Vinyl On The Road:how The Hell Did It End Up Here?

[Derek Pearson]

Was strolling through town one dinnertime last week and bumped into a lad I haven't seen for a few years. We used to regularly play 5-a-side football together and I remember him around town as a punk with a mohican in the late 70's. He was and still is a big Leeds fan and got into a few scrapes and adventures along the way. During the conversation he says those golden words all record collectors love to hear; "are you still collecting that soul stuff? I've loads of bits to get rid of". Not wanting to appear over eager 2 hours later I was banging on his front door. Over coffee we chatted about music, football, clubs, life in the 70s blah blah blah whilst I flicked through piles of sevens. It was mainly British stuff, a lot of oddball things, some 70s reissues but sadly few import 45s. Right in the middle of all this stuff was a UK Vocalion copy of Joe Hinton "You gotta have love/Funny how time slips away" - eh? Best bit was it was mint un-played with a company sleeve. Catalogue number V-P.9224 for those that like that sorta thing.

What I want to know is how the hell did it end up in his flat? I'm not saying it didn't have a right to be there I'm just so curious how it did. If only records could talk. I'd love to know what tortuous route it took from its year of release in 1964 to me locating it in 2007? Why can't records be fitted with webcams, tracking devices or something?

Also in his possession were 3 different Kiki Dee records on UK Fontana all mint, turns out one of his best mates is somehow related to Ms Dee whose a Bradford born girl. As I turned over her Fontana records to see what the flips were he commented "Magic Carpet Ride's not in there". I laughed internally so he couldn't see or hear me.

Interesting fact: Google tells me Kiki Dee had 11 releases on UK Fontana between the years 1963-68; "Magic Carpet Ride" was her last release on the label.

Its all good fun innit,

Derek

If anybody fancies the above Joe Hinton 45 contact me as I wanna sell/trade it off. Think its worth about £10-15?