Dansette: bringing music to the masses

In the beginning, there was the gramophone. 78rpm records were the norm, poor in quality, and susceptible to damage. After World War Two, the climate was ripe for change. In 1948, the LP – a 12” vinyl record playing at 33.5 rpm – was invented in America. A year later, the 7” or 45 rpm single record was introduced. Nell Darby looks at how music was brought to the masses – and influenced a whole generation.

The Fifties saw a sea-change in lifestyle, especially for those in their teens. The term “teenager” was coined in the Fifties, and these boys and girls, determined to enjoy post-war life as much as possible, socialised with their friends, and developed new crazes. Music was a passion for them, and they helped popularise new forms of music, new artists, and thanks to them, the music industry modernised.

In Britain, the album chart started in 1952 – some time after America had introduced the idea – with all formats of record being considered. Both the NME and Record Mirror magazines published rival charts. Teenagers were able now to compare music, to see what was being released, and what was popular. They were becoming more aware of the differences between them and their elders, and wanted their own music, and their own space to listen to it in.

Their bedrooms became private areas where they could entertain their friends, listen to music, or get ready to go out. But what could they listen to their records on? One of the answers was the Dansette. It was a mono record player, with a built-in speaker. Its appeal lay partly in its size and portability – it was about the size of a small suitcase, complete with handle, that plugged into the mains. It was first produced around 1951, but was too expensive for most families, selling for 33 guineas.

Even a decade later, a popular model – appropriately enough called the Dansette Popular – was 11 guineas. Different models had different numbers of speeds (for example, the Popular was a 4 speed player), or legs to stand them up on. Names included the Junior, Major, Trixette, Argosy and Westminster. The price might have been prohibitive, but many bought them for family members for Christmas or birthdays – or bought them on credit.

The first record player produced by the Dansette’s inventors – the Plus-a-gram – utilised current technology by comprising a record turntable that plugged into the back of a family’s existing radio wireless. This survived for some years, but in the early Fifties, the company became formally known as Dansette, and started producing record players with autochangers that had originally been offered to them by a Birmingham company.

« Previous page 1 2» Next page