30,000 records on sale at Toowoomba’s biggest vinyl market

A lifetime vinyl collector with over 10,000 records in his collection, is planning to host Toowoomba’s biggest record market raising money for research and treatment of his sister’s rare disease.

Shayne Donnelly (left) and Dave Willis at the Butter Beats Record Store record fair at St Thomas More's Primary School hall, Saturday, June 8, 2019.

At just five-years-old one of Shayne Donnelly’s earliest memories was sitting in front of the TV watching KISS on Countdown and begging his parents for their vinyl.

One of Toowoomba biggest vinyl collectors said he had taken the record to kindergarten everyday and while the other kids played outside he would sit and listen to the rocking tunes over and over.

Three years earlier he had received his first record player and while he doesn’t remember it, his parents told him he had been instantly obsessed, listening to records and singing along for hours.

Almost five decades later Mr Donnelly now plans to host Toowoomba’s biggest vinyl market on May 31 all while raising money to support his sister in her fight against Trigeminal Neuralgia.

“I’ve got four or five of the best vinyl dealers in this area coming with something in the area of 30,000 vinyl records, it is going to be pretty huge,” he said.

“Visitors will be able to find anything from your classic rock, to any other genre you want, there will be LPs, singles, cassette tapes, memorabilia, shirts and one of the sellers has a lot of Japanese vinyls which are beautiful, there will be such a variety for music lovers.

“I will be there playing music all day and keeping the crowd entertained, we will have a sausage sizzle to raise money and we are putting on a $1 lucky dip and someone might pull out a really good album.

“If this goes well we could look into doing it two or three times a year.”

Mr Donnelly said as well as being an exciting event for collectors it would also be an important fundraiser.

“My sister will be running a sausage sizzle and donating money to her chosen charity which is for trigeminal neuralgia, a disease she has” he said.

“It happens when a nerve in the brain is hit and it feels like she has lightning bolts running through the side of her face, it is meant to be the most excruciating pain, she has it pretty bad at times.

“As soon as mentioned I was doing this record fair she asked what she could do to help out with her chosen fundraiser, it is extremely important to her.

“It is not a very well-known illness but for the people who have it, it is really bad, I spoke to a lady who had it and she went and had a bunch of surgeries, it is such an excruciating thing to go through and if we can donate something and help out we will be really wrapped.”

Mr Donnelly encouraged people to come along and start their own collection of vinyls, a hobby which has brought him so much joy.

“At last count I’ve got over 5000 LPs and over 5000s singles,” he said.

“My favourite album of all time is KISS’ Music From The Elder, I grew up in the era of glam rock so I’m big on Twisted Sister, Poison and Motley Crue, I also love the classics from the 60s and 70s.

“For first time record owners you’ve got to pick up KISS’ Destroyer, Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon is great, another one would be Led Zeppelin 2, I’m a big 80s kid so Dire Straits Brothers in Arms and everyone has to have a Beatles album so I’d say Abbey Road.”

The fair will be held on Saturday May 31 at the Drayton Memorial Hall from 9am-3pm.