{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1808292"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1808292/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1808292","accessionNumber":"S.557-2025","objectType":"Blaupunkt 'Bluespot' radiogram","titles":[{"title":"Blaupunkt 'Bluespot' radiogram","type":""}],"summaryDescription":"This Blaupunkt radiogram, often colloquially referred to as the ‘Bluespot’ or the ‘gram’, is a music system and piece of domestic furniture. Manufactured by the German company Blaupunkt, the radiogram incorporates a built-in stereo with wide-ranging radio capabilities, a record player with an auto-changing turntable, speakers and a lit drinks cabinet. Advertised by its manufacturers as the ‘choice of the connoisseur’, the Bluespot radiogram became a mainstay in the homes of many Caribbean people in Britain during the 1950s and 1960s. \n\r\nThe Bluespot became a vital home comfort for many Caribbean people in postwar Britain in the face of racial discrimination and the ‘colour bar’. The ‘colour bar’ was an informal term given to social and institutionally upheld race-based practices that saw many Black people excluded from certain social spaces, employment and accommodation because of discrimination against their race. \r\nWith limited options for participation in public entertainment spaces, the Bluespot facilitated music, entertainment and socialising inside the home. Its owners and their visitors could listen to the music, genres and artists of their choice – from gospel, country and western to jazz, Motown and soul – that received little airplay on mainstream British radio.\n\r\nThis particular radiogram was purchased by the parents of British DJ and producer Hewan Clarke using the ‘pardner hand’, an informal community saving system whereby members would all pay into a shared pot from which they could make alternating withdrawals. The Bluespot played an important role in Clarke’s family home. Born in Jamaica in 1956 before moving to England aged six, Clarke was raised in Manchester, where this Bluespot became a foundational influence in his musical career. \n\r\nHe fondly recalls sneaking in the front room of the home to play his father’s precious records. This was Clarke’s first experience of experimenting with musical equipment: he used the Bluespot’s three speed settings (33 rotations per minute, 45 rpm and 78 rpm) to manipulate records and play them at different speeds. This practice would later become key to Clarke’s work as a DJ. He has stated that 'everything I have learnt about the tonal rhythmic structures of Black music began with me sitting in front of this radiogram'. \n\r\nAs a young adult, Clarke pursued a musical career after training as an electrical engineer, DJing at various clubs around Manchester. After a chance meeting with Tony Wilson, founder of Factory Records and co-founder of the Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, Clarke became the club’s first resident and first Black DJ in 1982. The Haçienda contributed significantly to the transformation of Manchester into a cultural and musical hub at a time of industrial decline and the degeneration of many urban centres across the UK. House, acid house and techno, and their accompanying rave culture, were propelled into the spotlight of the UK music scene via the Hacienda and its roster of DJs. \r\n","physicalDescription":"A large, mahogany-coloured cabinet containing a stereo, radio, turntable with an autochanging turntable and a drinks cabinet. There are two separate sound chambers with forward-facing speakers positioned on either side of the lower cabinet doors. Between the two speakers is an illuminated cocktail cabinet. The proper left cabinet door is missing the model name, which would have read 'Arkansas Deluxe'. The turntable and stereo controls are stored in two upper compartments which are accessible via sliding doors. The turntable bears the manufacturer logo 'Garrard'. ","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Blaupunkt","id":"AUTH412054"},"association":{"text":"manufacturer","id":"x33306"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"particle board","id":"AAT14206"},{"text":"veneer","id":"AAT12855"},{"text":"plastic","id":"AAT14570"},{"text":"metal","id":"AAT10900"},{"text":"bakelite","id":"AAT14544"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[{"text":"Music","id":"THES253065"},{"text":"Musicians","id":"THES277525"},{"text":"Audio equipment","id":"THES49027"},{"text":"Black history","id":"THES48989"},{"text":"Furniture","id":"THES48948"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"PL002","id":"THES414871"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"radio cabinets","id":"AAT250532"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Germany","id":"x28873"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1950s","earliest":"1950-01-01","latest":"1959-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Donated by Hewan Clarke","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"87","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"113","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"41","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Blaupunkt 'Bluespot' radiogram owned by Hewan Clarke","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.557-2025"],"accessionNumberNum":"557","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2025,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-04-17","recordCreationDate":"2025-08-29","availableToBook":false}}