NME Flexi-Discs ?

NME Flexi-Discs ?

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coppernorks

Original Poster:

1,919 posts

45 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
Anyone recall early 1970s free flexi-discs included in your weekly NME ?,
they were 45 rpm, about 5 inch in diameter, flimsy and were a bugger to play on
your Hi-Fi turntable because they had no weight to them and the stylus skipped over the grooves.

Tracks from artists like The Faces, Rory Gallagher, Alice Cooper.

otherman

2,190 posts

164 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
I stil have some of them. Including Monty Python's Tiny Black Round Thing.

595Heaven

2,387 posts

77 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
Back in the days of the Sinclair ZX81 which used tape cassettes for offline storage, I remember Your Computer magazine issued software via Flexi disc. I think I still have a couple of issues somewhere.

selym

9,539 posts

170 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
595Heaven said:
Back in the days of the Sinclair ZX81 which used tape cassettes for offline storage, I remember Your Computer magazine issued software via Flexi disc. I think I still have a couple of issues somewhere.
Taking that one stage further, I am adamant that there used to be a computer programming show broadcast on the radio where they'd play the 'noise' that represented a program for the Spectrum and you could record it to tape and (in theory) run it direct from the tape. I've never heard this from anyone else and can't remember if I actually did it or if it even worked - it might even have been for the BBC/Electron.

Neddy Sea Goon

230 posts

47 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
I remember a computer show which used to be broadcast on a Sunday morning, did exactly that, and was for the BBC micro

selym

9,539 posts

170 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
Neddy Sea Goon said:
I remember a computer show which used to be broadcast on a Sunday morning, did exactly that, and was for the BBC micro
Thank you - I felt like the guy from The Invaders! I knew it was true but no-one else had seen it!

bristolracer

5,527 posts

148 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
Yes I remember the flexi discs
They worked a lot better if you put them on top of another proper vinyl

I recently purchased on ebay 4 of the compilation tapes they did in the 80s after the originals were nicked out of my mk2 Escort.
Most of the tracks are on Spotify, some are not or are different mixes, so its good to hear them again.

abzmike

8,241 posts

105 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
selym said:
Neddy Sea Goon said:
I remember a computer show which used to be broadcast on a Sunday morning, did exactly that, and was for the BBC micro
Thank you - I felt like the guy from The Invaders! I knew it was true but no-one else had seen it!
Indeed.. Record onto your cassette recorder - If you were advanced and the TV had a audio plug output use a cable rather than holding the mic by the speaker - then spend another 15 minutes playing the audio into the computer to load the program. Then start the program only to find you dont' have enough memory to run it! Try explaing that process to the youth of today.

Back to the OP, I was more of a Sounds reader - their flexidisks were particularly flimsy - Stylus skipping was common, but a good way for established and new artists to get new tunes out there.

Einion Yrth

19,575 posts

243 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
selym said:
Neddy Sea Goon said:
I remember a computer show which used to be broadcast on a Sunday morning, did exactly that, and was for the BBC micro
Thank you - I felt like the guy from The Invaders! I knew it was true but no-one else had seen it!
And to return to a more musical theme; that of course, is where Stiff Little Fingers, got their name.

595Heaven

2,387 posts

77 months

Friday 26th February 2021
quotequote all
selym said:
595Heaven said:
Back in the days of the Sinclair ZX81 which used tape cassettes for offline storage, I remember Your Computer magazine issued software via Flexi disc. I think I still have a couple of issues somewhere.
Taking that one stage further, I am adamant that there used to be a computer programming show broadcast on the radio where they'd play the 'noise' that represented a program for the Spectrum and you could record it to tape and (in theory) run it direct from the tape. I've never heard this from anyone else and can't remember if I actually did it or if it even worked - it might even have been for the BBC/Electron.
Oh yes, that takes me back!

And who can forget the perfect ZX81 programs for a Saturday morning spent in WH Smith:

10 PRINT "WH Smiths is crap ";
20 REM Other less pleasant alternative texts were available
30 GOTO 10

and a ZX Spectrum favourite:

10 PRINT "Loading Jet Set Willy"
20 RANDOMISE USER 1234

Which used to dispaly the strange jagged stripes around the border of the screen that you got when a program was loading. Happy days.