Alba Music Centre

I often spent time at my cousin’s house listening to their music, and it made me desperately want a record player or music centre of my own. I didn’t know anything about audio equipment or what specifications I should be looking for. I simply wanted something that could play records and cassettes and had a built-in radio.

When the opportunity finally came, I used my auntie’s mail-order catalogue to buy an Alba music centre, paying her back a little each week. There was no technical reason behind my choice. It offered everything I wanted and, most importantly, it was cheap enough for me to afford through the weekly payments.

When it arrived, it immediately became my pride and joy. Having a radio, cassette player and record player together in one unit felt like a tremendous luxury. For the first time, I could listen to the music I wanted, whenever I wanted, without relying on somebody else’s equipment.

I later bought a pair of headphones so that I could listen privately. They allowed me to turn up the music and become completely absorbed in it without disturbing anyone else. I also began buying my own singles and albums, with much of my collection consisting of funk and disco.

Listening to music in those days was an experience in itself. It wasn’t something playing quietly in the background while you did something else. Buying a new album felt like an event. I would sit down, put the record on and, if I was using them, put on my headphones before listening to the entire album from beginning to end.

While the music played, I would study the album artwork, read the lyrics and look through all the information printed on the sleeve. I would read the front and back covers repeatedly, taking in every photograph, credit and small detail. The artwork and packaging were all part of the experience, rather than simply being something wrapped around the music.

There was also no temptation to skip through dozens of other albums or immediately search for something different. Once the record was playing, I gave it my full attention. An album had a beginning, a middle and an end, and you experienced it in the order the artist intended.

It feels very different from how music is often consumed today, when songs can play in the background and pass by almost unnoticed. Back then, listening required a little more effort, but perhaps that effort made the music feel more important. You chose an album, sat down and gave it your time.

It was around this period that I discovered Kate Bush. Her music was unlike anything else I was listening to, and I began buying every album of hers that I could find. Alongside the records, I occasionally bought music on cassette, although vinyl remained the main part of my collection.

There must have been many other records, albums and artists that passed through my hands during those years, but I can no longer remember most of them. Too much time has passed, and the individual details have gradually faded. What I do remember clearly is how important that Alba music centre felt when it first arrived. It wasn’t technically advanced or particularly expensive, but it was mine. It gave me the freedom to discover music for myself and to enjoy it in a way that felt like an occasion every time I lowered the needle onto a record.