Great Record Hunting Stories Anyone?

[jazzyjas]

I always enjoy hearing people's stories about finding records and the things they have to endure and the people they meet, just to get their hands on some sounds. I am always entertained by these anecdotes. I was listening to the Soulcast internet radio program and heard a great story from a guy who was in a bad part of LA and barely made the bus out of there with a Sam Fletcher Tollie in his hand. I also read a good one in Manifesto (I think) about a guy who searched through loads and loads of 45s owned by some flamer who was coming onto him while he was a guest in his house.

I'll start it off with two of my own personal stories:

FIRST ONE: Repeat of an earlier Soul Source post about records that changed my life. This also explains my introduction to northern:

Summer of '91, I was running an ad in my local newspaper in Wheeling, West Virginia-where I grew up, advertising that I was looking for old records. So this woman calls me around 8pm on a Saturday evening, and I go to her place and it's a TOTAL hillbilly set-up. It's in a public housing project on a dead-end street in the worst part of town. There's garbage EVERYWHERE outside and the kids are running around, babies crying, dogs barking, etc. Anyway, I go in to this tiny kitchen area and this gross old fat woman brings out about 300 45s on a broomstick with cut-out pieces of newspaper between every single record. And the whole time, she's handing me little stacks and picking them up and bringing them up all the way over the stick and I'm peeling paper off and seeing all sorts of junk, like I expected. But then things started to look up. I grabbed every small-label odd-looking item I could find in any genre of music. So, by this time, it's dark and I'm hot as hell and finished in there. I give her a whopping $10 for about 50 records, which she was pleased with. So when I get home, I start playing these records and one of them happened to be a VG looking copy of "Sidra's Theme" that played very nicely. I was awestruck with this record immediately and played it again, much louder and got into it even more. Not more than a month or two later, I see the term "northern soul" for the very first time on a Craig Moerer Records by Mail sales list. I studied the hell out of the list not knowing what the term meant or what the common thread was between these 45s. As I realized that I had some of the records on the list, I listened to them and put the pieces together and made it my mission to learn about northern soul. It took me until 1994 to learn what it really was, because I got my first CDs of it. For the three years up to '94, I was almost completely on my own trying to pinpoint the sound, armed with about nothing except a Simon Soussan price guide I eventually got a hold of, which confirmed so many of my guesses of which records were northern but told me nothing about the history or the music itself. Of course, I eventually found out "Sidra's Theme" was considered northern soul. With no prior knowledge of any sub-culture, I continually sought out the sound, developed a keen ear for it. The more that I learned about the dancing and culture, I realized that this was for me and never looked back. Now I'm hooked for life and loving it!

SECOND STORY: Getting Records in the middle of the night under weird circumstances...

Back in 1992, I used to put on a suit just about every Saturday afternoon and DJ wedding reception after wedding reception playing crappy music, to earn money while I was in college. I hated it, but the money was good. Anyway...I'm driving down the road to do the job and I'm going into hillbilly country heading toward this small Ohio town. On my way, I see some junkman who was apparently living in a school bus on the side of the road selling all sorts of stuff, like bicycles, tools, furniture and whatever..I thought "shit-I can't pull over and look because I've got to get to the damn reception hall!" I wondered if he had any records. So after the reception was over and I was on my way home, THERE HE WAS! 1130pm at night and he's still out there selling stuff. Needless to say, I pulled over. I walked up to his little school bus home and asked him if he had any records and he said "yeah! come on in!" So I go into the bus and he's got a whole setup going on in there. TV playing Saturday Night Live above the driver's seat, a table, food, dishes, a bed in the back...there's crap EVERYWHERE! So I'm standing in the middle of the bus with my suit on and he's tearing the place apart looking for records and he turns up about two Elvis records, so I said "is that all you've got" He said "come back later I'll get some more out for you." I'm like "later? are you sure? It's gonna be about 1am!" He said to just come on back anyway so I went home and unloaded my DJ gear and got my two friends and we headed back out to hillbilly country in the middle of the night to go check out the man in the bus for the records. (It sounds like a shady drug deal doesn't it? I mean-you would have thought we were buying moonshine or something.) So we pull up to the bus and all the lights are out and I'm like "oh man..." Then he pops up in the window and says "hold on I'll be right out!" So he comes out with a flashlight and we follow him around the bus behind some weeds and bushes on this short path-it's pitch black and you can only see the light from the flashlight and literally all you can hear are crickets. We walk up to this little tool shed and he starts digging around and pulls up this decent sized box of 45s that are all near mint and all primo 50s rock and roll and r&b, goreous webbed top checker labels, chess, sun, etc. got an entire lot from him at $30-what a bargain! We thanked him and headed off to get a bite at an all nite diner. Not the best record finds of my life but definitely one of the most interesting vinyl hunting experiences ever. Getting 45s in the woods at 1am totally rules!

KTF

Jas

[Guest]

Nothing as exciting as that I'm afraid. Back in '95 my wife's best friend moved to LA and started going out with a guy there who was somewhat older than her (about 30 years). Anyway, they decide to get hitched in in 98 and in me and the wife go to LA for the wedding. This bit you're not going to believe. Turned out the guy was a bloke called Andrew (Mickey) Davis who was the bodyguard of none other than Mr Berry Gordy. I'm as excited as hell at the prospect of going to this wedding, even moreso when I find out that Smokey Robinson is singing in the church! Before the wedding I'm introduced to Smokey Robinson and we chat about some of his early recordings which he can't remember recording and then I'm introduced to Berry Gordy who really didn't want to know.

Not a bad wedding all told though they did think I was a piss-head (I'm Irish, what can I say).

A few days later, Mickey comes into the room I'm sleeping in and says his wife told him I'm looking for "old R&B records". I tell him yes, I'm hoping to get to a couple of shops down on Rodeo and he says there's no need. He tells me the closet in the room I'm sleeping in is full of old records he got when he worked for Motown and then he said those magical words...."take what you want". Boy, did I! Nothing spectacular (no crate of Frank Wilsons) but as a Motown fan, just loads of great albums including 2 copies of that Supremes 25th anniversary LP (Demo) with the booklet inside, one of which I gave to my mate as a pressie to which he replied "F***ing Supremes??!!".

Also got a call when I was there from Chris Clark who sent me a demo copy of the album she was recording on Dat tape which I gave to someone to transfer onto normal tape and never saw again. I never even heard the album. Can't win 'em all I suppose.

[Guest ShaneH]

if you look in the archives of this forum there are some good interesting stories from Andy Rix and his record hunting days.

Ask Mike nicely and he may help you find them.

Shane

[Cheapsiderecords]

Back in May 2003 my sister in law and her hubby came to Canada for a holiday. Being another soulie naturally he wanted to go looking for records. I took him to local flea markets, Stardust Records in Hamilton, Ontario etc and he was picking up bits and pieces on Motown, Brunswick etc. all good 5 quid stuff.

He kept on he wanted to go to Toronto to look and I said 2 words to him - Martin Koppell. It is amazing how many times I have made contact with people about soul 45's and they say - Oh Martin bought them.

Anyway, I took a day off and we went to Toronto, I had done some research and had a few shops for him to visit not expecting to find much, we got to about 4:00 and we were coming back down Yonge Street ( right in the city center ) and we were stood on a corner whilst I made a call. He looked across the road and there was a little door and through it you could see 45's glued to the steps - honest.

We went in, went upstairs and there was this guy in leather trousers and a pony tail, ( he had a shirt on as well but I cant remember what that was like ), I kid you not, there were 1000's of records in there. " What time do you close", I said. "10:00" he said.

I called the wife and said we would be a bit late.

We started looking and there were lots of soul, r&b etc but mostly 70's and 80's. We were pulling out bits and pieces and he said we could go through the back as there were more there. I was finding Major Lance - Can. Epic, Motown on Canadian labels, then I found Linda Lloyd on Canadian Columbia!!

Anyway, about 4 hours later we both had healthy piles of vinyl and I was lucky enough to have found as well as the Linda LLoyd copies of Moses Smith - Cotillion promo, Drifters - Pay Your Dues - Atlantic promo, plus lots more Atlantic, Atco, Cotillion promos, Ronnie Love, Nino Tempo, Robert John on A&M, . My brother in law had been off the scene for long time so didnt know half the stuff I was picking out but he was very happy with what he had and the cost was only $2 Canadian per 45 ( less than a quid ).

I ended up spending $180 for 90 odd 45's, the guy even rounded the price down. I have been back a couple of times but the stock hasnt changed and the last time I went in October it was closed and there was a for lease sign in the window. I called the estate agents but they couldnt give me a contact number but when we were in the back room there was a bed so I am thinking he was living there as well.

So there you go, not a major find but enough to keep you making the effort to keep looking and this was in down town Toronto and was about 15 minutes walk from Martin Koppells shop.

[jazzyjas]

Those are great stories you guys! Keep 'em coming! I know there are plenty more of you with cool stories like that.

Many people don't realize that these are the bonuses of record collecting. It's the thrill of the hunt and the little stories and anecdotes you walk away with. Buying records on ebay will never be 5% as interesting.

One of the reasons we're all still collecting. We're driven by these experiences.

KTF

Jas

[Dayo]

Sometime - when there's more time - I'll tell you about my greatest crate digging hit which included a UK demo from Darryl Banks on London...

[Peter]

After reading this thread with interest, heres a couple of stories, though not I'm not an avid vinyl collector anymore mainly because of the high price, I do like to look around.

Summer 2001 my wife and I went to Boston (Massachusetts) for a holiday, we spent the first night in Boston then the next 7 days on a campsite, but the last couple of days was in a hotel in the centre of Boston.

So day 1 we went on a trip to Salem, did the usual tourist spots and came across a record shop selling only vinyl, we walked in talking to each other when the guy behind the counter shouts "Hey you guys from the UK? well you won't find any Northern Soul in here, we had Mark Lamar in a few weeks ago and he cleaned us out!!", so after a quick look round we left.

Day 2 Being in I.T. I wanted to visit Harvard and M.I.T. So we got on the tram/underground railway and following the maps we got off at the wrong stop on Massachuests Avenue in a place called Cambridge. We walked up the steps to the street and opposite the steps was a record shop called (I think) Cheapo Records, it ws a fairly large shop selling mainly cd's and

lp's, the 45's were all behind the counter and you had to look through a large book to choose your selection. I got a copy of The Dells Make Sure and a motown compilation cd but when I got home I discovered it was a boot made buy a guy in the midlands!!!!

We left that shop and started to walk down towards Harvard and M.I.T when we came across another shop called "Skippy Whites" this was a smallish shop with dusty shelves of vinyl, the guy behind the counter was very helpfull, he brought us two beer crates to sit on and we started to sift through all these 45's but they were in alphabetical order so you had the Beatles in the same box as Jerry Butler etc, we were asked how much we wanted to spend, if we spent over $250 we could go down in the cellar!!!

We spent a few hours looking through boxes and came out with I hate myself in the morning The Four Ladds on Okeh, Roscoe Robinson One Bo-Dillion Years on Sound Stage, Joe Tex Someone To Take Your Place/Should Have Kissed Her More on Soul Sound, Big Dee Irwin Singing On A Star(lol) Jay and the Techniques Strawberry Shortcake on Smash, Barbara Aklin Love Makes A woman on MCA, Gino Parks Talkin About My Baby/My Sophisticated Lady on Golden World and Sam and Dave Soul Sister Brown Sugar on Red Atlantic.

No big finds and we never did get to Harvard but managed to get to M.I.T!!

Two years later in 2003 we went back, but stayed in Province Town on Cape Cod. We came across a small arcade of shops and one selling only cd's BUT hanging in the window were about two dozen 45's hung on string looking very decorative and they were all Scepter and Wand 45's Maxine Brown, Jack Montogomery Dearly Beloved!! all hanging in the sun I asked the girl behind the counter if these were for sale, she said no but after a little persuasion she phoned her boss to see if she could sell them, NO was the answer I called her bluff and offered her a $100 but she would not budge.

A few days later we went to a town called Orleans, we came across a very upmarket row of wooden whitewashed shops and cafes and a record shop selling allsorts of vinyl and dvds. The ceiling was decorated with 45's all fastened with staples!! we looked round and I saw a copy of Monkey Time/Um,Um,Um, Um by Major Lance on a grey Epic label., I asked the assistant if the records were for sale, he said no, they are for decoration, but if theres anything you want you can have it and he handed me a pair of scissors to prise the said record from the ceiling.

Later that week we had arranged to meet some members of the Boston Stranglers Scooter Club in their bar in Cambridge, Mass, so we caught the ferry from Cape Cod to Boston, we went to find the bar where the meet was and sure enough came across a very small shop selling dusty paperback books and records run by a little vietnamese lady, we spent a couple of hours in there and came out with Robert Parker Barefootin on Island, Jackie Wilson Helpless on MCA and Linda Jones Can You Blame Me/Baby You Move me on Neptune Records and two lps Deon Jackson Greatest Hits on Solid Smoke, Gene Chandler Just Be True on a Charly reissue.

All these were not expensive, we had no big finds but enjoyed every minute of it.

Regards

Peter

[Ernie Andrews]

Nothing as exciting as that I'm afraid. Back in '95 my wife's best friend moved to LA and started going out with a guy there who was somewhat older than her (about 30 years). Anyway, they decide to get hitched in in 98 and in me and the wife go to LA for the wedding. This bit you're not going to believe. Turned out the guy was a bloke called Andrew (Mickey) Davis who was the bodyguard of none other than Mr Berry Gordy. I'm as excited as hell at the prospect of going to this wedding, even moreso when I find out that Smokey Robinson is singing in the church! Before the wedding I'm introduced to Smokey Robinson and we chat about some of his early recordings which he can't remember recording and then I'm introduced to Berry Gordy who really didn't want to know.

Not a bad wedding all told though they did think I was a piss-head (I'm Irish, what can I say).

A few days later, Mickey comes into the room I'm sleeping in and says his wife told him I'm looking for "old R&B records". I tell him yes, I'm hoping to get to a couple of shops down on Rodeo and he says there's no need. He tells me the closet in the room I'm sleeping in is full of old records he got when he worked for Motown and then he said those magical words...."take what you want". Boy, did I! Nothing spectacular (no crate of Frank Wilsons) but as a Motown fan, just loads of great albums including 2 copies of that Supremes 25th anniversary LP (Demo) with the booklet inside, one of which I gave to my mate as a pressie to which he replied "F***ing Supremes??!!".

Also got a call when I was there from Chris Clark who sent me a demo copy of the album she was recording on Dat tape which I gave to someone to transfer onto normal tape and never saw again. I never even heard the album. Can't win 'em all I suppose.

link

Well Paulie - I was in your fair capitol city in November2004 and went into this record shop in Dublin next to the river. There were a couple of racks of 45s. I saw a copy of Eddie Holman- Stranded in a dream on what I thought was an Irish pressing 1Euro so I bought it then I found Friday Night- Johnnie Taylor and I asked the guy if these were Irish pressings- he said no there Australian. So i asked if he had any more 45s he said Yes in boxes downstairs-He bought a collection off an australian guy. - Gulp! my hands were rubbing with the thoughts of Gloria Scott or Marcia Hines or Doug Parkinson or even Lynne Randell but alas NO! But What I did get was australian copies of Personally- Bobby Paris(polydor)-There was a time- Gene Chandler(Coral)Funny How we change places-DeeDee Warwick(private stock) and about another 25 good soul/ northern tunes for 1 euro each-However looking in the last box (remember this was an australians collection) a US promo of Too late by Mandrill on Arista. Well its not the biggest find by any means but that night I made the Dublin Djs abit sick as they go in that shop every week they tell me. Well if Imissed anything they will have had it by now !

And the Guinness was great as well!

[Guest Richard Bergman]

I always enjoy hearing people's stories about finding records and the things they have to endure and the people they meet, just to get their hands on some sounds. I am always entertained by these anecdotes. I was listening to the Soulcast internet radio program and heard a great story from a guy who was in a bad part of LA and barely made the bus out of there with a Sam Fletcher Tollie in his hand. I also read a good one in Manifesto (I think) about a guy who searched through loads and loads of 45s owned by some flamer who was coming onto him while he was a guest in his house.

I'll start it off with two of my own personal stories:

FIRST ONE: Repeat of an earlier Soul Source post about records that changed my life. This also explains my introduction to northern:

Summer of '91, I was running an ad in my local newspaper in Wheeling, West Virginia-where I grew up, advertising that I was looking for old records. So this woman calls me around 8pm on a Saturday evening, and I go to her place and it's a TOTAL hillbilly set-up. It's in a public housing project on a dead-end street in the worst part of town. There's garbage EVERYWHERE outside and the kids are running around, babies crying, dogs barking, etc. Anyway, I go in to this tiny kitchen area and this gross old fat woman brings out about 300 45s on a broomstick with cut-out pieces of newspaper between every single record. And the whole time, she's handing me little stacks and picking them up and bringing them up all the way over the stick and I'm peeling paper off and seeing all sorts of junk, like I expected. But then things started to look up. I grabbed every small-label odd-looking item I could find in any genre of music. So, by this time, it's dark and I'm hot as hell and finished in there. I give her a whopping $10 for about 50 records, which she was pleased with. So when I get home, I start playing these records and one of them happened to be a VG looking copy of "Sidra's Theme" that played very nicely. I was awestruck with this record immediately and played it again, much louder and got into it even more. Not more than a month or two later, I see the term "northern soul" for the very first time on a Craig Moerer Records by Mail sales list. I studied the hell out of the list not knowing what the term meant or what the common thread was between these 45s. As I realized that I had some of the records on the list, I listened to them and put the pieces together and made it my mission to learn about northern soul. It took me until 1994 to learn what it really was, because I got my first CDs of it. For the three years up to '94, I was almost completely on my own trying to pinpoint the sound, armed with about nothing except a Simon Soussan price guide I eventually got a hold of, which confirmed so many of my guesses of which records were northern but told me nothing about the history or the music itself. Of course, I eventually found out "Sidra's Theme" was considered northern soul. With no prior knowledge of any sub-culture, I continually sought out the sound, developed a keen ear for it. The more that I learned about the dancing and culture, I realized that this was for me and never looked back. Now I'm hooked for life and loving it!

SECOND STORY: Getting Records in the middle of the night under weird circumstances...

Back in 1992, I used to put on a suit just about every Saturday afternoon and DJ wedding reception after wedding reception playing crappy music, to earn money while I was in college. I hated it, but the money was good. Anyway...I'm driving down the road to do the job and I'm going into hillbilly country heading toward this small Ohio town. On my way, I see some junkman who was apparently living in a school bus on the side of the road selling all sorts of stuff, like bicycles, tools, furniture and whatever..I thought "shit-I can't pull over and look because I've got to get to the damn reception hall!" I wondered if he had any records. So after the reception was over and I was on my way home, THERE HE WAS! 1130pm at night and he's still out there selling stuff. Needless to say, I pulled over. I walked up to his little school bus home and asked him if he had any records and he said "yeah! come on in!" So I go into the bus and he's got a whole setup going on in there. TV playing Saturday Night Live above the driver's seat, a table, food, dishes, a bed in the back...there's crap EVERYWHERE! So I'm standing in the middle of the bus with my suit on and he's tearing the place apart looking for records and he turns up about two Elvis records, so I said "is that all you've got" He said "come back later I'll get some more out for you." I'm like "later? are you sure? It's gonna be about 1am!" He said to just come on back anyway so I went home and unloaded my DJ gear and got my two friends and we headed back out to hillbilly country in the middle of the night to go check out the man in the bus for the records. (It sounds like a shady drug deal doesn't it? I mean-you would have thought we were buying moonshine or something.) So we pull up to the bus and all the lights are out and I'm like "oh man..." Then he pops up in the window and says "hold on I'll be right out!" So he comes out with a flashlight and we follow him around the bus behind some weeds and bushes on this short path-it's pitch black and you can only see the light from the flashlight and literally all you can hear are crickets. We walk up to this little tool shed and he starts digging around and pulls up this decent sized box of 45s that are all near mint and all primo 50s rock and roll and r&b, goreous webbed top checker labels, chess, sun, etc. got an entire lot from him at $30-what a bargain! We thanked him and headed off to get a bite at an all nite diner. Not the best record finds of my life but definitely one of the most interesting vinyl hunting experiences ever. Getting 45s in the woods at 1am totally rules!

KTF

Jas

link

Mine is not as exciting more humorous than anything, -

Found this record store in Nice that was owned by some old lady as her son the original owner had died 2 years earlier , it was in a right state , no semblance of order whatsoever - After about 2 hours of pulling out Shadows of the Knight lps from Mantovani sleeves I had my haul -about 15 avant jazz lps (strata east etc) and about 10 singles - when I asked if her I could play them on the strange looking turntable behind the counter , she informed me in broken english that this wouldn't be possible as the last time all the records had avalanched and therefore she had just left them scattered on the floor

[jazzyjas]

Great stories so far. Thanks you guys! I'm enjoying them quite a bit. And just what is it with records sometimes that the odder the people are, the better their records are. It's always the biggest hillbilly at a flea market that has all of the doo wop and northern soul 45s. I guess it's because a lot of these types are the ones who haul junk out of old houses and clear out people's storage units. They would be major pikeys to all of you.

Dayo, looking forward to hearing about your colossal find that included Darrell banks on a UK London demo. I know there's more of you out there, too.

I've had some good luck lately. One day about a month ago I got a crapload of rare 12" singles, including an original Elvis 45 on Sun of "Mystery Train", which I put in the picture sleeve for the Bangles "Hazy Shade of Winter" as to not draw too much attention. Then 15 minutes later, in another stall, I found two sealed copies of "Ice" by Frank Washington (big modern/boogie tune). I also just scored an original stereo pressing of the O'Jays "Soul Sounds" on Imperial with "I'll Never Forget You" (which has an almost different sound on the LP) and "Working On Your Case". Last night my friend brought a little pile of 45s over to give me in exchange for some graphic design. In that pile was a demo of Arnold Blair on Gemigo in great shape, Fabulous Emotions on Nico, "Whachersign" by Pratt & McLain, a Samantha Jones demo on UA. Not too shabby huh?

Can't wait to hit the flea markets bright and early tomorrow morning!

KTF

Jas

Post#100

[Guest]

Here's a funny one. A small bookstore in town was closing down. They also had quite a large suplly of LP's and 45's sitting around. I had just started collecting records(I was 17, 23 now) then. So a couple of friends and I spent a few hours just digging around. I grabbed a couple of things and went to pay(I had $5 in my pocket). I remember I had some common stuff and a couple of things I didn't know about. I really wanted the King Floyd on Soul, but he wanted $10!! That was a lot of money for a soul 45 for me then. So I settled for one 45 I had no clue about, some group with a funny name, Minnie Jones & The Minuettes "Shadow Of A Memory". I was in luck as the owner only wanted $1. I later found Pete Smith's Planet Records site. He said he would trade reggae for soul 45's. So I traded it away for 3 reggae LP's. Well, I don't collect reggae anymore(strictly soul, now), learned my lesson! Shame on you Pete. Preying on the young and the ignorant. Just kidding!! At the time I thought I had gotten over on him! It's all in perspective I guess. But I have had my fair share of good deals. Most recently a w/d copy of Dean Parrish- Bricks, Bottle and Broken Sticks in NM for $2 at an antique store. It's all in the game..

-Mike

[Guest Arcticsoulboy]

Anyone been to the "House of Oldies" record store in New York? With the "laundry chute" to the basement? The first time I went to the US almost five years ago I spent one day going through a list of record shops and finally got the House of Oldies, with "over one million 45´s in stock" or whatever the sign outside said. Anyways, I got in with high hopes and in the cramped shop stood loads and loads of records, but all the 45´s were behind the counter. I asked if I could have a look, but the owner replied in his Brooklyn drawl (friendly though) that he needed a list and he´d look for them. I ended up buying a few cheap LP´s and returned to my hotel cursing myself for not bringing my want list to the States. I scribbled down about 25 or so on a piece of paper and returned the next day. The owner took the list, said "Aaah, it´s dat nawden soul ya after. Ya british? Those guys come here aw da time". Ah well, too late for me then... He then shouted into some sort of intercom to his buddy downstairs and sent the list down in the laundry chute. 20 minutes later a basket returned with five of the records on the list, including a mint Ann Sexton on Impel. And because I bought the cheap LP´s the day before I got all five 45´s for $10 each... Happy days!

[jocko]

Anyone been to the "House of Oldies" record store in New York? With the "laundry chute" to the basement? The first time I went to the US almost five years ago I spent one day going through a list of record shops and finally got the House of Oldies, with "over one million 45´s in stock" or whatever the sign outside said. Anyways, I got in with high hopes and in the cramped shop stood loads and loads of records, but all the 45´s were behind the counter. I asked if I could have a look, but the owner replied in his Brooklyn drawl (friendly though) that he needed a list and he´d look for them. I ended up buying a few cheap LP´s and returned to my hotel cursing myself for not bringing my want list to the States. I scribbled down about 25 or so on a piece of paper and returned the next day. The owner took the list, said "Aaah, it´s dat nawden soul ya after. Ya british? Those guys come here aw da time". Ah well, too late for me then... He then shouted into some sort of intercom to his buddy downstairs and sent the list down in the laundry chute. 20 minutes later a basket returned with five of the records on the list, including a mint Ann Sexton on Impel. And because I bought the cheap LP´s the day before I got all five 45´s for $10 each... Happy days!

link

Ive had exactly the same experience there, except I didnt go back, he started off by saying that he had 100's of wants lists asking for Shrine records so dont bother!!

I couldnt think of a thing as didnt want to ask for to rare things so ended up asking for some deep things which interestingly enough were all $10 also!!

He has some pretty good albums though not always cheap, have done well a couple of times there. Its a really good area round there for records, not sure why.

Cheers

Jock

[Chris Anderton]

I`ve got a hundred stories of scarey experiences and great finds. I`m 35 and the other day I worked out that I`ve spent almost a year of my life in the US looking for records. I was the guy in new York city looking for records in a raving queens bedroom! The story is as follows;

My mate and I went to the US for 3 months, I was making contacts before I left and made contact with a guy in the middle of Manhattan who said he had "loads of soul 45s he did`nt want". Anyway, we arranged to see him and when we went in he was obviously a raving queen, about 60 years old and mesmorised by our Englishness! There was another younger guy pumping iron in the front room as he showed us into his bedroom (!). Just then my mate

anounces "I did`nt put any money in the parking metre" I looked at him in desperation and so off he sprinted to put a ticket on the car, I continued to look thru his LPs (he had no 45s at all) I was near his bed as I looked at some stuff on the bottom shelf, right there next to his bed was the most stomoch churning gay porn I could of imagined! I spun around to see the guy standing in the door-way smiling at me. Just then the door opened and my mate arrived, out of breath and obviously aware of the situation he had left me in. We made our excuses and left..........

I`ve got a load like this if anyone is interested?

Chris

[Ady Potts]

Here's a funny one. A small bookstore in town was closing down. They also had quite a large suplly of LP's and 45's sitting around. I had just started collecting records(I was 17, 23 now) then. So a couple of friends and I spent a few hours just digging around. I grabbed a couple of things and went to pay(I had $5 in my pocket). I remember I had some common stuff and a couple of things I didn't know about. I really wanted the King Floyd on Soul, but he wanted $10!! That was a lot of money for a soul 45 for me then. So I settled for one 45 I had no clue about, some group with a funny name, Minnie Jones & The Minuettes "Shadow Of A Memory". I was in luck as the owner only wanted $1. I later found Pete Smith's Planet Records site. He said he would trade reggae for soul 45's. So I traded it away for 3 reggae LP's. Well, I don't collect reggae anymore(strictly soul, now), learned my lesson! Shame on you Pete. Preying on the young and the ignorant. Just kidding!! At the time I thought I had gotten over on him! It's all in perspective I guess. But I have had my fair share of good deals. Most recently a w/d copy of Dean Parrish- Bricks, Bottle and Broken Sticks in NM for $2 at an antique store. It's all in the game..

                                                                            -Mike

link

Hello Mike,

It's a longshot, but do you live in Bakersfield?

Ady.

[Ian]

Anyone been to the "House of Oldies" record store in New York? With the "laundry chute" to the basement? The first time I went to the US almost five years ago I spent one day going through a list of record shops and finally got the House of Oldies, with "over one million 45´s in stock" or whatever the sign outside said. Anyways, I got in with high hopes and in the cramped shop stood loads and loads of records, but all the 45´s were behind the counter. I asked if I could have a look, but the owner replied in his Brooklyn drawl (friendly though) that he needed a list and he´d look for them. I ended up buying a few cheap LP´s and returned to my hotel cursing myself for not bringing my want list to the States. I scribbled down about 25 or so on a piece of paper and returned the next day. The owner took the list, said "Aaah, it´s dat nawden soul ya after. Ya british? Those guys come here aw da time". Ah well, too late for me then... He then shouted into some sort of intercom to his buddy downstairs and sent the list down in the laundry chute. 20 minutes later a basket returned with five of the records on the list, including a mint Ann Sexton on Impel. And because I bought the cheap LP´s the day before I got all five 45´s for $10 each... Happy days!

link

[Ian]

Anyone been to the "House of Oldies" record store in New York? With the "laundry chute" to the basement? The first time I went to the US almost five years ago I spent one day going through a list of record shops and finally got the House of Oldies, with "over one million 45´s in stock" or whatever the sign outside said. Anyways, I got in with high hopes and in the cramped shop stood loads and loads of records, but all the 45´s were behind the counter. I asked if I could have a look, but the owner replied in his Brooklyn drawl (friendly though) that he needed a list and he´d look for them. I ended up buying a few cheap LP´s and returned to my hotel cursing myself for not bringing my want list to the States. I scribbled down about 25 or so on a piece of paper and returned the next day. The owner took the list, said "Aaah, it´s dat nawden soul ya after. Ya british? Those guys come here aw da time". Ah well, too late for me then... He then shouted into some sort of intercom to his buddy downstairs and sent the list down in the laundry chute. 20 minutes later a basket returned with five of the records on the list, including a mint Ann Sexton on Impel. And because I bought the cheap LP´s the day before I got all five 45´s for $10 each... Happy days!

Went Through this store in the late 80s, first day I went in he sent me of

as he said hated UK guys looking for soul 45s & not wanting to pay anything $$$ for them. went back a few Days later & he was a changed man could not do enough for you.

He asked for a list & a Deposit that worried me so gave him a couple

of travelers Chqs unsigned and left to go to Pittsburg for a few Days

On my return went back to see what was happening the reply was

got a few 45s for you so went through a small pile of about 12 45s

that contained a few rewally nice things :

Johnny Hendly Mutt & Jeff, Jimmie Raye KKC x 2, Bobby Hutton 2 x

Metros,Invitations,Alice Clark, Glories & a few others that I cant remember.

Paid for these about $20 each & asked where the 45s were as there were only LPs on show, Down stairs was the reply Can I go down & have a look was my answer f*** off was his reply they are all in order

nobody is going to mess them up.

With fast thinking I replied I have a credit card here with a few $,000

on it & if you dont want it I will go elsewere.

So there I was 7.30am in the middle of Grenwich Village the following morning, waiting to enter this Basement with my heart pumping

Well this basement was Masive with a small guy with Glasses like

Milk bottle bottoms in Charge following me around making sure I put stuff back in there place.

Finaly left at 7.00 that Night with the biggest bag of 45s I could carry

all for between $10 & $30 :

Cannot remember all but things like Caswell, Larue, M Kights, Metros

B Huttons, Majestics,H Starr, Lenny Curtis, J Hendley, J Raye, Nolan Chace, Invitaions Bobby Paris, J Sommers a couple of acetates

Lotsa RCA,DECCA, WBros & National label 45s. but 2 /3 copies of most things

So overall a good couple of Days work,

Ian

[Guest Leigh J]

Not In The States But In Olton Of All Places . I Went To Veiw A Van That I Saw Advertised In The Birmingham Mail,It Was Just What I Wanted So I Bought It , We Went Into His House To Exchange. Everything Was Boxed Up ,'Are You Moving ' I Asked 'No Split Up With Girlfreind ,This Is Her Stuff '

I Then Saw A Grapevine Label In One Of The Boxes 'Do You Like Northern Soul ?' I Asked 'No I ****** Well Hate The **** ,She Was Supposed To Fetch Her Stuff Last Week If You want em Take em'

I Wasnt Sure What To Do The Records Were Not Realy His To Give Away ,So I Picked Up The Box And Went Home.

Not One Original In The Box But Everything On Grapevine,Everything On Inferno And About 50 Other Pressings.

Not The Greatest Of Discovories But Paid For The Insurance On My Van

Leigh

[Guest]

Hello Mike,

It's a longshot, but do you live in Bakersfield?

Ady.

link

That would be me. I met you with Adam, right? When are planning to come back to the states? Much better records to trade nowadays...

One things been bugging me, though. Was that an Yvonne Vernee on Sonbert you made away with? I didn't know shit about soul then, but I think I remember having that. Just curious.

[Ady Potts]

That would be me. I met you with Adam, right? When are planning to come back to the states? Much better records to trade nowadays...

One things been bugging me, though. Was that an Yvonne Vernee on Sonbert you made away with? I didn't know shit about soul then, but I think I remember having that. Just curious.

link

Hello mate!!

What a small world! How are you?

You used to hang out in Jakes shop. Is that place still there? I used to take him box loads of reggae & u.k punk, in exchange for Yvonne Vernee's. Or was that yours, i dont remember? Nice copy, still got it.

They were good times, but then John's price guide came out & put an end to that.

I dont see Adam now, not since the time he came off his medication & tried to kill us both.

My son Tommy, who comes on here, got married to an L.A girl, he now lives there. You should meet up with him Mike.

Bring me up to date on whats been going on in Bakersfield. By the way, is it true that Bakersfield used to be a Truck stop, then a town grew up around it? Could never work out how a Town like yours, came to be, out in the desert !

Regards,

Ady.

[Guest]

Things have been about usual around here. Not much to see and not much to do. I have to come to Soul-Source for my excitment and drama. Jakes shop is still around, don't go in much. My roomate has the lot next door and runs a vintage clothing store. We've been doing our soul night out of there. Shouldn't be here too much longer, though. I DJ'd a few times in New York for Subway Soul Club this year and decided to move there. Just waiting for my son to get a little older(he's only 3 months) so it will be a little easier transition. We have small soul scene growing here, but its a hard way to go. KTF in Hicksville, USA...

-Mike

[Ernie Andrews]

Ive had exactly the same experience there, except I didnt go back, he started off by saying that he had 100's of wants lists asking for Shrine records so dont bother!!

I couldnt think of a thing as didnt want to ask for to rare things so ended up asking for some deep things which interestingly enough were all $10 also!!

He has some pretty good albums though not always cheap, have done well a couple of times there. Its a really good area round there for records, not sure why.

Cheers

Jock Im off to New York at the end of the month where is this place as it will save me the time of trying to look it up

Cheers Steve

Jock

link

[Chris Anderton]

Ok, On the same trip when I encountered the queen of NY city, we were travelling in the middle of nowhere when Stu (my mate I was travelling with) says "There is a little shop about 50 miles away, I`ll give them a ring, he says they have quite a few 45s so its worth a look, so we turned off the freeway looking for a shop in a small town in missisippi, we found the shop and as we walked in all we could see was rows of Cds and a grungy band were playing at one end of the room, I gave Stu the filthiest look, but then he pointed to a "Vinyl downstairs" sign, when we got down there I said "Fuckin great, all this way for 3 boxes of 45s". we started flicking thru and I pulled out a copy of Paul Thompson "special kinda woman" on volt, I turned to celebrate and stu is holding the B side to Will Collins "Anything I can do" on bareback. Imagine how I felt when I turned over yet another Paul Thompson, a j.O.B Orquestra and unbelievably a THIRD copy of Paul Thompson! We found some other nice cheaper stuff too and I sent Stu off to pay for the records upstairs, the total was $23, including tax!

We proceeded to find some other cheapies then the guy let us in the back room, found loads of £30 to £50 stuff in there all for a couple of $$ each. two days later we settled our bill and concluded we had about 6k Uk out of there for around $400, it was only this high because I paid $150 for Frankie and the Damons, "I`m really sorry to charge you that much but thats what it says in this book" Says the helpless shop keeper, holding up a nice copy of MANSHIPS price guide! So he can spot Frankie and the Damons but cant see paul Thompson listed in there!!

We had a Steak meal for tea that night!!!!!

Chris.

[jocko]

link

Hi there just seen your question, cant remember the exact address but if you head down to Bleeker St. its round there, just ask someone, there are a number of shops in that area (as well as gay book shops and gay sex toys shops so you may want to choose your shop), also a great album shop just round corner from house of oldies, very expensive but dollars good and owner can be a bit grumpy, and one called rocket science that sells a lot of the new reissues and some nice 70's stuff. Other option is grab a soho phone directory and they should be in there.

Happy hunting.

Jock

[TheBigO]

I've many great ones about hunting those elusive 45's in the states but one of my faves is the time I went into a a run-down place in the middle of nowhere in Minnesota, having seen a hand written notice in the window stating 'used records downstairs'. I go in and the room was full of thick heavy dope smoke, some chick whacked out and obviously on planet la-la behind the counter and a HUGE and I mean HUGGGGEEEEE array of sex videos and toys adorning the walls. On the TV a video was playing, a grandma giving a BJ but with her teeth removed and resting them on her chest!!!!, so I go down the stairs into what was obviously the 'specialist' room for such things and find a rack of 45's covered in dust (and I didn't want to know what else!) I start thumbing my way, whilst having a chat of sorts with space chick, and all of a sudden, right in the middle of the crud, I come across a Bobby Paris 'I walked away' demo. Result! I look more and pull out around 40 others, ranging from Gene Chandler demos to a want of mine at the time that Keb had put me onto, Mind & Matter. I go back upstairs, still chatting away with space chick and put the records on the counter. How much? I ask, expecting the usual $80+ to be thrown at me. She says that she really enjoyed chatting with someone from England and those records are crap anyway so I could have them all for $5. Cash down, smile on my face and I'm off out the door.....happy times!

[Simsy]

I always enjoy hearing people's stories about finding records and the things they have to endure and the people they meet, just to get their hands on some sounds. I am always entertained by these anecdotes. I was listening to the Soulcast internet radio program and heard a great story from a guy who was in a bad part of LA and barely made the bus out of there with a Sam Fletcher Tollie in his hand. I also read a good one in Manifesto (I think) about a guy who searched through loads and loads of 45s owned by some flamer who was coming onto him while he was a guest in his house.

I'll start it off with two of my own personal stories:

FIRST ONE: Repeat of an earlier Soul Source post about records that changed my life. This also explains my introduction to northern:

Summer of '91, I was running an ad in my local newspaper in Wheeling, West Virginia-where I grew up, advertising that I was looking for old records. So this woman calls me around 8pm on a Saturday evening, and I go to her place and it's a TOTAL hillbilly set-up. It's in a public housing project on a dead-end street in the worst part of town. There's garbage EVERYWHERE outside and the kids are running around, babies crying, dogs barking, etc. Anyway, I go in to this tiny kitchen area and this gross old fat woman brings out about 300 45s on a broomstick with cut-out pieces of newspaper between every single record. And the whole time, she's handing me little stacks and picking them up and bringing them up all the way over the stick and I'm peeling paper off and seeing all sorts of junk, like I expected. But then things started to look up. I grabbed every small-label odd-looking item I could find in any genre of music. So, by this time, it's dark and I'm hot as hell and finished in there. I give her a whopping $10 for about 50 records, which she was pleased with. So when I get home, I start playing these records and one of them happened to be a VG looking copy of "Sidra's Theme" that played very nicely. I was awestruck with this record immediately and played it again, much louder and got into it even more. Not more than a month or two later, I see the term "northern soul" for the very first time on a Craig Moerer Records by Mail sales list. I studied the hell out of the list not knowing what the term meant or what the common thread was between these 45s. As I realized that I had some of the records on the list, I listened to them and put the pieces together and made it my mission to learn about northern soul. It took me until 1994 to learn what it really was, because I got my first CDs of it. For the three years up to '94, I was almost completely on my own trying to pinpoint the sound, armed with about nothing except a Simon Soussan price guide I eventually got a hold of, which confirmed so many of my guesses of which records were northern but told me nothing about the history or the music itself. Of course, I eventually found out "Sidra's Theme" was considered northern soul. With no prior knowledge of any sub-culture, I continually sought out the sound, developed a keen ear for it. The more that I learned about the dancing and culture, I realized that this was for me and never looked back. Now I'm hooked for life and loving it!

SECOND STORY: Getting Records in the middle of the night under weird circumstances...

Back in 1992, I used to put on a suit just about every Saturday afternoon and DJ wedding reception after wedding reception playing crappy music, to earn money while I was in college. I hated it, but the money was good. Anyway...I'm driving down the road to do the job and I'm going into hillbilly country heading toward this small Ohio town. On my way, I see some junkman who was apparently living in a school bus on the side of the road selling all sorts of stuff, like bicycles, tools, furniture and whatever..I thought "shit-I can't pull over and look because I've got to get to the damn reception hall!" I wondered if he had any records. So after the reception was over and I was on my way home, THERE HE WAS! 1130pm at night and he's still out there selling stuff. Needless to say, I pulled over. I walked up to his little school bus home and asked him if he had any records and he said "yeah! come on in!" So I go into the bus and he's got a whole setup going on in there. TV playing Saturday Night Live above the driver's seat, a table, food, dishes, a bed in the back...there's crap EVERYWHERE! So I'm standing in the middle of the bus with my suit on and he's tearing the place apart looking for records and he turns up about two Elvis records, so I said "is that all you've got" He said "come back later I'll get some more out for you." I'm like "later? are you sure? It's gonna be about 1am!" He said to just come on back anyway so I went home and unloaded my DJ gear and got my two friends and we headed back out to hillbilly country in the middle of the night to go check out the man in the bus for the records. (It sounds like a shady drug deal doesn't it? I mean-you would have thought we were buying moonshine or something.) So we pull up to the bus and all the lights are out and I'm like "oh man..." Then he pops up in the window and says "hold on I'll be right out!" So he comes out with a flashlight and we follow him around the bus behind some weeds and bushes on this short path-it's pitch black and you can only see the light from the flashlight and literally all you can hear are crickets. We walk up to this little tool shed and he starts digging around and pulls up this decent sized box of 45s that are all near mint and all primo 50s rock and roll and r&b, goreous webbed top checker labels, chess, sun, etc. got an entire lot from him at $30-what a bargain! We thanked him and headed off to get a bite at an all nite diner. Not the best record finds of my life but definitely one of the most interesting vinyl hunting experiences ever. Getting 45s in the woods at 1am totally rules!

KTF

Jas

link

Not to much of an exotic location in that we were at Camden market one Sunday, some years back. But I was with some pals (soulies) and my mate Smudge was enthusiastically looking through boxes of records, I think desperately trying to be the first to un-earth a biggie. So it was my turn to have second dibs on this particular box which was outside this shop and I methodically went through tortoise like when I stopped at a UK black Atlantic piece - "it couldn't be Esther Phillips" I remember thinking to myself and we're not talking the commonly sighted 'And I love him'. On closer inspection, stone me! It was a mint UK Esther Phillips - Just say goodbye on black Atlantic. Here's the best bit, the price was four quid! I paid the man and left the shop (smugly gloating) with Smudge bemoaning his lot for being too frantic and in doing so taking his eye off the ball!

[Guest in town Mikey]

Like Ian, I have a story from a non too exotic location. 2nd floor of the Office for National Statistics, Drummond Gate, Pimlico. Office D2/14 to be exact. I'd heard that Dursley exile Dave Thorley was going to be on the radio 2 show with Stuart Maconie. I decided to email the show asking Dave to play "That old Ann Sexton cover-up sneaking round corners". I received an email back from a girl called Julie, who said the show had already been recorded, but passed my email on to Dave.

Dave then got back to me and said it was really 'Valerie Lamar - Shame', and he had his copy for sale. He offered it for a large amount of money. (About 15 times what I would tell my girlfriend I paid for it.) Normally I would have searched around for it on dealers lists etc, but I had been doing that for 20 years, and just had to have the record. So I pretended to um and ahh and finally agreed to pay about one tenth what I probably would have if pushed.

So I didnt leave my office, but had, thru total luck, stumbled upon a record I loved from my youth. I didnt get a bargain like some on this thread. But I got it. Its in my collection. I'm happy. Dave's happy. And when I tracked down Valerie, and told her the story she was happy. Tho she does think I'm an excentric brit, who paid WAY too much. heh heh.

[Paul R]

I was at a car boot sale in Plymouth about 12 years ago and a bloke had a cardboard box of singles that I was rooting through , all I found in there was a Marsha Brody Right Combination on a white demo(was it booted like this?). As I went to pay my 30p or whatever I saw a box of singles on the counter in a proper 50 record box so I had a look. There was a Mint Uk pink MGM Demo of April Stevens marked up at £20. I put an astonished face on and said " 20 pounds for a single?" he replied that his daughter had seen it in a book for £40, and that he hadn't actually heard it. I said that I heard it once many years ago and liked it. He then said that I could have it for 3 or 4 pounds. I gave him £3 and carried on looking at his records. The thing was I was sure the look on his face was saying, I've been ripped off . The next week at the same sale at a different stall there was a box of just about every UK Oriole release, apart from any of the Motown ones. aparently some bloke had beaten me to it by about 10 minutes and bought a load off him. I had the last laugh though, I he missed Hugo Montnegros "Sherry". Cheers mate!

Edited January 18, 2005 by Paul r

[Markw]

Always used to pick up nice little British label things at various locations in London in the early 80s - Rock On in Camden was good, Camden market and a cracking little record shop on Caledonian Road. My best haul though was from one of the girlie Mods who used to come to the High Wycombe nights I used to run. She told me a friend of hers had swiped some 45s out of a box in her Dad's attic, apparently the Dad used to be a mobile DJ in the 60s and 70s. Said Mod girlie recognised some of the titles from going to soul nights. She lived round the corner from where I worked, so I called round. Stone me! All UK demos, including Tamla Motown red & whites, Garnet Mimms "Looking For You" and so on. Gave her £25 for about 20 of these 45s. Tried to get her to get hold of more but her friend was scared the old man would find out. I know I shouldn't really have taken part in this on ethical grounds, but....well, as they say, needs must!!

I never did manage to find out who these records came from and I have often wondered what other gems were lurking in that mystery box and what has happened to them since.

[Dave Rimmer]

Always used to pick up nice little British label things at various locations in London in the early 80s - Rock On in Camden was good, Camden market and a cracking little record shop on Caledonian Road. My best haul though was from one of the girlie Mods who used to come to the High Wycombe nights I used to run. She told me a friend of hers had swiped some 45s out of a box in her Dad's attic, apparently the Dad used to be a mobile DJ in the 60s and 70s. Said Mod girlie recognised some of the titles from going to soul nights. She lived round the corner from where I worked, so I called round. Stone me! All UK demos, including Tamla Motown red & whites, Garnet Mimms "Looking For You" and so on. Gave her £25 for about 20 of these 45s. Tried to get her to get hold of more but her friend was scared the old man would find out. I know I shouldn't really have taken part in this on ethical grounds, but....well, as they say, needs must!!

I never did manage to find out who these records came from and I have often wondered what other gems were lurking in that mystery box and what has happened to them since.

link

So that's what happened to them !

[Guest]

How about a nightmare instead?

I'm not a collector, my knowledge of soul has gotta be small going by the average posting on here.

So i'm on my first holiday in the states and The Big O persuades me to go hunting with him in down town St Paul. His cousin rides shotgun so we don't end up in front of one. We hit a store. After an hour I've seen every record in that shop I might've heard of (barring the beatles rack which for some reason I steered well clear of). Between grunts and exclamations I get a few clues off The O about particular labels/ producers, even composers. 2 hours later i've trawled through every rack again. Walked in and out of that store a dozen times or more. Not exactly the most inviting of neighbourhoods, the best looking alternative being a tyre and exhaust outlet opposite.

Finally after about 6-7 hours he's finished and as a reward for my "patience" (Yeah, I had a lot of choice stuck in some sleazy US big city backwater where I've been warned gangbangers lurk around every unknown corner) I get taken to experience a "proper" merkin cardiac burger.

Fair play though, he walked out with a couple of grand's worth of vinyl for about $100 - 200.

My own fault for having a walking talking encyclopedia of soul as a mate.

[Guest mattmale]

(About 15 times what I would tell my girlfriend I paid for it.)

link

Bloody hell, do we all do this?

M.

[Soulsmith]

Reality bites.

The guys from my local second hand record store (back in the early 80s) went to the states. They had a good appreciation of music. Over a couple of days in some cavernous warehouse they had some good profitable finds. They were after anything of value and were generally happy with what they had got. Well as happy as people working in second hand record stores get. But not 1 decent rare northern soul record. So it became a bit of a mission. Slowly they worked their way across the floor to the point where there was only 1 record box remaining.

Upon opening it some wag had left a note........."ha ha - no northern soul in here"

[Ian]

Hi there just seen your question, cant remember the exact address

Jock

link

If I remember its on Carmine street, also try Striders just around the corner

got a few nice things fro the 2 guys that own it when I was last in NY.

Cheers Ian

[TheBigO]

How about a nightmare instead?

I'm not a collector, my knowledge of soul has gotta be small going by the average posting on here.

So i'm on my first holiday in the states and The Big O persuades me to go hunting with him in down town St Paul. His cousin rides shotgun so we don't end up in front of one. We hit a store. After an hour I've seen every record in that shop I might've heard of (barring the beatles rack which for some reason I steered well clear of). Between grunts and exclamations I get a few clues off The O about particular labels/ producers, even composers. 2 hours later i've trawled through every rack again. Walked in and out of that store a dozen times or more. Not exactly the most inviting of neighbourhoods, the best looking alternative being a tyre and exhaust outlet opposite.

Finally after about 6-7 hours he's finished and as a reward for my "patience" (Yeah, I had a lot of choice stuck in some sleazy US big city backwater where I've been warned gangbangers lurk around every unknown corner) I get taken to experience a "proper" merkin cardiac burger.

Fair play though, he walked out with a couple of grand's worth of vinyl for about $100 - 200.

My own fault for having a walking talking encyclopedia of soul as a mate.

link

You failed to mention that we then hit another 3 stores after the glowing burger!!!! Ah, you have so much to thank me for Vinnie!!! That was a good day if memory serves right with many a toon heading to a loving home (including if memory serves TC Lee and Oxford Knights) Do you recall the whacked out girl in the record store where all the LP's were, and the HUGE porno picture hanging on the wall. Besides, I think it was just what you deserved having woken up the poor 80 yr old lady in the apartment down the hall at 3am in the morning cause you couldn't remember our room number and scaring the living s**t out of her with your drunken Stevenage twang!!!!!

[Guest Adam G]

I always enjoy hearing people's stories about finding records and the things they have to endure and the people they meet, just to get their hands on some sounds. I am always entertained by these anecdotes.

I can rememver around 30 years ago I was ten and had gotten about £2.00 in money for my birthday.I walked to the end of beaumont road in North Ormesby in Middlesbrough affectionatly known as "Doggy" and waited for the Number 17 bus from Thorntree estate to take me into town.The bus ride was uneventful any way I get off outside the old RSPCA building in Borough road which has sadly now been demolished and proceeded in a northerly direction to grange road where Hamiltons of Middlesbrough stood ,now sadly gone as well.It was a musical instrument shop an also sold records. I once purchased a "Jaws" harp which are not as many people think called "Jews "harps from this shop but thats another story.I approached one the two ladies who worked there (looking back I think they were a couple in the "gay" sence but I was too young to notice this then)I thought it was strange for a woman to dress like Noddy holder with monkey boots on.Anyway I went up to the counter and asked to buy my favourite tune at that time which was Lee Marvin "I was born under a wandrin starr" I cant remember the B side any way 45p lighter but clutching the record i sat on the bus entranced by the thought of listening to Lee when I got home.Now heres the funny part I didnt realise until years later that it actually came from a musical feature film in which Lee Marvin starred along side Clint Eastwood! and Clint had released a sing le from the film entitled "I talk to the trees"(which is very poor alongside marvins wax)