Philco Hip-Pocket Records

OK, so you own it on the original colored vinyl in the limited edition signed and numbered blah blah but do you own it on the Philco Hip-Pocket record version? I didn’t think so.

Philco Hip-Pocket record player was a portable unit (about the size of a shoebox, so you'd need a pretty big hip pocket) introduced in 1967 for the on-the-go teen market. You could play 45s or albums, or the specially released 3” 45 RPM flexi discs created for the player. The format never caught on and only lasted a year or two, and it’s probably a lot easier to find the discs than a working Hip=Pocket record player. Jukebox Mafia managed to make a recording of the Hip Pocket disc (seen above) on standard equipment. It sounds about as good as you would expect a flat flexidisc to sound, which is undoubtedly one of the reasons the format never caught on.



Philco Hip Pocket player image found here.