I've got an old Dansette record player, an RG31 from the early 60s, and almost identical to one that my dad bought with his first wage packet on the buses in 1958. That original Dansette stayed in our house until 1982 and survived being used by five not very careful kids!
By that time it was my record player, and is what I used to play every single record I bought. However, for my 9th birthday, I got enough money to get a new stereo record player from the (then) recently opened Poundstretcher on The Moor. So the Dansette was given to my cousin who promptly ripped out the insides and turned it into a toy cabinet for his kids. And I was never happy about it.
Anyway, last year I got lucky on eBay and picked up one almost identical for a tenner and in perfect working order. I'd forgotten how brutal and mechanical they were, the records dropping down on top of each other, the big metal arm landing on the play-in groove. I'd also forgotten how great they sounded - that's how music
used to sound and
should sound! Even the radio still works.
Now I've got one again, I don't ever want to be without it!