I’m sure I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again anyway: the true joy of vinyl is not so much having some superlative sonic experience, but discovering obscure artists and albums that will never find their way onto streaming services (or even a CD). There may be snippets of them on YouTube, uploaded years ago by some anorak, but finding them without already knowing them is improbable at best. I’m talking about stuff like Count Basie’s Beatles cover album (Basie’s Beatle Bag, 1966), Louis Jordan’s jump blues collab with the Chris Barber Band (Louis Jordan Swings!, 1976), and the entire discography of one Tommy Burton and his Sporting House Quartet.
“Who?” Why, only Britain’s own answer to Fats Waller—and one of the most in-demand musical entertainers of the 1970s, apparently. In a career spanning half a century he played festivals all across the UK and sold out London’s iconic 100 Club nine New Year’s Eves in a row, as well as having a regular spot on BBC television. Yet I had no knowledge of the singer, pianist, saxophonist, and guitarist until stumbling upon one of his records during a rainy afternoon of crate digging. Chances are you’ve never heard of him either, as there’s very little evidence of his five-decade career online. So allow me to introduce Tommy and the musical legacy he left, still floating around the second-hand record stores and eBay
