Dial-a-Disc was a telephone service provided by the Post Office for 25 years, from 1966 until 1991.
It enabled callers to hear the latest hit records - it could be seen as the first iteration of on-demand music streaming.
How did it work?
After dialling either 16 or 160, you would be connected to the audio coming from an 'EA9' (Equipment Announcer) tape machine. They were capable of playing 4 minutes worth of tape and played on an endless loop.
This meant that you were likely to start the call mid song!
It was possible to stay on the line for a number of loops, which could rack up a hefty phone bill.
At the service's peak in the early 80s, it was bringing in over 200 million calls per year!
Here is a video where you can experience (or re-experience!) what would happen when you dialled 160...
Dial-a-Disc played one song a day - the top 7 records in the charts that week.
This was soon increased to the top 8 by playing two records on a Sunday.
Dial-a-Disc played one song a day - the top 7 records in the charts that week.
This was soon increased to the top 8 by playing two records on a Sunday.
Did you ever make a call to Dial-A-Disc? What did you listen to?
9 comments
I recall three of us , crammed in a phone box, passing the hand set between us to share “Metal Guru” by T.Rex, being the song that springs into my memory.
We’d only just moved to Bristol, was 11 at the time, and still remember dialling 16, putting 2p in at the pips and hearing You Make Me Feel Brand New by The Stylistics.
Dog walks used to take eternity because I used to pop into public telephone boxes & dial a Disc at the time Leo Sayer was no 1 with When I Need you
I was always ringing it to hear the latest hits And got in hot water from the old man when his phone bill came in so then it was the phone box after that lol
Electric Dreams by Giorgio Moroder
Over and over and over…
My dad started his own business and " had a phone put in " …I used to call it all the time..I distinctly remember " David Souls " Silver Lady "
I don’t recall ever having a rollicking about running the bill up though
Remember the excitement of listening to T.Rex’s Deborah on the phone. I thought technology cant get any better than this!
I used to dial a disc pretty much every day from work! One day I was listening to the record of the day when this voice came on asking if I liked the record, my name and just general stuff….the voice told me that his name was Ringo!!! It certainly sounded like him. I was struck dumb. Is that possible that I was actually speaking to Ringo Starr?
I phoned on public phone box in 1970’s as we didn’t have a phone.