My parents always had a varied) vinyl collection. It ranged from old soul and blues artists like Jimmy Smith and Booker T. & The M.Gs, to Wings and ABBA. They also had a nice turntable and cassette deck so I was surrounded by vinyl and a record player from an early age.
I was born in the early ’70s so over that decade was when my own musical tastes started forming. My cousins were a little older than me and were into bands like The Clash and Sex Pistols, so that also played a part in it. The first record I bought with my own money was ‘Centrefold’ by The J. Geils Band in 1981. I used to go with my grandfather and spend my pocket money on 7” vinyl. I was a huge Adam & The Ants fan so most of the first records I bought were by them.
I had already started building my music collection when I got a job working in pirate radio at the age of 15. It was a dream job for me as I was able to share the music I had collected with others. Eventually collecting music turned into a profession. I started DJing parties and clubs, as well as working for radio stations in the US and UK. For a while I worked as a music journalist—which gave me another outlet to share my passion, and then eventually as a music producer. But, honestly, I still collect vinyl for fun.
I’ve been collecting records for well over four decades now so I not only have an emotional and professional connection to my collection but it essentially forms the soundtrack to my life.
In true collector style, there is a meticulousness to how it is all ordered. My collection is arranged by genre and alphabetical order, but there’s also a chronology to it. It traces my musical tastes, and also my professional career in the entertainment business. I can remember where most of the records were bought or acquired. Each one has a story.
Nearly all my records have been played on radio, in clubs, or used in my production so it’s a working collection. Of course, that means that it is never finished.
Every day I still look online for interesting records, or ones on my ‘want list’. It is also a great excuse to go travelling. There is a real thrill in visiting a place for the first time, seeking out its record stores and discovering music you never knew existed. Some of the most interesting records I own have come from trips to places like India, Lebanon and Thailand where I’ve unearthed some amazing vinyl records that have never been available digitally.
I get records by any means necessary. I often trade or buy from collectors or dealers. Sometimes a record is so rare that you can only get it from another collector—they might no want or need the money, so you have to find something in your own collection that you’re willing to let go of as a trade.
In terms of my most prized possessions, in the hip-hop genre, I have some unreleased test-pressings of records that were never produced commercially. Sometimes only two or three copies were made before a project was scrapped. I have an original copy of ‘Beat Bop’ by Rammellzee. Only 500 were made and the artwork was designed by Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Mint copies of that have previously sold for six figure sums.
The thing is, I don’t see my records as investments. I’m not looking to sell them as they are too personal to me. I have a whole selection of records that have been signed ‘To Dan’ by artists—including musicians that have passed away. Those have a deeper emotional connection, for example, once the rapper J Dilla came on my radio show in London and signed a bunch of records for me. Since his passing he’s become a hip-hop icon so when I show those to people they can’t believe I even met him let alone got him to sign my records! I also have a bunch of other music memorabilia, so much so that last year I curated an exhibition for adidas at Sole DXB celebrating 50 Years Of Hip-Hop. It was really rewarding sharing some of my prized possessions with the general public—like my signed poster of the Notorious B.I.G.
Since I had kids I’ve started getting artists to sign stuff with my kid’s names on them rather than mine. Hopefully at least one of my kids will cherish them and preserve them as much as I do—but, I guess, deep down I hope that they will find their own meaning with them.
Dan Greenpeace’s new single ‘Nowhere To Run To’ is available on all streaming platforms and available on vinyl from kaydeerecords.com. Catch him live DJing at Honeycomb Hi-Fi in Dubai