Rick Cooper

Hi Pete, After a quick search it seems the record player my dad had was a Garrard Type A from the late 50s early 60s. A YT video shows one in use but, although the commentary mentions the 45 stacking adaptor it doesn't show one. It looks like the one in 45cellar photo but , as you say, was a cream colour. It seems odd that a UK company would make a turntable that could only use large holes 45s for multiple plays. Maybe the industry thought large holes would become the norm here. The turntable could also play at 78, 45, 33 and 16 and stack 10 inch as well as 12 inch LPs so it looks like they were trying to cover all bases. Thanks to @The Yank for helping with the large holes question. Is there any info or photos from when 7 inch 45s were first introduced in the US and why the large hole was introduced?

As Simon T has already said I understood the large hole was mainly because of the jukeboxes. Trying to get the small hole of a record onto a spindle was probably too hard for the selection system, easier to have large hole and a bevelled dome. In the mid 1960s my dad had a Garrard turntable that instead of the Dansette type 45 stacking system had a large hole stack adaptor that could be fitted in the small centre hole of the turntable. It wasn't much use as he only played LPs and I didn't have any US singles. He got rid of the turntable just as it would have been useful, I've never seen another one.

From very early on when deleted US records started being imported in bulk (1969 /70) Ric-Tic and associated labels were fairly common, with a few exceptions . Everyone owned All Turned On, Backstreet, Real Humdinger, Festival Time etc. Blues and Soul were selling them via their Contempo mail order, Selecta Disc and Global had loads. As you say, during the mid to late 70s Ric-Tic (and Golden World) were everywhere but Ric-Tic mania had been cured by then and most titles were hard to shift at 50p. There were a few exceptions, I don't think Fantastic Four- Can't Stop Looking For My Baby, was ever common. I thought it was Soul Bowl that found a massive hoard around 74-76 but in Keith Rylatt's Groovesville USA book it seems it was Martin Koppel who bought a load from Coachman. These weren't bootlegs just surplus stock that hadn't sold. It seems Ed Wingate ,who had other successful businesses, was happy to press thousands of every release. Labels liked to boast how many singles they had shipped, often many came back unsold. There may have been benefits to pressing surplus stock, others may like to say why. As David Wapples has already said above the two Ric-Tic boots in the 70s were Rose Battiste and Laura Lee. These were done by Global Records. You can tell these blindfold, nasty, thin and warped. Duke Browner was also done at the same time and just as obvious. As to scratched or stamped, both are legit on styrene . Golden World and Wingate also have some stamped and scratched numbers on their releases, why would anyone boot the Reflections.

Scissors????

I'm with @cover-up here that most of the discs put up above are acetates aka EMI disc and not strictly test pressings, especially the ones that say acetate. A test pressing is a pressing done from the stampers that will make the finished records that will go for sale to the public. They are done before all the discs are made so any faults are identified before a few thousand records are made. The possible faults are jumps, skips, wrong track or A/B reversal. There are a few well known discs that weren't checked properly , Gwen Owens and Cool Off and the Billy Harner What About The Music instrumental. The record will have exactly the same run out markings as the issue copies. Usually a test pressing will have a white label or as US Atlantic just have a label that is printed "Test Pressing" Every issued disc , even now, will have had a test pressing, although some may have had a finished label. The pressing for these could have been halted and that disc played straight away and the finished run then completed. My test pressings (above) were done in London and posted to us for checking. The proper labels weren't at the pressing plant until the final run went to press. An acetate is cut on a lathe from the tape one at a time usually at a studio (e.g Virtue). They don't have numbers on the run out but if the record has had a number allocated it could go on the label info. The UK acetates of US records will have already been approved for issue so have a catalogue number. US acetates tend not to have any numbers as they might never get issued , again like the Virtue discs. They were done so a recording could be played to anyone almost straight after the session. The UK acetates were probably done to play to the label head, sales team, marketing, radio DJs or journalists. Acetates are no longer done as digital files have replaced them. This is an acetate of Eddie Carlton -It Will Be Done- instrumental that I had done . The image here is one side that the engineer stopped after a few seconds and then started again. He then did another one which he put the stick- on label after he had typed the info on . The false start can just be seen as a few close grooves before a gap and then the rest of the recording. The test pressing is one of the ones I posted before, CRM 5001. Anyway test pressing or acetate they are all just as interesting so let's see some more.

Hi Julian About ten years ago I got what looked like a test pressing (white label with no info) of a Factory label EP. There are quite a lot of Factory Records collectors so I put it on eBay with a low starting price. I got no bids or watchers and only a couple of views, so it looked like test pressings aren't that sought after unless Factory did white labels in large numbers. The pressing plant would only do a few copies as a test , so they should be very rare. I'd think the only valuable ones would be of withdrawn singles such as Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, Darrell Banks. These are a few I have , I don't think they would be worth much. To most people they are nothing more than a record without a proper label.

Steve A time and place record but I like it more than I used to. Definitely a big record at the time so must be on the CD.

Well, I got that completely wrong, shouldn't judge a CD by it's cover. Got the CD for Christmas and it's really good, even Ben Zine sounds alright mixed in with the others. The Hattie Winston and Lonnie Youngblood tracks are excellent choices. @Ady Croasdell helped compile it and did the sleeve notes so apologies to Ady for my comments. At only twenty tracks it could have had a few more but maybe they have saved them for volume 2 (and 3?).

I used to give this a spin at the Leeds Central around Christmas time, usually went down well with most people.

The above is from Mick Patrick's booklet to the excellent Ace CD The Bert Berns Story Vol 2, which explains the similarities between Mojo Mama and 25 Miles. Berns and Wexler wrote Mojo Mama aka 32 Miles Out Of Waycross then Edwin Starr wrote 25 Miles which, by coincidence sounds similar, so Berns and Wexler got writer credits, and a cut of royalties.

Having met both authors my impression is that they were not trying to jump on the bandwagon or make money from the scene. As academics part of their remit is to produce books in line with their area of study by extensive research of archive material and interviewing people who were there. Keith Gildart posted on Soul Source three or four years ago requesting old magazines and help with his research . Along with others, I lent him some magazines and spoke to him about my early days. If the book doesn't reflect everyone's experience it won't be down to the authors. Keith has published many other studies of social history , which I very much doubt have made any profit for the publishers. I can't comment on the contents of the book yet but just looking at the references and notes to the sample text it's obvious how much reading and study has been done to produce it. Whilst I've enjoyed some of the books of recollections from people who were around back then they are just their own experience. Maybe this new book, despite it's terrible title and cover photo, will be a more truthful account, even if we don't like it. As to the price, this is about normal for this type of book that will never sell in large numbers. Most copies will be bought by university departments and libraries in large towns. The print run is probably quite small making cost per book high compered to large runs of paperbacks. I've bought books on other stuff I collect for similar cost and have never lost out by seeing loads of the same title going cheap. A few seem to be priced at ten times what I paid for them, however I doubt they actually sell for these prices. Maybe this book could be a shrewd investment.

Google Image search shows these guys were a group called Phoenix City Smash. An interesting forum site gives loads of information about them and Ralph's Records https://www.manchesterbeat.com/index.php/groups1/phoenix-city-smash https://www.manchesterbeat.com/index.php/shops/record-shops/ralph-s-records-corporation-street-near-victoria-station Rick

As a youngster I'd heard of Zan as someone who you would try to avoid, especially if you had anything he wanted. Later on I bumped into him a few times and found him to be a bit intimidating but nothing like his reputation. I don't remember him working in Ralph's on Underbank in Stockport but he did hang around the shop quite a lot. The guy who was usually behind the counter at Ralph's was Carl but other people helped out on a casual basis. Who was "Ralph" as I never knew anyone at the Stockport or Manchester shops called Ralph . More info on Ralph's here- https://www.britishrecordshoparchive.org/ralphrsquos-records.html

I remember Spinn Inn very well, but not quite that well as I thought it was in the middle of a long line of shops and offices down three or four steps to the right of a basement door to a night club. It was the first call on a Saturday morning visit to Manchester record shops. It was a very small shop with not enough room for a back drop but had a great selection of records. Some of the first records I got there were UK issues that were still available from the major companies such as Tommy Neal, Bud Harper, Jackie Lee and Jerry O. Later on they had all of the first US re issues ( boots) . I've heard about the copies of Earl Jackson sold at Spinn Inn but never had it confirmed by anyone who had actually got a copy. @earlvandykes6 did you know the record before buying it. The credits on the record look so good that even without playing it , it looked a good bet. I'd think Martyn Ellis knew it was a great dancer but maybe didn't know how rare it turned out to be and he probably only paid less than 25cents (10p) for it. He didn't sell his copies of Roy Hamilton's Cracking Up cheap as he wouldn't budge on the £5 he charged me. A bit further along Cross Street was Global Records first Manchester location and then round the corner on John Dalton Street was Hime and Addison's, that had a basement record department. The link below is for a web site of UK record shops. The entry for Spinn Inn has a quote that is for a different shop but the photo just about looks how I remember it. The bag has remarkably survived all these years. https://www.britishrecordshoparchive.org/spin-inn-disc-centre.html Rick

Hi Patto Yes , 100% first legit issue on Cream. The instrumental was mixed at Grand Prix studios in Philly specially for release on Cream Records. The mixing , by Walt Khan, gave the track a stronger sound ,especially bringing the sax part out front. I've often wondered who the saxophone player was as it has a Mike Terry feel to it. There is more about the record in the article - Mocha and Cream-The Global Records Story posted by Mark Windle in April. Rick

In 2018 the shrub just outside our kitchen window had loads of berries which was visited over a week or so by a blackbird. I posted some photos back then but in 2019 the bush only had a few berries but this year there is another bumper crop and this blackbird had a good feed. Two days later I took these photos of the same bush but would it be the same blackbird? I like to think it's "our" blackbird and could be one of the chicks from a nest in the next shrub to this back in 2017. Taking pictures from our kitchen is cheating a bit so apologises to the brave souls who spend all day waiting in all weathers for a perfect shot Rick

Moses Smith- Girl Across The Street was distributed by Jamie/ Guyden and sold in Philadelphia by Universal on North Broad Street. Global Records US warehouse was on the same street and the owner, Ed Balbier, would pick up the orders from them for sending back to the UK. Around 74 when I was working for Global in Manchester, one shipment had at least 200 copies of the record which were then sold to Global's retail customers around the country. I don't think Balbier knew the record so he must have been told the record was in demand by the staff there, maybe John Anderson had already had some copies. These were identical to previous copies that DJs and collectors already had so must have been from the original pressing or at least pressed from the same stampers and label stock. I can't remember if the records had a plain sleeve or a company sleeve. Jamie/Guyden never seemed to delete titles or chuck out unsold stock. They would re-press some titles for the UK market but these were usually styrene instead of vinyl. As far as I remember Global didn't get anymore copies of Girl Across The Street after the first shipment which is likely to mean the copies were old stock rather than a legitimate new pressing. In the late 70s quite a lot of in demand titles would turn up in large quantities that were original pressings and sold to the record shops that sold legitimate reissues as well as obvious bootlegs. So anyone buying records back then could have bought a 100% original without knowing, or caring.

Sleeve notes here for Tobi Lark Sorry about sideways view , not sure why.

I remember Leeds Central very well as it was one of the best clubs I went to in my very younger days. I went to Leeds in 1971 , supposedly to study at the Polytechnic. Student social life was based around pubs with the occasional long haired weirdo group live at the Student Union, not my scene so I had to try to find something better. The first thing I had to locate was a decent record shop which I found was Jumbo Records. Initially this was at the back of a TV shop in the Merrion Centre then moved to the first floor of one of the indoor arcades. Simon Soussan quite often was at Jumbo although I don't think he ever bought anything . After a few months I got to know some of the local lads who bought their records from Jumbo or just used it as a meeting place. I must have heard about The Central about this time and probably first went late 1971. I don't remember who the DJs were but I think at first the records played were mainly pressings and oldies. Some of the people who went would take rare records for the DJ to play. The clubs owners encouraged this as they saw that more people were attending , some from places like Selby , York and Barnsley. Tony Banks was the main DJ as he was a professional who had a large collection of UK releases however at this point I don't think he had the newer imports that were getting played. He went to the US in 72 or 73 and bought back some great stuff as well as "finding" 1000 copies of Jimmy Thomas- Beautiful Night on the TB label. I helped out on the DJing roster as I was getting some good records from Simon Soussan and Martin Koppel who had both left Leeds by then. Simon, before he started bootlegging, was finding loads of top records in good quantities. Martin, from his base in Toronto, made buying trips to the Detroit area where he found lots of Thelma, D Town, Revilot, Giant, Golden World etc . Martin was a year above me at Leeds Poly doing the same subject as I did but I never knew him then, that was a lost opportunity. Bostock's stall at Bradford market also had masses of great records so it was fairly easy to get a decent collection back then. Jeff's (Soul Surveyor) description of the club is just as I remember it but one of it's best things was a very good dance floor. The club was really a dance school, the membership card states "This Club is promoted for the teaching and practice of all forms of Ballroom Dancing". I don't know when or if this still took place but dancing definitely was practiced. As the Friday sessions were very popular someone suggested trying a Saturday all nighter. This would have been around 72/ 73. These went very well even though The Torch nighters were running by then. I think there was probably three or four nighters when one night it was rudely interrupted by the West Yorkshire DS. This put an end to the all nighters and may have stopped the Friday night sessions for a while. I'd returned back over the Pennines late 73 so only went to the later sessions a couple of times in 74 -75. The Central may not have been in the top five clubs back then but I'd definitely rate it in the top ten. The records played were just as good as The Torch and the people very friendly. The photos that Pete Dillon put up remind me of some of the friends I made there including Chris Malows, Steve Luigi, Dave Maltas ,Kevin (?), Pete Dillon, Julian Bentley and Alan Stevenson. Rick

Ady, just seen the Kenny Carter CD announced on the Ace site so now you can finish off your sleeve notes. As of Friday 8th no track listing given but who cares as I'm sure it's going to be a great compilation.

Richard Searling was pushing the Spider Turner version around 1971/2 when he found quite a few copies during his time at Global Records. It didn't really take off big time but was a collectors type of record and when I worked at Global in 1973 there were about 15 copies left that struggled to sell. The Kenny Carter version wasn't known about until later on, I think I had a copy late 70s but I never heard it played in clubs, mind you I didn't travel as much then. It was more of a collectors record for RCA label fans and noted as a different version of a better known record. Like Steve G says I'd have put it down as a London 6Ts type of record, or possibly late Stafford , so can't really help with an answer. When I checked on Youtube for any comments about both versions I noticed the Spider Turner version has Turner and Kenny Carter as writers but the Carter RCA version is different writer and publisher. Ady, any info on why this is?

Happy birthday to Keith, one of the original and best DJs ever. Keith would always be searching for new records to play and would travel far and wide. I was once at Bradford market early in the day waiting for the stall to open. Just as the stall opened Keith turned up , oh no, I'll have to get searching quick. I don't think I found anything new but Keith snaffled a Mercury demo of The Chalfontes- He Loves Me for 25p after a couple of minutes.

Outta Sight releases are all legit . It's not that hard to lease tracks from record companies but usually for a limited period and not exclusive to one label unless they buy up the whole catalogue. I couldn't find it on the Outta Sight listing at present so they may have sold out the total pressing. They had other Mayfield/Windy City tracks a few years back so the lease could have run out by now. There have been bootlegs of re issues done but can't see why anyone would boot Outta Sight issues

Cameo Parkway was never in the same league as Stax, Shrine, Chess, Okeh etc but surely someone could do a better selection than this. Looks like a US compiler for Abkco thought they knew what to pick. Some tracks are 100% classics but others should have been left off. The best tracks are scattered on other compilations or the dubious Cam Park releases.The price is low so I'm not expecting extensive , or any, sleeve notes. It's a shame Abkco don't let other companies lease tracks for C-P only compilations or access the tape archives. Imagine what Ace/Kent could do with the RnR and soul tracks.

Steve GJA 33D (li150). HDB 67D (SX200) and XTC 67H (GP150) but can't remember the reg of the car sat outside.