1990’s

In Praise Of Typewriters

~ beetleypete ~ 86 Comments

I use a PC with a raised keyboard. I do that for a reason, and that is because I had typewriters from a very young age. When the company my mum worked for upgraded their offices in the early 1960s, they offered the old typewriters to the staff free of charge, if they could get them home. Mum asked for a 1930s Adler, and arranged to go in on a Saturday with my dad, to collect it in the car. I was only around nine years of age when they brought it home, and placed it on the small table in my bedroom that I used as a desk.

It was huge, with a long carriage, a bell that sounded when you had to use the lever to move the roller to the next line, and a very long ‘drop’ on the keystroke. And it made a great noise when typing at a decent speed, not unlike a machine-gun. It could type in black or red ink, by moving a selector lever, and also had the option to type impressions only, for stencils. At the time, replacement ribbons were very easy to obtain, and a standard fitting for typewriters of certain sizes. Mum also brought home a box of carbon paper, called ‘Onion Skin Brand’, which was placed between two sheets to make a carbon copy of what you had typed.

I loved that old machine, and learned to two-finger type on it quite well, by the time I was eleven. I used it to write stories on, and even for homework projects to hand in at school. I typed thank-you letters for Christmas and birthday gifts, and could even type the addresses on the envelopes. If I made an error, I had a special rubber that erased the ink. Then later on, a white fluid called ‘Tipp-Ex’ that you painted over the mistake, before typing the correct letter in the same space.

Eventually, the keys began to jam constantly, and my dad said it wasn’t worth the expense of having it repaired. Instead, I was given a second-hand Olivetti portable, that came in a smart carrying case. That had the same full size keyboard and layout, but with a much neater carriage, and a shorter key drop that allowed much faster typing without jamming.

That little gem of a typewriter lasted me until 1989, over twenty years after I received it as a gift. I even typed up a neighbour’s CV and numerous job applications for him on it. But it was showing its age, with occasional key jams, and worn letters not striking the paper deep enough. And by that time, the world of typing had gone electronic, so it was time to move into the 1990s. I went for the one that was getting the best reviews, the Brother AX 450.

This was quite a beast. It was packed with features too; like repeat keys, back space delete, and a snazzy little preview window that showed what you were typing. The paper could be stacked in much like a modern printer, so no need to stop typing after one sheet of paper It also had the facility to save the whole work, then print it all when you had finished typing. I wanted to love it, but I didn’t.

For one thing, it had to be plugged into the mains at all times, which restricted where you used it. Then it had a keyboard like the one I use now, with no keydrops, and no proper typing sound. The cartridges that it used in place of the old ribbons ran out really quickly, and were expensive to buy from the few places that sold them. (No online shopping back then, don’t forget.)

Very soon, I only ever used it when I had to. Official letters, complaints, applications, that kind of thing. If a neighbour asked me to type something up for them, I sat there wondering how soon the ink cartridge would run out. Then just under two years after I bought it, well out of warranty, it did what most electronic things with microchips in them do, and just died on me. The shop where I bought it estimated around £120 for repair, which was almost what I had paid for it in 1990. A new one was now much more expensive, and I didn’t really want another one anyway. So it went in a box in the garage, and was thrown away five years later when I moved.

In 2002, I bought my first laptop. It was a heavyweight Dell, running Windows XP. I started to send emails instead of letters, but still really missed my typewriters.

The first two real ones of course, not that last one.

Significant Songs (165)

~ beetleypete ~ 16 Comments

Goodnight Girl

In 1987, I heard a catchy song on the radio. It was called ‘Wishing I was Lucky’, with great lead vocals, and an interesting construction. I made some enquiries at my local record shop, and discovered it was by a band with the unusual name of ‘Wet Wet Wet’, from their debut album, ‘Popped in, Souled out’. I bought the album, and really enjoyed the other tracks too. Four of them went on to become hit singles, and the band really took off.

They were from Scotland, and fronted by the impossibly good-looking Marti Pellow, whose combination of great voice and cool style was wowing many women at the time. Fame came rapidly here in Britain, and with that followed two more album releases, in 1988, and 1989. The big ballad I am featuring today is from the fourth album, ‘High On The Happy Side, which came out in 1992. Two years later, their cover of the 1967 Troggs hit, ‘Love Is All Around’ was featured in the film ‘Four Weddings And A Funeral’ leading to it becoming one of the biggest-selling records of the decade.

By the late 1990s, success and adoration had taken its toll; Pellow was addicted to drugs, and also an alcoholic. As a result, the band split in 1999, with Marti later releasing a solo record, in 2001. Despite attempts to reform the original group, they never again got back to the dizzy heights they once enjoyed, and Marti Pellow is once more a (not very successful) solo artist. This was their heyday though, and it looks and sounds it too. I have also added ‘Wishing I Was Lucky’, so you can see what grabbed my attention in the first place.

Significant Songs (125)

~ beetleypete ~ 11 Comments

Old Cape Cod/At The River

In the late 1950s, my parents used to love to listen to a record from the American singer, Patti Page. Although I was young, I loved to hear her voice too, as it was sweet and clear, and she recorded many standards. That vinyl album was called ‘Patti Page In The Land Of Hi-Fi’, and I may well have it stored away somewhere, even now. They later bought more of her records, and one included the sentimental song, ‘Old Cape Cod’.

Fast-forward to 1997. I am 45 years old, and I hear a nice mellow tune on the radio. It was by the group Groove Armada, known for their electronic music, and use of sampling. They were popular on the club circuit, and had some success with both that song, ‘At The River’, and the big-selling ‘I See You Baby’. I knew that the sample in ‘At The River’ was familiar, but it took me some time to realise that it was Patti Page. I bought it on a compilation CD, and now have both versions, forty years apart.

Here they are, with the sublime Patti first, as befits chronological order.
Lie back, and enjoy.

Significant Songs (19)

~ beetleypete ~ 6 Comments

Unfinished Sympathy

Another group to emerge from the new Bristol music scene in the 1990’s, Massive Attack was a trio of musicians, rappers and DJ’s, who had the good sense to cooperate with some of the most soulful vocalists around at the time, as well as many of the best producers and arrangers working in that field. Their debut recording, ‘Blue Lines’, released in 1991, went on to achieve tremendous success, and much critical acclaim. They have gone through many changes from the original line-up, and the band still performs today.

There was a standout track on ‘Blue Lines’, a song that crossed musical boundaries, and could appeal to fans of almost any modern genre. Hard to define, to some it is a soul record, to others it is unique to Massive Attack. The production and orchestration are simply flawless, and allied to the perfect vocals of Shara Nelson, the result is a timeless masterpiece, that is both haunting, and huge in scope. As you can see, I cannot praise this track highly enough. The play on words of the title, ‘Unfinished Sympathy’, gives some indication that you are about to hear a modern symphony in miniature, fortunately, one that was finished. Perhaps one of the best records of all time.

Lie back, and let it wash over you…