Listen: All Tomorrow’s Parties / The Velvet Underground & Nico VelvetAllTomorrows.mp3

Not an easy 7″ to find, thanks Dick Storms for giving it to me years ago as a gift. Dick started The Record Archive, turning it into one of the best record shops of it’s day. From the humble beginnings of two standups (boxes) at a local flea market it grew to a sprawling vinyl hub, including deep catalog, collectables, knowledgeable staff, guest dj’s – even a back room complete with stage/sound/lights. Loads of local bands played, and national acts did those in-store signing things there too. Talk about taste – Dick had it down, not only in music but furniture, art, design and personality. A Rochester legend.

I wasn’t aware at the time that this single was actually a different take from the album version. I’d always assumed it was simply an edit. How could this not have been a hit one asks. Nico could sing any song and make it Nico. Andy Warhol was a decent A&R guy it turns out.

Listen: Crazy Little Thing Called Love / Queen QueenCrazy.mp3

After their first few singles, and by ’76, Queen officially resided in the ‘not friendly to punk rock’ space. Their music and image fitted totally with the helium sound and mustached look of US AOR radio – so not only did my attention wander, but in fact they were now considered the enemy.

Well I was wrong and my defiance softened. To be fair, they admittedly had singles all along that were secret pleasures. The video for ‘I Want To Break Free’ was a riot and a lot of our crowd realized, these guys are actually okay. Plus who is anyone, least of all me, to deny ‘Under Pressure’ or ‘Radio Ga Ga’?

Vividly remember that moment I sat up and really took notice. It was on an uneventful Saturday evening, watching SNL, as Queen literally unleashed one of TV’s best ever live music performances. ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, with the added keyboardist (anyone know who that is?) decimated any previous prejudice. A mad dash to the wall shelf followed, checking the Queen 7″ collection – and the filling-in process began the very next morning, bright and early, when I hit the garage sales then moving on to The Record Archive’s backroom.

I turned to Corinne, jaw dropped, spurting out some exclamation. She was nonplussed by Queen during those days, exactly like the rest of us, but in her typical smooth one-up way simply said, and this is an exact quote: “I always loved Queen”. Right.