Gavin Godbold calls himself a die-hard collector, but there would be many others who think maybe he's gone a little too far.

The Bluff local has eight record players plugged in at various places throughout his home, ready to go whenever he might need them.

This may sound excessive, even for a music nut, but it makes sense when you learn that Gavin's vinyl album collection goes beyond 600,000.

WALL OF SOUND: Gavin Godbold with some of his extensive record collection.

Gavin said his music obsession began at the tender age of six weeks.

"My cousin was doing music," he explained, "and he noticed when music was playing, I would stop carrying on and crying."

Fifty years of collecting later and Gavin's love of music, especially on vinyl, has only grown stronger.

"I love the feel, the covers, the sound, the smell of the vinyl. It has its own special smell," he said.

Aesthetics aren't everything, of course, as in the long debate about the "superior" sound quality of vinyl, Gavin falls firmly on the believer side.

"The sound quality on vinyl is just unbelievable," he said.

"There's a depth and warmth to it.

"Vinyls aren't scratchy.

"You can play a vinyl and a CD together and people will go for the vinyl, or even think it's CD."

Today it seems as if vinyl has returned from the dead, with music lovers - especially the younger generation - buying both old and new records in the thousands.

To a vinyl veteran like Gavin, this isn't much of a surprise, because according to him, vinyl never died in the first place.

"They never stopped making vinyl, even in the modern day you could buy vinyl online," he said.

"But now you have JB Hi-Fi and other record shops where... the younger ones can go buy records - including re-released classics - for cheaper.

"It's all down to availability."

Seeing younger people being excited and buying records makes Gavin extremely happy, but he has some recommendations for all the young, new vinyl fanatics out there.

"I'm a bit of a 60s freak," he said.

"(People should listen to) everything by The Beatles, early Cold Chisel, and I'm an AC/DC fan for life."

He was also quick to add that the War of The Worlds soundtrack was a must-own on vinyl.

When Gavin finally does go to the great rock concert in the sky, he said he would never sell his collection but pass it down to his children.

With vinyl sales only going up, Gavin's collecting habit shows no signs of slowing down.

Vinyl clearly has the power to unite and connect music fans of all ages and tastes, so they can enjoy the music together.

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Written by Elvis Delaney

Article source: The Morning Bulletin