Paul Camo Top Ten
This weeks Top Ten is from the almighty Paul Camo. Paul is a Top DJ who had me going mental to some Disco in Cliftonville last year.
Buy local.
As a record collector, nothing beats finding good records for cheap. And although I do buy a lot online, it just doesn’t compare to getting out there and having a good ol’ flick. I especially enjoy buying records locally, I always have. Perhaps I’m a bit lazy like that.
I recently moved to Margate and although I haven’t put as much effort into searching out records as I have in the past – just not enough time in the day between being a parent and designing – I have managed an occasional dig. So here’s my top ten Margate / Thanet record finds. All pretty cheap (most were under a fiver) and any that cost more than that were nowhere near as expensive as the cheapest copy online. It shows there are still records out there to be found if you get off your arse.
Eugene McDaniels – Outlaw
A classic Lp by one of my all-time favourite artists. I was understandably surprised to come across this because you just don’t see it out and about and if you do it ain’t going to be cheap. I have my own copy but there was no way I was going to leave this, especially for the price I got it for. Instead it made for a very nice birthday present for a good friend of mine.
The Mike Sammers Singers -Hymns A’Swinging
Found this for 2 quid in a brick a brack shop. I had seen some records in the shop one Sunday afternoon but the shop was closed, so I was surprised to see it there waiting for me a week later. If you don’t know this lp, it’s versions of religious hymns; basically jazz/ cheesy/ slightly easy-listening in places. It also has Tubby Hayes playing on it, who I’m a fan of. ‘He Who Would Valliant Be’ and ‘Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken’ are the stand out tracks.
Beast – Beast
Just took a punt on this. Pretty much standard stuff with the exception of ‘Floating’ and ‘(Strange Places Like) Santo Domingo’ which are more to my taste.
The Mud Hutters
Another cheapy I bought based on no knowledge at all. Went for it solely based on the record sleeve; I’m a sucker for hand written text on sleeves. It’s a fairly solid post-punk listen with a few stand out tracks.
Folk Music E.P.
I got this one along with the above Mud Hutters, again because of the sleeve. I was expecting it to be folk music, obviously, but was pleasantly surprised when I got home and played it. It’s a solid lp, listen to the youtube tracks and decide what genre it is for yourself. Comes with an insert stating the production cost for the record which is a nice touch.
Can – Ege Bamyasi
This was an interesting find. It was sitting there, partly poking out of a box high up on a shelve. It wasn’t a super cheap purchase like most of the other records in the list but a OG UK copy for 25 quid, can’t grumble with that.
Roxy Music – Sultanesque
Not a rare one but a lesser known Roxy Music listen, this slow-paced instrumental is the flip to ‘Love is the Drug’. I’ve had a battered copy for a long time but never bothered to get a clean version. I found this whilst flicking through a pile of mostly crappy pop 7’s.
Babylon -OST
This nice cheap find was dug out of a box in the back of a shop selling mostly old tat .
Jah Woosh – Chalis Blaze W/Lbl
Pretty rare to find anything of permit in charity shops these days. So as you can imagine I was happy to find this for a couple quid. The perplexing thing is how only one record like this finds its way into a box of mostly crap records. Of course I asked if they had anymore reggae records like this at the back to which the shop assistant replied “all the records we have are out”.
Folk 77 – I Have a Dream
Didn’t know anything about this one when I found it. I was taken by the very lo fi sleeve design: Borderline awful by certain standards but badly designed record sleeves with great music inside is almost as appealing to me as brilliantly designed sleeves with great music. The nice thing about this record is that it really captures the essence of my top ten. It’s an independently released record by a Deal based label, recorded in Westgate, and sung by singers from a church in Broadstairs. It seems this lp was recorded as a result of a well-received performance the group made at The Winter Garden for the Queens Silver Jubilee.
Thanks Paul! Hopefully see you in Thanet soon!
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