The 45s...

1. Ernie - Benny Hill

2. The Israelites - Desmond Dekker & the Aces

3. The Funky Gibbon - The Goodies

4. Twist & Shout E.P. - The Beatles

5. Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles

6. Something Else/Friggin' in the Riggin' - The Sex Pistols

7. Sunday Girl - Blondie

8. Can't Stand Losing You (blue vinyl) - The Police

9. Message in a Bottle (green vinyl) - The Police

10. Up the Junction (mauve vinyl) - Squeeze

11. What's so Funny 'Bout Peace, Love & Understanding (Nick Lowe on sleeve) - Elvis Costello & the Attractions

12. How I Wrote Elastic Man - The Fall

13. Gangsters/The Selecter - Special A.K.A./The Selecter

14. Tears of a Clown - The Beat

15. Hands off She's Mine/Twist & Crawl - The Beat

16. A Forest - The Cure

17. Eine Symphony des Grauens - The Monochrome Set

18. The Last Time - The Rolling Stones

19. Going Underground/Dreams of Children (double pack) - The Jam

20. This Charming Man - The Smiths

21. This Charming Man (12 inch) - The Smiths

22. Everyday is Like Sunday - Morrissey

23. Hit me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & the Blockheads

24. The Prince - Madness

25. Green Onions (Atlantic re-issue) - Booker T. & the MGs

26. Big A' Little A, Bouncing B - Crass

27. Original Sin/Legion - Theatre of Hate

28. Dancing With the Rude Boys - The Ruts

29. Hi Hi Hi/C Moon - Wings

30. Anticipation - Delta 5

31. It's Different for Girls - Joe Jackson

32. You're so Fine or I Found a Love - The Falcons [can't remember which I used to own]

33. You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin' (re-issue) - The Righteous Brothers

34. Baal E.P. - David Bowie

35. Magical Mystery Tour E.P. (mono) - The Beatles

36. Run Run Run [I think it was this one we had] - Jo Jo Gunne

37. The Harder They Come/Run Rudolph Run - Keith Richards

38. Car Trouble - Adam & the Ants

39. She's Not There E.P. (blue vinyl) - The U.K. Subs

40. Big Tears/Tiny Steps - Elvis Costello

41. The Drowners (12 inch) - Suede

42. Jim One - James

43. Christmas Day (white vinyl) - Squeeze

44. Working for the Yankee Dollar (double pack) - The Skids

45. Paint it Black - The Modettes

46. On my Radio - The Selecter

47. I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down - Elvis Costello & the Attractions

48. Daddy Cool - Darts

49. Two Pints of Lager & a Packet of Crisps Please! - Splodgenessabounds [this may have been coloured vinyl too - I honestly can't remember]

50. Something That I Said - The Ruts

Bubbling Under:

51. For My Country/The Black 45 EP - UK Decay [I'm pretty sure I had one of these...]

52. Pulling Mussels From the Shell [Clear vinyl, I think] - Squeeze

53. I've Just Been Feelin' Bad - Eddie Floyd [This was a b-side. I can't remember what the A-side was, as I fell in love with the flipside...]

54. Dreaming - Blondie [I have this and the b-side on Eat to the Beat, but it's just such a great single...)

55. Let it Be/Get Back - The Beatles [I think I had the Get Back single in the Let it Be sleeve...]

56. Blow Away - George Harrison

There are one or two tenuous ones, records that I never actually *owned* but which spent enough time in my collection for me to feel as if they were in some way briefly mine, if only in spiritual sense - The Fall, James and Monochrome Set are examples of such gestalt ownership and thus, I think, the only real cheats. I suppose that opens up a whole other argument about the notion of ownership itself, and I'm sure we'll delve into that more later on.

But otherwise, it's a fairly scrupulous list, I hope. There may have well been several important and inadvertent ommissions, but these are more likely to be lapses of memory, not necessarily attempts to conceal bad taste. Many of you will no doubt find more than enough examples of such tastelessness as it is to put your minds at rest on that score. Consequently, with the exception of the three interlopers already mentioned, I've tried to avoid too much wish-fulfillment. So there's no room for records I loved at the time but didn't buy - which is a shame, because I currently have a real hankering to hear, for example, 'I Got You' by Split Enz and I'm sure there will be others like it in the months ahead that come into my mind unbidden, some that may even have been eligible for this list. But, as you'll see, that's been excised from this list. It is, after all, an inventory of the lost, not the never found.

I've already ordered a few of these via ebay and I can see that the Royal Mail is going to make a pretty penny out of this one. So if anyone can help me to keep the Post Office's or Insignia's or whatever the fuck they're calling themselves now's profits down by donating any of the above in the interests of literature, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can email me here:

rswipe376@btinternet.com



L.U.V. on y'all,

Bob

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