I, along with millions of others, ignored the warning and spent hours agonising over the sequence of music to go on my 'tape'; together with the week's highlights of John Peel, Greg Edwards and Pete Tong radio shows.
My C90 would not be complete without adding an appropriate compilation title to the inlay card spine using Letraset transfers (always Eurostile); and soon afterwards, I resigned myself to becoming a visual designer.
In hindsight, the recordable audio cassette was the first true breakthrough in both making personalised playlists and sharing them with friends. It was also the first time to take your own music out of the home.
Philips developed the first compact audio cassette in 1963; with four tracks available on the tape, giving two stereo tracks - one for playing with the cassette inserted with its 'A' side up, and the other with the 'B" side up.
The appeal of the compact audio cassette is that it's simple to use, universally compatible, small, low cost, reusable and available from any corner shop.
Cassette tapes have always been associated with underground creativity in music and the arts. The medium may have changed, but the culture of the 'demo tape', and the 'bootleg' still exist.
