05 September 2004

HEINOUS CRIMES IN THE CAUSE OF RECORD COLLECTING

A comment from Loki got me thinking about something my mate Aaron once asked me. Namely, what terrible things have you done in order to ensure that you acquire that prized item you've been hankering after? I immediately thought of one which was awful for it's outright betrayal of a fellow Kraftwerk fan's trust. One afternoon back in about 1990ish, my good friend and work colleague John Shattock came up to my desk and, in hushed tones, confided that he'd spotted a copy of the Vertigo gatefold edition of Kraftwerk 1 & 2 for £14 in Replay Records. He hadn't had the cash to buy it at the time, so had hidden the album in the back of the 'J' section, so as to put other potential Kraftwerk fans off the scent, with the intention of slipping back the following day to buy it. To my shame, I clocked out dead on 12 noon the following day, rushed over to Replay and bought the record before John got there. Needless to say he fucking cursed me when he found out, though thankfully was able to forgive my disgraceful behavior. I am scum, it's true.

John later moved to Birmingham, but we kept in touch. I subsequently bought the unauthorised CD reissues of Kraftwerk 1 & 2 and decided that it was time to atone for my sins and posted the Vertigo vinyl to him as a surprise present. So John ended up getting the record for free. He just had to wait about 10 years to receive it.

Anyone got any similar (or worse) crimes to confess?