Record collectors get into the groove at pop-up fair

THAT LONG forgotten album from 1970? The one by Fresh, whose debut album, Out of Borstal, influenced Sham 69 and Angelic Upstarts, and which was the aural counterpart of Richard Allen’s series of “skinhead” books? It’s right here, tucked between equally forgotten 1970s albums by German prog-rock bands and British folk acts.

Welcome to the Irish Record Fairs, a pop-up event that celebrated its 50th outing in Dublin’s Temple Bar at the weekend. If you’re an avid music fan – or an aspiring one – then you’ll probably have heard of it. If you have no interest in music, then its many charms will pass you by.

The event has been in existence since 1997, overseen by Brian O’Kelly, previously owner of Comet Records, at one time Ireland’s leading distributor of independent music.

Depending on your cultural tastes, the event is either a treasure trove of rare albums, lost gems, arcane music and hard-to-find collectors’ items of your favourite band or a mystifying collection of vinyl albums of which you have never heard and vinyl singles you threw out more than 25 years ago.

“There’s definitely a renewed interest in vinyl,” says O’Kelly, who can immediately spot the difference between a run-of-the-mill item and something that will sell for more than €1,000.

“Part of that is due to there being some vinyl that was never released on CD, or might be difficult to find in online areas. The artwork, also, is of huge appeal to many people.”

There is little doubt that events such as these are gaining a firm foothold in such recessionary times – as well as albums there are CDs, many of each can be bought for €5. The music fan is more than well catered for here, if they’re willing (and all of them, mostly male, are) to set aside a few hours to flick their way through boxes and boxes of product. And if the music doesn’t get you, then the artwork certainly will – framing album artwork of your choice is an inexpensive way to brighten up walls.

Business aside (“I would know how much rare items are worth but very few of them hold any intrinsic personal value to me – they are simply items of stock, says O’Kelly”), it’s all about the relationship one has with music. Certainly, business was brisk over the weekend, with smiles on faces brought about by either memories being triggered (for the over-40s) or (for 20-somethings) purchasing artefacts that meant something more than digital downloads.

“My own collection has grown and shrunk, like the tide coming and going, so now I regard my collection as my stock and vice versa,” says O’Kelly.

But doesn’t some of the music mean more to him than stock?

“You mean my very personal collection? That’s about two dozen albums.”

None of which, it goes without saying, is for sale.

[ irishrecordfairs.com ]

Collectors

1 DECLAN McCARTHY (56), Beatles and 1970s music fan, part-time second-hand record dealer

“I bought about 30 albums but they’re bit heavy to carry so I left them behind a counter to pick up later. I go to these record fairs all the time, partly because I’m a small record dealer myself, but I’ve only really got into it in the past year.

I have a fairly eclectic taste in music, and my purchases reflect that – I bought albums by Benny Goodman and Frank Sinatra here.”

2 SIMON DUNNE (early 20s), member of Dublin band Groundburst

“I come to these fairs as much as I can. Primarily I listen to 1970s music – I find there’s no comparison to music and album production from that decade, particularly within rock music, and the vinyl format has a serious difference in quality. I would generally look for soundtrack albums, which are difficult to get in the usual record shops.”

3 LISA FLANAGAN (20) Art History & English Literature student, TCD

“This is my first time here – I like to collect items of music and I think it’s interesting to dig into the past. I don’t have a record player, which you might think defeats the purpose of buying seven-inch singles, but I like to look at them as well. I don’t download albums – if there’s one particular song that I crave then I’ll download it but I prefer to buy the actual album.”

4 ALAN MULHALL (44), collector of music, Depeche Mode fan

“I have a massive Depeche Mode collection. I buy from these record fairs, eBay, online shops. I love vinyl the most. I grew up with it: you got your pocket money and you headed into town and bought the seven-inches and 12-inches, the albums. With Depeche Mode releases back in the day, I would have bought every album on three formats: vinyl, CD and cassette. It cost me a fortune!”