I Love My... Marvellous Minidisc Player

Robert Palmer, 53, UK singer, songwriter and producer, lives in Switzerland. And when he's not addicted to love, he's addicted to his favourite gadget.

"I bought my first minidisc player three years ago, simply to listen to music in the car. And once I had one, I realised its amazing capabilities."

"I have a household full of original CDs, vinyl and cassette compilations I've made. I started collecting and compiling music 30 years ago. I'd tape the best bits, then if there were no more than three songs I liked on an album I'd give it away. This means all the music I've kept I completely love."

"I love my minidisc player because it lets me put all my CDs, compilation tapes and vinyl in one tiny portable place. Each minidisc cassette is 74 minutes long, roughly 20 tracks."

"I used to carry round a Bose hi-fi in a flight case with a big bag of cassettes, but my minidisc recorder is smaller than my silver cigarette case and the minidiscs are even smaller."

"I like good design and minidisc players are delicate and beautiful like women's powder compacts. My current one is a £180 Sony MD Walkman MZ-R70."

"Within an hour of buying it from a shop in Switzerland, I dropped it. After twisting it back into shape I pretended it was broken when I bought it. Luckily the shop exchanged it for another one without any fuss."

"It's taken me two years to put my entire music collection on to 250 minidiscs. I still have the originals but now I can listen to my music wherever I am. That's 300 hours of music. It's been a labour of love but a great way to rediscover my collection. I came across tracks by the Beatles I'd forgotten even existed."

"I don't look when I'm selecting a minidisc to play as they're all gems. And I don't have a favourite - every one is unique and different. One disc can jump from Ethiopian music to Nat "King" Cole to Slipknot."

"As a musician I'm frequently away from home, recording or doing concerts. My minidisc player brings harmony into my life. It's my travelling music archive and companion. I couldn't operate without it." 

 
Robert's new greatest hits album At His Very Best is out now, from £11.99.