers and a 212 turntable). Normally I probably wouldnāt have noticed but I remember it being delivered by my uncle who worked with Philips and didnāt drop by often.
From that point (I must have been around 4-5 years old at the time) the record collection kept growing rapidly. My dad was very much into Bob Dylan, Neil Daimond, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Young and Dutch artists like The Cats and Thijs van Leerā¦ My mother liked artists like Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand. That developed into loads of classical and easy listening albumsā¦ I vividly recall all of those New London Chorale, Richard Clayderman and Francis Goya albums.
My teens started off with Abba, Kiss and some hits on singles by several different artists. Until lightning struck when I heard Crises by Mike Oldfield in 1983ā¦ My sister let me hear the tape, I was totally mesmerized and have travelled to a different world ever since when listening to Oldfield. And that kept on going for decades. I was as mesmerized by Return to Ommadawn in 2017 as I was with Crises in 1983.
Of course I have loads of other music in my collection and enjoy it to the fullest. But no artist has ever touched me again like Oldfield did.
Mid-80s (I was around 10) there was my fatherās mostly country and western music heard in the house if there was music at all. The usual suspects: Johnny, Dolly, Tammy, Hank etc. He worked abroad (mostly Saudi Arabia) where copyright laws apparently did not exist, so there was a seemingly ever-expanding collection of C&W tapes. My aversion to C&W has only eased in recent years (i.e. my 40s). There was also a small collection of classical and jazz records, but I donāt recall them ever being played. Plus individual tracks from (Iāve since discovered) Supertramp, Blonde and Billy Joel, but they were few and far between.
After an initial 70s silver music system, there followed a Matsui midi-system with tape-to-tape deck bought from Dixons, plonked on a sideboard with speakers sat neatly either side. Suddenly compilations from other tapes (our main format in the 80s) were a thing, as well as high speed dubbing, which I mostly used for ZX Spectrum games rather than music. But my father would sometimes stay up all night creating complications tapes to play in the car.
Subsequently a JVC integrated hifi with separate CD player arrived and I was bought my first CD so that I had one to play - The Blues Brothers OST, being a film Iād on hired on VHS video and loved. I guess this was 1989/90 so I was around 14/15 (the film was released years before). I still have that CD. I thought I had put green marker pen round the outer edge to make it sound better, but apparently not!
My first cassette album purchased on the day of release was Kylie Minogueās debut (when she was still with Stock, Aitkin and Waterman) which I then denied for many years thereafter.
Before my father decided to get Sky (my mum hated the satellite dish - there was no prior discussion), music was via recommendation/borrowing, shared/copied tapes, BBC Radio 1, Top of the Pops or ITVās The Chart Show on a Saturday. Also the weekly Top 40 countdown on the radio. I did borrow CDs from the library sometimes, for a brief period.
Band T-shirts were a teen identity staple, particularly in 6th form. Iron Maidenās art work worked well. I recall Alice in Chains and Pop Will Eat Itself as favourites. An Iron Maiden one became my lucky talisman for key GSCE and A Level exams, being worn long after the black material had turned brown, but the image of Eddie riding a motorbike was still vibrant.
My cousin (+4 years) was very into his music. I recall vividly visiting to him and hearing 19 by Paul Hardcastle, ā¦Angel by The Eurythmics as a background to many ZX Spectrum games. Also the epic Kick by INXS. He later became a goth, introducing me to Sisters of Mercy but also Iron Maiden (Live After Death) and Pink Floyd (Delicate Sound of Thunder) as well as Queen.
A few key music moments spring to mind: listening to Climie Fisherās album on my Walkman on a school trip coach and having my mind blown by one track fading into the other without a gap for the first time! A school trip to bleak Scotland had a backing track of Floodland by Sisters of Mercy. Another trip to Scotland (or possibly Wales) was backed by Simple Mindsā Street Fighting Years. The significance of the subject matter of Belfast Child was lost on me as an early teenager. I would, by choice, sit in the boot section of the estate hire car, with the dog, listening to my Walkman. Obviously no seatbelt.
Then there was my mate Chris, a neighbourās son, who introduced me to the Stone Roses (1988?) and āMadchesterā indie (Happy Mondays/Charlatans/Inspiral Carpets etc.), but also and most significantly Transvision Vamp. As a teenager Wendy James was my Debbie Harry. Chris bought picture discs from Japan and bootlegs which he played up on his Dadās Denon separates system in his parentsā lounge before we went on our daily walk to school. It sounded very good indeed to my ears so I knew separates were the way forward and started reading What Hifi?
Secondary school (1986-1991) also saw Iron Maiden leading to Guns n Roses (a friendās cool rocker sister provided a taped copy - Iāve since bought it on CD), Head Bangersā Ball on MTV, American metal, then Seattle alternative rock and also Metallica (the first band I saw live - Birmingham NEC in 1992 touring their āblackā album; followed by Pink Floyd at Earls Court in London (Division Bell tour I think). Very few gigs in my teens or 20s, strangely.
Other ābigā albums for me then included Aerosmithās Pump, Def Leppardās Hysteria, Extremeās Pornograffiti, as well as Seventh Son of a Seventh Son by Iron Maiden. Back catalogues on cassette were duly assembled through pocket money or Christmas and birthday present requests.
Sixth form (1991-1993) featured U2ās Achtung Baby, Nevermind, Pearl Jamās Ten and Freddie Mercury dying young for reasons I did not understand back then. Also Skid Row, Motley Crue and Extreme, with Vai/Satriani/Van Halen/Bettencourt et al pushing the boundaries of guitar playing. Faith No More and Red Hot Chilli Peppers also exploded and were to my liking.
Depeche Modeās Violator album was played a lot in the common room and the same student then introduced Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails, combining keyboards with heavy guitars. They remain a favourite of mine to this day. Also Curve, for similar reasons with a female vocal.
Buying Led Zeppelinās Remasters on double tape was a big deal, knowing their reputation but not yet owning any. Purchasing all the Queen albums on tape was a better decision than all of the Aerosmith ones. Queensryche, The Cultās Ceremony and Alice Cooperās Trash were key rock purchases. Also Alice in Chainsā Dirt.
Tin Machine (via my cousin) was my gateway to Bowie. My first Bowie CD released when I was a fan was Earthling, which I still love.
Later Iron Maiden and Metallica sounds inferior to me, but most of the above I still have, or have repurchased on CD and listen to occasionally.
I occasionally listened to Tommy Vanceās rock show on Radio 1, but sadly never John Peel.
My favourite indie music club (in Leicester) would play Rage Against the Machine, then Public Enemy, Enter Sandman, the Prodigy, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Run DMC, Sympathy for the Devil (which I was never keen on), L7, Nine Inch Nails and Rapperās Delight all in the same evening. 3am finish and walk home to sober up. I never had long enough hair to headbang effectively.
Walkmans featured heavily. An early one was a yellow Philips with 3 band graphic equaliser, then one with auto-reverse (the headphone socket worked loose) leading up to my Aiwa pride and joy that was barely bigger than the tape itself and had its own battery/charger. That went when I was mugged in Birmingham in 1994. The replacement Panasonic was possibly better but less loved. Only one CD Walkman with 10 second memory bought in USA at the same time as Everything But The Girlās Walking Wounded CD. In-ear headphones, mostly.
Home music replay (aside from a cassette radio with tape player alarm clock) was initially a back-to-back Sharp portable stereo. That was joined by a Sony CD player into the aux sockets. Then Sony amp/speakers/tuner/dual tape deck bought in stages from Argos! At one point the CD player also had a Musical Fidelity cylindrical DAC with fibre optic lead. The hifi shop advised me to upgrade CD player instead, but I couldnāt afford that; second hand was still classified adverts back then. My spare cash went mostly to Ainleys Records in Leicester (for tapes, then CDs) and Richer Sounds.
University holiday jobs led to Wharfdale Diamond Pro speakers (from Richer Sounds) and later Mordant Short 20i Pearls (ditto, 1994), still driven by Sony hardware. At home in Leicester there was the Apollo Aria modular rack (purchased in stages). Atacama speakers stands were acquired for the MS20iPs in Birmingham and later filled with sand. They were in use until replacement quite recently.
I wish Iād appreciated and used my Grado SR80 headphones more back in the 90s. I sold them a few years ago due to lack of use.
Buying a Mazda MX5 (in British Racing Green) while training in Liverpool led to a Minidisc āhead unitā and Sony MD player. First mixtape for my now wife was prepared on MD and then copied to tape so she could play it (2002). Around the same time Seven Oaks Hifi demo of Gladiator willingly persuaded me into buying a Sony AV Receiver and 5.1 surround sound. The Sony hifi separates only became the current Naim boxes in 2019, with Neat speakers in 2025.
Many thanks to the OP for this thread and the enjoyable nostalgia it has brought me over the festive holiday.
My parents were only into classical and choral music, although they did also enjoy some of the Big Band styles such as Glen Miller.
They never listened to Pop music at all, but didnāt mind my older brothers (Iām the youngest of 5) listening to and buying 7ā singles by The Beatles etc. Mum used to say āthey sing nice harmoniesā or āthatās a nice tuneā.
On one occasion, a friend of my eldest brother came round with a demo tape of his latest recordings. He was an aspiring song writer. One tune my mother picked out and said āthat could top the hit paradeā.
The song in question was called āVideo Killed The Radio Starāā¦ My brotherās friend was Bruce Woolley, a local lad. Maybe mum should have been an A&R person for a record labelā¦.
Great reading the various stories of how folks became engaged in music and the start of their HiFi equipment enthusiasm.
I kicked off the OP based on my early years. In the early 70ās I headed off to the High School, met a bunch of new people and started hearing all sorts of new music. Listening to Radio 1 Top 30 on a Sunday afternoon was a must if you wanted to be able to converse with the girls. Around this time my father bought a cassette player with built in radio - brilliant for making up my own cassettes of the best bits of the Top 30. I had a bunch of TDK tapes for recording on to (plus the required HB pencil for respooling loose tape). I also built a small radio at school which allowed for late night (radio Luxembourg) and early morning listening (radio 2).
By my mid teens I had acquired a basic record player and went around town scrounging old TV speakers which I had wired up around my bedroom on some very small diameter wire - I dread to think what it sounded like. Early morning and weekend butcher boy deliveries allowed to start buying my own music - Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water, Joe Walsh Rocky Mountain Way, Eagles Desperado, etc. I had to stop my younger sister playing my stuff as Iām sure she caused most of the scratches.
By the time I had left school, I was spending time with some of the older guys who had their own cars. So I started collecting cassettes in anticipation of having my own car. I joined a music club where they automatically sent you their album of the month. The long summer of 1977 between school ending and university starting, I had a job at an archeological dig. This provided funds to buy Eric Clapton, ELP, David Bowie, Boston, Queen, Rod Stewart. ā¦.
Parents thought that I should have been saving for university times but the lure of owning my own music and hearing what I wanted was too strong. Come the end of the summer I headed off to university to start over with new flat mates. My first night was also my 17th birthday. Celebrated in the Students Union listening to the likes of Peter Frampton, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Boz Scaggs, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, Rainbow, Dr Feelgood ā¦.
I managed to procure a Panasonic ghetto blaster and nights were never the same.
My parents in the late 1960s bought a Bush record player that had valves in it. They were given a few Elvis Presley records to start them off.
To be fair my folks bought run of mill stuff but the first record I had bought for me for my 7th birthday 1974 was This Town Anit Big Enough by Sparks. I wanted Tiger Feet by Mud & told no 
. I wanted Motor Bikin Chris Spedding told no. I kinda lost interest and watched Sux Millon Dollar Man, rode my bike. In 1977 I asked for Daddy Cool by Darts and I got it. In 1978 I was given pocket money & yes more Darts, Bee Gees, Jacksons, Boomtown Rats. My brother and I bought some Elvis albums .Things changed in 1979 I bought Boys Keep Swinging David Bowie, Thin Lizzy Do Anything you Eanna do & 2 singles by Sex Pistols from the film Great Rock n Roll Swindle. Big turning point . A copy of Never Mind the Bollocks was smuggled in and hidden under the bed . Late 79 and 80 singles by the Damned, Clash , Stranglers , Roxy Music ,PiL full cataloge , Crass singles . 1981 Bought Follow the Leaders Killing Joke and full Killing Joke back cataloge.
When I left college 1984 , started work THEN I could buy lps Stranglers, Damned,Clash,Hawkwind,Generation X, Stiff Little Fingers. Buzzcocks. First 1960s act I trusted was a Doors compilation
In 1985 came CD. An Hitachi Da 1000 player bought second hand. There was a very limited selection back then. This made me go for David Bowie & Roxy Music cds ( which turned out to be good)
1986 started on Who , Rolling Stones and some group called the Beatles. I did not like much current music other than Big Audio Dynamite, Talking Heads.
From 1986 started myself being Music fan to record collector and very slowly bought the classic rock I wanted. I like other music like Reggae , Jazz , bit of classical. In the 1990s I started to buy 60s soul. For sure I got suckered by trends from late 1980s , 1990s , early 2000s all that rubbish I outed early 2024.
My music taste is concentrated 1956 to 1982 . A few gems like Tour De France are after .
I never grew up and still listen to the same stuff
My interest in music started with my fatherās love of the Great American Songbook and Broadway musicals. I saw my first show in 1957 when I was 5 - āMy Fair Ladyā with Julie Andrews (but alas not Rex Harrison who had moved on). In addition to my dadās collection of original cast recordings, he had albums by Sinatra, Fitzgerald, Crosby, Al Jolson, and others. This was the music that made up most of my listening through the late 60s. I certainly knew about rock/pop, but it wasnāt until 1968 that I bought my first pop album - the soundtrack to āThe Graduate.ā And I bought very few before heading to college in 1970.
My roommate there had a number of musical interests, ranging from Bach to Hendrix to Coltrane (āAscensionā) to Zappa and Beefheart. I picked up on his interest in Bach, and that combined with a transcendent experience listening to Bruno Walter conducting the second movement of Beethovenās 7th Symphony triggered my desire to explore classical. I was also building up a modest rock library and sampling jazz from 50s and 60s (but less avant garde than āAscensionā).
By the 80s my interest in rock was declining, and most of my listening was classical. It still is today, although, I still listen to rock (mostly classic) and jazz (mostly from 1955-1970), along with the odd country or bluegrass album. And, while I no longer listen to much Broadway (except Sondheim) I still love Sinatra and Fitzgerald.