Pressings.. And All That 'carry On'

[Guest]

l had loads/ tons/stacks of them so l would say about 99% of records purchased were they....

From.....Soul Bowl....Colin Bee....Russ Record Bar (is he still married to the lovely Doreen) and all the others...

£1.25.......that was plenty of money for a tune...

Edited March 3, 2011 by webbydublin

[grantdyche]

All mine were pressings,I think most peoples where

Had an Email from a mate of mine via that radio thing I do,About a record he got from Wigan in 78 for a fiver its value now in good nick is about £10,

Considering that a pint of lager cost about 50p in 78,And its now about £3 so the record in todays terms cost him about £30 back in the day,So its worth less in value now than when he got it

£5 was a lot of dosh then my first wage in 76 was £7.50,So by 78 I would have been on a tenner week if that,

I think then more so than now,Many people bought pressings just for the sake of having the record,

I / We / You still had those special tunes and many people were not bothered about it being original or not,

I remember paying 75p for The Capreez back in 75ish when the price of a normal chart single was 30p and my non soul mates thought I had gone mad

[Guest Dave Turner]

l had loads/ tons/stacks of them so l would say about 99% of records purchased were they....

From.....Soul Bowl....Colin Bee....Russ Record Bar (is he still married to the lovely Doreen) and all the others...

£1.25.......that was plenty of money for a tune...

Pressings I presume you mean boots. I don't know about the others you mention but as far as I'm aware Soul Bowl didn't press or sell boots.

Legit re-issues yes, boots no. With the contacts Anderson had he didn't have to.

Edited March 3, 2011 by Dave Turner

[grantdyche]

Pressings I presume you mean boots. I don't know about the others you mention but as far as I'm aware Soul Bowl didn't press or sell boots.

Legit re-issues yes, boots no. With the contacts Anderson had he didn't have to.

There is a very good section on here covering the UK re issues,Only found it yesterday myself

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/forums/topic/139389-uk-northern-soul-re-issues-originally-posted-in-1997-frontpage/

[Guest Dave Turner]

There is a very good section on here covering the UK re issues,Only found it yesterday myself

https://www.soul-sour...1997-frontpage/

When I stated legit re-issues I was more thinking of the US re-issues as opposed to UK releases.

Memories hazy nowadays but for instance the Harthon stuff such as Bernard Williams "Focused On You" . All legit as far as I'm aware.

[Wiggyflat]

Were there sussed people who could differentiate boots from pressings at the time and were people bothered.Did the deejays from Wigan Torch etc play boots/emidiscs or were the boots just played at the backwater clubs ie the CD equivalent today.Were they frowned on?

[grantdyche]

Were there sussed people who could differentiate boots from pressings at the time and were people bothered.Did the deejays from Wigan Torch etc play boots/emidiscs or were the boots just played at the backwater clubs ie the CD equivalent today.Were they frowned on?

I can't comment on your post in truth,To be honest,

I just remember as a kid wanting to own certain "tunes",

So as for bragging wrights to my mates as such,It didnt matter that much as a 14-15 yr old living in Radcliffe in the 70's,

My 50p version of The Casualeers sounded just as good in my bedroom as any original copy costing £££'s,

As for the Dj's,I think that yes they must have played pressings,Back in the day don't forget that the there was only vinyl,Ok there were cassettes but the Dj's played vinyl,It would not have mattered to the "Dancer" on the floor at the Casino for instance that it was not an orig copy,

I can't remember many people on the floor at Wigan who walked off because it was not the original vinyl copy of a certain record

[Pete S]

I wrote that article for an unpublished book that Goldmine were going to put out. Completely forgot about it until now!

[Davetay]

Were there sussed people who could differentiate boots from pressings at the time and were people bothered.Did the deejays from Wigan Torch etc play boots/emidiscs or were the boots just played at the backwater clubs ie the CD equivalent today.Were they frowned on?

Yes, there where a lot of us that knew about boots etc, at most venues once a record got pressed it was dropped from the playlist.

Emidiscs where played at Wigan etc,

Since I DJed at alot of backwater clubs as you call them from late 73 till the early 80s.

In the begining I used a mixture of emi's LPtracks and a few orig records, by the middle 74 in was OV only all the way.

[Guest]

Pressings I presume you mean boots. I don't know about the others you mention but as far as I'm aware Soul Bowl didn't press or sell boots.

Legit re-issues yes, boots no. With the contacts Anderson had he didn't have to.

Agreed Dave .

I regularly made buying visits to King's Lynn , but I was never sold or offered any records by JA ( or saw anything whilst i was there ) that was " out of the ordinary " .

JA did involve himself with reissues , but they were always legitimate / contractural ones , and I can remember on one visit being shown copies that had come in that day , of the reissue of " Captain Of Your Ship " - Seventh Wonder , following negotiation and securement with the label owners .

Malc

Edited March 4, 2011 by Malc Burton

[Harry Crosby]

Who was COLIN BEE?

[Guest]

Who was COLIN BEE?

Edited March 7, 2011 by Malc Burton

[Mike]

I wrote that article for an unpublished book that Goldmine were going to put out. Completely forgot about it until now!

if you goto your profile

and hit articles tab you can see all your past stuff on here

there may be more not under your name

i usually edit them when come across them

So very true...or anywhere else for that matter

you must have been in a different world than one i was in

boots were sh*te in mine

as soon as stuff got booted it was dropped by the decent djs

anyone buying them, playing them or even selling them used to get p*ss took right out of them

owning a boot was almost on a par with owning one of those hallmark totp cover version lps but worse

[Guest]

if you goto your profile

and hit articles tab you can see all your past stuff on here

there may be more not under your name

i usually edit them when come across them

you must have been in a different world than one i was in

boots were sh*te in mine

as soon as stuff got booted it was dropped by the decent djs

anyone buying them, playing them or even selling them used to get p*ss took right out of them

owning a boot was almost on a par with owning one of those hallmark totp cover version lps but worse

Or one of the " Embassy " 45s that Woolies put out

Malc

[macca]

Pressings. Ken Cox used to sell shedloads of them at his all-nighters/dayers. The first ones I bought from him in 1975/6 were kenny smith 'lord what's happening to your people', ann d'andrea 'don't stop looking' and edie robin 'there must be a love somewhere'. I liked Kenny Smith, bought Edie Robin 'cos I liked The Sons of Moses and Ann D'Andrea because someone had recommended it. When I got home and played it I was underwhelmed to say the least, though the label looked nice. They must have all been boots, right? I didn't start collecting in earnest till 1977 and by then was definitely sniffing at those who bought pressings, preferring to invest my office boy's wage of 25 quid a week on 'the real deal'. So, I'd have to disagree with Grantdyche in that nobody cared if DJs played original vinyl or not. I seem to remember one DJ getting barred from Cleethorpes for having 'a box full of emidiscs'. An early appearance of the Soul Police or just because the promotor didn't want him to make a pile on the side? Those close to Mary Chapman will know. I do remember the incident being reported in Echoes/B&S at the time.

[Steve L]

you must have been in a different world than one i was in

boots were sh*te in mine

as soon as stuff got booted it was dropped by the decent djs

anyone buying them, playing them or even selling them used to get p*ss took right out of them

owning a boot was almost on a par with owning one of those hallmark totp cover version lps but worse

I think it depends on how old you were and how much experience you had at any particular time. As a 13 year old in 1974 buying records from Syd Booths in Mansfield that I had heard at the youth club I didnt have clue and wouldnt have cared. After a while I became aware that a lot of what I was buying were "pressings" but I cant remember feeling any guilt or lesser worth for still buying them. I wouldnt have known at that age how to identify or buy original vinyl even if I'd had the money.

The importance of original vinyl came to me some time later I couldnt say with any accuracy exactly when.

Edited March 4, 2011 by Steve L

[Guest]

Pressings. Ken Cox used to sell shedloads of them at his all-nighters/dayers. The first ones I bought from him in 1975/6 were kenny smith 'lord what's happening to your people', ann d'andrea 'don't stop looking' and edie robin 'there must be a love somewhere'. I liked Kenny Smith, bought Edie Robin 'cos I liked The Sons of Moses and Ann D'Andrea because someone had recommended it. When I got home and played it I was underwhelmed to say the least, though the label looked nice. They must have all been boots, right? I didn't start collecting in earnest till 1977 and by then was definitely sniffing at those who bought pressings, preferring to invest my office boy's wage of 25 quid a week on 'the real deal'. So, I'd have to disagree with Grantdyche in that nobody cared if DJs played original vinyl or not. I seem to remember one DJ getting barred from Cleethorpes for having 'a box full of emidiscs'. An early appearance of the Soul Police or just because the promotor didn't want him to make a pile on the side? Those close to Mary Chapman will know. I do remember the incident being reported in Echoes/B&S at the time.

The incident concerned a well known figure who at the time , was one of the most predominant DJs on the scene .

He arrived at Cleethorpes with a box containing acetates of tailor made recordings , to which Mary took offence to and told him to leave , as the recordings went against the ethics of what the Northern Soul scene stood for .

Malc

[Davetay]

I think it depends on how old you were and how much experience you had at any particular time. As a 13 year old in 1974 buying records from Syd Booths in Mansfield that I had heard at the youth club I didnt have clue and wouldnt have cared. After a while I became aware that a lot of what I was buying were "pressings" but I cant remember feeling any guilt or lesser worth for still buying them. I wouldnt have known at that age how to identify or buy original vinyl even if I'd had the money.

The importance of original vinyl came to me some time later I couldnt say with any accuracy exactly when.

You are right about how old you where at the time.

In 1974 I was 19 and that's when I got into buying original vinyl big time.

When I was 13/14 just used to buy from local record shop, the new UK releases, Tamla Motown etc.

Edited March 6, 2011 by davetay

[SHEFFSOUL]

...naturally if you'd invested a fair price in an original and it was booted/pressed..you'd be very pi**ed off! the upside being, that many DJ's often ditched top sounds once they were booted.often offered at a cheap price (no one thought they'd be revived, and also the rate of turnover for northern soul dicoveries during say '74 was very rapid) us lesser mortals had the chance to own some nice originals even if they were not on the playlists anymore. Connie clarke, billy prophet, stanley mitchell, james lewis, etc all around a fiver..

[Northern Soul Uk]

What was the record that Martyn Ellis bought at the 'Torch' on the Saturday for a fortune, and it came out on the same Monday for about £2??

[Guest]

What was the record that Martyn Ellis bought at the 'Torch' on the Saturday for a fortune, and it came out on the same Monday for about £2??

The record was " Cigarette Ashes " Steve , and it was another Torch DJ that purchased it , not Skewesy .

Malc

[Mike]

l often think that you and l are in 'Different Worlds' mike..

But those TOTP lps always had a fit bird on the front l seem to remember.. and only cosy 15/11..

must be at least 1001 different worlds on here

all as been said depending on age. location, era, own personal experiences etc etc

often wondered who bought those lps

now I know

[Pete S]

anyone buying them, playing them or even selling them used to get p*ss took right out of them

owning a boot was almost on a par with owning one of those hallmark totp cover version lps but worse

Different world to me then cos I bought almost every one that came out (1975-78), it was the only way to be able to afford the records most of the time, when you consider 50,000 people bought a pressing of Tainted Love thats an awful lot of people to take the p*ss out of!

Edited March 7, 2011 by Pete S

[Davetay]

Different world to me then cos I bought almost every one that came out (1975-78), it was the only way to be able to afford the records most of the time, when you consider 50,000 people bought a pressing of Tainted Love thats an awful lot of people to take the p*ss out of!

Pete, you are 5 years younger than me, no idea how old Mike is?

We did take the piss out of the people that bought pressings., deffo in 75.

What I would not admit at the time is that I bought them myself only about 3 years earlier.

Looking back now it was a age and leaning thing.

Edited March 7, 2011 by davetay

[Wiggyflat]

Could you walk into any record shop and buy them then.Were they distributed countrywide and were they advertised as pressings.What about dealers at the venues....it's a minefield now and theres the internet and books.There must have been plenty people sold a pressing as an original at 4am with the dark lights.Were there boxes stating BOOTLEGS and another box ORIGINALS.Theres hundreds/thousands of them out there. They must have sold by the bucketload. No wonder people stuck to UK releases..

Edited March 7, 2011 by wiggyflat

[Jez Jones]

What was the record that Martyn Ellis bought at the 'Torch' on the Saturday for a fortune, and it came out on the same Monday for about £2??

Snap with Eddie Parker the following month

....some were often 'mixed in' with lists of 'imports' from various outlets

[Davetay]

Could you walk into any record shop and buy them then.Were they distributed countrywide and were they advertised as pressings.What about dealers at the venues....it's a minefield now and theres the internet and books.There must have been plenty people sold a pressing as an original at 4am with the dark lights.Were there boxes stating BOOTLEGS and another box ORIGINALS.Theres hundreds/thousands of them out there. They must have sold by the bucketload. No wonder people stuck to UK releases..

[/qu

There where record shops that sold them, under the label as U.S. Imports.

Selectadisc in Nottingham used to wholesale them to the shops, there where others as well.

Luckily most of them did not look like the originals and also alot of them were legal 2nd issues, not all boots.

At it's hayday there was between half a dozen to a dozen new titles each week.

The OUT OF THE PAST label did loads all at one go in two or three lots.

The cost of them was for nothing really 65p in 1972 up to about £1 or £1.25 in 1976.

Sorry no books or internet back than.

[Pete S]

Could you walk into any record shop and buy them then.Were they distributed countrywide and were they advertised as pressings.What about dealers at the venues....it's a minefield now and theres the internet and books.There must have been plenty people sold a pressing as an original at 4am with the dark lights.Were there boxes stating BOOTLEGS and another box ORIGINALS.Theres hundreds/thousands of them out there. They must have sold by the bucketload. No wonder people stuck to UK releases..

At one point I can remember 4 different record shops selling pressings in Wolverhampton. They went in the window displays. Most if not all came from Selectadisc. None were advertised as bootlegs, they were just called "new imports"

[macca]

As I said previously, at EASC nights they were sold from the cloakroom (Madeleine!) along with the badges and all the other paraphernalia. They were an important stepping stone I reckon. At the Youth Club (we were 14, 15, 16 years old), most people brought pressings to play, unless it was when Smudge, Paul Donnelly or Gary Spencer came along and they would bring the real deal and you'd be awed just looking at them. When I moved on to Manship's typed lists, and started telephoning my order from work, it became seriously addictive... and look at us now, 30 odd years later :-) Funnily enough, I never bought one single record from Soul Bowl, which is strange given its proximity to where I lived.

[Guest]

As I said previously, at EASC nights they were sold from the cloakroom (Madeleine!) along with the badges and all the other paraphernalia. They were an important stepping stone I reckon. At the Youth Club (we were 14, 15, 16 years old), most people brought pressings to play, unless it was when Smudge, Paul Donnelly or Gary Spencer came along and they would bring the real deal and you'd be awed just looking at them. When I moved on to Manship's typed lists, and started telephoning my order from work, it became seriously addictive... and look at us now, 30 odd years later :-) Funnily enough, I never bought one single record from Soul Bowl, which is strange given its proximity to where I lived.

Was the " Madeline " Brian Rae's ex ?

Malc

[Steve L]

Could you walk into any record shop and buy them then.Were they distributed countrywide and were they advertised as pressings.What about dealers at the venues....it's a minefield now and theres the internet and books.There must have been plenty people sold a pressing as an original at 4am with the dark lights.Were there boxes stating BOOTLEGS and another box ORIGINALS.Theres hundreds/thousands of them out there. They must have sold by the bucketload. No wonder people stuck to UK releases..

As mentioned they were just classed as imports in the record shops and on mail order lists, they used to come with an official looking sticker on the sleeve (some I've still got have a "mecolico" logo and "specially imported by soul bowl" etc)

There must have been a majority of pressings with some legal reissues and the odd originals all mixed in?

Cant remember much about them at venues, I bought most of mine from local record shops.

Cost was 85p in 1974 for imports and I think British were 55p and looking at old Black echoes they'd gone up to £1.25 by 1978

[macca]

Was the " Madeline " Brian Rae's ex ?

Malc

Quite right sir.

[Guest POTTERIESPECK]

A FEW FROM SELECTADISC.

Edited March 12, 2011 by POTTERIESPECK

[Guest]

Some memories there,thanks! .....l used to spend hours on deciding what l was gonna spend my fiver on..

One question though........................... loads of Soul and Northern Soul there but why is there a track by Black Sabbath listed?? Does Ozzy know?

And all the Northern tunes were called 'Disco'...

That was included as BS had previously had a big NS record with " Personally I Don't Give A Damn Because I'm Paranoid " .

Malc

[Guest]

Hey just cos you're paranoid it doesn't mean they're NOT talking about yer!

I was looking through old editions of Blues & Soul yesterday , and most of the record sales in them from recognised / acknowledged outlets listed Pressings / whatever as " New US Imports " .

Malc

Edited March 14, 2011 by Malc Burton

[Guest]

That's how l remember it...But were pressings imported?

As the majprity of pressings were sourced outside of the UK Phil , technically meant they were imported .

Malc

Edited March 15, 2011 by Malc Burton

[Steve L]

Were they all done at Monarch? If not where else and were any done in the UK?

Wish I'd paid more attention at the time

[Pete S]

Were they all done at Monarch? If not where else and were any done in the UK?

Wish I'd paid more attention at the time

Think they were done all over the place to be honest.

Loads done in the UK - all of the Soul Sounds label releases were pressed at the same place as Jayboy 45's.

Ones on Magic, BJD - almost certainly done in the UK.

Later on Demand label, North etc, all UK.

[Steve L]

Think they were done all over the place to be honest.

Loads done in the UK - all of the Soul Sounds label releases were pressed at the same place as Jayboy 45's.

Ones on Magic, BJD - almost certainly done in the UK.

Later on Demand label, North etc, all UK.

Cheers Pete, there ought to be a book on this subject I find it quite interesting.

Would love more info on the whole subject of 70s pressings if you or anyone else can point me in the right direction?

[Pete S]

Cheers Pete, there ought to be a book on this subject I find it quite interesting.

Would love more info on the whole subject of 70s pressings if you or anyone else can point me in the right direction?

John Manship bought out a guide long long ago, also in his last catalogue he has a lot of info and several hundred colour photos of the various pressings etc. Also at the back of the last Tim Brown price guide there's a guide to several hundred pressings.

[Steve L]

Got Manships book Pete, I meant more along the lines of who did em, where, when etc

I suppose the who bit is a bit of a delicate one to broach in public?

[Guest]

Think they were done all over the place to be honest.

Loads done in the UK - all of the Soul Sounds label releases were pressed at the same place as Jayboy 45's.

Ones on Magic, BJD - almost certainly done in the UK.

Later on Demand label, North etc, all UK.

BJD originated out of Nottingham .

Malc

Edited March 16, 2011 by Malc Burton

[Guest roggert]

pressings started back in 67 some were by lads in manchester who couldnt press the b sides on some discs and they played in reverse,which was a bloody big giveaway,sold all my original s when they were rediscovered in the casino days.

[Dazdakin]

Soul Sounds label boots were done by a bloke called Jeff King (or at least distributed by him) and they was pressed in the back streets of Leicester behind the old "Night Owl" venue.............so there!!