Sergeant Pepper fans warned about the ‘record collecting gene’

To mark the fortieth anniversary of Britain’s all time favourite album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (released on June 1, 1967), online record collecting superstore 911.com is issuing a warning aimed at the hundreds of thousands of music fans whose taste has been in some way influenced by the seminal Beatles album.


Newly published, independent psychological research suggests that men aged between 25 and 45 who are into music featuring ‘proper’ bands with guitars are most at risk from something termed ‘the record collecting gene.’


If allowed to go unchecked, record collecting can cost the addict tens of thousands of pounds and, in extreme cases, their marriage / relationship - potentially creating a nation of music widows.


Using interviews with record collectors, chartered psychologist, Professor Alex Gardner, built a profile of a typical record collector. His in-depth study identified several key attributes and behaviours to help create a portrait of the type of person most at risk of developing from being a simple music lover to vinyl junkie.


According to the research conducted by Professor Gardner, the group most at risk consists of:

· Men, aged between 25 and 45 who are into “proper bands with guitars”

· These men are likely to assign more importance to music than the car that they drive and even the clothes that they wear – for instance he’ll put more effort into choosing the music for a dinner party than what he is actually wearing when his friends come round

· They are likely to arrange their records and CDs alphabetically and will take care to keep them apart from any other music in the house (or flat)

· In addition, they’ll have a tendency towards what they refers to as ‘the good old days’, often citing early incarnations of the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, The Jam, The Clash, The Smiths and Oasis as the only ones worthy of contemplation

· Even in the age of digital downloads, they remain perfectly happy buying their music on records and CDs even though they may carry much of it around on their iPod


Professor Gardner stated: “My findings show that record collectors would rather forgo holidays, cars and even clothing rather than have anything happen to their precious collection. One married respondent even said he’d rather lose his wife than part with his records.”


“Some collectors spend over £2,000 a month on their habit – readily admitting it is more than a hobby – and talk about it in terms of the affective domain or feeling component as distinct from the cognitive or thinking one. In other words they let it rule their heart rather than their head.”


The research was commissioned by 991.com, the world’s largest single source of rare vinyl, CDs and music memorabilia. 991.com felt it had a duty of care to music fans and their partners to highlight those people most likely to succumb to such a potentially addictive and expensive habit.


The British company has now posted this portrait, together with a suitable warning, on the site’s homepage.

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For more press information and images contact:

John Warner Reuben Milne
Marketing Director PR Manager
01474 815 099/ 07717 247 947 07966 148 504
john.warner@991.com reuben.milne@991.com


Notes to editors:

991.com

991.com is the first global record collecting superstore, offering the world’s largest single source of rare vinyl, CDs and music memorabilia. From Elvis to The Arctic Monkeys, 991.com covers all of the most popular names in rock, pop, indie and metal from 1960 up to the present day and offers CDs and records featuring 5 million tracks from more than 15,000 artists and bands.

The brainchild of two Kent-based music fans, 991.com offers over 500,000 mint condition pieces - each one guaranteed to be authentic. 991.com employ a full-time team of professional buyers based in the UK, USA, Japan and Mexico.

It is their ongoing responsibility to source the best items from personal collections, garage sales and dead relatives across all six continents, with 991.com currently offering items from 115 different countries to collectors the world over.