Did You Spend $22 at Tower Records on Valentine’s Day 1985?

Photo: Robert Carmona
Here’s a fun find. Local music ephemera from 1985.
Bowery Boogie contributor Robert Carmona discovered this pristine receipt from Tower Records while working a residential construction job on East 3rd Street.
Date of the archaic transaction is Valentine’s Day 1985, most likely at the store nearby on East 4th Street (RIP 2006).
One item was purchased that day for $22 (roughly $50 in today’s money). So, what could it have been, and who was the product for?
February 14 was a Thursday that year, notable for the release of Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album. And The Breakfast Club hit theaters the next day.
The number one record in the land that week was Madonna’s Like a Virgin, while “Careless Whisper” by Wham! burned up the Hot 100 chart.
Compact Discs weren’t yet mainstream.
Was it you?