Monday, April 17, 2017

PVC Record Sleeves -A warning





For the last 15 years or so I have been protecting my singles from dust and greasy fingers with polythene record sleeves. However in the last few years, for my most precious Freakbeat and Garage singles, I have been using hard PVC sleeves. I believed they provided better protection, but first and foremost that give a real premium look and feel, they look bloody great.

I had heard some faint rumblings about PVC potentially provoking some kind of chemical reaction giving the record a milky hazy look or sometimes streaks. It was only last week in Utrecht that I was warned and directly advised to replace them with Polythene. 

On Friday I bought 400 Polythene sleeves and today, I have gone through the PVC clad part of my collection and replaced them all with Polythene.  Although the overriding majority of the records had no issues, some did. My Allen Pound’s Get Rich has a dull look (it was housed in an old PVC that the dealer sent the record in). Thank God, it sounds fine.  I have owned this record for around 4 years and I know when I played it last year, it looked fine, so the effect happens over time.  



2 records where I used new PVC sleeves  had issues (so it's not just with old ones) -  a Swedish Decca pressing of the T Boones as well as the MC5. Both have dull patches with a bright streak at one end. Again they play fine. (the photos for these two don’t really show the effect). 



This Equals single has a similar issues to both the MC5 and The T-Boones



The Our Plastic Dream might have the beginning of some kind of a reaction, but this is inconclusive. 



The biggest proof that chemical reactions can occur with PVC is on the Fancy acetate. 
Thank god this was the only acetate I had in a PVC...




Anyhow, to avoid any further risk (I am sure there are exceptions), I will no longer be using PVC. If you have heard rumblings or read stuff on forums or had doubts, I hope this helps you TO  decide.  It’s a shame to have to do this, but better safe than sorry.

Bye Bye PVC…



Saturday, April 08, 2017

Utrecht Record Fair April 2017 -Day 2

Today the buzz was back in Utrecht. The vibrancy that may have been missing yesterday returned with a vengeance

Anyhow the haul...

First two Scandinavian pic sleeves I couldn't resist...




Being in Holland, it would be insulting not to taste the local brew


Singing of The Bad Thing by Shed Libation is a fine specimen of Cowbell driven Heavy Bonehead, while The Break Selection deliver one of the more inept version of "I Can Only Give You Everything" ever committed to vinyl

Some nice UK 60s singles That Pirates single with Mick Green  pretty much defined that early Doctor Feelgood sound and style. I couldn't resist upgrading to this beautiful Accent demo and the UK Defecting Grey will sit nicely next to the German issue I found yesterday. David John and The Mood was a bargain


Some nice UK pop. Loving Awareness is post Skip Bifferty. Sounds a bit like Smyle or Fickle Pickle,  Dave Cartwright is just lovely



                                        

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Some gems with picture sleeves. Finally got a copy of Sydney Gill with a perfect pic sleeve. A UK Psych classic only released in Germany at the time, as far as I know. George is in fact Giorgio MoroderMake me Your Babe  is a kind of proto Jean Genie BubbleGlam  concoction


                                            

The absolute Monster is Albatross with I am Dead and Viet-nam War. From Austria, the singer reminds of me of Jesse Hector in competition with Roger Chapman to see who could be the most venomous!








Some spares coming your way soon...


So the second day at Utrecht was another torrid affair, the come down at the next Reading fair on Friday is going to be rather noticeable

Oh and my hotel and flights to Utrecht in November are already booked –BRING IT ON!!!


Friday, April 07, 2017

Utrecht Record Fair April 2017: Day 1

I had timed my usual arrival on the deck for 7:13am and hit the mark in that respect. There weren't hordes of German van drivers spilling tons of unplayed 70s gems direct from radio archives onto the floor. In fact the fair was a bit flat today. No amazing bargains or great discoveries. There were deals to be made for sure, but considering the post Brexit vote Sterling crash, these weren't always great deals leaving you with a smug smile on your face

Some nice 60s pieces, very pleased to complete my Virgin Sleep collection (well they only released 2 singles)


The 70s were also represented, but nothing I hadn't seen before...



There were some choices singles I haven't yet picked up (too expensive) and about 20% of dealers has not yet displayed their wares, so let's see if Saturday brings some magic to the proceedings

Thursday, April 06, 2017

Utrecht Record Fair April 2017: The calm before the storm...





I arrived as per usual the day before set up day...I made a  fleeting visit to the outdoor fair by mid afternoon. It seems that stuff can be found if you arrive early am, but I opted for an extra few hours in bed.

Still nice to find a pristine copy of the  Attack single and a copy of the overlooked Glam Stomper that is the 2nd Antilope single



There were piles and piles of 45s on show, but it is no longer 2006, so it has become very unusual to find anything of consequence among the cheap singles on offer

Tomorrow -we go ape shit, crazy, bonkers