There was always a hiss of audiophiles perusing What Hi-Fi? magazine in Easonâs. Standing around and blocking your way. They were in silent ecstasy over tech specs, tape bias and Dolby details. You had to elbow through them to get to the rough piles of music papers. These were flung down at lower-shelf foot level, often bearing a muddy boot print.
I blamed the delirious audiophiles whose sonic lust made them surge forward and trample the pop rags. Glaring at these non-purchasing leeches, I took my place among them to thumb through the mediocre Melody Maker and the witless Sounds. Having sampled such wares, I always bought the NME.