Him off Blancmange and Near Future, Neil Arthur, reveals the first and last records he bought and the one he turns to in an emergency
FIRST
The Rolling Stones
‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’
(Decca, 1965)
“I got a 2s/6d record token for my 7th birthday so my sister took me downtown (Darwen, Lancashire) to Nightingales record shop on the main road. We got the owner to slap it on his Dansette while we stood in this booth, which appeared to be finished in a soft acoustic pin board and listened to the song. After the listen, I wondered if I was allowed to say, “I didn’t want it now, could I try another!”
LAST
Terry Riley
‘In C’
(CBS, 1968)
ALWAYS
Brian Eno
‘Discreet Music’
(Obscure, 1975)
I was going to put ‘Neu! ‘75’ or Eno’s ‘Another Green World’, which I do play a lot. Thinking harder, and this is a tough one for me, I realised it’s more often Brian Eno’s ‘Discreet Music.’ Both sides continue to surprise me, yet I’m always at ease with it, like a strange audio security wotsit. Side one can drift in and out, like part of the, duh, natural ambience, as is the intention, while washing up, reading manuals, emptying bins. It takes the edge off stuff. Side two, the way every so often the parts come together and relieve the whole, is beautiful.
