The 1959 Braun TP1 portable radio and record player, as inventor Dieter Rams proudly keeps reminding us, was actually the first Walkman – and he’s not entirely wrong about that. But it wasn’t until the introduction of the Sony Walkman on 1 July 1979 that portable music began to truly take over. Now, 40 years on, the Walkman has inspired and subsequently been replaced by a wide range of digital devices, all designed to allow users to enjoy music wherever and whenever they like. An exhibition honouring the history and development of the portable music player, entitled Walkman in the Park, is now on display in Ginza Sony Park in Tokyo, Japan. The exhibition includes a 2.5-metre-tall sculpture of the WM-F5, the first “sports” Walkman model, and will remain open to the public until 1 September 2019. More information about the Walkman is also available on the Walkman 40th Anniversary website.
