It Started With The Specials. It Became a Collection of Memories.

The Specials started it.

Robyn, originally from Liverpool, was 12 when she got her first turntable for Christmas, along with the band's self-titled debut. The Smiths' Louder Than Bombs, purchased with Christmas money, followed soon after.

“I was so excited to get home and play it on my new record player,” she remembered. “I can still remember being that excited!”

Like most collectors, plenty more records followed. But some of the ones that matter most to Robyn today have little to do with rarity or value. One takes her back to two hours spent outside a concert on a cold October night with her nan.
​
It happens to be signed by Elkie Brooks, but the signature isn't the reason it means so much.

---

How record collecting changed her

I first came across Robyn through The Record Collectors Club, where she appeared as Collector No. 15. The project looked beyond photographs of vinyl collections to tell the stories of the collectors themselves.

A few years later, I was interested in what had changed.

“Collecting records has definitely expanded my music taste,” she says. “I feel like I’m more open to all kinds of different genres and recommendations than I would have been had I not started. I’ve discovered so many new artists and styles of music that have definitely changed my life!”

At 12, Robyn generally bought records she already knew she liked. Today, she's more willing to take a chance.
“I suppose I used to just collect records that I knew I liked at the time, but now I find myself picking up music that shop owners tell me to try or buying albums on a whim.”
​
She still goes back to the classic albums and artists she loved at that age, but record collecting has taken her well beyond them.

---

Little pieces of history

Some of Robyn's strongest memories of collecting aren't about rare pressings or expensive purchases. They're about going to car boot sales with her nan and grandad and hearing stories from the people selling their records.

“It felt like I was holding little pieces of history in my hands; albums and songs that people had lived to and loved through the years.”

​Her nan also used to take her record shopping.

Robyn lost her unexpectedly in December 2024. Before her death, her nan had already chosen some records to give Robyn for Christmas.
​
Robyn can now hold those albums and think about her nan going through the racks, carefully choosing the ones she thought her granddaughter would like.

“It’s not just about having a collection, each record has a memory attached to it, a moment in my life. The record holds the memory and is a physical symbol of that time.”​

One record in particular carries a memory that has become especially important.

---

Two hours on a cold October night

​In 2024, Robyn and her nan went to see Elkie Brooks.

For readers who may not know the name, Brooks has been part of British music for more than six decades. She fronted Vinegar Joe alongside Robert Palmer before establishing a long solo career. Her 1977 album Two Days Away became her breakthrough and included “Pearl's a Singer.”

While writing Robyn's story, I spent some time listening to Elkie Brooks myself. “Don't Cry Out Loud” hit me immediately. It's one of those songs you feel like you've heard a thousand times, but in the best possible way. Familiar almost immediately, even if you couldn't have told someone who was singing it.

Robyn took her copy of Two Days Away to the concert in case she had the opportunity to get it signed. After the show, she and her nan waited at the back door for two hours.

They eventually met Brooks, got a photograph and had the album signed.

“Elkie Brooks was lovely,” Robyn remembers. “She had all the time in the world for the few of us that had waited.”

But the autograph isn't what Robyn remembers most.

“The most special part, though, was the time I got with my nan.”

Two months later, her nan was gone.

“I didn’t think that two months later she would no longer be with me and I’m so glad I got to spend that two hours on a cold October night with her.”

Today, that record takes Robyn straight back there.
​
“Every time I look at that record I get to remember that night, how happy we were and how we got to spend that precious time together, just talking and having a nice evening.”

---

What owning the record means

​Robyn started collecting vinyl when streaming was already normal. She never needed shelves of records simply to hear the music.

“Owning music physically gives me the album art, the memories, the music itself!”

She loves album artwork and inserts and sometimes pulls records from the shelf just to admire the details.
“I just feel as though there’s something special about owning all of these beautiful album covers. I find myself pulling albums out and just admiring all the little details constantly.”

She also believes vinyl changes the way she listens.

“There’s something that helps you connect to an album when it’s on vinyl. You’re not skipping tracks, you’re hearing it exactly how the artist intended you to!”

That has led her to album tracks she thinks she might otherwise have skipped while streaming.

And, as Robyn puts it, “There’s also the added bonus that you actually own your records, I suppose.”
​
Her copy of Two Days Away makes the point. The music can be streamed, but the record on Robyn's shelf is the one she took to the concert, the one Elkie Brooks signed and the one connected to those two hours with her nan.

---

---

Ten years from now

​I asked Robyn what she hopes her vinyl collection might look like if we have this conversation again in ten years.

“In ten years I hope my collection has grown to include genres and artists I don’t even know about right now.”

She'd also like some of the original pressings that are currently beyond her budget, or as she puts it, “the joys of preferring original pressings!”

And there's one more wish.

“The only other thing I could wish for is a new Kate Bush album slotted in there.”

But there's something more important she hopes will have changed by then.

Since losing her nan, record collecting hasn't felt quite the same.

“I do hope I can reclaim the excitement I had for record collecting prior to my nan’s unexpected passing. It feels slightly too much for me to fully involve myself in at the minute given that it was the main thing we used to do together.”

For now, Robyn is giving herself time to find her way back to something that has been part of her life since she was 12.

​“I hope when the pain lessens I can take comfort in continuing my collection instead of sorrow. I know I’ll get there, so let’s just say in ten years I’ll be more excited than ever!”

---

Keep Exploring

Robyn’s collection is one story among many. Meet more people and explore the memories, discoveries and rituals behind their records in Collector Stories.

If Robyn’s story has you thinking about what you might discover next, Find Your Next Record explores different ways to find vinyl, from independent record stores to trusted online sources.
​
And for practical ways to care for, protect and enjoy the records you already own, explore Collector Essentials.