Join us for a presentation by Jonathan Scott, to celebrate his new book, Into the Groove: The Story of Sound From Tin Foil to Vinyl.

The story of recorded sound – the technological developments, the people that made them happen and the impact they had on society – from the earliest inventions via the phonograph to LPs, EPs and the recent resurgence of vinyl.

While Thomas Edison’s phonograph, the first device that could both record and reproduce sound, represented an important turning point in the story of recorded sound, it was really only the tip of the iceberg, and came after decades of invention, tinkering and experiment.

Into the Groove tells the story of the birth of recorded sound, from the earliest serious attempts in the 1850s all the way up to the vinyl resurgence we’re currently enjoying. This book celebrates the ingenuity, rivalries and science of the modulated groove.

Vinyl collector and music buff Jonathan Scott dissects a mind-blowing feat that we all take for granted today – the domestication of sound. He examines the first attempts to record and reproduce sounds, the origin of the phonograph, and the development of commercial shellac discs. Later he moves through the fascinating story of the LP record, from the rise of electric recording to the fall of 7-inch vinyl, the competing speed and format wars, and an epilogue that takes the story up to the present-day return of vinyl to vogue.

Into the Groove is the story of the science of sound – the technological developments, the humans that made them happen and the impact they had on society. It uncovers tales of intrigue and betrayal, court battles and lesser-known names who are often left out of most histories. Read this book, and find a new appreciation of the not-so-simple black disc that holds a special place in the history of music and sound.

Jonathan Scott is a music writer and self confessed astronomy geek. Formerly a contributing editor to Record Collector magazine, he has edited books about Prince, Cher and the San Francisco psych explosion, and written about Nirvana, the Pogues, the Venga Boys, Sir Patrick Moore and Sir Isaac Newton, in a variety of magazines. He received his first telescope aged eight, using it to track Halley’s Comet in 1986. Having followed Voyager’s planetary fly-bys throughout his childhood, he first got to write about the missions in 2004. If he’d been in charge of the Voyager Golden Record, aliens would assume humanity had three chords.

Please register. Zoom links will be sent out before the event.