Friday, May 22, 2009

mp3 Player - Singapore 60s Radiogram Music

Grundig, Normende, Siemens, Philips? It was the centrepiece furniture in the living room in the grand old days. Before the television set peeked round the corner and engulfed the Singapore home with its *"one big-eye" and *"one long-horn," the ultimate entertainment machine was the radiogram.

It had a record player with two speeds, a smaller 45rpm Extended Play function and the larger, more popular 33rpm Long Play. Beside it, (image) in another compartment, was the radio, the source of inspiration for many people then, when Elvis, The Beatles and Connie Francis sang their lives out on Maisie Conceicao's, "Calling All Hospitals," at nine o'clock in the morning.

If you chose to spin your own selection instead, there was a spacious area below the player and radio where black vinyls were placed neatly, single file for storage. With about 12 songs per Long Play record and storing about 200 records or so, you would have about 2,400 songs on the playlist. Not too bad, considering the number you could store now on your mp3 player. It was the 60s and valves were the craze. Not chips.
"When I was young/I listened to the radio/Waiting for my favourite songs..." Comment anyone?
*Sheb Wooley's, "Purple People Eater (1958.)"
(Image courtesy of: http://www.radiograms.co.uk/)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I used to lust after the radiogram and envied those who were fortunate enough to have them sit prettily in the living room. MONICA QUEK

Anonymous said...

Only for the rich but others have the record player that churns poor sound quality.

fltnsplr said...

I was a roommate of Maisie Conceicao's son Mark at Cal-State Fullerton (USA) in the early 70s. She and her husband Dudley were among the most gracious and charming people that I ever met, and it was a pleasure to have known them.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thank you very much for your comment; one that surprised me because not many readers in Singapore would know Ms Conceicao because she was a radio personality and was around so long ago. But you knew her in a social capacity with family members and away from this country.

I am glad that we touched base. Like the song Strangers In The Night, "what were the chances". Again thanks for the visit. Truly appreciate.

twixt said...

Mark is my 1st cousin migrated to US when we both were very young. Lost all contact. Tell me more.thanks! lamapa@gmail.com