Bootlegs

I still remember the first bootleg* I ever bought. 

There was a chap called Dave who ran a record stall in the Apple Market in Kingston, and once I was in the sixth form and allowed to go out at lunchtime, I was a regular visitor there. 

Not that Dave was ever particularly friendly, but after a while, once I'd spent a bit of my hard-earned money with him and demonstrated myself to be a discerning customer, he would give me a nod when I arrived to flick through his racks of vinyl.

At that time, I was a huge fan of Simple Minds - probably the most underrated band of the late seventies and early eighties - and one day amongst Dave's familiar treasures, I came across an album called 'Selfluminous'. 

At that time, a single album cost £3.99, and a double usually a couple of pounds more, but this two disk bootleg was £15! But there were no live albums by Simple Minds at that time, and I desperately wanted it. Fifteen quid, though!! It took me a few weeks to commit, but finally I bought it.

Well, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, I was lucky that this first bootleg purchase was of very good sound quality, a fine standard by which to rate every one I ever bought subsequently. Some from Dave, of course, but later, once I could drive, from the record fairs all over central and south London.

It was always exciting, finding bootlegs by different artists from different tours, getting them home and checking out the quality. There were some fine Simple Minds ones, but also the brilliant 'Transcript' by Gary Numan, Japan's excellent 'Live In Budokan', and many others.

When I arrived at university in Liverpool, there was a chap who sold bootleg tapes in the Students' Union, and I would look out for cassettes featuring artists I liked, as well as ones featuring David Bowie and The Teardrop Explodes to send home to my brother. 

I still do occasionally buy bootlegs, primarily from the superb 'Live and Loud' site, but I was reminded of those days at record fairs and in the students' union when I saw this sign as I walked back from my swim, this morning. 

*In this post, when I say 'bootleg', I'm talking about live recordings that had not been released officially.