The Sony Walkman
Personal music, and the moment public space got a soundtrack.
A cassette player with headphones and no speaker, which sounded absurd until everybody had one.
It ate batteries, chewed tapes, and if you walked too heavily the sound wobbled. Making a mixtape for someone became a genuine form of communication.
The orange foam headphone covers perished within a year and everyone's pair was slightly wrong.
Cost back then
£89
Goes for now
£60–£600 for early models
