RIP Gerry Anderson

Gerry Anderson

14th April 1929 - 26th December 2012

Electronic Music for Schools

Picked this wonderful book up recently. Showed it to my friend Mr Packer and we reminisced about many of the recording techniques (my fav was always turning the recording tape over and then turning it back, so anything you recorded was backwards). I should point out that Mr Packer was the 1st person I ever knew, who had a 4 track Tascam porta studio. For someone like me who had just mixed and bounced down from 1 cassette deck to another a 4 track porta studio was amazing. This book covers all sorts of fantastic topics like bouncing down, Tape splicing, making sound proofed boxes (shoe boxes stuffed full of cotton wool) for recording clocks etc. I recently saw some copies of this book on Amazon here. Definitely worth tracking down.

Some Presents from Christmas Past

Some time ago I was looking through an old box of family photos. Looking at these old images was the spark and inspiration for my new album Boxes Windows and Secret Hidy Holes, which is due out in 2013. But the new album is not what this post is about. As I was looking at these photo's I found a few old Christmas ones. A Photo of myself with my fav pressie from what ever year it might have been. So with this in mind I have decided to share with you all a glimpse at some wished for and received pressies from Christmas Past.
1st up is the colossus of digital technology, The MD2 Calculator??? I was desperate for a Calculator. In Dixons Store I had been looking at some very serious looking Calculators from Rockwell and Commodore and could not wait until Christmas day to get one. Imagine my surprise when I opened my present and it was not a Rockwell or Commodore but an MD2 Calculator?????? I was well chuffed (I really was) an MD2 was better than nothing at all. Within hours I had learnt how to type out silly words by holding the Calculator upside down. I had worked out how much pocket money I would have over the next 100 years and how many minutes there would be until my birthday. A few weeks later the battery ran out and the MD2 got put in the drawer for a very long time.

The Mighty MD2 Calculator

Image courtesy of Nigel Tout Vintage Calculator Museum

The Action Man Mercury Space Capsule was another desperately needed present. So desperate that as you can see from this photo of me I was yet again over the moon (sorry)

The Action Man Mercury Space Capsule was a superb chunk of molded plastic which

came in a rather hefty box, this box had a very dramatic Action Man in space image on the side. No space capsule would be complete without its Action Man Astronaut. And yes I got the Action Man Space suit as well. What deep space adventures I would have with all this.

But alas it was all to be short lived. On a deep space fly by of the sun (The Gas Fire on full blast) the imaginary heat sheild failed, and a large part of the capsule melted, imprisoning my Astronaut Action Man in a blob of plastic. That was the end of the Action Man Mercury Capsule. I should point out that leaving plastic toys in front of the fire is not very clever and can also lead to very pissed of parents.

My Commodore LED Digital Watch was as my mates in the playground put it "The Biz" I loved this Watch. At the time I truly believed that this Watch and its little red LED display were the future. One button on the side, pressed once, it showed the time, pressed twice the month and date. THE FUTURE at last. I remember walking into school with the sleeves of my Snorkel Coat rolled up, with my Commodore Watch on display. Hoping that everyone could see it, but at the same time hoping that the school, Pain Giver and Nut Job, did not decide that he wanted to wear it, or break it. The down side of these LED watches was that on a very bright sunny day, you could not see the LED numerals at all. So you would go around cupping your hand over the watch just to try and see what the time was, which never worked. After a while the battery ran out, the novelty of the LED watch wore of, and the Commodore watch joined the MD2 Calculator in drawer. But not to worry because The Trafalger LCD watch (with 3 buttons) would make all other watches in our house obsolete at a later date. 

The Commodore with its all functioning button

one press for time two for day and date