Work: GA 45 Pop

Description

“We arrived last. But we made a different automatic record player. Different in its industrial design, in its dimensions, in its quality. And at an affordable price. Finishing last like this is really finishing first.” – From a Minerva advertisement for the Pop GA45

The Pop is a revolutionary portable record player designed by Mario Bellini. First produced by Minerva in 1968, it was later re-launched in 1969 as the Phonoboy under the Grundig brand after the German electronics giant acquired the Italian company.

Measuring just 24 cm high and 9 cm deep, the Pop perfectly captures the design zeitgeist of the late 1960s. It was engineered to be exceptionally compact and robust enough to endure outdoor use. When the player is carried, a sleek steel and polished aluminum handle extends for use; when stationary, it retracts seamlessly into a dedicated groove in the protective outer casing.

The body is molded from ABS plastic (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), a groundbreaking polymer that offered unprecedented expressive and practical freedom. Because the resin is dyed entirely throughout rather than painted on the surface, these objects retain their vibrant, saturated hues even decades later without chipping or fading. This specific piece in the collection is rendered in a striking period-correct orange and is paired with its original matching circular container for 45-rpm vinyl records.

Bellini brilliantly merged decorative flair with functional utility on the face of the device. A tight grid of micro-perforations serves as a graphic design element while allowing sound from the internal loudspeaker to project clearly. Directly adjacent is the loading slot where 45-rpm discs are inserted and ejected.

Viewed as a whole, the record player sheds the bulky, utilitarian look of traditional audio equipment to mimic a chic, rigid plastic handbag. Much like Ettore Sottsass’s iconic Valentine typewriter from the same era, the Pop was an lifestyle accessory explicitly designed with a young, fashionable, and mobile demographic in mind.

“Silent and almost pocket-sized, but with the cumbersome presence of history, of signs, of messages linked to a time that had a bright future, Pop also anticipated the return fashion of not yet or no longer with headphones, but precisely with a stereo on the shoulders. In this case, in the hand.” — Chiara Alessi

GA 45 Pop – duration 0:35
Sonic evocation of the object created by Paolo Ferrario