People's History of Pop BBC Music

This is a photo of all the Boyzone stuff I have been collecting since the 90s. I have seen Boyzone twice now at the Nottingham arena. My fave was Stephen Gately but sadly never got to see him sing live.

This is a small snapshot of my Oasis postcard collection from the 1990’s.
These postcards were sent to fans announcing upcoming releases, limited editions and tour dates.
In any record purchased, there was a little card for you to send off with your details filled in, and I can remember the return mailing address even now; Alveston Place, Lemington Spa, Warwickshire!

For many years I had these framed, as to me, in this period, this was an extra piece of Oasis artwork and memorabilia, that felt a bit special.
It was always great coming home to one of these postcards on the doormat, certainly more exciting than the email notifications we get nowadays, something to be collected, not instantly deleted.

Ah, the good old school mailing lists…..!

The Britpop era was also the heyday of Blair’s ‘New Labour’, and nobody will forget Noel Gallagher and head of Creation Records Alan McGee attending a celebrity studded drinks party at 10 Downing Street.

One month back in 1997, instead of receiving a prized postcard, we were sent Labour party policies through the post.
I found out years later that a deal must have been struck between New Labour and Creation Records, for their Oasis mailing lists.
These were used to reach out to us, a legion of potential new voters.
After all, we had already seen our heroes supporting the cause.

Hats off to Alastair Campbell for a good piece of spin with that idea….the rest, as they say, is history!

I loved my albums and played them regularly throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Now I no longer have a record deck so, sadly, they are stored in a big box under the desk in the study. Many treasures and memories languish here. I would never part with them!

Treasured collection of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

Includes the original invitation from the Queen Fan Club, coach pass, four tickets, t-shirt, carrier bag, programme, scarf, stage hands pass and working personnel pass

My collection of Catatonia t-shirts. 23 different designs. Mostly acquired via Ebay over the past 15 years. My favourites are probably the Cadbury-esque ones.

I remember listening to Blur’s album ‘Leisure’ on the coach on this school trip in 1995, The tracksuit top was from an amazing sports shop in Ryde on the Isle of Wight called Don’s Sports. A friend’s mum worked there and had noticed me wearing vintage sportswear, before announcing that they had loads of dead stock upstairs in the stock room from the 70s. I think they sold it all by the end of the year!

This is a mixtape I made in roughly 1997, featuring Alanis Morrissette and Blur. I spent hours making these tapes after school, often with recorded inserts in between songs featuring messages for my friends and specially dedicated songs.

This is still my favourite ever gig. I was 17 and remember arriving outside seeing a sea of people in brown cords and tracksuit tops and understanding for the first time what a tribe was. We got right to the front (you can see us fleetingly in the video) and it was absolutely amazing. Supergrass, Corduroy and Pulp supported. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to top it.