Great story. My experience is really quite similar to this in some ways. I had a fairly sheltered early existence in a family who were mad on classical music and not much else beyond the Beatles and the Stones, so I decided, aged 13, that I needed to initiate my own foray into popular music. I had cash to spend on holiday in France at Christmas in 1987. I went into a record shop in Quimper. The two album covers that stuck out as being unusual and striking to me were Pet Shop Boys, Actually and New Order, Substance. I had absolutely no knowledge of any of the bands I was looking at...I vaguely knew who Michael Jackson was, and I recognised Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night, but that was it...Pinhead44 wrote: ↑Fri 12 Apr 2024, 9:14 am One More Chance
It is late in 1987, I am 12 years old and me and my 2 best mates decide that we each need to commit to a music artist, buy all their records, and be loyal to them forevermore. Furthermore (!), for reasons which only made complete sense as 12 year olds, we think it is not cool for any of us to be choosing the same act.
My first mate is easy, he picks Belinda Carlisle, for no other reason than he fancies her. Me and my other mate both decide we want Depeche Mode, but under the rules this is not allowed. There is clearly only one way to settle who get's DM, with a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. I go Rock, my mate goes paper, and I lose. Gutted, I then have to decide who to pick as my alternative choice.
Had this been a few months ago this would have been easy choice, PSB had released It's A Sin which I loved, and I had also liked all the 4 tracks they had released off Please (the rest of Please and Disco I would discover later), but since then, What Have I Done... and Rent had been released, and as a 12 year old, they weren't the It's a sin part 2 that I craved.
Pushed by my mates for an answer, I reluctantly go with PSB and the following day I go to the Our Price music store to buy Actually. There are rows upon rows of the vinyl, and the first thing that strikes me, is how different the cover is to all the other albums in the shop.
Once home, I put the vinyl on the record player and check the back for the track listing, track one 'One More Chance'. The Abba-esque keyboard slide kicks in and I sit there mesmerised for 5 and a half minutes, staring at the front cover of the album the whole time. The track ends, and I thank my lucky stars that I didn't go scissors in that game of rock paper scissors ! My musical journey with the boys starts right here !
I still adore this track today, and love that, like Please, it a non-release classic that kicks off Actually. 9/10
I bought both and have never looked back.
I am a living testament to the power of marketing!
