55 songs in 55 days - one for every year of
my life...so far.
Behind the wheel in Belgium, 1967.
Dad worked as the manager of a shop selling hi-fi equipment from the beginning of the 1960's up until we moved out of London in 1975, and from time to time would buy LP's with which to demonstrate record players to customers. If he liked something he heard, he would record it onto reel-to-reel tape at work and bring it home. In 1967, among several others I'm sure, I particularly remember that he brought home tapes of 'The Byrds Greatest Hits', 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and 'Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits'. I still have his Byrds and Dylan tapes, which he continued to play and enjoy for another 30 years, although he never purchased anything else by either artist. He wasn't so keen on 'Sgt Pepper' though, and soon taped over it. A few months later, after updating the demonstration records at the shop, he brought home the fairly worn 'Sgt Pepper' LP for me to keep. I didn't fully appreciate the significance of the record for another few years, but did get to know it well enough to write a couple of stories in English lessons at school, based on the lyrics of 'She's Leaving Home' and 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds'.
