Searchin For Tunes In The Usa

[Guest denmac]

i love hearing stories about trips to the states looking for tunes. two of my favs are from guy and chris king in detroit and dave raistrick in ,.,.,rather not say. guy and chris were looking through racks of tunes when guy spotted somethimg decomposing on the floor. CK kept on looking and said,,dont worry about that ,,,worry about what killed it..Dave spoke about a place that was full of tunes but as he stepped into this place the records where stacked so high that they began to sway to the centre.he never took another step into the place. does the locked up record shop/diner in NY really exist. is he inside for life??? are we talking urban legends here? no replies from me cos i aint allowed into the place.

[Guest Matt Male]

does the locked up record shop/diner in NY really exist. is he inside for life??? are we talking urban legends here? no replies from me cos i aint allowed into the place.

I peered through the grimy, tiny windows of Finyl Vinyl and A1 Records in New York. Both were closed. On a tiny Greenwich Village street, the shop signs were old and peeling and they didn't look like they'd been opened up at the front for years. Wall to wall vinyl 45s inside. So near, and yet so far... I could almost smell it. A battered, handwritten, cardboard sign said 'Open Sat, Sun and Thursday Afternoons'

It was Monday morning, i was flying home that evening...

[Guest]

My first visit to Banana Records...St Petes Beach.

I expected a small shop, It was like finding Sharon Stone bending over your kitchen sink at ya!!!!!

[Dave Morris]

My first visit to Banana Records...St Petes Beach.

I expected a small shop, It was like finding Sharon Stone bending over your kitchen sink at ya!!!!!

Just been there.It was a bugger cos he's got them alphabetically indexed rather than in categories.Owner told me most of the good stuff he now puts up for auction or at record fairs.Walked out with a few sounds tho' but nothing fantastic.

Also spoke to another record store owner in Orlando but was advised only to go there with someone who knows the area as its in a bit of a dodgy area.

Dave.

[Dave Moore]

Just been there.It was a bugger cos he's got them alphabetically indexed rather than in categories.Owner told me most of the good stuff he now puts up for auction or at record fairs.Walked out with a few sounds tho' but nothing fantastic.

Also spoke to another record store owner in Orlando but was advised only to go there with someone who knows the area as its in a bit of a dodgy area.

Dave.

Hi Dave,

Been.....it's all hip hop etc. You didn't miss anything Mate.

Suprised you found anything in Bananas. Good on yer. Place is turned over every week.

Regards,

Dave

www.hitsvillesoulclub.com

Edited May 21, 2006 by Dave Moore

[Modernsoulsucks]

I was with Dave Raistrick when we got locked in a shed in Richmond full of 45s in early 80's. Owner said he'd be back for us. It's getting very dark and no sign of owner so Dave decides to smash the door down. Think he'd been watching too many cop shows cos he only managed to knock a couple of panels out. He's trying to squeeze his body through when the owner turns up and we had some quick explaining to do. Owner probably thought we were trying to do a runner.

Another time me and Mick Atherton had a shotgun pulled on us when we went round to a guy's, Ron Guy if anyone remembers him, to get some money or 45s he owed us. Luckily Im still here and I still have those brown trousers!!

ROD

[Robin S]

i love hearing stories about trips to the states looking for tunes. two of my favs are from guy and chris king in detroit and dave raistrick in ,.,.,rather not say. guy and chris were looking through racks of tunes when guy spotted somethimg decomposing on the floor. CK kept on looking and said,,dont worry about that ,,,worry about what killed it..Dave spoke about a place that was full of tunes but as he stepped into this place the records where stacked so high that they began to sway to the centre.he never took another step into the place. does the locked up record shop/diner in NY really exist. is he inside for life??? are we talking urban legends here? no replies from me cos i aint allowed into the place.

Hi Den, Would love to see someone put a book together with all the great record hunting stories from the main players over the years (John Anderson,John Manship,Dave Raistrick,Tim/Butch,Dave Withers etc) and anyone else. Definately needs recording for posterity. Come on someone...do it now..before it's too late! One of the best stories I ever read was in Chris Fletcher's "Soul Source" mag late '70's - John Poole and Gary Rushbrooke's visit to the infamous Coachman's in Detroit.Great stuff.

[Simon T]

.

Another time me and Mick Atherton had a shotgun pulled on us when we went round to a guy's, Ron Guy if anyone remembers him, to get some money or 45s he owed us. Luckily Im still here and I still have those brown trousers!!

ROD

[Guest denmac]

hi robin s, was that the same time that gary and john went on the subway and the further out they went the stations got worse till they had to get off. gary said that they should have got back on the train rightaway but they got so far, after all the shop was only 400 yrds away. that400yrds took nearl an hour because they kept looking into shop windows, any shop windows to avoid eye contact. when the got to the store a big black guy ran his finger down gary`s face and said did the black come off in the wash.

modern sou...........sorry mate cant bring myself to type that. dave told me that story and was it the same place where he picked up a box from a pallet and the bottom fell out and there was this massive jelly thing that turned out to be a cockroach queen and he was covered in them..yuk

[Modernsoulsucks]

It wasn't Ron Guy who pulled the gun on us. We were explaining why he owed us the money when he started screaming and this guy runs up from the flat below with a shotgun. Luckily Mick was an ex-para so he knew exactly what to do. He got behind me!!

Don't remember the cockroaches but then Im glad Dave didn't tell me cos I'd have been battering the door down then.

I remember one time in the Carolinas looking through 45s outside on these kinda market stalls in this woman's back yard and having bug-killer spray in one hand whilst trying to look at the 45s. There were loads of big black hornets buzzing about and all these nests in the roofs of the stalls.

Being British, Dunkirk spirit, stiff upper lip etc Im afraid I ran round the garden like a big girl. Those hornets were huge.

ROD

Edited May 22, 2006 by modernsoulsucks

[Robin S]

hi robin s, was that the same time that gary and john went on the subway and the further out they went the stations got worse till they had to get off. gary said that they should have got back on the train rightaway but they got so far, after all the shop was only 400 yrds away. that400yrds took nearl an hour because they kept looking into shop windows, any shop windows to avoid eye contact. when the got to the store a big black guy ran his finger down gary`s face and said did the black come off in the wash.

Think Gary and John had to hastily leave the store, someone had a gun. John went back to UK and Gary went back with Martin Koppell and was made a lot more welcome! Will try and dig the article out the loft and scan it.

I went there in '83 with a friend from Cleveland Ohio. We were not made welcome at all - we were spooked - left hastily,got lost, jumped a red light. Two huge black coppers pulled us over....left us sweating whilst they checked my friend's documentation...came back to the car and said "because you're from another state...to give you a ticket we're gonna have to take you in"..I must have about passed out in the passenger seat...they let us go with the word's "Just take it easy..." I shit my pants at the thought of going to a Detroit nick.

[Emjaygee]

Went down to Grenwich Village last November. Found the famous House of Oldies - the bloke running it wouldn't let me near his stock, it was locked away in the basement after the fifth request for him to go looking for stuff he got bored and started chatting to his buddies. Found Finyl Vinyl and a few other places, got the standard response "all the good stuff went over to the UK years ago".

On a plus note, i found a couple of local demo 12" that weren't bad.

[Bigsoulman]

What a brilliant thread!, pissing myself here, keep em coming guys!

Lenny

[arnie j]

Went down to Grenwich Village last November. Found the famous House of Oldies - the bloke running it wouldn't let me near his stock, it was locked away in the basement after the fifth request for him to go looking for stuff he got bored and started chatting to his buddies. Found Finyl Vinyl and a few other places, got the standard response "all the good stuff went over to the UK years ago".

On a plus note, i found a couple of local demo 12" that weren't bad.

brilliant topic, please give us more

[Codfromderby]

who was it that went to new york to visit allen radwill and were made to wait on the doorstep untill he brought wanted records out of his house

[Modernsoulsucks]

Second time I went to Bob Mays in Detroit and we'd got friendly he invites me on a fishing trip the next day with him and a mate.

Anyone who knows Bob will say that he liked a drink. Used to have crates of schnapps in his shop and he'd start drinking from getting up to going to bed.

I turned up at 11am and he's paralytic. Mate picks us up and off we go with Bob the Hillbilly rolling around drinking in the back seat. Suddenly there's this awful stench and we all start to retch. Seems that catfish like rancid chicken livers and Bob has not secured the lid on the bait box. Jump out the car for synchronised vomiting then Bob's mate cleans the mess out the back seat.

Back in the car and off to the lake. Im sat there waiting for a bite whilst Bob reels around the edge of the lake trying to cast in. Then an almighty splash and we're fishing Bob outta the lake.

I caught one and we had it for breakfast the next day. I think Bob killed it by breathing on it.

ROD

[Codfromderby]

Second time I went to Bob Mays in Detroit and we'd got friendly he invites me on a fishing trip the next day with him and a mate.

Anyone who knows Bob will say that he liked a drink. Used to have crates of schnapps in his shop and he'd start drinking from getting up to going to bed.

I turned up at 11am and he's paralytic. Mate picks us up and off we go with Bob the Hillbilly rolling around drinking in the back seat. Suddenly there's this awful stench and we all start to retch. Seems that catfish like rancid chicken livers and Bob has not secured the lid on the bait box. Jump out the car for synchronised vomiting then Bob's mate cleans the mess out the back seat.

Back in the car and off to the lake. Im sat there waiting for a bite whilst Bob reels around the edge of the lake trying to cast in. Then an almighty splash and we're fishing Bob outta the lake.

I caught one and we had it for breakfast the next day. I think Bob killed it by breathing on it.

ROD

thats what i call a quality day out

[Guest denmac]

this is brilliant, cod,derby your waisted in what ever you do to pay the rent, what a story teller. as the guy said earlier "pissing myself". robinS for the opening of that book its got to be the quote from,matt male, looking through that window. sweet shops all of them.

ok its time to apply the pressure, come on down rob wigley and tell us about the "lets have a few days off looking for records, lets go to hawaii girls and have some fun". this was rob and his mate to there lovely wives/girlfriend.sunken ships or what...

[Guest denmac]

sorry cod wrongly said you should give up the day job.should have credited rod with the quote.cod, keep on doin what your doin.

[Guest denmac]

ive got to mention my HERO, i love this guy. i know he is one of many who crossed the great divide in search of things for our pleasure, no sorry thats wrong. he went for his pleasure and if any of that came our way so be it. and i thank him for it...as i thank every one who has sought out tunes that i have come to love.gilly a big thanks

gilly and chris K are in the car with one of popcorns friends who starts to sing "please operator" yes it was tony(from tony and tyrone). they go on to a store that is owned by someone who is well connected.after a couple of hours inside the store they emerge to a sidewalk full of people. loads of questions,loads of raised voices. all because the hire car that they were in had florida plates " some thang was going down???...is that the opposite to "summat gooin off".

Edited May 23, 2006 by denmac

[Simon M]

I searched the smaller shops . One trip I met Milton Smith , ( I'm still waiting for his wifes LP , Rod Dearlove was on the phone after it too at the time ) He looked like Little Richard . at one point he was on the phone to his wife while I was sorting records to buy .. He started screaming

"What you say , YOU NOT COOKED MY GREENS WOMEN ,in a southern droll and kept shouting it over and over ..Then one of the old men said "She not cooked your greens Milton" ...In the end everyone was laughing in the Hairdressers come record shop

I guess you had to be there !!

We later went to see Frankie Beverly in the same town , but that would need another thread !!

[Modernsoulsucks]

I once arranged to go on a trip from Raleigh,NC to Washington DC with John Swain, a record dealer active in the 70's/80's but now sadly dead.

I'd spent a couple of days in his shop and got to know him slightly and he seemed a very likeable guy. He was outta town for a few days but we had arranged to meet at 5pm in this downtown park under the statue of a confederate soldier not far from my motel. Why I didn't say no, pick me up at my motel or meet me in some bar, I have no idea.

So I get there early and am taking in the sites and reading the inscription on the statue and generally anticipating all the 45s Im gonna find with him as my guide. Next thing it's 6pm. I'd better phone. Looking for my mobile I realised it was 1979 and headed off for a phonebooth.

I have his home number. What I didn't know was that he was in the middle of a messy split with his wife and she answered the phone. I spent the next 30 minutes listening to what a no-good SOB he was and intimate details that I was frankly surprised to be a party to on the basis of such a casual acquaintance with her. I tried to be diplomatic but of course had to agree that all men were bastards whilst trying to play down my own membership of the same club.

It's getting on for 7pm and Im worried I may have missed him so I say goodbye to his wife and we at least agreed that he was bloody unreliable if nothing else. Back to the park and there's just me and Johnny Reb for company. Im whistling "Dixie" and damning the Yankees by this time as I'd spent so much time in his company. Still there's those 45s to look forward to.

Twilight is falling and I look up and there's no one about except for the big policeman coming towards me with his nightstick out. I then spend 10 minutes explaining why I don't have a drivers licence or identification on me. What Im doing in this dangerous park at that time of night and that there are other cities besides London in England.

Just then out of the gloom appears John, full of beans and with some cock'n'bull excuse for being late.

Off we go and it's nearly 10pm and I expected to already be in Washington by then. John is full of stories about hunting 45s as we drive out of Raleigh and he never shuts up. Then instead of taking the interstate he tells me we're going the backroads. We're never gonna get to Washington!! Well I can get a nap in the back of the car but he's talking away ten to the dozen and I have to be polite and listen.

Whenever we find a gas station or diner still open we stop and it's coffee and off to the bathroom for John. I mean I went to Wigan. I shouda guessed that the heavy cold he appeared to be developing extremely quickly was nothing of a sort. I thought he was full of beans but he was full of coke!! Well, it wasn't prevalent here in the late 70's so I didn't twig until it was really obvious. We'd taken the backroads cos he didn't wanna chance the highway patrol.

So roughly 8 hours later we got in Washington itself but it was an entertaining journey if being trapped in a car with a paranoid cokehead is your idea of a pleasant night out. All we had to do then was find our motel which he'd pre-booked. I'd never been to Washington and where we were driving Im glad I hadn't. It looked like Dresden. Burnt out buildings and waste ground. Then I noticed the White House through the window so I figured we must be close now. However still some driving to do as John carried on with his tales although I'd heard some a few times by then. I then noticed the White House. Either there were two White Houses or maybe we were on the other side of it. I didn't know. When I noticed the White House for the third time I thought I'd mention it to John. If I could get a word in edgeways. To cut a long story short I think we passed the White House about 6 or 7 times before arriving at the motel. I then spent another 2or 3 hours drinking coffee and praying he'd run out of stories to tell me.

I did get some OK 45s and LPs but next time he told me he'd found a place full of rare 60's soul 45s I said I was washing my hair!!!

ROD

Edited May 23, 2006 by modernsoulsucks

[Steve G]

My first visit to Banana Records...St Petes Beach.

I expected a small shop, It was like finding Sharon Stone bending over your kitchen sink at ya!!!!!

You should have gone there in the mid 80's when they had the old shop. Two girls in cut off / cut away jeans behind the counter very interested in "English accents" etc etc. They even called me a cab after I had finished. Enough to distract a humble record collector from his purpose . Oh, and tons of vinyl at 25c each - as much as you could carry.

Them was the days!

[Jerry Hipkiss]

loving this thread - mind you I loved Steve G's story of Pico Boulevard in Manifesto some years back - the late Dave McC had some tall tales as well. Oh to be an Englishman abroad!

[Ian]

Went down to Grenwich Village last November. Found the famous House of Oldies - the bloke running it wouldn't let me near his stock, it was locked away in the basement after the fifth request for him to go looking for stuff he got bored and started chatting to his buddies. Found Finyl Vinyl and a few other places, got the standard response "all the good stuff went over to the UK years ago".

Went the the House of Oldies about 1990 run by a strange bloke who hated UK collectors & told me to basicly F**k Off, so went around the corner to Strider Records & spent a day or so looking through the racks. Much to my suprise picked some great 45s Larue,Caswell,Marie Knight, Adlibs at really good prices, next day ended ended up back at the House of Oldies & the owner must of been for a brain transplant as he could not do enough for me.

Passed him my wants list& he said he may be abe to help but wanted a deposit so he did not waste his time as he would want at around $25 for most of the 45s on the list, left him some unsigned travellers checks & arranged to phone him in a couple of days. A few days went past & I gave him a call to be told be had a few nice 45s for me so jumped on the Subway ASAP on entering he gave me a pile of 45s Jimmy Raye, Bobby Paris, Majestics, Metros, Embers, & a lot of others around 25 45s, did the deal at a great price.

As there were no 45s on show just LPs I asked him where he kept his stock, in the basement was his reply "i've got 500,000 45s" can I have a look was my obvious request no way was the response.I worked on this guy telling him I had a credit card with $10,000, & if he dd not want mymoney after we had aleady done a good deal he must be mad OK come back at 7 am tommorow he told me.

Think I got there about 6.30 & waited around a while then all of a sudden the grate on the sidewalk lifted up & was greeted by an opening & stairs into this black hole. As I entered all I could see was Rack after Rack of 45s every where you looked.

Well to cut to the chase I got out of there at 7 pm with a pile of aound 75 45s copies of Jimmy Raye, Dean Courtney,Bobby Hutton,Roy Hamilton,Moses Smith, Otis Smith & lots of MGM, RCA,Columbia & lots of single copies of things + multiple copies of others.

But the best of the day was walking through Genwich Villiage on the way to get back to the Subway I walked past a shop I had missed that was ready to close so went in where I got a Johnny Hendly Mutt & Geoff, Linda Jones W/B, & Glories Date all for around $20.

Had a few good trips to the US & Europe over the years but this has to be my best

Cheers Ian

PS there harder to find here in New Zealand

Edited May 24, 2006 by Ian

[Baz Atkinson]

IM OVER THIS YEAR AGAIN TO MY FAV CITY PHILLY,THERES A FEW LADS FROM THE AYCLIFFE AREA THAT COULD TELL SOME VERY FUNNY STORIES RE THE STATES.

ONE OF MY FUNNIEST WAS MEETING LOUIE SILVARNI ,[bIT OF A COMPLICATED MAN INDEED NOW HE HAS RELIGION AND ALL],KNOCK ON THE DOOR AND THIS COOL DUDE TURNS UP LOOKING FOR RECORDS WHEN IM RIFLEING THROUGH SOME,I COOLY ASK HIM WHAT ARE YOU AFTER AND HE REPLIES "NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK"

ALSO FLORIDA SOMEWHERE DOWNTOWN MIAMI THIS WAS 1989 DISCOVERED A RECORD SHOP COME BARBOURS WITH THIS RATHER AGEING SOUTHERN BELLE ,AFTER HANDING A COUPLE OF HUNDRED DOLLARS OVER FOR QUITE A FEW DISCS SHE OFFERS ME A SHORT BACK AND SIDES [THATS NOT ALL SHE WANTED TO THROW IN ALSO].

FINALLY JOHN MOORE IN PHILLY ONLY LAST YEAR ,HANDED HIM SOME MONEY FOR SOME RATHER NICE GROUP STUFF/BALLADS SWEET ETC AND HE PULLS OUT THE MANSHIP PRICE QUIDE AND WINKS AT ME!

[Sean Hampsey]

ok its time to apply the pressure, come on down rob wigley and tell us about the "lets have a few days off looking for records, lets go to hawaii girls and have some fun". this was rob and his mate to there lovely wives/girlfriend.sunken ships or what...

This was Rob Wigley & Andy "TATS" Taylor.

I'd been in Honolulu in September 1988 and came across an amazing shop called "Jellys Records" in a shady part of town. The shop closed at 8.00pm but not before I bought a stack of decent Northern 45's for a dollar apiece. As I was at the counter counting out the 50 Bucks the guy told me that the next day they were having a 'Sidewalk Sale' the next morning (before the Sun came round the front of the shop) and they were putting all the stuff from the basement on the Shop front for 10 for a dollar... (thats 10 cents each!!).

I was there for 7.30am and went through around 10,000 boxed 45's before noon, netting over 200 records for just over $20.00 (about £12!!!!).

In there were a handful of Joannie Sommers "Dont Pity Me" two of which I sold to Rob Wigley at Thorne and a few months after he bugged me to tell him more about Jellys.

Needless to say, Rob & Tats decided to hit it a few months later but (as I 'd cleaned it out) they came up with very little.

Might be worth a revisit though, 18 years later, just in case they've an overstocked basement ...and need to have another Sidewalk Sale!

Need to get Rob on here and he'll verify the Tony & Tyrone thread mentioned earlier... and I'll let him tell you about the time in Washington when we were almost run out of town by a gang who wanted to know why we were on 'There Mutha Fcuk'n Street!'

Were it not for the fact that the shop owner was, well lets say, well connected, we were pretty much dead meat.

Sean Hampsey

[Guest Awake 502]

You should have gone there in the mid 80's when they had the old shop. Two girls in cut off / cut away jeans behind the counter very interested in "English accents" etc etc. They even called me a cab after I had finished. Enough to distract a humble record collector from his purpose . Oh, and tons of vinyl at 25c each - as much as you could carry.

Them was the days!

Was there late 80's with Gary S. picked up 100's of L.P.'s at 5 for $1, Sam Dees, Hesitations, Freddie Butler, Tony Fox etc...

There was also a great store in Clearwater at the same time where we found piles of Garfield Flemming, J.P. Rogers and Bobby Sheen... Oh it was a lot easier back then

[Simon M]

Was there late 80's with Gary S. picked up 100's of L.P.'s at 5 for $1, Sam Dees, Hesitations, Freddie Butler, Tony Fox etc...

There was also a great store in Clearwater at the same time where we found piles of Garfield Flemming, J.P. Rogers and Bobby Sheen... Oh it was a lot easier back then

How is Gary S... is he still dealing .. What a Perm he had , ( good mates with Poke if I remember rightly)

Cheers

Simon

Edited May 24, 2006 by Simon M

[paultp]

Went down to Grenwich Village last November. Found the famous House of Oldies - the bloke running it wouldn't let me near his stock, it was locked away in the basement after the fifth request for him to go looking for stuff he got bored and started chatting to his buddies.

Is that the place that is full of LP's? Really nice but ferociously priced?

I went in a similar place in New York about 6 years ago (must be the same place) and the guy behind the counter just kept saying "Which record are you looking for?" I named a few well known biggies (only one at a time, please) and each time he disappeared and came back and said "nope"

I think I got p*ssed off before before he did, but it was my introduction to the strange ways of record shop owners in the US. They don't really want to sell records cos if they did, they wouldn't have anything to put in the shop would they?

[Sean Hampsey]

How is Gary S... is he still dealing .. What a Perm he had , ( good mates with Poke if I remember rightly)

Cheers

Simon

Gary sold up about 8 years ago due to illness. Most of his stock went to Anglo American. He was / is a great guy and from being a young lad was always really into the music. His Black Knight record list is sorely missed.

Worked for John Anderson for a while, hence his association with Poke (another great lad!).

I was one of the privileged who had access to his old warehouse, in darkest Neepsend. Often every bit as rewarding as some of my trips to the US of A... and at certain hours of the day just as risky!

Sean Hampsey

[Simon M]

Ahh right , Hope he's not too bad ....

[Steve G]

loving this thread - mind you I loved Steve G's story of Pico Boulevard in Manifesto some years back - the late Dave McC had some tall tales as well. Oh to be an Englishman abroad!

If I can find that article I will post it up - the memory still lingers on that one!

[Guest Matt Male]

These are all brilliant stories, but is anyone still picking up piles of 45s for a few cents from people's lofts and yard sales in the US? It's a big place after all and there can't be more than a few hundred soulies looking, if that.

I guess no one would say if they were

[Maark]

I'm relatively new to Soul and even newer to the idea of buying records. However, as work takes me to the States each year, I thought I would try my hand at unearthing a jem. After a bit of detective work, I eventually find the only record shop in Albuquerque selling vinyl. I begin perusing, trying to look like I know what I'm doing when suddenly...........nothing happened! There was no gang of home boys trying to run me outta town, no slimy giant blood curdling cockroaches, no fit birds gagging to get me kecks off, no dismembered head concealed under the record racks. Nothing. Not a sausage! Not even a rare record for 20 cents (well there might have been but I'm too green to know one if it hit me round the face). But thanks to everyone for taking the time to post up your tales, it's been the best read I've had for ages!

[Guest]

May have told this bizarre story before, not about a USA hit but more of a UK hit.

John Anderson used to let me into his 'store' in Kings Lynn and whilst looking for some unkowns back in early 90's I found a few bits that I wanted to play, went over to the record player and a pile of records were on the floor covering the socket.

Picked up a stack of records to move and about half a dozen fell off the bottom onto the floor, went back to pick em up and staring me in the face was 'HARD ROE TO HOE' picked it up to inspect thinking I'd cracked it and low and behold there was another and another and another...returned to the pile and on the bottom was another .

I Composed myself and decided to look through the whole pile I had just moved to see if there were anymore, I'm sure you'll all be delighted to know there were indeed no more, but I did find a Forton/Scott sweet lover, and an Ivorys on Dispenza....lol

6 hrs later I went through to Johns office..."did ya find some bits bonny lad"?

I'll have these but I cant' take these 5 bits on Qauint John, because because because, I knew John well enough that if it ever got back to him that I'd done him, he'd make sure that I never went into his stores again, he could be a right old contacerous ole boy sometimes.

He played it. chuckled then mumbled something on the lines of "what a pile of f*** in shyte" like he used to asked me for a valuation, which I said £50 being niave, he then rang Mick Smith up for a valuation.

He then gave me a copy for nothing for being honest and put the others on his list the next week a £80 each!

7 days later he rang me and asked where I'd found the Otis Lee's as he been inundated with enq's, alas there were no more.

The morale in the story, is never give up even when the bits of skin that hold your fingers nails on are coming away, never give up. That next one you pull up might be, just might be Robbie Lawson.

Edited May 25, 2006 by PaulDonely

[grant]

These are all brilliant stories, but is anyone still picking up piles of 45s for a few cents from people's lofts and yard sales in the US? It's a big place after all and there can't be more than a few hundred soulies looking, if that.

I guess no one would say if they were

I would guess that there must still be plenty of records lurking in old stores, attics etc - converted our loft last year and found - old bed mattress, that painting of the Spanish woman, old adidas holdall (original, now that must be worth something), and Kerplunk - no rare soul tunes there!

When over in the States in the late 70's (Springfield, Mass) me and my brother wanted to buy a lot of cheap Levis, trainers etc so our American host took us to a store in downtown Springfield somewhere. He parked up and then jogged top the shop leaving me and bro ambling along as you do - asking him why he ran he replied that you don't walk anywhere around here unless you want mugging or at worst shot! He forgot to tell us that bit before hje ran off.

Record wise that trip didn't yield much, couple Darrell Banks on revilot, Richard Temple, and a couple more I can't remember, but didnt really look that hard as I was on a year out from the scene :angry:

[Chris Anderton]

I`ve just got back from my 22nd trip Stateside,in fact i worked out i have spent a year out of my 36 years on the planet in the states looking for records. I could probably write a book of stories about whats happened to me, or what nearly happened! I`ve got more stories about amazing finds but also had some amazing experiences too.Heres just one that springs to mind

I took some pepper spray in my pocket as we visited a guy in south side Chicago (just in case), after a while my leg started itching and the pepper spray had leaked....it was bloody killing me...i went to the guys bathroom and wiped it all off with his face flannel...sometimes i imagine the guy washing his face that night and being blinded by the mystery stuff in his eyes!!

Without doubt John Anderson is the king of story telling...he has kept us entertained on many a boozy record show night with his amazing stories.....lovely guy too......

I did her somebody (Andy Dyson?) was writing a book about this.....

Chris

[arnie j]

I`ve just got back from my 22nd trip Stateside,in fact i worked out i have spent a year out of my 36 years on the planet in the states looking for records. I could probably write a book of stories about whats happened to me, or what nearly happened! I`ve got more stories about amazing finds but also had some amazing experiences too.Heres just one that springs to mind

I took some pepper spray in my pocket as we visited a guy in south side Chicago (just in case), after a while my leg started itching and the pepper spray had leaked....it was bloody killing me...i went to the guys bathroom and wiped it all off with his face flannel...sometimes i imagine the guy washing his face that night and being blinded by the mystery stuff in his eyes!!

Without doubt John Anderson is the king of story telling...he has kept us entertained on many a boozy record show night with his amazing stories.....lovely guy too......

I did her somebody (Andy Dyson?) was writing a book about this.....

Chris

someone please write a book bout this fascinating subject,i would definately buy two of them,...arnie j

[Dysonsoul]

yep a great subject- aye chris i'm workin on a book on the subject got most of the big names contributing.. i'll donate any profits ( if any) to various charities ! it is a long job though fitting it inbetween all my other workload but it'll get there - some of gilly's stories are fabulous,frustrating and sad never the less riveting.i'll keep you all posted.

infact if anyone wants to share any of there stories they'd be most welcome no matter how long or short - only thing i ask is it's the whole truth and nothing but the truth , so help me god....

[Guest Awake 502]

infact if anyone wants to share any of there stories they'd be most welcome no matter how long or short - only thing i ask is it's the whole truth and nothing but the truth , so help me god....

Hardest thing for me was keeping a straight face when finding something expensive at a dealers. Dropped on a Detroit ex d.j's collection that two known dealers in Florida had purchased. Jimmy Mack, Yvonne Vernee, Norma Jenkins, Bob and Fred etc. all at $3 to $5 each. Handing 350 records over and waiting for a price they said I guess some of these are quite rare do you mind if we play a few... My heart sunk, they picked out a few and somehow, by accident of course played all the wrong sides....

They were very happy with the price until another English guy visited a few weeks later and told them what he would have paid for some of the records..... Why do people do that ? Everyone was happy at the time... Right place right time....

[Djr]

These are all brilliant stories, but is anyone still picking up piles of 45s for a few cents from people's lofts and yard sales in the US? It's a big place after all and there can't be more than a few hundred soulies looking, if that.

I have yet to bump into any decent 45s at a yard sale here in the States. Ocassionally there may be a decent soul 45 at a flea market, but that is not as often as I would like. At best it's LPs I'll buy to make some money on & then put towards a decent record. I did stumble on about 20 45s at a thrift shop last year, which I was quite happy about, as I never find decent 45s at thrift shops.. The 45s were a mixed bunch, from doo-wop to blues to r'n';b to soul. The soul 45s were Fred Hughes "Don't Let It Happen to Us" on Brunswick, Sam Dees "Can You Be a One Man Woman" on Chess, and Judy Freeman & Blackrock "All We Need Is A Miracle" on RCA. I sold the 2 doo-wop 45s - it paid for the lot and I had a few dollars left over.

[Guest denmac]

WOW!!! some great stories.ANDY DYSON get that book writ, loads of questions from this post!!!.

RON GUY: who, what, dealer? if your there RON say hello.

simon M: come on give us the frank bev thing.

aycliffe crew: lets have the funny stories.

my mate grey from derby came back from the recent ny trip and told me about a store that was full of electrical equipment and had a load of tunes,,,???? no loads of records,there not TUNES TILL WE SAY SO!!!! ANYWAY he had a record player that he did`nt know how to use. the owner not grey.

loads of respect to dave mc. many of us old`uns would hang on to his every word for inspiration and clues to the next best way to spend our next 7andfourpence

i did ask that this was about stories about looking for tunes in the states but some tales have been more about the records found.

m.s.s, ido hope andy gets intouch about this book he`s doing. ex wife,hornets,locked in.

DID steve davies, snooker player, really buy a whole warehouse in philly?

Edited May 26, 2006 by denmac

[Chris Anderton]

Andy,

I`ll be in touch about the book...seems like i get a decent story everytime i get out there....this time it was somebody who used to work at the Columbia pressing plant and brought home handfulls of records....kept them for years until two friendly English guys turned up to take them off their hands.....funny thing is amoungst the find was 7 mint copies of Bobby Sheen "Something new to do"......not a bad find but when i play them its not Bobby Sheen at all but some other bloody record, female vocal, its not bad actually but not a clue what it is! Seems strange writing about this, it was only 2 weeks ago tomorrow!!

The thing about record finding stories is that its all date specific. It was obviously much easier to find record years ago, an average find in the 70s would be a major find today.....I didn`t get to the states til the early 90s and it was never easy even then.......

Chris

[Baz Atkinson]

JUST REMEMBERED A FEW MORE,DOWNSTAIRS RECORDS NEW YORK 1992 WENT IN HAD A BIT OF A CHAT WITH THE OWNER GOT A FEW NICE BITS AND PIECES BUT SAME OLD STORY MOST OF THE BIGGER STUFF IN UK,FELT GOOD ABOUT MYSELF SO CELEBRATED WITHA BIG MAC JUST ROUND THE CORNER,ONE OF THE FEW IN NEW YORK WHERE YOUCOULD EAT OUTSIDE,JUST REMEBERED THAT I HAD LEFT MY SAUCE INSIDE SO WENT IN AS I WALKED BACK OUTSIDE A TRAMP WITH A TROLLEY NICKED MYLARGE FRIES I WAS FUMING SO GIVE HIM CHASE AND AS I TRIED TO CATCH HIM ROLLED OVER!

GOT SOME GOOD LEADS IN BUFFALO NJ SAME YEAR SO HIRED A QUIDE [iNFACT A DISTANT COUSIN]FROM CHIPAWA A SMALL TOWN ON THE CANADIAN SIDE OF THE FALLS ,HE PULLED UP VERY EARLY MOURNING STICKING OF LAGER ,WE TRIED TO GET OVER THE BORDER BUT HE WAS TURNED BACK,THE SAME MAN AT THE AMERICAN SIDE OF THE FALLS TOOK MY PASSPORT AND ASKED IF I HAD HAD DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY I THINK HE WAS NEW TOHIS JOB[WE BOTH FELLOVER PISSING OURSELVES LAUGHING]

SURE THERE IS A FEW MORE IN THE MEMORY TANK.

[foolish fool]

This was Rob Wigley & Andy "TATS" Taylor.

I'd been in Honolulu in September 1988 and came across an amazing shop called "Jellys Records" in a shady part of town. The shop closed at 8.00pm but not before I bought a stack of decent Northern 45's for a dollar apiece. As I was at the counter counting out the 50 Bucks the guy told me that the next day they were having a 'Sidewalk Sale' the next morning (before the Sun came round the front of the shop) and they were putting all the stuff from the basement on the Shop front for 10 for a dollar... (thats 10 cents each!!).

I was there for 7.30am and went through around 10,000 boxed 45's before noon, netting over 200 records for just over $20.00 (about £12!!!!).

In there were a handful of Joannie Sommers "Dont Pity Me" two of which I sold to Rob Wigley at Thorne and a few months after he bugged me to tell him more about Jellys.

Needless to say, Rob & Tats decided to hit it a few months later but (as I 'd cleaned it out) they came up with very little.

Might be worth a revisit though, 18 years later, just in case they've an overstocked basement ...and need to have another Sidewalk Sale!

Need to get Rob on here and he'll verify the Tony & Tyrone thread mentioned earlier... and I'll let him tell you about the time in Washington when we were almost run out of town by a gang who wanted to know why we were on 'There Mutha Fcuk'n Street!'

Were it not for the fact that the shop owner was, well lets say, well connected, we were pretty much dead meat.

Sean Hampsey

[foolish fool]

SEAN.

THE TONY AND TYRONE SAGA HAPPENED IN A SMALL DETROIT CLUB IN "NO MANS LAND". GILLY WAS PISSED DOING THE "COOL JERK" ON THE DANCEFLOOR AS A SEA OF BLACK FACES LOOKED ON IN AMAZEMENT.

I WANDERED OFF TO THE TOILET,AND WHILE I AM STOOD HAVING A PEE

THIS GUY AT THE SIDE OF ME SAYS "WHAT YOU WHITE BOYS DOIN IN THIS PLACE" . I TOLD HIM WE WERE LOOKIN FOR 60S SOUL MUSIC AND ASKED HIM IF

HE HAD EVER BEEN IN THE MUSIC BIZ, HE REPLIED "NOT REALLY" ALTHOUGH HE DID CUT A FEW RECORDS WITH HIS MATE TYRONE IN THE SIXTIES.

I STARTED SINGING "PLEASE OPERATOR" AND HE NEARLY PISSED ALL OVER ME.

HE INTRODUCED HIMSELF HAS TONY JOHNSON, AND THEN ASKED ME TO GO OUT TO HIS CAR TO LISTEN TO AN UNRELEASED TRACK HE HAD BEEN CARRYING AROUND WITH HIM WRITTEN BY HIM AND BARRET STRONG.

SO I END UP SAT IN AN OLD PINK CONVERTABLE WITH THE HOOD DOWN, AT 2AM IN THE MORNING, FEELING MIGHTY UNCOMFORTABLE AS TONY SLIPPED A BACKING TRACK INTO THE TAPE DECK AND STARTED TO SING A LOVE BALLAD TO ME , AS THE BROTHERS AND PIMPS PASSED ON THE SIDEWALK. SURREAL!

HE HIS A REALLY GENUINE NICE GUY, AND WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF MAVIS STAPLES..

TATS

[Dayo]

yep a great subject- aye chris i'm workin on a book on the subject got most of the big names contributing.. i'll donate any profits ( if any) to various charities ! it is a long job though fitting it inbetween all my other workload but it'll get there - some of gilly's stories are fabulous,frustrating and sad never the less riveting.i'll keep you all posted.

infact if anyone wants to share any of there stories they'd be most welcome no matter how long or short - only thing i ask is it's the whole truth and nothing but the truth , so help me god....

I've got a good story for you if you'd like to hear of a haul of British demo's. Drop me a note if you want.

Colin

[Guest]

i spoke to a guy he said come over to new jersey i got 1000s of soul 45s, 2 hours i was on a bus in pure ghetto, didnt see one white face, got of the bus, some crackheads askin me for $$s, got the shop wall to wall 45s.... all crappy memory lane, oldies doowop reissues not an original in the gaff..gutted

[Gaz Simon]

Me and Kev Cane went to the New York/Philly area looking for records

in the summer of 1989, we'd had a good trip in terms of records (found

loads of goodies) and in terms of having a good laugh (we were in our

twentys at the time and would have done anything for a giggle)

We had done a lot of travelling in a hire car and our last couple of

days were car-free staying at a YMCA in Manhattan, for our last day we

had an appointment to see Lou Silvani (Times Square records, which is

run out of his house in The Bronx).

Lou agreed to see us even though he had put off an arranged game of

golf as he probably thought we had thousands of dollars to spend!

The night before really was a wild night in Manhattan involving, Irish

bars, an indian restaurant and a couple of madonna lookalikes (another

story) didn't get to bed till 5 a.m ( we were due at Lou's at 9!!)

We woke the next morning worse for wear but got to the subway station

on 34th to make our way to the Bronx with hangovers from hell and

about $1000 each in cash in our pockets! also bearing in mind that

NYC was still the most violent city on the planet in the 80's.

To cut a long story short we got off the train at the wrong stop (10

stops too early) and realised it after about a nanosecond!! The street

where we ended up didn't look particularly friendly and we both

thought we were about to die, then, by an unbelievable stroke of

luck a phone booth appeared and I quickly got the piece of paper out

of my pocket with Lou's number on it and in typical british comedy

farce, a wad of dollars dropped on the floor!!! We both stopped

breathing at this point and somehow I managed to casually picked up

the dosh and rang Lou! Lou asked us to pick out a landmark and came

screeching round the corner in about 5 minutes to save our lives in

his oldsmobile!!

To this day that 5 minutes seemed to last two and a half hours. Lou

said that it wasn't a particularly nice area and we would probably

have been mugged for $1, never mind $1000 each!!!!!

Once we got to Lou's place (the basement of his house is actually a

record warehouse with racks of 45s everywhere) we started looking

through piles of 45's we were looking for 3 or 4 hours and basically

found nowt, we were starting to get pissed off and very hot (August in

NY is 100+) Lou was starting to get a bit restless by now cos neither

of us had picked any records out and he'd put off a golf game to make

a few dollars off us. We searched for another hour or so and picked

out about twenty-odd 45s each and a dozen copies of Marva Lee on Atco!

The total came to less than $200, Lou was not a happy bunny!!

Before we went I needed to use the toilet badly (the previous nights

Guiness-fest and dodgy vindaloo was now about to get its revenge!!)

The toilet that Lou directed me to was actually right next to his

small desk a few feet away!! I went in and was there for about an

hour!! Kev said that the sounds and smells emanating from the small

cubicle together with the oppresive heat were horrific!! When I came

out the stench was overpowering and I could see Kev giggling as Lou

was holding his nostrils together saying stuff like "jeez" and "what

the fcuk". We quickly settled-up and did one!

The sight of Lou waving us off with his fingers pinching his nose

spraying air freshener around will stay with me forever, great days.

Gaz