If, like me, you have spent many hours looking through hundreds of albums in a record shop for inspiration or a bargain, this site is for you. It sets out to chronicle 50 years of the UK album chart.
From its birth in July 1956 with Frank Sinatra's Songs For Swinging Lovers at number 1, through the early dominance of movie soundtracks, Rock 'n' Roll, the Fab Four, Motown, Punk and beyond - it's all here.
Chances are, it's the soundtrack of your life - school days, broken hearts, brilliant holidays, late nights, early mornings.
I was soon up to full price albums (£2) at one of the many independent record shops in Bradford - Pearson's, Vallance's, Wood's - all sadly gone now
Of course, in the late eighties, there was a major decision to be made - stick to vinyl or move to these new fangled CDs. Cassettes have come and gone (thankfully) and I never succumbed to 8-track. I did invest in MiniDisc players and now there is MP3 downloading to consider. I am now grudgingly conceding that we need a small warehouse to store CDs and books so digital is the way forward!. For some reason, the transition to digital books is easier - I love my Kindle!
To keep things sane, on this site, if you see a picture of an album cover, the chances are it links to a CD at Amazon. The MP3 links provide a 30 second preview or click to buy the full track or album - easy!
Maybe the site will jog a memory or two or inspire you to buy that album you had on the scratchy cassette all those years ago. Memories and music are always linked.
Invariably, when I hear Freda Payne's Band Of Gold or The Tears Of A Clown by Smokey Robinson And The Miracles, my mind goes back to my first visits to Odsal Stadium in the early seventies.
On those summer evenings it was speedway that occupied the mind. That proved to be a passing phase but Odsal is a constant - home of Bradford Northern (now the Bulls). It is from there that the name of the site comes. On a frosty day (as most of them are at Odsal), a commentator described the forwards as looking like a pack of steaming pigs. If you enjoy the site, have suggestions for improvements or feel the need to contribute, please feel free to get in touch via the Facebook page.
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Browse and enjoy or click the pictures and spend some money with Amazon. Not all of the detail is there yet - this is a labour of love! Enjoy.
Roy Burgess, August 2011.
ps - I have been a bit distracted recently setting up another site! www.mylowcarblife.co.uk 
