This is a picture of the Rosedale electronic organ just like the one I had as a kid. I adored this thing and couldn't get enough of its reedy gaspy notes.
Like everything I had it got chucked.
Fortunately I found another one about 10 years ago and could once again enjoy those wispy keys.
Did you have one?
I did have a red plastic guitar, and a metal Mickey Mouse drum. I am glad you were able to find a new organ, and turn back the decades.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. I found it a car boot years ago, going for a song. I had to have it back!
DeleteYes, I had exactly the same model, mine was in a brown though. Lovely instrument, the left hand chord buttons helped with little kids like me make almost coherent music!
ReplyDeleteOnce I graduated to the guitar, it pretty much got forgotten. I'm not 100% sure what happened to it. Whether it was given away to other family members or not.
I do recall my mother once trying to sing along to my playing Christmas carols. The problem was, she was completely tone deaf!
ha ha, lovely story that Bill. The same happened to me, that guitar too over. My first home-made song was 'I Got My New Guitar'. Not very exciting I know!
DeleteThe only musical toy that I had as a child was a train. It had a track with removable sleepers that were like glockenspiel notes. Depending on what order you set them up in, the train played a different tune as it drove over them. Genius!
ReplyDeleteWhat a toy! A musical train! Amazing! I'm never sure of the difference between a Glockenspiel and a Xylophone.
DeleteMetal notes on a glockenspiel, wooden ones on a xylophone?
DeleteSounds logical Kev.
DeleteThat train sounds bizarre. It certainly deserves an article.
ReplyDeleteha ha, are you the man for the job Paul?
DeleteI was hoping KevinD might do this one, as he actually had the toy, and could give a first-hand account of playing with it.
DeleteI think they're still out there, I've seen some on ebay I think.
ReplyDeleteThe truth is out there Kev!
DeleteI love the sound of old reed organs. I can't play a note, but in the 80s was determined to try after I got into the Wirral based band Orchestral Manoevres in the Dark. Their second album had a wonderfully mournful track called 'Sealand' which was written about the old RAF base on Deeside. It starts with a gorgeous breathy wheeze from an old organ, so I found an old electric Chad Valley one and battered it trying to get a similar sound. New Order's first album, after Joy Division split, had a brilliant track on it which used a Melodica, a kind of mouth operated keyboard, so I got one of them too! Here Sealand here:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/JEtebRhBEzg?si=CuIZUnDwMtWK0kTP
Barnacle Bill
Ha ha, I had to read that twice! I thought you meant you were in OMD! You were very indie back then Bill. Are you still?
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