The Buffy Sainte-Marie Tape

I've mentioned before that I first came across Buffy Sainte-Marie through a half-hour programme of her music on BBC2 in 1975 or 1976. What I don't think I've mentioned is that I taped the programme, as in recorded onto a cassette by holding the microphone against the speaker on the little portable telly in my bedroom. I don't know why I did that, but I did.

The programme was made up of Buffy's songs played over short films that were quite literal. One that springs to mind was of a happy couple claiming native American heritage holding a dinner party with folks chatting and smiling while 'Now That The Buffalo's Gone' played, a song calling for support for native peoples. I don't recall any footage of Buffy in the programme at all.

'What's brought this up?' I hear you ask. Well, I'm having a bit of a clear-out and I found two boxes of old cassette tapes (that's an old form of technology for the younger readers)  buried away when I thought I'd long got rid of them all. And guess what? Despite getting rid of most of my cassette tapes years ago, I seem to have kept the tape with the Buffy programme. From the other music on the tape it looks like the programme was broadcast in 1976 so that clears up the timing question. The case is a bit battered but the cassette looks ok. I can't play it of course, because I no longer have a working cassette player, but I've still got the tape. I'm quite pleased by that and will keep it anyway.

I can tell it was before punk exploded just by some of the songs I taped on the same cassette:

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - 'Boston Tea Party'
Bryan Ferry - 'The Price Of Love'
Rod Stewart - 'The Killing Of Georgie'
Twiggy - 'Here I Go Again'
Kiki Dee - 'Loving & Free'
Manfred Mann's Earthband - 'Blinded By The Light'
David Dundas - 'Jeans On'
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel - 'Here Comes The Sun'
5000 Volts - 'Dr Kiss Kiss'
Bee Gees - 'You Should Be Dancing'

... and so many others (it was a C120 tape after all - if you don't know what that means then you're definitely under 35).

Of course, the problem with having a long-needed clear out is that all work stops every time you open another drawer or another box to investigate what gems I thought were important enough to hold onto. That means work is progressing slowly. In one box I found a load of ceramics - bowls and plates - that I gathered on trips to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in the '90s. Some are obviously meant to be decorative but what's the point in letting them collect dust in a box?

I've also found box on box on box of photos. Literally, thousands of the things going back 30-odd years. I, obviously, need to look at every single photo to see if it evokes a memory. And decide what to do with them all.

At least I'll have more space after this to collect more stuff to replace it with!