FOLLOWING the remarks of Mr J A Marsden (Letters, May 11), I would confirm that the great rock 'n' roll era started with Bill Haley and the Comets with 'Rock Around The Clock' in the 1950s.

I remember this because my parents gave to me a portable HMV gramophone, box of gramophone needles and one 10-in 78rpm record - Bill Haley's 'Rock Around The Clock' on the Brunswick label. Alas, the spring on the record player broke and my first record got broken many years ago.

I progressed through my teens first with a reel-to-reel BSR mono-deck tape recorder on which I used to record Alan (Fluff) Freeman's Top 20 on the BBC Light Programme - Radio 2, as we know it today.

Now, nearly into the 21st Century, I have progressed as far as the cassette recorder and player.

I have no real interest in progressing into the Compact Disc era. I could never afford to transfer my collection of music forward with the 21st century.

ALAN LEWIS, Laxey Road, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.