Brian Kelly: Vinyl's the last word in music

If Music Be The Food Of Love. Graphic / Brian Kelly

Last year's top selling album worldwide was released 50 years ago.

If Music Be the Food of Love…Then Prepare for Indigestion by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich was a popular album in 1966.

In 1966 a popular English band called Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich released an album titled If Music Be the Food of Love…Then Prepare for Indigestion.

An unusual title, I know, but a popular album at the time.

I have to say since the 60s and bands like Dave Dee and his mates, I have been suffering from indigestion, of the music variety.

I love music and am lucky to have a job that involves music and talking about it.

Let me give you a bit of a background on how I ended doing the job I love as Coast breakfast announcer in Tauranga.

It all began growing up in Whanganui and deciding at the age of 5 that I wanted to be a radio announcer.

I followed that dream and in 1980 began as a breakfast announcer on Radio 1ZD here in Tauranga. Thirty-eight years later I'm still doing what I love, playing great music and talking about it.

Between the age of 5 and 18 I learnt the guitar and played in various bands in and around Whanganui, playing the music that we were growing up with at the time, like The Beatles, The Turtles, The Seekers and many others.

Brian Kelly of Coast. Photo / Supplied

Fast forward to today and I'm still playing that music and more from the 60s, 70s and 80s, but on the radio.

When I first started in radio the DJs at the time played records on turntables.

Today, the music we play is all computer-generated, but I am happy to say vinyl records live on along with turntables.

In fact, revenue from record sales in New Zealand has increased over the last few years. Radioscope, which collects data on the record industry, reports sales have doubled from $462,000 in 2013 to more than $1 million in 2014.

This year, a record plant producing vinyl records will open in Australia to keep up with increasing demand, the first plant to open in Australia in 30 years. Sales are definitely on the up.

Last year's top selling album worldwide was released 50 years ago. The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band sold well over 50,000 units. And it's not just the classics.

The likes of Ed Sheeran, Nirvana, David Bowie and the late Amy Winehouse are all big sellers on vinyl.

I love my vinyl collection. I have more than 500 classic albums and each week in this column I'll feature one classic album and look at the history of the particular 12-inch vinyl.

Listen to Brian on Coast Breakfast 6am to 10am weekdays Tauranga 97.4FM Coromandel 97.9FM