Yell’s new TV commercial, which updates the classic 1980s Yellow Pages commercial featuring Fly Fishing starring J.R. Hartley, has been remade for the digital era in 2011, but still cleverly transports us back to an era when the “internet” was something you used when fishing!!

The 2011 remake, entitled Day V Lately, follows a much more contemporary theme, with a new iconic character, a former DJ, embarking on the hunt for his lost 90s dance record, using Yell. According to a press release issued by Yell’s Marketing Department, “The ad not only taps into the nostalgia of those that remember the original version, but will bring a smile to the face of a new generation. It also reflects how Yell has evolved over the last three decades. The original advert, which launched in 1983, starred a loveable older gent who warmed the hearts of the nation towards Yellow Pages when, after an extensive and initially fruitless search, he managed to track down a copy of his book Fly Fishing, thanks to a listing in Yellow Pages”.

Mirroring J.R. Hartley’s search from 1983, the new TV commercial tracks Day V Lately, as he visits several real independent record shops trying to find a copy of the trance mix of his original track. Having drawn a blank with his search for the Holy Grail, Day V Lately returns home where his daughter  helps him in his search, suggesting he accesses Yell on her iphone to find a wider choice of independent record stores. Within minutes his search is fruitful. For those of us of a certain vinyl vintage, that feeling of euphoria borne from the success in tracking down an elusive vinyl record is palpable and strikes a resonance in our hearts!! However it begs the question, which planet is Day V Lately living on?!! In his world there appear to be a multitude of old record shops; in mine I can only think of one – Rob’s Record Mart in Hurt’s Yard, Nottingham. There was another, The Left Legged Pineapple in Churchgate, Loughborough, but that is now residing further down the lane in the graveyard of the Church from which the “Gate” gained it’s name!! Like so many independent record shops, it finally gave up the ghost of trying to retail vinyl records and CDs about three years ago, when digital downloads revolutionised the marketplace.

The irony is that Yell’s Digital Era DJ seeks to buy his elusive record from a high street independent retailer, whereas the majority of vinyl record anoraks would source it online via e-bay etc. However it suits Yell’s purposes for this to be so, because it evokes memories and nostalgia for the era of the record shop. These establishments had a life and aura all of their own, not least because of the pungent and peculiar plastic aroma emanating from the vinyl record!! Vinyl records had a life force and personality that CDs never emulated: they had an individual brightly coloured face aka the label, and a tactile feel that was comforting to the touch.

Nick Hornby perfectly captured the pure essence of the old vinyl record shop in his classic novel, “High Fidelity”. The only disappointment was that the subsequent film was made and set in the USA. Although Hollywood made a good fist of reproducing the book, and John Cusack was excellent in the lead role, this quintessentially English creation should have been made and located in the Holloway Road in North London. However the original novel can never be corrupted. At the time, Mick Brown of the Independent said – “High Fidelity is a book that leaves you  believing not only in the redemptive power of music but above all the redemptive power of love……it is modern fiction’s equivalent of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ Greatest Hits”.

Suzanne Moore of the Guardian described the novel perfectly – “Reading High Fidelity is like listening to a great single. You know it’s wonderful from the minute it goes on, and as soon as it’s over you want to hear it again because it makes you feel young, and grown up, and puts a stupid grin on your face all at the same time”. That’s what a well crafted, good book does, especially when it’s set in the nostalgic world of the vinyl record shop, and constantly references the mentality and passion of the vinyl record fan!! And of course passion and love is exactly what our favourite vinyl records evoke in all of us…………..

You can capture and preserve these vinyl memories, and re-live the good times, by ordering your favourite vinyl record or CD, framed and mounted, by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/ …….. and this way your favourite “great single or album” can be immortalised on your living room wall in 2011!!

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a 40th or 50th Birthday, A Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!!  THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!

To catch up with the latest news from author, Nick Hornby, click on….. www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/nickhornby/