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A little history from The Golden Maverick
THE BELOVED 45
The seven-inch is sixty years old this year. On March 31, 1949, RCA released the first commercially available seven-inch, 45rpm record on green vinyl. It featured the country and western singer Eddy Arnold and was called ‘Texarcana Baby’.
In 2001, annual sales of the 45rpm format had fallen to an all time low of 180,000. In 1979, at the zenith of the 7-inch’s popularity, there were sales of 89 million seven inches. Although the record industry is experiencing something of a general downturn, the seven-inch format is bucking the trend. In the UK they’ve been pressing over 1 million seven inches each year since 2005.
I’ve liked vinyl since I was a kid. I’ve a particular soft spot for the seven-inch format. The first seven-inch that I can remember owning was a Disney release called ‘Ten Little Indians’. I’ve no idea who the artist was, or where the record is now. A few years later, when I was 11 years old and visiting my Aunt May, I went shopping on my own for some seven-inches. She lived beside a shopping centre with a record store and I bought two singles; ‘Hanging on a String’ by Loose Ends and ‘We are the Young’ by Dan Hartman. I still regularly play Loose Ends but the latter hasn’t seen the light of day for years.
Since those early days I’ve amassed a large amount of seven-inches. I’ll not buy a seven-inch because of its packaging or scarcity. I generally have to like the tune to buy it. Thankfully, the recent resurgence in seven-inch releases means there’s always an interesting release on the format. It appears that major labels are using the format as a loss leader for upcoming albums by their acts. You’re currently able to purchase the latest U2 seven-inch on the high street for 99c, the same price as the digital release. Over the past year alone you could pick up seven-inches from the likes of The Sugababes, Radiohead, Morrissey, Duffy and The White Stripes.
Such releases are in addition to the multitude of independent/specialist releases that have been the mainstay of the format throughout its lean years. One trend associated with the resurgence of the seven-inch format is the return of the b-side instrumental version or dub. I’m a big fan of instrumentals but there was a danger that digital releases would kill the notion of the b-side. Oftentimes the b-side of a seven-inch is where its’ at. You’ll find every self-styled remix producer turns up with a b-side reworking in sometimes the most bizarre instances. Acts like Hot Chip, CSS and Metronomy appear to have a profitable sideline in remixing. The result is not always pretty but sometimes you’ll find a real gem that’ll serve to perk you up again.
There’s a body of domestic musical releases that would not have seen daylight were it not for the humble seven-inch. These releases come from various parts of the Irish musical spectrum. Three examples spring to mind. In recent times there was slew of releases on Road Relish, a small independent label associated with the Road Records store. Each release was a split seven-inch featuring two acts and was limited to 500 copies. The series featured acts like Glen Hansard, David Kitt, Jape and Decal. Fellow independent Dublin record store, All City Records, also has a sideline in vinyl releases. The recent 7x7 series started in March 2008 with a release from US producer Snowman. The next six thereafter featured beat makers from Europe and the US including Mike Slott and new Warp Records signing Hudson Mohawke. Once again copies were limited to 500. Another independent Irish label, Trensmat, have been flying under most radars for the last few years. Trensmat specialise in transmitting drone, noise, oscillations & grooves. Their expanding back-catalogue of specialist seven-inches features the likes of Acid Mothers Temple, The Telescopes and Bardo Pond. Whilst it’s clear that these seven-inch series don’t make money for the independent labels this thankfully hasn’t put them off doing it. I’ll always go out of my way to listen and potentially buy these releases. As with the All City and Road Relish singles, I’ve been fortunate enough to get copies of quite a number of the Trensmat releases.
Things are looking okay for the seven-inch. It’s small, portable and stylish and it appears at last to be establishing its own niche amongst music lovers, collectors and such like. It’s a personal item that offers a new experience each time you play it. A missed sleeve-note, a peculiar background noise or some writing etched around the centre label all add to each playing experience. I’m chuffed that things are going right for the humble seven inch as it approaches its 60th. Happy birthday.
Photos: Aidan Kelly
Portrait: Eddy Arnold
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