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MARK GROOM
@run_coffee_vinyl_repeat
His Instagram feed is full of interesting and varied selections from his collection that span a number of different genres of music but Mark says that the Shoegaze and Trip Hop style of music is he favourite go to genre to listen to.
Mark is a collector of turntables and audio equipment also and he told me that he has a few different set ups to play his collection. He also used to work for a turntable manufacturer which must have been such a cool experience.
His collection is fantastic and very well curated and I’m thankful he has allowed me to feature it for The Record Collectors Club.
What’s your favourite record shop that you visit most?
I have a few favourites but the shop I frequent the most (when there is no global pandemic) is Spun Out Records in the Northampton. The owner Chris is a proper old school record shop owner. He remembers his customers and always comes with a stack of records he thinks you’ll like and he’s often right and I’m often broke. We are lucky in Northampton as we have a fair few record stores and they’re all pretty good. Another favourite of mine is in the next village to me and is only open on a Sunday. It is in a back building behind a pub so grabbing a beer and flicking through some records isn’t a bad way to while away a few hours of a Sunday. It’s also only about a half hour walk so no need to drive either.
Why vinyl then? Why this format and not others?
Actually I don’t exclusively collect just vinyl. I guess I have around 1,000 CDs and even a few cassettes, however there is something about vinyl that is just more pleasing than any other format. I love the feel, the look and the whole ceremony of putting the record on. Even the time you can spend lovingly cleaning an old record to recover it from years of neglect. It amazes me sometimes what abuse a vinyl record can withstand. People talk about the sound of the record etc, however in my opinion, this is very much down to what it’s being played on and the quality of the audio equipment.
How long have you been collecting records?
My collecting actually started with CDs in 1989 when I got my first hi-fi. Even then when the virtues of CD was being pushed hard I had this desire to get a turntable and a few records. I still had a few from when I was younger and still have my Muppet Show albums that I still play regularly. I got a turntable and that was the beginning, although there was a slow down in what I bought in the late ‘90s and ‘00s as vinyl was harder to come by and for some reason I thought digital download was the way to go. I still have a massive iTunes library that I very rarely look at sadly.
How big is your record collection then?
I’m not entirely sure at the moment, I’m making a concerted effort to catalogue them all on Discogs but every time I start I find a record I haven’t played in ages or an old favourite and I get carried away playing records instead of cataloging them. I’ll get there in the end im sure but I’m guessing somewhere in the region of 1,500 to 2,000 but that increases on a regular basis as I’m always buying records.
Can you remember the first record you bought with your own money?
That’s a tricky question, but I think it was “This Old House” by Shakin’ Stevens .I think I bought it in a Woolworths store when I was a kid.
Do you have a want list and how big is it?
I genuinely don’t know the answer to that question. It is almost certainly in the thousands and increasing all the time. There are so many records and not enough money to buy them or enough time to listen to them all.
Can you recall the best bargain you have added to your collection?
I’ve been bequeathed a few albums so free records are always amazing although a sad story is attached to one bunch of records. I guess getting a copy of The Beatles “White Album” on white vinyl for a £2 was a great bargain.
How do you organise your collection?
At the moment it’s alphabetical for my albums and quite random for my singles. I’m trying to get them all catalogued in Discogs as fast as I can but that’s quite the challenge.
Finally, what do you think about Instagram as a way for sharing our record collections?
I love the Instagram vinyl community. There are so many interesting and knowledgeable people on there and I have discovered loads of new and old music from this community and some of these albums I’m not sure I would have either discovered or may just passed. Another part of the Instagram community I love is that there are so many amazing women on there making the whole community more vibrant and interesting and not just a bunch of men showing off their collections.
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