Mark Bicknell

Disc #4 the special edition John is the jewel in the crown here, certainly will help the good times roll....lol, 'The Sweet Three' just came to me when you mentioned their possible involvement on these productions, two good sides on their Decca release. There must be some unissued stuff here or I wold like to think so? Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Major Harris now sold. More titles to follow so keep watching. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I'm so out of step with allnighters these days they are just something I don't do much anymore, if you stay away from them for any length of time it becomes the norm not to go, I enjoy them when I do go every so often and still like to play a few tunes when asked but the less you go it becomes less important, as for not still being able to enjoy the music outside of the allnighter situation I think is nonsense as my desire for the records, collecting etc. is still ever strong and is something I can still do without staying up allnight to enjoy,will still go to the odd one now and again but far less than I once did. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Cheers Pete. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Is that all Phil?....lol almost spent that in Blackpool yesterday mate......the place is a honey trap....oh and if £4k ain't real money on records what is?....lol..buy,sell,swap,trade and around we all go and I bet when you are done with the Motown LP's you will move on to the EP's, never ending but oh so much fun! Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Got a set of these from JM (Thanks John) superb quality, look and feel very good indeed, I have to agree with JM on the Len Barry - 'I'm In Love' proper Northern, the sound quality is simply awesome on these 45's, I also was lucky enough to recieve the extra special release in the batch which I'm not allowed to mention....lol for crying out loud John don't do this to me....lol welcome additions here at 'Bicknell Towers', I would suspect there is more to follow in this series? perhaps a picture bag of 'The Sweet Three' would be a nice follow up to these....top class, miss these at your peril, no hype required as they will sell themselves. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

For my sins this month I am now off to Blackpool for a day out, The Big One, Candy Floss, Fish 'n' Chips, silly hats, family day type of stuff which on reflection will cost me more than my new records fund....lol like I said you have to get things into perspective....lol have fun. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I've been telling Jacqui they all cost a fiver each for years now...I think I can still get away with it....lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Just checked my bank statement on line....oh dear, oh dear, oh dear........lol perhaps this is why I'm sat infront of my PC instead of being out soulin' on a Friday night.........still few nice bits upstairs added this past month and so it goes on...lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Stunning double header. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Some final reductions - more titles to follow on new list after the weekend. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I know it's and old saying but the world would be a better place if more people were into music, often music is something simply in the background or wallpaper to some peoples lives and has no importance to them, agree with all of the above, stunning reply. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

No Deb bring it on girl no problem, i have sent you a PM on this ok, the paintings are pure class and I wager you will be getting a few PM's as a result of our blatent plug of your talent...lol with a few orders! Regards - Mark Bicknell.

People totally off the original thread and topic but look at that! told you she was a superb artist, reckon my idea Deb to commission a few for people will start rolling in now then you will have more records than you know what to do with....lol These paintings are simply stunning. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Get painting girl.....lol Debs is a real talented artist by the way. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Looks like my original suggestion on the Veep LP now seems a far more realistic option...lol just need to buy a bigger box Deb...lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I think it's also about keeping things into perspective, my Son starts High School in a couple of weeks and I've just got back from buying all the school uniform, not to mention the new Nike T- shirt that just happened to fall into the bag went out with 200 quid got home with nothing, stuff like this is so important and paying the bills of course, rent, food and all the other general bits and bobs that get's us through our lives, so we work hard and I feel deserve some release , earn it and bloody well spend it, so why not spend whats left over if any..lol on a bit of Northern Soul, be it going to the gigs or collecting the tunes, just as long that it's kept within our means and does not take over...lol yeh right! Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Spot on Joe apart from the smoking, don't drive so wife has the car and always buy second hand motors....lol very good value indeed. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Neil sums it all up pretty well as it's not always about the financial cost is it? still worse things to spend your money and life on...lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Lol just trying to be a little upmarket. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Skint.....lol now there's a word we all must know only too well, pay day going at it like we are millionaires then two days later after the bills are paid it's down to Asda for the cheap baked beans....lol This coming weekend I'm sure will be rather costly if you start on Friday night and work your way through the many venues on offer, still have fun. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Chicago....my kind of town...lol been there several times over the years and Detroit a couple of times. Chicago night clubs/Blues venues if you are there at the right time you may catch people like Jimmy Burns, Otis Clay who perform there on a regular basis, 'Kingston Mines' is a fantastic live music venue, there are a couple of more commercial venues called 'Blues' one is situated on Halstead where I saw Otis Clay one time, been a while since I was in Chicago so it's all a bit of a blur, Chris Anderton still goes over and I'm sure will give you some pointers. Buddy Guy has or had a venue on the South Side. Record wise check out 'The Record Dugout' on West 63rd Street, I've always found stuff there, 'Beverley Records' are worth a look, there used to be several shops I visited but can't remember the names sorry. Remember you are going over places that many have visited before so unless there is a constant flow of new stock the hunt can be a bit of a waste of time but still fun. Phil Dick who also comes on here has a good knowlege of both Cities so I'm sure he would also give you a few tips and places to visit. Cookie is right about the Blues/Jazz festival and is well worth a visit again if you time your trip right. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Northern Soul nothing quite like it is there?, a scene and music that for many of us takes us over and can become perhaps the single most important part of our lives, you get into it and it grads you in most cases never letting go. I was wondering how much we all spend following this scene? ok there are worse things to spend your money on but if you step back and look just how much it can cost it's scary. Records have been my major interest for most of my time on the scene and can and still do take a huge chunk of change out of my pocket even though I don't chase the big ticket items anymore, swap, sell, buy, trade helps but not much lol, do others view the cheaper end of record collecting like me you think £10.00, £20.00, £50.00 records as not really a huge amount to spend and can dismiss this as not really actually spending money,however 5 or 6 little records a month can soon add up, add these to the other bigger bits that slip through the net and you can be looking at actually a rather larger amount of money out of your income than you thought? The buzz and the chase of a record well it's just a fantastic process, the desire to own often takes over and the cost whatever the amount is be honest secondary, I'll have that only £60.00, I'll have that a tenner and so it goes, I've recently sold a few bits here on SS and in private, got a nice few quid for a couple of things, then had something off Pat Brady, another off Dave Moore, Tony Smith got a PM, Oh must have a Philips demo of 'The Intentions' off Pete Smith to replace the Issue I already have, Wales Wallace only a tenner, oh a Joe Hinton another fifty quid etc. etc. sell a few buy a few and around we all go, passion or addiction? who knows and who cares? well maybe the bank manager. If your not into the collecting of the records too heavy and are full on with going to venues it can be very costly, travel, admission prices, drinks, other extras etc. oh and I'll just go and have a look in a few boxes in the record bar...lol, do say two venues a weekend as many people do and more sometimes and it mounts up. No different I guess than other hobbies and interests but being into Northern can dip into the old pockets bigtime. Forgot to mention all the magazines, CD's you feel you must also have, trips to the States in some cases to hunt for records, Allnighters, Soul Nights, Alldayers, Weekenders etc. etc. etc. I don't think you can put any real cost on all of this as whatever you spend is worth every single hard erned penny from the pleasure and joy we all get out of it so I guess that is a small price to pay or a big one? now just off to look for a few cheapies.....lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I think the best way to sell them is to sell them yourself so to speak i.e. list them, put them on Ebay etc. you will get the best prices but if you need the money quickly then a dealer is your best option, just remember that a dealer needs to make some money on top so you would be possibly looking at 60% or less of the retail value. If the titles are strong then you should have no problem moving them on, condition is also paramount so there are several points to consider. Good luck as it's a hard thing to do selling the lot. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I'm a dab hand at knee massage....lol oh and I'll be back at Silks in November with a few different tunes to mess your other knee up......thanks for the kind comments. Regards - Mark Bicknell.