Russ Vickers

And some have been away a million years & don't have a clue, but have a big credit card limit... Russ

Think the first Clarence Townsend turned up via Adey P too, certainly my old copy came from him in a round about way I believe, thats done the opposite & soared in price...bloody typical, I love that record & had mine whilst it was still covered up, sold it a few years later, OMG probably 1K now...why the f*ck did I do that lol...oh well, no regrets (thats what I keep telling myself)...onwards & upwards to the next one... Best Russ

I'm pretty sure the difference is that one press has a matt label & t'other has shiny...shiny was the batch that turned up I think, I've never compared my copy to others, but may take it round to Dave Abbotts next week to compare his with mine...gulp !!! best Russ

Get ya sen to Lifeline mate n I'll buy you a pint or 6 & we can have a right old craic, there's a lot of people who would love to see you n you would bloody love it, if there wasn't still places like Lifeline n such, I wouldn't keep going for the sake of it trust me mate...newies n great under heard oldies are the thing that keeps it fresh for me, I wont go into the Modern n Funkier side of things, let alone xover, as that really isn't your thing & I respect that, but there is still some good places to dance & listen to inspiring stuff...your promotion inspired me as well Phil & I have fond memories of Burnley on the occasions we made the trek....I think you could still make a great contribution too....please consider at least one good nighter mate, if you get the right night I think it would really kick start your soul mojo again... Hope to see ya soon mate Russ

What the f8ck are you on mate....reality check, its a Rare Soul Scene, that's the bloody point innit....OMG somebody help me please, what with you n my good friend Phil trying to do my head in, Sunday nights a real barrel of laffs !!!

Ab so feckin lutely...I applaud you, that's what its all about mate, take no notice of the doom mongers, they've been saying the same thing since the Wheel, Mecca, Torch, Wigan closed (add your own defunct club of choice)...I fookin love your attitude & that is the pumping heart of this scene YOU n people like YOU, never stop feelin it my friend...whilst there is a soulful breath in my body, I will support the likes of you, because that's what this beautiful scene is about...PASSION for soulful black dance music...I think Phil is trying to single handedly depress the crap outta us all, get f*ck out n dance Phil...have some joy my friend & encouragement for those that are still mad for it...I for one would love to see ya oot n aboot Phil, ya miserable sod...get ya sen to Lifeline, then ya can really rip the piss out of a set....mine you've gotta lot to enjoy Phil, get out n enjoy it....

Hi Marc, see my post re Oxford Knights. Dream Team headed back stateside pretty swiftish from Shifty... Russ

Absolutely YES, YES, YES....evey time !!! Russ

Its been uncovered for a couple of years - remember being round Jasons, had just spent a wedge & then he brings this out lol, just couldnt afford any more vinyl, so left it behind...that was before the copies hit the UK & were covered up, ironically it was on one of Jasons radio shows any way under its real name. Good tune all the same, but wouldnt pay that price now. Best Russ

I've been racking my brains to remember what Ion had the Oxford Knights covered up as, I'm in Baghdad right now & cant check the tape Ion gave me with this on to check...anyone ??? Russ

OMG yes, I must have made a mental note of that some how, BTBH had totally forgotten !!! Russ

Yes it was & it was re issued a few weeks later... Russ

Would be nice to know which bit I miss understood . Russ

Wow...that puts it into the top of the Premier League in terms of cost comparisons ! Russ

When James Fountain sold for (I think) £70.00 in 1974 ish ?...today that would be the equivalent of just over £2,500 approx....assuming I have my facts right (?), that kinda puts things into a better perspective I think. Russ

But your assuming that in the interim period the value has remained the same, its just inflation that has increased. By that reckoning all records should be selling for the original value when released, plus inflation !. Apologies if I have mis un understood what your saying. Russ

Absolutely NOT. Its the same now as its always been. I'm on my third collection in a way, as my 2 previous collections, have paid partially for my current collection. I couldnt afford to buy well known rareities when I first started to collect, I bought Stax, Motown, Atlantic club classic type sounds, with an odd boot or repress (mostly unknowingly) thrown in. Whilst I didnt set out to do it, I ended up selling, trading & wheelin n dealin these records for more 'Northern' style records, until eventually, within reason most of that collection was gone & replaced with a very basic NS collection, with an odd rareity that I had got lucky with. A lot of that second collection has been wheeled n dealed to partialy make up my current collection. In recent years, I've been able to afford to buy more records instead of constantly selling & trading up....I've also got better contacts & am able to dig deeper through experience. I also think, that over the years my taste has improved (altho not everyone who has heard me DJ would agree with that lol), & hopefully you get a better 'ear' for things that others may have missed or overlooked. There are some great young collectors/DJ's now, who have amassed great collections of records in a relatively short time, because they discover & make records popular...they dont just follow the crowd, they become the tastemakers, buy cheap, sell high & start again...dig, dig, dig, dig & then dig some more.... It seems that some out there want everything & they want it NOW...some people have even started to slag off those that have built up collections over many years, with a lot of hard work & putting in 100's of hours & occasionally splash out a lot of money on items they cant source through digging...in many cases this is pure jealousy, get out there n do the work n put the time in... So, to conclude its pretty much the same now as its always been really, its not about money, its about taste, hard work & a lot of luck.... Best Russ

Oxford Knights was a weird one, when the quantity turned up, it didnt seem to effect the price too much.... I have a theory on that one....I think that they had been around some years, I do not think that they had been done recently to rip people off, I think they were a repress from the original stampers done back in the day, but were never distributed/sold. My thoughts are this, one of the group members had a small quantity (in a wardrobe apparently ?), a prominent record dealer used to get 2 or 3 of these each year & drip them out (I know this to be true). Then another dealer, from the Beach scene, also discovered this source, he then completely flooded the market, which was when the scare started, & the rumours of a re press/boot started. I think the original dealer who found the copies, genuinly thought these were from the original press & sold them as such for some years, including to other dealers, when the rumours started, they were then retiscent to substantiate the rumour because they didnt want people to think they had deliberatly duped others. This is purely part speculation on my part, based on conversations I have had with people over the years since this occured, & is just a theory & may not be (exactly) how things happened. Russ

If ya want 'hot' tunes to DJ with there's always an element of risk, but that's all part of the fun really, you know the score when ya buy, you just have to use your experience & knowledge to weigh up the risk...it also happens t'other way, when you buy records you love, which then some times increase in value....to me, its not about the value or rareity, its about how good the record is, sometimes theyre cheap & sometimes theyre not...its about wheelin n dealin n diggin with a lot of luck thrown in... Russ

What about Betty Lloyd, crashed, but is gradually increasing in value again over the years... Russ

Dream Team was Andy Rix & Rob Thomas (not sure about Rob's involvement). Lew Stanley ended up with all the stock in the end, but thats another story...Label owner ended up having pretty much the whole run. Russ

I had a lil input into that lol...

Was originally covered up & played by Shifty as the 'Royston Vasey Male Voice Choir'. Best Russ

There isnt any, its a myth.....its mostly people playing them at thier local fancy dress night...if you want the sound but cant afford it, then either travel to hear a DJ who has the original or download an MP3... Unless its a legitimate release of a previously unissued track, then I really cant see the point.... Russ

Saus's old Eddie & Ernie cover up, kin brilliant & of course t'other side was a RS spin... Russ