checking out the groove!!!

[Danny]

Why did people do that?

You'd get a new LP while in town, meet up wiv mates and there was always somebody wanting a look at the album.

Fair enough they read the tracks list and any album cover blurb but then ,for unknown reasons, they'd slide the vinyl out of inner dust sleeve and solemnly look at the groove!
This always got on my nerves cos I could see sticky fingermarks before I'd even got it home to play

What was the point of this.....cos it seemed a common practice?

RSVP

[Grosh62]

I used to do this with LPs and 45s myself. I just liked the look of the vinyl and I would try to gauge how long the tracks were going to be by how thick the track bands were.
I also liked to look towards the center of the discs in the run off vinyl, where the Pressing guys would write his/her name and even put a message or legend in hand scratched writing.

[wispa lover]

Several records in my collection have those kind of messages. For example Duran Duran's first self-titled album has 'Michael, I'm about to explode' on side 1. Also you'd look for bizarre credits and thank yous in the sleeve.

[Richard1978]

I read somewhere that the original pressings of The Smith's singles often had something inscribed in the area around the label.

[stuckinthe80's]

I read somewhere that the original pressings of The Smith's singles often had something inscribed in the area around the label.
I think every Smiths and Morrissey vinyl release had an inscription around the label. Most of them very strange!