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Personal Financial Ruin ?


Orotava

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Not too long ago I returned to collecting again after selling my previous collection for peanuts back in the 80s.  I`m finding it just as addictive now as I did way back, with must have tunes that I want NOW but my current strict budget dictates what I can buy as I go along. 

 

I`ve been amazed at the prices stuff goes for these days which led me to wonder if anyone has got into really deep financial trouble as a result of buying sounds ??  Personally, I lived from one week`s wages to the next back in the 70s but I could see how easily guys could get into real financial straits because the scene took over our lives.

 

Just a thought...??

 

 

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Only started collecting in the last 18 months....if anyone had said i would spend time buying records instead of dancing to them i would have laughed them out of the building!!! Talk about addictive !!!I am on a very restricted budget and to be honest most of my purchases are from ebay....and there is the dangerous part ...you dont feel the money disappearing until you get the monthly bank statement and s/*t yourself......However on a plus side you do get to hear so many great tunes you dont hear out .....Anyway thats all from me .....keep your eyes out for me in a skip near you soon !!!!

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That's a bit harsh. It's a reasonable enought question which could generate some decent stories.

 

Peter

 

 

yeah well, you have an agenda with me, been in trouble through you before,

 

'All about the soul'  from us old un's means just that, so b****r o**

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yeah well, you have an agenda with me, been in trouble through you before,

 

'All about the soul'  from us old un's means just that, so b****r o**

I have no agenda with anyone so I don't know what you mean by that. If you've been in trouble - well you need to take some responsibility for your own actions then don't you.

 

:wink:

 

Peter

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I have no agenda with anyone so I don't know what you mean by that. If you've been in trouble - well you need to take some responsibility for your own actions then don't you.

 

:wink:

 

Peter

 

yeah well at least when I speak off things about all about the soul

 

I do actually go out to soul events, unlike you, as you never go out anywhere

 

correct me if i'm wrong

Edited by dekka
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yeah well at least when I speak off things about all about the soul

 

I do actually go out to soul events, unlike you, as you never go out anywhere

 

correct me if i'm wrong

Oh dear Dekka.

 

You need to calm down a bit - you're the one who clearly has an agenda. You want to fall out with me - well I can't be arsed mate. I'm not gonna get into a slanging match with you.

 

:wink:

 

Peter

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Oh dear Dekka.

 

You need to calm down a bit - you're the one who clearly has an agenda. You want to fall out with me - well I can't be arsed mate. I'm not gonna get into a slanging match with you.

 

:wink:

 

Peter

 

Nice reply, but not exactly answered my question

 

By the way, I never forget

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Hi Orotova,

 

Good question!

 

Been collecting since '99 and yes it is addictive and sometimes budgets do go out the window.

 

A bit of self restraint is sometimes required (sulk sulk).

 

You can work it to finance itself by grabbing bargains and selling when the demand is high and hence the price goes up.

 

All in all great fun but you need to eat and buy dancing shoes don't ya  :ohmy:

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at last a thread that has actually asked a reasonable question to a point that is has been discussed among collectors and soulies for years but never really broached on here... and i think is quite pertinant to the scene...

 

Has the collecting bug... got someone to a point where a persons over stretched themesleves...

 

f++k yes...the drug that is vinyl collecting has had me putting a big purchase before other things in the past....and i know a lot of other folk that it has too..been collecting since i was 13 so 38 years and i even borrowed money off me dad to get tunes in my teens...not sure if he ever got it back...he was as soft as a brush with me when it cam to music he loved soul more than i did.

 

I restrain myself now... but at one time i was buying tunes an thinking its only £20 only $5 only £50 then month end  errrr ahh £500 down

The need to beat the next man to a tune was a major factor..when ebay appeared it made things more accessable and at one point i was watching over 70 items in one week...madness when i look back

 

The key to it is that the tunes always turn up if you wait... no need to hurry...plus getting older makes you wiser (until the next must have appears LOL)

 

 

Dekka youll have a thrombosis if you let it get to you :thumbsup: ....its a bit of social banter... its only vinyl...we need to have fun with our tunes and our chit chat..

 

 

Geeoooooordie

 

Hi mate

 

probs read it the wrong way,

 

knew that pete99 would react though

 

sos

 

tarn lad dekka

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Once again we have fantastic threads in all about the soul, as it used to be and how it should be

 

then we have shit like this

 

what do you want 'donations'

Crikey Dekka , a bit strong there ain't you . I read that as a perfectly good post . I don't think personal problems are for ANY thread or forum . Best sorted out with personal messages I would have thought .

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Guest Polyvelts

I know what Geordie means, I remember the first time I paid over a fiver as a teenager, the thing is if you bought a record over a tenner in say the early eighties the odds are it would be still be worth something now, now I'm buying stuff that only a fairly small network of people are interested in and it's more expensive than ever !

Having a young family in the 80s and 90s I had no spare cash, but still bought loads of cassettes of John oven chip !!!

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at last a thread that has actually asked a reasonable question to a point that is has been discussed among collectors and soulies for years but never really broached on here... and i think is quite pertinant to the scene...

 

Has the collecting bug... got someone to a point where a persons over stretched themesleves...

 

f++k yes...the drug that is vinyl collecting has had me putting a big purchase before other things in the past....and i know a lot of other folk that it has too..been collecting since i was 13 so 38 years and i even borrowed money off me dad to get tunes in my teens...not sure if he ever got it back...he was as soft as a brush with me when it came to music, he loved soul more than i do.

 

I restrain myself now... but at one time i was buying tunes an thinking..... its only £20...its only $5 ....its only £50 then at month end  errrr ahh £500 down

The need to beat the next man to a tune was a major factor..when ebay appeared it made things more accessable and at one point i was watching over 70 items in one week...madness when i look back

 

The key to it is that the tunes always turn up if you wait... no need to hurry...plus getting older makes you wiser (until the next must have appears LOL)

 

 

Dekka youll have a thrombosis if you let it get to you :thumbsup: ....its a bit of social banter... its only vinyl...we need to have fun with our tunes and our chit chat..

 

 

Geeoooooordie

 

 

 

PS Gotto go got a couple of ebay watches that i cant afford...but im gonna bid anyway :wicked:

 

 

Wise words Geordie - I`m trying hard not to go after absolutely everything at any cost, like you say they`re all out there at the right time.

 

Cheers mate

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Once again we have fantastic threads in all about the soul, as it used to be and how it should be

 

then we have shit like this

 

what do you want 'donations'

 

 

No I don`t want donations Dekka but thanks for the offer.  I don`t understand what point you`re trying to make??  Is this post in the wrong section??

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Seemed to take over my life for a while without me realising, literally I was buying or looking for records as soon as I woke until the little hours of the morning not very healthy at all, the misses put me straight though :) financially it can definitely be detrimental I certainly don't pay the kind of amounts I did and shouldn't have before.

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i've gone up and down the monetary scale in the last 10 years..i was collecting cds  from about 2000 and swore i would never buy another record ever again...a short lived statement!. first time i set foot in lowton and saw all the dealers i couldnt resist,...i bought 30 records, all dirt cheap and from then on it escalated, particularly when i met des parker...a genuine genial bloke, ended up buying loads of cheap stuff off him..and the collection was started, and very soon after the prices started to creep up and the purchases became less prolific and more selective...before i knew it, it was £200-300-400-500-950 in the persuit of a reasonable dj box. updated, ive gone back to buying 25-30-40 pound records because there is still so much good stuff at those sort of prices which, to be honest, ought to be worth a lot more if a sufficient amount of djs were playing them, but by the same token i realise that could ultimately price the average punter out of the market...a bit of a vicious circle then...one thing is right though, as stated here....we are the eternal fishermen, dangling the rod in the vinyl pool...til eventually we land the prize,...that really is the name of the game isn't it?

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too right macca, even more spine tingling as you're just about to pull off the drive on a saturday morning, to do the shopping and you see the postie go to your door...you pip your horn,...he looks around....you motion through your windscreen with two fingers making a square,...he nods his head...you grin and give him the thumbs up and he laughs!! :thumbup: never mind the women ( sorry ladies ) men are married to vinyl! :lol:  :lol:  

Edited by AGENTSMITH
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Good thread! I think the worry is when you think back to the first "expensive" record you ever bought, and how your upper limit (everyone has one, right?) rises on an annual basis on a curve completely exponential to inflation...

I clearly remember going to a record fair in the early 90s and agonising over spending £25 on an Evie Sands single off Mr. Manship. I circled the fair about five times weighing up the pros and cons, listening to the record on a portable each time, taking a deep breath and taking the plunge. I've since played that record 100s of times, and still DJ with it. Fast forward about a decade and I'm on the phone to the same man, arranging a three month payment plan for a £500 single. After paying it up, I found myself thinking "what the **** have I just done???!!!"

Heard plenty of stories of living on beans and toast for a week after a hefty purchase. In the words of (non-soulie) Julian Cope "any money NOT spent on records, is money wasted...!"

Spot on with the "upper limit"...it does creep up as you go on ...in my limited experience anyway ....then you star justifying it to yourself with bullshit "I'll not buy one for another few weeks " which of course you promptly forget as soon as you see your next want !!!

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I've been collecting since 1975 without a break, and I still have a big wants list!

It never ends! But it a funny way that's whats good!

Edited by Guest
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Interesting thread because people can be excessive and even addictive with many things - from alcohol, drugs, gambling or sex to buying things they can't really afford and often don't need. 

 

Buying expensive records can be an addiction for some but even buying large quantities of cheaper records can be an addiction because the financial result is the same. It's even more sad if someone is buying expensive records just to impress someone else rather than because they really find the music hard to resist. Those people need to find satisfaction in CDs and MP3s etc.

And money isn't the only problem because people who are excessive or addictive often spend more of their time on something than they should, such as getting drunk or having sex instead of going to work etc. A lot of men would be more successful if they thought with their brains instead of their you-know-whats (
so I'm told) but it's easy to get distracted by whatever tempts you.

 

If I was addicted to buying expensive records I hope I would wake up and learn to be content with all the cheaper records that can give you even more satisfaction.

I feel sorry for anyone who faces financial ruin but if it's a result of buying expensive records you really need to sell them fast.

Paul

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it did for one person allegedly(just incase any comeback,lol)

 

short lived dj steve chadwick.came from nowhere & was djn everywhere with all theses big expensive tunes.

 

got the bug & needed to keep the tunes coming.we all know how that feels.

 

so allegedly,the records were funded by customers money from his place of work.as in the customers weren't really soul fans,if you know what I mean,lol.

 

me,I had to try & buy my records before too well known or found them cheap.also paid by my shop customers @ the time,but for work I had done.

 

ps please let me know if I have to delete post,or face a high court writ,lol.

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Buying records, once the bug bites you it is amazing how much you can spend, even buying "cheapie" and getting lucky on ebay. I started agin 3 years ago, got to 350 or so records, nothing over £40, most £1 to £10 and some very very lucky finds on ebay sold for a profit. Net result £4000 in 3 years. Have recorded the lot on my iTunes and now I am retired, sold the lot for £5,100.

I stopped because I realised many of the records I wanted (OVO) will never be justifiable at £200+ a pop and decided to live with digital copies and I have still have all my memories.

If you want to buy good soul records, there are thousands out there and you can pick them up in the £5 to £15 range, be careful it does soon add up. If you are chasing some of the Top 500 (as they are called) then unless you are millionaire, then financial ruin is guaranteed.

Good luck buying again, it is addictive, I am glad I stopped before I spent my company pension on records, quality of life is more important to me now! I am a young retiree at 55 so my money has to last a lot longer!

Edited by jim g
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Oh yeah plenty of tales of people wading in and then not being able to afford their records....Ha ha remember when I was a kid not eating properly for days to fund a record! On the other end of the scale we've had people embezzel their employers money so they could amass a box of trophy records......It's a funny old world....

Edited by Steve G
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can also help if you buy quality rather than quantity,wether it cost £10,£30,£100.£1000.,as long as it sounds good,nobody will notice the difference in price.apart from all us on here,lol...just hope there are more lower price ones than top price.

 

its what you do with it that counts,not the size of it.

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.....hehe....Dekka.....ure a good poster and I enjoy your stuff mate......but your response here is unexpected....!x It has made me laugh tho'....so thanx for that!!!x

@@
~

Orotavo...

On a personal level....fortunately I have never developed the desire to 'have one'...! I can afford any tune available on the scene or considered Northern.....without it being a drain on resources really....but choice is what has stopped me from doing so! My choice...is 'music'....and at the 100 Club or anywhere...I played £2 tunes next to £200 out of my box. I became the last DJ to finish the night at many A/Ns during the 90's....nobody wanted to follow me really...so had to dig deep.....but most left the forgotten tunes that were 'bread and butter' back in the day....which they left for me!x Soulies would wait 9 hours for it at some gigs...! The Ritz....which I never did.....I could have followed any DJ with £2ers and had it away.....tis in the groove....not pocket for me!x

 

I did witness 2 'serious' situations which are akin to gambling/addiction which led to financial ruin. In essence...the guy got £100k redundancy money.....within 3 months he'd spent most of it on records..........the other on drugs........and he went to heaven happily within 18 months of the windfall......RIP P...X

The records were sold by his family for about half of what had been paid a year earlier..........and they went to Disney for 6 weeks and blew it all within 2 months of returning.

 

The 2nd was a mate who decided to collect the British Motown series....from No1 as they do! Over 4 years I see him lose his job...then wife...then kids.....as his 'addiction' ran away with him. He still has them....and waits for someone to pop round to see them on his front room shelves of the dingy flat he has after his Mrs threw him out of their 3 Bedroomed house 20 years ago. He smokes pot all day and plays X Box or makes Airfix type models! I saw a thread about such things last week.....but didn't add anything as my mate whom i'm talking about has 8,000+ unmade kits....in his flat.....!! I see them regularly.....and know loads about em thanx to my mate! We was in the Air Cadets together '74....and we made them back then together....he's never stopped....indeed had a model shop in the 80's/90's but frittered the profits on tunes!! The stock from his shop he lost has graced his flat for 20 years.....!!!. He's dead proud of his model kits as he is his Motown......and he has me......and that's it really these days!x We knew each other at school and were good mates before I went in kids homes. We didn't see each other until i started promoting Soul Nights in the 90's 20 years later. By then....it was too late to salvage his family situation or his potential...he'll tell you that himself....like all mature addicts will!X 

 

Whilst i'm here....whoever it is mentioned as 'collecting/trading' model kits....then my mate would love to talk to them!!!! I mentioned the thread to him...he don't do the net....and he got all excited and would love to sell a few hundred or trade!!!!! I wasn't going to get involved as i've been busy....but...i'll gladly put you both in touch with each other and u can trade away!x He'll spend the money on weed.....he has the Motown collection he required I understand....at some cost......obviously!x However....the models are up for sale.....not records!....that's still his first love....and possibly last!x

@@
~

I hope those stories satisfy your curiosity on whether folk have 'blew it' on tunes Orotava!x

 

LUV
SOOTY
X

 

...a tune for u Dekka.......for making me laff...!x

@@
~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1E-wcMUdvU

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I started collecting soul stuff around 1964, only buying 45's initially as they were all I could afford. My 'collection' grew but I still only spent what I could afford (though many times I would go without other stuff). I soon built up a decent collection of UK stuff but when family commitment's kicked in, I had to sell some of my best UK 45's. 

I 've bought (& sold some) down the years and now have a massive collection though most are cheaper valued 70's / 80's / 90's UK 45's / 12" / LPs (I like all types of black music).

My biggest failing is never getting around to cataloguing my collection. So I can never work out if I have sold a particular item or if I still have it. Because of this, when such an item crops up in good condition & at a good price, I have to buy it 'just in case'. 

Coz of this I now have many (way too many) spare copies of things.

Mind you I'm not really an addict, I'm just a collector !!

Just because I have to own a particular 'LIKE' on UK demo 45, UK issue, French picture sleeve copy, a Bajan copy & more -- that surely doesn't make me an addict does it?

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As a kid growing up on the scene, I never had the money to spend on records.  By the time I'd bought my train ticket to Wigan and paid the entry fee into the Casino, it didn't leave much from my £11 a week wage.  My mate was a collector and I used to enjoy looking through the boxes with him, but I preferred to be on the floor.  When I eventually had enough money in my pocket, I had, in my opinion, better things to spend it on.  Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with collectors spending their money on the vinyl, it's their money.  What I can't get my head round is some collectors who amass large amounts of sounds that never see the light of day.  It's like these millionaires that own priceless pieces of art that only they see.  At the end of the day, they own it, it's their choice, but it's nice to see priceless art in public galleries, just like it's good to hear rare sounds at soul nights.

 

Hope this is still in keeping with the thread.  It's just my view as a non-collector of vinyl.

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I'm still trying to achieve personal financial ruin through collecting, but with no success. I used to do a better job of it in the beginning, but then I lost my job and had to learn to control my buying habits. I've started buying again (never needed to sell anything) but I'm not used to paying big bucks anymore.

I rarely get asked to DJ so I mostly collect for my own enjoyment.

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it did for one person allegedly(just incase any comeback,lol)

 

short lived dj steve chadwick.came from nowhere & was djn everywhere with all theses big expensive tunes.

 

got the bug & needed to keep the tunes coming.we all know how that feels.

 

so allegedly,the records were funded by customers money from his place of work.as in the customers weren't really soul fans,if you know what I mean,lol.

 

me,I had to try & buy my records before too well known or found them cheap.also paid by my shop customers @ the time,but for work I had done.

 

ps please let me know if I have to delete post,or face a high court writ,lol.

 

Yes, I remember Steve, I was round Shifty's house with him before they both played at The 100 Club that night - They were playing snap with all their really rare records, it was surreal I tell you.

 

That night Steve played 'PROPHETS - IF I HAD ONE GOLD PIECE' (SHRINE) that he had kept a secret from Shifty......Yes, some get such an addiction, that sadly can become the wrong reason for buying records......

 

All the best,

 

Len :thumbsup: 

Edited by LEN
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Great idea for a thread. Before eBay, you had to save up hard cash but bidding was always very expensive and probably wasteful of funds. Nowadays, eBay offers a global source of records with plenty of bargains but a man's gotta know his limitations... Trouble is, the chase never ends so we're continually broke. As it's easier to get money than it is to find rare records, there is always a justification for overspending but this is unsustainable in the long run. Most records eventually come up for sale so a bit of patience usually pays off. You can often buy records with records so be prepared to trade if funds are short. Steve Chadwick might have had a box of records for a short while but he never had any soul...

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Steve Chadwick....? Len? I think he came along towards the end of the 90's....and had him DJ at a Soul Night.....i'm sure I did! Perhaps at the Duke 'rare' 50 capacity venue?  Dunno how I met him....or where he'd come from....but he came to our St Ives and a few gigs around Cambridgeshire I recall....and yup....I remember he had some tunes too!x

 

LUV
SOOTY
X

 

I did a laser copy of a shrine tune...put it on a piece of vinyl....showed it quickly to a couple of 'key' folk close to me at the time......on a Tuesday evening I recall! No mobile phones back then.....but by the time I went to DJ on Saturday at Hollinwood Working Mens Club and on to Blackburn A/N......EVERYONE was rushing up to me asking to see it.......!!! I did it to my mate Fudge....he always took the P and it was only ever a proper tune according to him if it was on a Shrine label or rarer.....!hehe!x He went for it.....and I sorted him....haha!x I gave it to him to frame.....he slung it outta the mini bus on the way back down the M6.........imagine some Soulie picking it up.....hehe!!!x

@@
~

 

Edit....Found it....!x

4th Anniversary bash.....had it at a venue that was closing down.....that night!!!! Supposed to have been a Soul Night finishing at 2am.....I did the supposing last hour.....and went thru till 8am....!.....cos the staff...owner....din't give a toss and were still dancing with each other at 7.45am....yet they'd never heard of Northern!!! A.super Anniversary for all! Was in 1999....the last S/N Anni doo I did.....happy days!x

 

cellar4th.jpg

 

cellarbar.jpg

 

That's Tommy in the middle and what was the name of the lad to the right Len facing right? I think he came to all our does...!x Erm....who was Jim Ross?!!!! Honest...ain't got a clue who...or why...he's on the bill?! No memory of him whatsoever...yet he's on the bill that I sorted..........huh?!x Help?!x

Edited by SOOTY
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interesting thread that hits close to home for me at least.

 

one thing that I think is interesting about soul 45 collecting vs. any other type of collecting, even soul LP record collecting, is that somehow it's been established that it's normal for regular people to drop $200+ or even 4 figures on a single piece of vinyl. By "regular people" I mean people who have other expenses that are nowhere near that and could buy a nice home entertainment system or a new washer and dryer or something much more tangible and practical for that price. And I'm not talking about people with huge collections who already have all the $25 records, but people who have a relatively small collection. How does someone come to that? tons of threads about OVO? peer pressure?

 

another thing is that the lust for expensive vinyl drives some otherwise normal people to do some nasty things...

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this was me last week....oops! spent a bit this month,perhaps i better sell a few spares/underplayed (by me!)....made a little short of 200 :thumbsup:  ....... spent about 250 on others! :huh:

 

very addictive and can have all the problems of any addiction....

 

great to see a lot of people only getting into it recently both on here and in my travels...my addiction goes way back to my pre teens ,various genres all just as addictive!... pocket money then on to high school and lists off mates for shoplifting tours at the weekend!..no second hand shops though..hmv were the last 'chain' shop to leave the vinyl in the sleeves in norwich..till we got caught :( week later they just had card in them..never forget that tap on my shoulder...grounded for a month juvenile court and £70 fine so no pocket money for a while! ..which is tuff when youre 14

 

advice (which i sometimes take)..know your limits..esnipe and walk away!..if you lose it....theres always another tune :)

 

dean

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Steve Chadwick....? Len? I think he came along towards the end of the 90's.....

 

That's Tommy in the middle and what was the name of the lad to the right Len facing right? I think he came to all our does...!x Erm....who was Jim Ross?!!!! Honest...ain't got a clue who...or why...he's on the bill?! No memory of him whatsoever...yet he's on the bill that I sorted..........huh?!x Help?!x

 

Yes end of the 90's mate. There's often been folk that 'pop up', buy everything, then disappear - There's more to 'it', than owning records and they never get that.

 

The lad on the right is Martin.......Haven't a clue who Jim Ross is, he could be a sudan name like our very own 'Dave Double' :D 

 

Len :thumbsup: 

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recently went through a divorce - that made me really sit down and take my finances more seriously. didn't buy a record at all for a few months. now trying to "ease" back into it, but have to go slow! just got a nice copy of "can't get enough of you" by joe anderson for $40 - and that was a big ticket item in my new era of fiscal austerity!

 

just have to keep the collecting within the context of your overall life...

Edited by ljblanken
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