The first LP I owned was the BBC 'Folk on Friday' compilation, but that was a Christmas present. The first LP I bought was Martin Carthy's eponymous first album. This was especially memorable as I paid for it with the proceeds from my first ever paid gig, a school concert where but for a double-booking snafu I would have been supporting Martin (although some way down the bill!). I still have the cutting from the local newspaper which describes me as 'standing in' for him - an exaggeration which I will never be able to live up to.