Who is Ric Ditchburn?

It's always there in the background, a quintessential part of any op-shop experience. The music. I'm always a bit surprised how op-shop and especially vintage shop owners can match the music they play to the mood of the clothes/accessories and other miscellaneous items.

The idea of browsing through a silent op-shop would be strange. I get a small thrill from miming all the words to Perry Como's catch a falling star while wiggling into something horrendously sparkly with giant shoulderpads in the changerooms

I've noticed Magic 1278 - is one of the most popular radio stations in op-shops around Melbourne. Now this may be because of the army of grey haired volunteers behind the counter, but it does expose that older genre of music to wider (younger) audience. I love the way the jocks sound so smooth when they announce tracks, its kind of like the audio version of rich velvety chocolate. It's kitsch and old fashioned, but Elvis and Frankie Valli do bring a certain type of personality to your local op-shop.

Inevitably this all leads us back to the question posed in the title of this blog post ... who is Ric Ditchburn?

Ric Ditchburn (pictured above) - is one of the Magic 1278 presenters and has had a long career in rock 'n' roll radio. As Magic's 2pm-6pm presenter during the week, it's most likely he'll be talking while you're browsing in the afternoons. I asked him how his popularity in op-shops made him feel, he responded "delightfully opulent." (though he later stated he had no idea what "delightfully opulent" actually meant.)

What do you think makes the perfect soundtrack to an op-shop or vintage shop? I like it when music matches the clothes, old but unique. The other day I was walking around an op-shop in Windsor-end chapel street and they played the entire Born Sandy Devotional album by The Triffids, which was fantastic. I also think copacabanna style music works as well, though I tend to get a little distracted and end up spending a lot of time in the changerooms pretending I'm Carmen Miranda!