The Leicester Tape Recording Club
News article - Leicester Mercury, Tuesday, January 6th, 1959:They'd Got It all Taped For Me – SAYS MR. LEICESTER
'Dear Mr. Leicester' – beginning with these words, lots of people write, in all sorts of "fists." Little did I dream that there would ever be a revolutionary change in the manner of communication.
Now I know better – I've had my first experience of tapesponding… What's that? It's corresponding by tape-recording, and since I am still in the pencil-pen-typewriter era, I had to take a walk down the street, with a small neat parcel that had intrigued me beyond words when it arrived. It was just a square, half-inch deep cardboard box containing a transparent plastic spool of tape and directions with a sixpenny stamp for its return. Down the street, an obliging radio department manager conducted me to a cubicle and set the tape working on a recorder.
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"Don't get the impression we are too lazy to write," asked the first voice. It explained that, because they wished to communicate with me about tape-recording, they though it best use this means to "speak" to me. First voice is that of Mr. John buckler, 32 Scott street, Leicester. He told me about his efforts at forming a Leicester tape-recording club. He has begun with a nucleus of about half a dozen enthusiasts. The first clubs of this sort were formed about five years ago, when there were very few recorders on the market. Now they exist in all parts of the country and their members talk to each other on tape in the same way as other people correspond by letter. They have too, a "magazine" on tape.
The voice of Mr. Peter Starie told me they hope to begin their meetings at the end of January. One of the best objects of the club is to enable blind people and hospital patients to tapespond.
Nearest club to Leicester's is Rugby's of which Mr. Michael Brown is secretary.
Photo captions:
John Buckler recording my first letter on tape.
Another first member of the club, C.J. Frost.
Peter Starie's was the second voice on the tape.
Click on image to see larger version.