Easy Rider

I learned an important lesson when video cassettes were nearing the end of their lifespan. The deluge of cheap merchandise hitting the bargain bins indicates the passing of the format, not an opportunity to fill your boots. Do not repeat the mistake with DVDs - sell them now!

My dad was a bit down on this film when he saw it. I thought it was great. It's about time I watched it again. I think I'd enjoy it...

But the tape is heading out on the highway.

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe Volume 1

This series captivated me as a four year-old when it was shown on early evening television in the 70s, so I jumped at the chance to pick up the video set when it was released.

When the rights were snarled up and a DVD reissue began to look a remote possiblity, the prices jumped, causing one friend to unload his set for £120! I didn't jump. And I'm now selling them for knock-down prices.

I bet Robinson wouldn't have hoarded them in his cave. He'd have lined his parrot's cage with them or something useful.

The Jesus And Mary Chain video by Jesus And Mary Chain

The all-reaching power of John Peel was such that I once walked into my parents' dining room in the late 80s to find my father listening to The Jesus And Marychain's "April Skies" and tapping his foot.

In those days Radio One shared an FM frequency with Radio Two and the end of whatever light music programme he listended to in the early evening would be followed at 9:00pm by the familiar theme tune, John Peel's laconic chatter and whatever non-playlist music was exciting him enough to play that night.

The Jesus And Marychain had exploded into our consciousness in the mid-80s with "Never Understand". The (old grey) Whistle Test screened the disorientating video (a formula which this tape reveals they repeated for all subsequent clips bar one) and a superb performance which caught even the unflappable Mark Ellen off-guard when they kicked over their instruments and sat sullenly on the stage at the end.

This tape is repetitive - in a nice way. But it's also VHS sized... and sitting with other VHS-sized video cassettes is a prime candidate for liberation.

Someone out there wants it. Good for them.

(I admit to capturing this on my PC for posterity.)

The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror/Simpson and Delilah; Three Men and a Comic Book/Blood Feud

Two more Simpsons video cassettes leave the shelves and the house visibly exhales. Only four left!

The Simpsons Collection: Two Cars In Every Garage, Three Eyes On Every Fish/Brush With Greatness

I first saw The Simpsons in 1990 when a colleague named Simpson received a tape from friends in New York. A lot had been written about the show in the media, but it would be some time before the show arrived on Sky One. And I didn't know anyone with satellite.

The episodes included Simpson and Delilah, The Crepes Of Wrath and Krusty Gets Busted - which at the time looked like hilarious, ground-breaking animated comedy. Now they look poorly-sketched, badly animated, half-characterised run throughs. I never imagined it would improve so much over the next four years.

By this time, although the show was broadcast on Sky, I still didn't know anyone with satellite, so when the first batch of videos were release, I started picking them up from Woolworths. Two episodes per tape, £8.99 each. Series 1 had thirteen episodes. Series 2, 22. Now you can pick up a series for the cost of two of the tapes.

And tapes take up so much room.

So long, and thanks for all the laughs.

Notes From a Small Island

Opening this to assess the contents I found I'd never even unwrapped it... which means I certainly hadn't watched it! Too late now - perhaps one day I'll find a cheap DVD and three hours of spare time.


Picked up on a whim in Australia.