Vinyl collector amasses thousands of records

Kevin Turner said he drove his partner Janet mad with his passion for collecting vinyl

A man who has amassed a vinyl record collection of several thousand says he cannot stop buying them and hopes to keep growing the number.

Kevin Turner, from Bushbury, Wolverhampton, started collecting when he was 11 years old, even rescuing one from a school friend who was about to use it as a frisbee.

The 66-year-old said he drove his partner Janet mad with his passion but planned to continue amassing music and had no plans to sell them despite his collection being worth about £20,000.

"I don't buy them to buy and sell. I buy because I like them and I want to play them," he said.

Mr Turner added his love of music began because his father was a massive Elvis fan, his mother liked The Beatles and Cliff Richard and music was always on in their home

After retrieving the record from his school friend, he said he thought he could start getting more records together, began collecting and now has "several thousand".

His most expensive records include The Beatles' Please Please Me which he said was the group's first album release as well as an early release of the band's The White Album.

A Jimi Hendrix album in gold was also "quite expensive" as so few were made, he said.

To find records, he searches charity shops and record stores.

"You have still got vinyl shops that are still available, that you can still look up and go to but usually it is online," he said.

"Or you can go to record fairs which is what me and friend used to do on a regular basis.

"People do say 'well, how do you keep them clean?' Funnily enough, the best way to keep you album clean...is to play it on a regular basis."

He said he would continue to play his records and enjoy his collection.