Rick Cooper

Phil It's a bit tricky claiming that a record was played first, or only, at The Torch as back then there was only a handful of top DJs and they would travel all over the place. In particular many top sounds were first played at the Catacombs but if you never went there you wouldn't know. Also the records weren't that rare compared to some today. Once a title was known it didn't take long for other copies to turn up. There weren't any unreleased acetates or "only one known copy", like there are today. Some I remember as first played at The Torch are- Lenis Guess -Just Ask Me Chubby Checker -Just Don't Know Jimmy Thomas- Beautiful Night Pearlean Gray- I Don't Want To Cry Earl Wright- Thumb a Ride However, I'm sure someone will claim to have heard them somewhere else first. There is a live recording from then, which although the sound is a bit rough it has the atmosphere of the club oozing from it, especially the DJ chat. I can't get the link to copy and paste but if you go on mixcloud ,search The Torch it comes up as the top result.

Maybe this is a well known fact but it's something I hadn't noticed before. The first issue of Houseparty on Beacon appears to have been made using the metal stamper from the US Showtime pressing. It could be that when the deal was done in Philly, Milton Samuel came back with a set of stampers to save the expense of having it mastered in the UK. As the stamper would wear out Beacon would have had to get it mastered here but by then the record was selling well. Are all the first issues like this? STR 101A in the runout but looks like some attempt to scratch it out, The Beacon number isn't on the vinyl which must have been tricky for the pressing plant matching the labels to the stamper. Mastered by Frankford/Wayne still showing-

Well, that's interesting. It looks like Showtime was going to issue Got To Get Closer/ Heartbreaker as a follow up to House Party but it only made it to test pressings. Beacon in the UK (and the other EU issues) must have preferred Shake Your Mini as an A side and used Heartbreaker as a B side. The single sided test pressings of Got To Get Closer that Irving Weinroth (owner of Showtime/Partytime) gave me in the 70s he might have had made at that time as Heartbreaker was already licensed to Beacon. I don't remember what he told me about Closer but I think he was just seeing if we were interested in issuing it in the UK on Cream. It came out on Inferno later as Cream had curdled by then.

I think there was a copy auctioned by John Manship about 4 or 5 weeks ago but I can't find it, maybe @Zanetti could find it for you. Great record, especially for a Country and Western harmonica player.

There was a discussion about this some years back, so together with the charts above from The Yank should shed some more light on the record's past.

Being old enough to remember when you could find records in garages, newsagents, junk shops, the Co-op, DIY stores as well as record shops for under 50p the thought of paying a couple of hundred for a title I let go for peanuts, even it was a bargain, is just too depressing to contemplate. Even buying from the States paying more than $1 was a step too far in the 70s. Prices seemed to be relatively cheap in the early 80s as well. When eBay came along I wasn't really looking to buy 45s as there was so many great CDs to buy which had almost every decent track in perfect sound with extensive sleeve notes. However around 15 years ago I started buying UK releases of 60s records that I wanted , but couldn't afford, when I was a teenager. These seemed to be almost the same price as back then, so very cheap . The obvious biggies still went for quite a lot but loads of classics and mid tempo records were usually under a tenner. There was plenty of stuff on Atlantic, Chess, London, Stateside and the like for around £3 to £10. A couple I picked up around seven years ago were The Darlettes- Lost on President and Nancy Wilson - Where Does That Leave Me on UK Capitol bought for the starting bids of 99p because no one else wanted them. Both in near mint and by coincidence both Van McCoy songs. They're never going to be worth loads but seem to be listed around £20 to £30 on Discogs. Some years back eBay seemed to make a number of changes to listings that make bargains harder to find. The suggestive pricing and automatic re-listing leads to loads of over priced titles going round and round for months. Maybe I'm not adding the right filters but I don't have the time to look through hundreds of thousands of listings. Also sellers went over to other markets meaning that good stuff was not as plentiful. The bargains other people got all seemed to be quite a few years ago so it looks like prices are still on the up.

This is the obituary for Dean in The Guardian. I'm not sure what to make of it, pleased that he is recognised by the mainstream media but dismayed by the prominence given to one record, Wigan Casino and Russ. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jun/18/dean-parrish-obituary

Any Roy Hamilton record is great but I'd agree that Crackin' Up Over You is a better northern track. However, it has been reissued in the US and UK and original copies have turned up over the last 40+ years. You Shook Me Up is only available on the first US issue although in reasonable quantity so I suppose it's down to supply and demand.

Interesting video of the Belgian Popcorn scene with Gilbert showing where and how it evolved. His enthusiasm and love for the music is obvious. I had a few Belgian buyers and went there in the mid 70s but never really understood the music, early 60s soul was OK but then orchestral cha-cha combos and instrumental reggae was hard to understand.

From hearing James Barnett's Keep On Talking many years ago it's always been one of my favourite records. Back then information on the musicians was not well documented (no internet) but the drummer really makes a huge impact right from the drum intro. The various Kent CDs of Fame recordings don't have much info about the session but I suppose Roger Hawkins must be on this as it was before he left Fame. Can anyone ( @Johndelve or @Ady Croasdell) confirm this. The drum break around two minutes in really lifts the whole track.

You're probably right about Colin Curtis playing it. I may have assumed that because it was advertised as a Mecca spin Ian had it. The Gamble copy I had could have been Colin's as he would sometimes sell things after they had passed their prime. It certainly had been hammered.

Fairly sure Ian Levine was the first to play this at the Mecca. He had it as one of his advertised titles you could only hear at Blackpool. His copy was on Gamble as were all the other copies , including my worn one. The Sassy copies turned up later when Neil got the unsold stock from Billy Jackson. The Greek issue looks so good but no idea when this turned up. Ed, I think Because Of My Heart was around 76-78 but at that time it wasn't played much. Ian Levine may have had it but didn't fit the direction he was going.

Whilst searching through some of my old lists and sales from 76 I found a letter from someone who bought my George Kirby for 80 , that's pence not pounds. So Russ Bowers you certainly got a bargain.

Sixteen years is a long time to correct something, but better late than never. The Googa Mooga Eddie Parker and Al Gardner singles that were around in the mid 70s came from Global Records in Manchester, not from Lorraine Chandler. I found Googa Mooga's address in Paris and wrote to ask if they had any stock left. I think we ordered around 600 Eddie Parker and 200 Al Gardner. They sold fairly quickly but Eddie Parker was past its heyday and Al Gardner was a collectors record. Googa Mooga sent a copy of the other two records they issued but we didn't order any. Other copies must have been found before and after this but if anyone saw them in UK shops around 74/75 they were from Global.

I've posted the story of the Carstairs pink issue on here quite a few years ago but it may be worth repeating with some extra background info even if many people already know most of it. I was working for Global Records in Manchester from 1972 to around 76, some of this is a bit of a blur now but I remember the Carstairs record as it was one of the few times that we outdid Selecta-Disc, Soul Bowl and Record Corner to get a big record first. Global mainly sold to other shops in the UK although some collectors were brave enough to venture down the basement steps to be barely tolerated by the owner Ed Balbier . Ed had millions of deleted singles from his time in the US (at least 4000 Precisions - If This Is Love) but also stocked a wide range of singles issued in the US as golden oldies by the record companies. Most of these were early rock and roll, pop and heavy rock. There was some northern titles available as oldies such as James Carr That's What I Want To Know on Flashback and the Motown Yesteryear series. Also, thanks to Russ , some pop oldies sold as northern eg Brian Hyland, Bobby Goldsboro, Baja Marimba Band and others. I ordered these records by sending orders by post, keeping a carbon copy, to the US record companies who sent them to Global's warehouse in Philly before shipping to the UK. There were a few labels that we didn't , or couldn't , order direct so had to use a company called Price Rite Records in Island Park N.Y. I still have a business card from the owner Larry Sonin so I can be sure about this. As more 70s records were getting played I started ordering them from Price Rite even though I had no idea if they could get them. Some I recall are Oscar Perry titles on Perri Tone, Nasco singles, Earl Connelly, Danny Reed and Triumphs-Strange. All these would be in quantities of 500 to 1000 copies. On one order I simply wrote Red Coach RC 802 x 1000 not expecting to get any. It would usually take 6 or 7 weeks before orders would arrive in the UK with no prior knowledge of which titles Price Rite had got. When the Carstairs arrived these were sold to Global's retail customers throughout the UK. As Global didn't have an exclusive deal with Red Coach all the other UK wholesalers could get hold of the record but Global had a couple of weeks to sell their copies and place another order. It was one of the quickest selling singles Global ever had . Larry at Price Rite never told me anything about how he got the order. I assume he just phoned Red Coach who having already paid for the recording costs and an advance to the Carstairs were only too pleased to press up a thousand. I should think Red Coach would have been aware that the order was for the UK or they might have tried to push it in the US. The record was 100% legitimate and technically the first issue and therefore not a re-issue. I suppose having a long time lag from recording and initial promotion to eventual issue is very unusual. The reason for no pink label Chess distributed copies must be something to do with the distribution deal collapsing unexpectantly. By the time a new distribution deal was done Red Coach must have felt it not worth going with the record for a second time. In my opinion there would have been Chess pink label copies manufactured but with no distribution available these would have to have been destroyed. It would be amazing if whoever was trashing the stock took a copy home and this were to turn up, like the Darrell Banks London issue. I used to have an original white label that I got from Bob Catteneo that had 25c written in red ink on the B side. Anyone got this one?

Not got many but the Sitting In The Park compilation is one of the best CDs on any label. A fitting tribute to Bob Abrahamian, every track great with Cindy and the Playmates a real gem. The Dean Rudland compilations -All Night Long and Extra Added Soul also worth getting. Does anyone know of a UK supplier, except Amazon, for back catalogue Numero CDs. I've looked for some of the above recommended CDs but not found much. The Numero store in the US has some I want at $10 but will shipping and customs push the cost sky high. Any help appreciated.

I missed that one but it's loads better than his usual selections which range from cringeworthy to dire. Paul O'Grady always plays a northern track on his Sunday radio show which is usually fairly reasonable but a bit predictable.

No comment on the price but this review of Chuck Cockerham from Blues and Soul is quite interesting. In 1968/9 they had started reviewing some new US releases on Amy/Mala/Bell. I think this was because EMI had set up the UK Bell label instead of issuing the label's output on Stateside. They had issued quite a few singles as well as the two volumes of Bell's Cellar Full of Soul LPs so were trying to push Bell as a distinct sound. Even though B&S reviewed the records I don't think they were available outside London, or more specifically the Soul City shop. As a teenager then, I think I would have had a similar opinion of Chuck C as the reviewer. The record was way ahead of it's time but is now rightly recognised. The record is the last review on the right side.

I found this picture for the Garrard rc 80. The big column shown here is the same as the one I remember on my dad's turntable and like the US RCA one. They didn't seem to catch on here so we got stuck with the old system that had a habit of dropping 2 or 3 singles at a time. https://www.vinylengine.com/library/garrard/rc80.shtml

My reading of the RCA advert is that the 45 disc had the large hole specifically for the RCA invented automatic record changer. The problem of damage and wear to previous 78s was solved by "non-breakable vinyl plastic". I can't see a large hole reducing friction providing the holes were always accurate and a consistent diameter. The old small hole wouldn't have any friction as the spindle turned with the turntable. I've had a few UK discs that were a very tight fit on the spindle but played fine. I suppose removing a tight fit record could lead to damage on the brittle edge of a 78 but vinyl has a lot more give.

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.