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MARTYN BONE
@martyn.bone
His collection is incredibly extensive and touches many different genres of music from Shoegaze and Indie to Electronica and Soul. Martyn is also a big collector of Beatles records and has many different presses of a majority of their records. Some could call him a Beatles obsessive!
Martyn’s record collecting hobby is something that has rubbed off on his three children who are all record collectors themselves and he regularly goes record digging with each of them, though his daughter is currently spending a year living in Sydney, Australia. I love that aspect of being able to dig for records with your parents and it’s something I am lucky enough to be able to share myself with my father.
The diverse nature of Martyn’s music taste means he will never run out of records to dig for but he may soon run out of space as his collection is nearing 2,000 records now. I loved the experience of talking to Martyn and it was clear to see he has a big passion for the record collecting hobby. He was also kind enough to invite me over to dig for records in Copenhagen which is something I am definitely going to take him up on one day.
What made you start collecting records?
I was sixteen years old and had just started getting into early Rolling Stones and started to buy their records, both seven - inch singles and LP’s on the original “Decca” label even though I didn’t have anything to play them on. I’d even made a pilgrimage to Cheltenham to an event to honour Brian Jones.Following that I began buying records from a regular flea market that was held at Truro City Hall. All this was happening around 1991 and in that year I really started getting into Indie and Shoegaze music and began picking up a few bits of stuff on vinyl from those genres particularly bands like Ride, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. I came of age though in the age of CD’s and almost everything I bought in the ‘90s was on CD. I went o university in Swansea in 1992 and still picked up some vinyl during that time, especially if it was limited edition releases, so I ended up accumulating a small collection of vinyl whilst I was studying. However, I didn’t have a turntable still and my friend at university did so I would go over and tape them to listen to on my cassette player. I didn’t have access to a turntable until 1998 when I moved to Copenhagen with my girlfriend who was Danish and she had a Rega Planar 2 which she still actually owns. My real dive into record collecting began properly in the early ‘00s and picked up even more when I moved to the Mississippi in 2011 as I had easy access to a lot of things like “Stax” singles that were not available in Europe that easily. Of course by 2011 the vinyl revival had begun.
How about a new release? Do you go to buy that on vinyl first or have a listen digitally to the album?
I have actually been having similar conversations with some of my friends about this. I grew up in the era when you would read about new music and records being released in magazines like “NME” or “Melody Maker” and I still like to read about new music that I may enjoy. I still buy music press magazines like “Mojo” or “Uncut” to find out what may be coming out in the upcoming months. I do stream a little but I pretty much trust my instinct and go out and buy the record first hand. I like to dig in record shops obviously and if I see something that looks interesting I may buy it without even knowing what type of music it is and of course that doesn’t always pan out like you hoped but I like to take the chance. I also like to see what other collectors are playing and buying and that’s why Instagram is so great. You can see what is trending and what people are playing. I think that the Instagram element is quite similar to reading about new music in magazines, because collectors I like and respect for their taste often post new records and write about them in the accompanying text. Having three kids who are into music and vinyl is also a great thing and they are always introducing me to new music and new records that they pick up when they go out digging. It’s great to be able to have them to push me in the direction of new and upcoming artists.
How many records are in the collection currently?
I’ve actually just hit 1,800 records as of yesterday according to my Discogs page. Discogs is good for keeping track of your collection and the value of it and recently I got in touch with my insurance company and told them the only thing I really had of value was my record collection and I pointed them in the direction of Discogs as a way of valuing my collection. I still have my CD collection also which is somewhere between 600 - 800 but I don’t buy CD’s anymore and I tend to only listen to them when I’m working in my office.
Is that mainly LP’s then? Or do you have other formats?
Mainly just LP’s but I do buy twelve - inch singles and EP’s also. In the early ‘90s EP’s were a big thing particularly with the Shoegaze genre and bands like Ride released a number of EP’s. I have a smaller number of seven - inch singles also but I’d guess that three quarters of the collection will be LP’s.
What genres of music do you enjoy listening to?
Overall I would say I’m reasonably eclectic with my music choices but I wouldn’t claim to be more open minded than other collectors. I believe you’re formed by a lot of what you first listen to and I came of age in the Indie music era but also at a time when the narrow meaning of that term was being complicated and expanded by the cross - pollination of styles in the UK. In 1991, the year I really got into music, there were some great records being released like “Screamadelica” by Primal Scream, “Bandwagonesque” by Teenage Fanclub and also “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine all on the “Creation Records” label alone and then looking at other releases from that year you have “Blue Lines” by Massive Attack and “Nevermind” by Nirvana so I was exposed to a lot of great music in that year. A lot of these records inspired me to broaden my musical horizons and start to listen to many other genres than stick to being an Indie fan. I would say I mainly collect Indie music but I also enjoy Sixties Rock and Soul, British Folk Rock, Hip Hop and ‘90s British Electronica. I think a lot of the collectors that follow me through Instagram will associate me with my extensive Beatles collection and incredibly four years ago I didn’t have any Beatles in my collection as when my ex wife and I divorced and we divided our record collection I said she could take the Beatles records.
Where do you shop for records usually?
I have about five or six regular second - hand record stores in Copenhagen that I visit fairly frequently. There are a few others I visit more occasionally where I also turn up some good stuff on sometimes when I’m out digging for records. Basically, I’m lucky to live in a city that has loads of record stores, selling both new releases and second - hand stuff, that also caters to different genres too.
Can you think of a record that you have picked up for an amazing price when you have been out digging?
This is where digging in Copenhagen comes into its own, I think. It’s generally an expensive city but it’s possible still to pick up bargains at certain record stores. Quite recently I found four original Kinks UK pressings on the “Pye” label which were “The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society”, “Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire”, “Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneyground” and “Percy” for a total of less than £40. Another top find here in Copenhagen would be a first UK stereo pressing of “With the Beatles”, with all four of the label errors for about £10 at a record fair. Also a first UK stereo pressing of Pink Floyd’s “Saucerful of Secrets” for about £20. In the last eighteen months or so, I’ve found three of the famous “Robert Ludwig RL Hot Wax” US first pressings of “Led Zeppelin II” all pretty cheap. So the bargains are most definitely still out there!
Finally, what set up do you play your collection on?
My set up is almost all second hand, as my budget is limited and I’ve tended to keep spending more money on records rather than equipment and I think I have a decent enough set up now to enjoy my record collection on. At the moment, it’s a second - hand red Rega Planar 3 with a new Bias 2 stylus. A NAD C320BEE amplifier with a Rega Fono preamp and also a pair of KEF Q65 floor speakers that I got in a charity shop for £25. My kids are collectors as I’ve mentioned so they have been inheriting my equipment if I buy something new. My eldest son, Samuel, has just moved into his own apartment so I gifted him my old turntable which was a 2016 Rega Planar P2. We have a second setup in the apartment, in my fifteen year old son’s room which is a Rega Planar 2, a Denon amp and Dali speakers. My daughter is currently living in Sydney and no doubt she will end up with some of my equipment when she’s back settled. It’s great that the kids are interested in records and of course when they are starting to listen to music it’s either vinyl or streaming, not many would be buying a CD
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