Endless love: Rami Resul’s love of vinyl extends back to his dad’s purchase of an Elvis album when he was a boy.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
It was a simple act of kindness from a dad to a son that kick-started Rami Resul’s love of vinyl, and brought the added benefit of helping the relationship with his father to flourish.
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“My dad bought me my first album, which was the Elvis one, the Elvis rock ‘n’ roll number one, a double album. That was in 1973,” Rami said.
“He bought me that before I even had a turntable. The turntable came later. We didn’t have one at that stage, but I wanted the record so he bought me the record.”
His father, Skender, was originally from Albania where the communist regime censored listening options, and Rami believes his father didn’t want him to miss out like he had.
“He knew that I really loved it and enjoyed it so he, as much as he could afford, would buy me something just to see me enjoy it,” Rami said.
“Whatever he could afford, he’d buy me, for a birthday or a special occasion.
“He was a migrant from Albania, but knew how much I loved Elvis and he’d always say, ‘If Elvis ever comes to Australia, we’ll go and see him’, but Elvis passed away in 1977 a year before Dad.”
From those days growing up on an orchard at Kyabram, Rami’s love for vinyl grew like the fruit in his backyard, surviving the developments of CDs and online streaming so today his collection numbers above 1000, even leading to he and his wife, Karen, or Chuz, designing their house around it.
“I’m still buying stuff that I missed out on back then, so I’m finding them as I go along,” Rami said.
Public devotion: Rami Resul shares some of his vast vinyl collection by playing albums at his café, Stanley’s, in Shepparton.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
For Rami, music ‘died’ in the 1990s, as his collection spans from the 1950s to that era.
He shares some of his favourites by playing them in his café, Stanley’s, in Shepparton, and also sells other vinyl that is not among his personal collection.
Apart from catching up on albums he missed out on when he was younger, Rami regularly attends concerts by bands that also managed to pass him by in decades past.
“I just love going and watching them, and it takes me back to when I was watching them on Countdown or listening to them on the radio or buying the vinyl,” he said.
Rami said the best concert he had seen was by KISS, but the dream event he longs for is to see The King, Elvis, perform at Memphis with a playlist that includes Burning Love, Suspicious Minds, Kentucky Rain, Little Sister and Marie’s the Name of His Latest Flame.
He has visited Elvis’s home, Graceland, but given that dream concert is not an option any more, Rami relies on the vinyl to transport him to such special places.
“Everybody needs something to enjoy and for me, it’s always been vinyl,” he said.
“It’s always been the music and it takes you to a place, whether it be good or bad, certain songs transport you straight away to that place that was great, or wasn’t so great, but it’s all a memory, and all we take at the end is memories.”
