Bad Medicine & Beyond

From outback Australia to the southern tip of Africa : Bad Medicine & Beyond

Back when Bon Jovi were dishing out Bad Medicine and Aerosmith were warning us that Janie’s Got A Gun, Yesteryear was lucky enough to land its first real job in a record store.

It was outback Australia. Smack bang in the middle of nowhere. A little town called Alice Springs.

Leaving the comparative big smoke of Adelaide behind, and a stack of Uni text books that looked remarkably untouched, a green behind the ears 20 year old, lapped up the opportunity to talk music all day. With whoever was up for a chat.

There was Lionel from Santa Teresa, a nearby Aboriginal community, dropping a bundle of cash on the counter with his weathered hands.

“Got any Slim Dusty tapes … oh yeah, and some Boney M”

Strange mix for sure, but absolutely true, as he dusted the caked-in red earth from his cowboy hat.

The lovely Rachel, in town from Yulara's Sails In The Desert Resort, 400 kms away near that bloody big rock, Uluru.

“Is Like A Prayer here yet ... the new Madonna album? Just have to have that”, giving a customary hair flick to no-one in particular. But I definitely know it wasn’t aimed at yours truly!

And there was Steve, on a 4 week break from Granites Gold Mine, up north near Tennant Creek. Your regular Aussie bloke, Steve was always open to suggestions, anything new that would help while away the boredom of the next month of exile at the mine.

Not one for small talk he’d saunter up to the counter and give us the usual 3 or 4 words “So, what’s new mate?”

Vinyl was sadly on its way out, so Yesteryear would pick a few CD’s off the shelves that we thought he might like.

We showed him Tom Petty’s 'Full Moon Fever’, 'Nick Of Time’ by Bonnie Raitt and ‘Lies’ the latest from Guns ‘n Roses.

And just for good measure some words of advice.

“But you might want to give this one a miss” handing over Mili Vanilli ‘Girl You Know It’s True’

And so it went back then.

We can still remember our first listen to the jangling guitars of R.E.M.’s Green, Crowded House had just dropped the wonderful Temple of Low Men and Midnight Oil were asking the pointed question ‘How can we sleep while our beds are burning?’

Now, 33 years down the road, the wheel has turned full circle.

Vinyl is well and truly back.

The older crowd are replacing their battered 1973 copy of Dark Side Of The Moon with a minty fresh new one. And relative newbies are dropping the needle on the latest Taylor Swift or Lana Del Ray. Best of all The Oils have a new record out soon.

So, there’s always plenty to get excited about.

And us?

Well, we were born in the year of the Beatles White Album so we now have hair growing where it shouldn’t be. And Friday nights aren’t quite the same. These days it’s pizza and a family movie, but if we want to see Tom Hanks make it to the finish line in Forrest Gump we better start no later than 7:30. Somewhere on the journey, 10pm has become the new midnight!

And what about the music?

As some might know we’ve been importing brand new records from overseas for the past 4 years. One eye has been firmly fixed on online trade, the other dreamy eye imagining a day when we could share a comfortable physical space for crate digging with the public.

It certainly hasn’t happened overnight, but that day has finally come. Yesteryear is pleased to announce the opening of its own little record store on the Cape Peninsula.

It’s not your traditional 'bricks and mortar’ shop and it’s not a full-time venture just yet, but rather a home-based set-up in arguably one of the most scenic parts of South Africa.

Surrounded by beaches and mountains with plenty of things to do and wonderful places to eat and drink, it’s not a bad spot to while away a lazy Sunday or escape to, on a mid-week lunch break.

So, do yourself a favour.

If you’re looking for a journey to the Deep South and like the idea of a quiet space away from the masses to dig through some new records, call in to Yesteryear for a browse.

Get your Old School, Brand New

Record Shop open from Tues March 15, 2022

Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays : 10am – 2pm

Last Sundays of the month : 10am – 2pm (beginning Sun March 27)

Online Store 24/7

https://yesteryear-records.myshopify.com/

Email : info@yesteryear-records.com    |    Cell : 079 773 2024

Physical address:

42 Jefferson Rd, Sunnydale, Noordhoek, Cape Town 7975

Want to win a R500 record voucher?

Comment on our Blog to go into our monthly Spin The Wheel draw for your chance to win a R500 voucher from Yesteryear.

Comp. closes March 31. Next draw April 1st.

You can also enter by:

1) sharing a social media post of a record you have purchased from Yesteryear during March

2) buying an LP from our new Shop during trading hours