A photo, taken by myself using with my trusty Kodak Instamatic,
of a family party which we had in our flat at 22 Childwall Heights, Liverpool.
The picture features Mal, Eric and Marion Taylor who had come to visit.
Also pictured are my brother Gary, Aunt Betty and Mum Joan.
Just why they had to pretend to form a band; being pictured with our two guitars, a Bontempi organ and a couple of tape-recorder microphones, I don't recall. But what I do remember is that such events were a regular occurrence in our house. We would be visited often by friends and family, and these events would always end the same way-- food and drink would be consumed, music would be played, and everyone would generally have a fab time.
I also remember that I had an extension speaker my Dad brought home for me from the Hippodrome cinema where he was working at the time. It was an unwanted piece of kit he rescued after the cinema sound system had been upgraded.
During these parties, I would place the speaker in the living room and play music from my gear in our bedroom. I played both records or tapes-- playing whatever artists or albums had been requested by those present. Then, once the dancing was over and the conversation and general chat started, I would plug the speaker into the microphone input of my tape deck and sneakily record some of the conversations which ensued.
After a while, I would fess up and playback a section of the recording to the audience. Once everyone had realised what I'd done, they'd listen to themselves speaking and even more laughter would take place. For some, it might have been the first time they had heard themselves talking on tape; quite a strange occurrence for some of them back in the 1970's.
It might just have been a family party... but the photo reminds me of such magic moments!
How I wish I'd kept those tapes.
I would just love to listen to them now.
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