Music
This story about a lost record collection will make every music nerd weep
by Nicole Villeneuve
March 25, 2015
To the serious collector, a vinyl collection is priceless, so when Edinburgh resident Aidan O’Rourke was given a carrying case full of hundreds of 45rpm singles by his neighbour, he did everything he could to find its clearly dedicated owner.
O’Rourke’s neighbour spotted the case near his recycling and, knowing O’Rourke was a musician, gave them to him so they wouldn’t be thrown out. “It was an incredible collection,” O’Rourke tells Noisey. “So beautifully ordered—not alphabetical though. The more me and my friends played them, we realized they were categorised by moods. Some real geek had done it.”
He put the word out and tried to find the collection’s owner, to no avail. Then, almost a year later, walking home late after a gig with a record under his arm, he ran into someone walking the same direction and got to talking about music. This mystery man used to collect records, and that he was a DJ.
….You can probably guess what happens next.
“For some reason, he brought up this story,” O’Rourke says. “He said July last year, he was walking home late at night after DJing, and for whatever reason he put down his box of records and then walked off. He realized his disaster the next morning and retraced his steps to find they were gone. As he was telling me this I was just frozen thinking: ‘I have got this box!’ So I said, ‘Andy, I’ve got them.'”
It was a joyous reunion. O’Rourke was offered a reward but didn’t take it. He is, however, the guest of honour at Andy’s upcoming DJ gig.
Check out the full story and some pics at Noisey.
