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View Full Version : Did anyone have a Radiogram when growing up?



Puffin
14-01-2016, 19:53
A new member has just joined for Hilversum, which got my memory going.

When I was a kid (about 7 or 8 years old) we had a Radiogram (a highly prized and highly polished piece of furniture) made by HMV with a heavy hinged lid with a plaque inside the lid of the HMV dog (Nipper - good pub quiz question answer :) ) This contraption housed a turntable and radio. The radio was a MW & LW jobbie with a dial and cursor that went up and down the wavelengths as you turned it. It had these amazing names written on the radio stations and Hilversum was one of them. I used to twiddle the knob just to hear the strange noises that you could make as you crossed the wavelengths of different transmitters (bit like electronic birds). The turntable had a stacking system for 45's so you could play about 6 in a row. My funniest memory is getting my dad to listen to my latest purchase, The Isley Brothers - Behind a Painted Smile - a bit too "way out" for me he said:D

We lived in a terraced house in Battersea. My sister is 3.5 years older than me and she was the one who started me on the Motown road. We lived in the top of the house when we were young and she used to get her friends around and I would be "The Record Man", I had to push the radiogram up to the sash windows and blast out whatever the girls wanted, so that they could literally "Dance in The Street". Happy days.

Other 45's played on it and bought by me were oddly, The Green Grass of Home (Tom Jones), Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing in The Shadows (Stones), Something in The Air (Thunderclap Newman) and 33 of The Messiah......:mental: Very eclectic tastes.

Oldpinkman
14-01-2016, 21:30
You betcha. My dad had a beautiful walnut bush unit with a 6 record autochanger

sq225917
14-01-2016, 21:32
My old man won £300 on the pools in 71 and bought a B and O BG1200. He still has it.

sq225917
14-01-2016, 21:33
Beautiful walnut bush.

Pmsl

Puffin
14-01-2016, 21:38
Beautiful walnut bush.

Pmsl

+1:lol:

Oddball
14-01-2016, 21:59
Something in the Air . I bought that as a single when it came out Puffin .
You must be an old fart like me ;)

Barry
14-01-2016, 22:18
My parents had a Philips radiogram through which I listened to "Listen with Mother", as a small child, then later "Top of the Form" and on which I played my first 45rpm records.

The turntable was pretty modest, having an 8" platter, a 9" arm with crystal cartridge fitted with two separate styli and cantilevers (one for 78s, on for microgroove records), nonetheless it was my first introduction to the world of audio.

Puffin
15-01-2016, 06:04
Something in the Air . I bought that as a single when it came out Puffin .
You must be an old fart like me ;)

Isn't it a requirement to join AOS?

jollyfix
15-01-2016, 08:49
Not sure on the make of the one in my home when growing up. There was a blue strobe type thing, when the blue line joined from left to right, the thing could be used, valves warm up maybe? I could be wrong and it could have been something to do with the radio. There was always Jazz playing 33/78's. My sister and i would spend most of the time listening to the local police via the radio.

Oldpinkman
15-01-2016, 09:04
Actually not only did my Dad have a fine piece of walnut furniture, manufactured by Bush, with a radiogram inside (which I drew on with my Mum's lipstick) but my Mum had a beautiful walnut cabinet manufactured by bush, which was a valve radio, with an input for a record player, and in a separate suitcase she has a "luggable" record player.

And she gave them to me. And I have absolutely no idea what I did with them. I would so love to get them back and get them working :doh:

Puffin
15-01-2016, 09:18
Actually not only did my Dad have a fine piece of walnut furniture, manufactured by Bush, with a radiogram inside (which I drew on with my Mum's lipstick) but my Mum had a beautiful walnut cabinet manufactured by bush, which was a valve radio, with an input for a record player, and in a separate suitcase she has a "luggable" record player.

And she gave them to me. And I have absolutely no idea what I did with them. I would so love to get them back and get them working :doh:

Yes, I would love to have our old radiogram.

mikeyb
15-01-2016, 09:29
No, but I did have an old valve radio that I used for listening Luxembourg 208 back in the 70's

Jason P
16-01-2016, 11:18
Mine did - a Dynatron, if I recall correctly. Very lush sounding and a beautiful piece of furniture. Dunno what the deck was inside, or receiver.

AlexM
18-01-2016, 23:16
No radiogram in our house, just a pye black box all in one record player. That is until my mum went to town (in a moment of madness) on a pioneer pl12, akai integrated amp and three way akai speakers. That blew my mind ☺

struth
18-01-2016, 23:21
Used to have one too when young, then when an apprentice repaired then scrapped most of them. half decent valve amps some of them had too but went out of fashion, and took up a lot of room. Probably worth a few bob these days

Beobloke
19-01-2016, 10:42
My father had hi-fi separates when I was growing up but his old stereogram was in my grandparents' lounge. They didn't use it as the Garrard 2025TC auto-changer on it had stopped working due to what I now know was the famous 'Garrard grease' issue. It was subsequently my first ever successful turntable repair, aged 11!

Audio Al
19-01-2016, 13:53
This chap wanted a gramophone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXDK3x5lAYI