World of Chig   

4.1.11
The grim reaper is going through my vinyl collection, from the beginning

Consider the evidence:

The first ever 'artist album' that I owned was Remember You're A Womble, by... do I really need to say? On Christmas Day, it was announced that Elisabeth Beresford, creator of the Wombles, had died on Christmas Eve.

Then, after watching Boney M. on Christmas TV and having conversations about Bobby Farrell and his tight trousers, he died last week, on the anniversary of Rasputin's death, in Russia. You couldn't have scripted a better ending. I'd like to think his final words were, "Oh, those Russians!". 'Nightflight to Venus' and 'Oceans of Fantasy' (gatefold sleeve versions) were both early purchases in my albums collection.

Today, in a shocking double whammy, the grim reaper has moved on to my singles collection, starting with the first single I ever bought. That's 'Night Owl' by Gerry Rafferty, who has died today. That's it in the middle of my picture (below). It has the number 6 on it because I used to label each single I bought and the first five singles I owned were all presents. Gerry Rafferty was the first recipient of my own money. It's no coincidence that it charted at the time of my thirteenth birthday.



The other singles above are all by Japan (Ghosts, Nightporter, Life In Tokyo and Cantonese Boy). Bassist Mick Karn has died today, after a fight with cancer. I couldn't help wondering if his cancer treatment made him lose his eyebrows, given that he was known in the '80s for shaving them off and drawing on new ones with eyeliner pencil.

RIP to all four of the above, who all brought me a lot of pleasure in my childhood and teens.

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