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The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a
phonograph record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral
stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision ...
groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
turntable. Flexible records were commercially introduced as the Eva-tone Soundsheet in 1962. They were very popular among children and teenagers and mass-produced by the state publisher in the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
government.


History

Before the advent of the
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...
, flexi discs were sometimes used as a means to include sound with printed material such as
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s and music instruction books. A flexi disc could be moulded with speech or music and bound into the text with a perforated seam, at very little cost and without any requirement for a hard binding. One problem with using the thinner vinyl was that the stylus's weight, combined with the flexi disc's low mass, would sometimes cause the disc to stop spinning on the turntable and become held in place by the stylus. For this reason, most flexi discs had a spot on the face of the disc for a coin, or other small, flat, weighted object to increase the friction with the turntable surface and enforce consistent rotation. If the turntable's surface is not completely flat, it is recommended that the flexi disc be placed on top of a full sized record. In
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, starting in the early 1960s,
Asahi Sonorama is the publishing arm of The Asahi Shimbun Company, publishing books, magazines, and manga. It replaced on 1 April 2008 just after it went bankrupt. History Asahi Sonorama was created as a division of Asahi Shimbunsha on September 9, 1959 ...
published the monthly ''Asahi Sonorama'' magazine which included an inserted flexi disc ("Sonosheet"). Every year between 1963 and 1969,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
made a special Christmas recording which was made into a flexi disc and sent to members of their
fan club A fans club is an organized group of fans, generally of a celebrity. Most fans clubs are run by fans who devote considerable time and resources to support them. There are also "official" fan clubs that are run by someone associated with the pe ...
. While the earlier discs largely contained 'thank you' messages to their fans, the later Christmas flexis were used as an outlet for the Beatles to explore more experimental areas; the 1967 disc, for example, became a pastiche of a
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
show and even included a specially recorded song entitled " Christmas Time (Is Here Again)." In 1964, the
National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, ...
released ''Song and Garden Birds of North America'' which included a bound alternating with pages giving the titles and birds on the recordings. The work was done by Arthur A. Allen and Peter Paul Kellogg of the
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuar ...
. The August 1965 issue of ''
National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' included a soundsheet of the funeral of Sir
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
narrated by
David Brinkley David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997. From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkl ...
. The recording has the sounds of the funeral procession to St. Paul's, a hymn sung by the leaders of the world, and an excerpt of the funeral sermon. Excerpts from various recordings of Churchill's speeches are included. The recording ends with bagpipes accompanying Churchill's coffin to the funeral barge on the Thames, as the public phase of the funeral ends. During the 1970s, '' MAD'' magazine included Soundsheets in several special editions. One was a dramatization of ''Gall in the Family Fare'', its parody of ''
All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...
,'' packaged with ''MAD Super Special '' #11 (1973). The Summer 1980 edition of ''MAD Super Special'' (published in 1979) featured "It's a Super-Spectacular Day", a song with eight different versions pressed into eight concentric grooves; which version was played depended on where the needle was dropped onto the disc. Another issue included "It's a Gas", a song whose lyrics were belches. There was also a "Mad Disco" special issue containing a Soundsheet. ABBA/Live 77 was a special single-sided promo gold flexi disc given as a bonus to children who sold magazines and books at
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
for Jultidningsförlaget, a publishing company using door sales as their main distribution channel. The disc contained excerpts from the Swedish group's recent concert appearance in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
. A two-sided flexible sheet record of the songs of
humpback whales The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The humpb ...
(produced by Roger Payne) was included with the January 1979 issue of ''National Geographic Magazine''. With a production order of 10,500,000 copies, it became the largest single press run of any record at the time.
Computer magazine Computer magazines are about computers and related subjects, such as networking and the Internet. Most computer magazines offer (or offered) advice, some offer programming tutorials, reviews of the latest technologies, and advertisements. His ...
s began to provide software in audio form " Vinyl Data" on flexi discs from June 1979 until 1986. While flexi-discs were usually just used as occasional giveaways, from 1980 to 1982, '' Flexipop'' made a speciality of giving away such a disc with each edition. Compact discs and the internet have rendered flexi discs largely obsolete, but gimmick discs are still produced occasionally: Amelia's Magazine included a one-sided Libertines flexi of ''What Katie Did''. American manufacturer Eva-Tone, believed to be one of the last manufacturers of flexi discs, stopped production of the product in August 2000. As of December 2010,
Pirates Press Pirates Press is a vinyl manufacturing and production located in Emeryville, California, that was founded in 2004. The company was started in the bedroom of owner Eric Mueller and has grown into a full-scale operation that now includes offices in ...
, an independent record manufacturing company based in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, US, has started production of flexi discs of various sizes and color. In November 2010
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
magazine ''
Decibel The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a ...
'' began releasing flexi discs with each issue, starting with the January 2011 issue. The content on the disc features "100 percent exclusive songs" from artists that have been previously featured in the publication. In October 2011, the
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
-based record company, Side One Dummy Records, teamed up with Alternative Press to offer a Title Fight flexi disc (containing 2 previously unreleased B-Sides) along with a year of AP subscription as a limited edition offer. Due to manufacturing delays the discs arrived packaged with the November issue of AP magazine in mid December. On April 2, 2012, Third Man Records released 1000 flexi discs tied to blue helium balloons into the air in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...
. The discs contained the first release of "Freedom At 21", a track on Jack White's debut solo album, ''
Blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly consid ...
''. It is estimated that fewer than 100 of the discs will ever be found and they will be a valuable collector's item for many years. On April 20, 2012, Domino Recording Company released a zine exclusively for
Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
that included five individual, multi-colored flexi-discs, each containing a song by
Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The ...
,
Real Estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...
,
Cass McCombs Cass McCombs (born November 13, 1977 in California) is an American musician and songwriter. Since 2002 he has released ten albums, an EP and a B-sides compilation under his own name. McCombs’ music blends elements of many styles including Amer ...
,
John Maus John Maus (born February 23, 1980) is an American musician, composer, singer, and songwriter known for his baritone singing style and his use of vintage synthesizer sounds and Medieval church modes, a combination that often draws comparisons to ...
, and Villagers. The Dirty Projectors disc was previewed on April 19 by frontman Dave Longstreth via a YouTube video of him playing the record on a turntable. In 2012 Rookie online magazine released its first hardcopy edition, Rookie Yearbook One, which contained a red flexi disc with two songs written specifically for the site: "I Don't Care" by
Dum Dum Girls Dum Dum Girls was an American rock band, formed in 2008. It began as the bedroom recording project of singer and songwriter Dee Dee (née Kristin Gundred). She is currently based in Los Angeles. The name is a double homage to the Vaselines' albu ...
and "Rookie" by
Supercute! Rachel Sage Piña-Trachtenburg (born December 10, 1993), professionally known as Rachel Trachtenburg, is an American musician and singer. She is most notable for her key role as drummer and backup vocalist of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow P ...
. In the summer 2013 issue of German fanzine PUNKROCK!, the punk rock band Riots, based in Oslo, Norway, gave away a free 2-track exclusive flexi disc to the 200 odd subscribers of the fanzine. This flexi featured 2 tracks - Riots and We're All Slaves. This was pressed by Pirates Press out of the US. Shortly before the release of the 2014 Foo Fighters album "Sonic Highways" some of the pre-orders came with a cover of Two Headed Dog on Flexi-Disk In the summer 2015, PizzaDischi, an independent record manufacturing company based in Italy, has started production of flexi discs too, in collaboration with the European Slimer Records independent label run by
Panda Kid Panda Kid, is an Italian garage rock band, founded and currently consist of songwriter member Alberto Manfrin.Starting in 2010 he released several albums, the last of which is Already Dead Tapes and Fdh music with Lolipop records. After some E ...
members, dedicated to limited and rare edition of worldwide artists. In 2021 Lizzo started selling Flexi Discs of her song ‘Rumours’ as part of her merchandising.


In the Soviet Union

Flexi discs were mass-produced from 1964 to 1991 by the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
government as inserts in the popular '' Krugozor'' magazine for teens. The appearance of the Soviet flexi disc was always the same, vivid blue, and the discs are familiar to virtually anyone who grew up in the Soviet Union and even the post-Soviet era. In 1969 in addition to the successful audio-magazine ''Krugozor'', the government also launched the audio-magazine for children ''Kolobok'', which also consisted of flexi disks. Because of a shortage of vinyl recording material (and official
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
of some Western music) during the Soviet era, bootleg recordings known as '' Ribs'', ''Bones'' or ''roentgenizdat'' were produced on discarded medical X-ray prints. The musician Stephen Coates of UK band
The Real Tuesday Weld The Real Tuesday Weld are a British band, founded in 1999 by lead singer and producer Stephen Coates, who studied at the Royal College of Art. They have released several albums, many singles and EPs, and many tracks on compilations. Their com ...
has created the X-Ray Audio Project devoted to these.Vitaliev, Vitali, ''Dancing with String Bags in the Snow'', column in Engineering & Technology Magazine, Vol. 9, Iss. 8, September 2014, p.106, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, London


Human League track

"Flexi Disc" is also the title of a spoken-word track recorded by electronic band
The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
on a flexi disc which accompanied their 12" single "
The Dignity of Labour ''The Dignity of Labour'' is a 12" vinyl record released in 1979. The tracks were written and performed by The Human League featuring a line-up of Martyn Ware, Ian Craig Marsh and Phil Oakey. It was released as the follow-up to their earlie ...
" in 1978. Re-released as a bonus track on their album ''
Reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual or ...
'', the song is a discussion between the band members concerning the advantages and disadvantages of the flexi disc format and the possibility of including one with the album to provide commentary.


See also

* Baseball Talk * '' Billy and the Boingers Bootleg'' *
Cardboard record A cardboard record was a type of cheaply made phonograph record made of plastic-coated thin paperboard. These discs were usually small, had poor audio quality compared to vinyl or acetate discs, and were often only marginally playable due to th ...
* '' Flexipop'' * ''Krugozor'' magazine * McDonald's menu song *
PocketDisc Pocket Disc was a type of flexidisc, made by Americom Corporation and experimented with in the late 1960s, small enough ( in diameter) to be carried in one's pocket or shipped in an envelope and not as fragile as a standard record, but able to be ...
* Roentgenizdat


References


External links


The Internet Museum of Flexi / Cardboard / Oddity Records
*
Partial, created by now adult fans, collection of some of digitalised Krugozor and Kolobok magazines (audio pages are in WMA) The X-Ray Audio project site devoted to the Soviet era, bootleg recordings known as ''roentgenizdat''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flexi Disc Audio engineering Audiovisual ephemera Audio storage de:Schallplatte#Flexible Disc (Flexidisc)