Month: April 2023

cassette recorder – did you have one of these?

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Dennis Torrance… Brilliant got my first one from curry’s queens road used to put 🎤 by transistor radio

Josie Lawson… I have a similar one even now. I bought it a couple years ago so that I could go through my cassette tapes to see if I could find my homemade shows I did on my cassettes also I have a few copies I was always made of the hospital radio shows I was interviewed. I thought I might be able to then have transferred to cd rom cds to listen too in my computer, what do you think, do you reckon that could be done?

Tony Ham… Pixels in Rye will put cassette recordings on cd.

Mick Guy… Also useful for the \BBC micro!

Andy Pilkington… there making a comeback to, even Argos now selling them

Tiffany Barton… Once played with one and it broke down the tape kept sticking and reels of mess came out then I gave up and it ended up in a car boot sale. Its a beautiful thing. I regretted breaking it. Then I got one of these & was listening to Soul & Motown of course.. Why did the tape keep tangling up?

Pete Prescott… I still have them and use them in my Micra. Some of my tapes are over 45 years old. Most still sound amazing ! Love them !

Nick Prince… Recordings of Pirate Radio and Radio Luxembourg on mine….

Wendy Belton… Used to record the top twenty on one of these on Sunday evenings in the 70s. Still have the recorded cassettes ok and maybe even one of these players in the loft!

Nick Prince… Me to… back in the days when Tony Blackburn did the charts

Keith Cowper… Had one for recording all my music rehearsals

Pete Prescott… I found a tape of Andy Caine and I working on a couple of songs (we were put together to see if we could write by Ike Nossell ) one was good.

Jeff Belton… I had one these, and that’s what I used to practise being a DJ. Alot of fun !

Ian Brown… Definitely had one of those I used to sell them I’m the audio department at boots in Blackpool I think they were made by Ferguson

Tony Ham… I used to record John Peel’s show, happy days.

Will Cornell…I had one too of course…recorded almost the entire 1974 Philadelphia Folk Festival and those cassettes lasted years…even with the batteries going dead they were great tapes. I did not know until recently the acoustic guitar intro to “Street Fighting Man” comes from a cassette recorder like this….and I still wonder why the shortwave radio that had a built in timer cassette recorder did not take off. I guess SW was at it’s final days anyway. Being able to record something that broadcast while you were asleep woulda been real cool.

Dave Nattress… Yes for sure. Several over the years. First portable one was Mono, Philips job, poor sound etc. took it in the car before I got the first car cassette player for the Ford Anglia!! That had a poor sound also – speakers on back shelf. Then at least 2 more. ITT stereo (apparently), used to take it to band rehearsals – Damaris, Samisen, Prisoners. Keep meaning to look for the old tapes in the loft. Many pre-recorded cassettes and home recorded for car back then. They play OK in the TEAC cassette player/recorder – so called Hi-Fi. Also got walkman somewhere and a portable dictating recording type job that takes standard cassettes. Tried to record a few gigs but totally awful sound – used to have to conceal it when getting into the gigs back then!! Tried The Blue Nile at Albert Hall for one – waste of time, sound reproduction awful.

Terry Hardwick… Had one for Christmas lasted years

Cliff Wootton… Used to carry one of these to record concerts in the pier ballroom. Might still have some tapes in the archive somewhere.

 

The Granville, Whitefriars Road, Hastings. Pub outing 1954

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photo: © Kevin Swain

Fred Marsh… When there was a community, brilliant

Edward Bacon… My nanny Maggie Stonham and Grandad Larry (the Doctor) Stonham are in this pic

Linda Day… I was only 2 so dont remember anyone

Keith Veness… I was 2 my Gran lived at 138 St Georges

Ian Corbin… I was 4 my grandparents owned it not sure what years though, very early fifties vague memories, yes I’m old

Peter Ellingworth… Different society then…. a lot poorer in material terms, but when neighbours knew and in the main helped each other : the chap second left front row looks like he has an Old Contemptibles badge from the BEF in 1914.

David Hazleton… what a fascinating photo, used this pub back in the day when i think it was coming to the end of its time. From what i can find out Star Brewery was in Eastbourne and taken over by Courage, i wonder where the outing was going. We used the Angel the Granville the Shah the Plough the Whitefriars the Langham around the Mount Pleasant/West Hill area, would have been mid seventies onwards

Conan Howard… what a great photo ,I was 6 years old then.. just think they are all dead now

Mullett Smith Music, Norman Road St Leonards write up 1971

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Supplied by Pete Fisher (from Beat Instrumental)

Mick O’Dowd… Bird’s Music in Bexhill was going strong then and was nowhere near 40 miles away!

Chris Meachen… I remember going there with Roger to buy his first bass… Always think about that shop when I pass by..

Phil Gill… Chris, Me too. They had a Ned Callan SG on the wall that I coveted. They knew I didn’t have the money to buy it, but they always took it down from the wall and let me play it.

Tom Jones and The Squires – Hastings Pier 24th April 1965

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tom jones

Sheila Maile… Can we have him again?

Peter Fairless… It’s not unusual to be dropped suddenly by the BBC…

Jill Caine… More memories! Oh yes. He is another one I saw when working in the Pier bar! Happy days.

Yvonne Cleland… Wow! I didn’t know TJ played the pier!

Carol Ann Bolton… I remember seeing him on TV for the first time. He was a sensational singer but not my type. Too showbizzy.

Sally Evans… I was there and spoke to him afterwards, lovely man.

Colin Fox… We supported him at the Whitehall East Grinstaed in 1965. In fact we played there several times and I used to take one of the posters off the wall at the end of the evening. Unfortunately I threw them all away many years ago. We also supported the Kinks, P J Proby, the Searchers and many more that I can’t remeber at the moment.

Kay Lobb… I was too young to be allowed to see him then. I had to wait over 50 years to see him live in concert on the sands in Cornwall. Still got the voice. He was on stage for nearly two hours.

Eric Harmer… Kay, Two hours. !! Its not unusual