The Guitar Magazine Guitar Greats Cassette (1992)

Here’s a nice little collectors’ item which is twenty years old this month. Well, going by its official birthday it’s twenty years old. In reality it’s slightly older. This is the free Guitar Greats audio cassette, as given away on the cover of the April 1992 edition of The Guitar Magazine. Because of the way these mags were published the month prior to their cover dates, however, the cassette would have been made available in March ’92.

The Jam – Dig The New Breed Audio Cassette

Whether it was a happy accident or a brilliantly executed plan, The Jam (fronted by Paul Weller) managed to span a number of the many pockets of youth subculture as the ‘70s morphed into the ‘80s. The number of different music-driven fashion sectors to which kids and youths in the UK could belong around that time was almost mind-boggling. Punk, Skinhead, Mod, Rude Boy/Girl, Ted/Rockabilly, etc… Each fashion had its associated music, and a raft of commercial bands vying for premiership in the genre.

Ella Fitzgerald – Ella in London (1974) Audio Cassette

This is now a highly-prized possession. It’s an original 1970s pre-recorded audio cassette, featuring the 1974 live album Ella in London, by the great jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. It was bought by my Mother either at or shortly after an Ella Fitzgerald performance she went to see. I don’t know what year the performance my Mom went to see took place, but it would have been mid ’70s – no later than 1977 I’m sure. That period is all very hazy for me because I was so young and I wasn’t really taking in detailed information, but I do remember my Mom raving on about Ella Fitzgerald for literally months. The event clearly had a big impact on her.