JIMMY SOUL

Historically this is true, however these days buying original records is much easier, information is on tap and there's no excuse to be "unaware". Similarly, access to hearing pretty much any tune you want to hear can be achieved through various digital formats so if it is just the need to hear music that can be done easily, and I do it myself through youtube, mixcloud, soundcloud, downloads, CDs etc etc etc. as I imagine almost all people do. However, to me that is merely "research" for buying original records, which is not only the music, but it's a historical artifact connecting you directly to that time and place - whereas these knockoffs have zero historical relevance, no more so than a digital sound file... it simply doesn't make any sense to me spending money on them whatsoever... And the people who make them are literally undermining that special thing of buying proper records - in fact they make it genuinely harder - not cos I can't tell the difference cos I can - but because on ebay in particular you have to trawl through bucketloads of fake bollocks just to find a few proper ones... it's like wading through a swamp of shite... so much so that I rarely bother with ebay anymore and stick to buying from dealers or from discogs. People say it "doesn't impact on the market for genuine records" but I think it does - maybe not in price - but in other ways for sure. The bottom line is that they simply don't need to exist and NEVER HAVE, other than to line the pockets of the selfish c*nts who make them, giving no royalties to the artists and paying no due respect to the hardworking dedicated "diggers" who find them in the first place. Parasites.

These people are absolute parasites, and I think it's fair sentence, in fact I wish it were more severe - it's been a long time in the making for the authorities to clamp down on these tossers, and I hope they have a terrible time in prison. It'll hopefully act as a strong deterrent for any wannabees, charlatans and cheats who want to selfishly make a quick (and seemingly very substantial) buck, piggy-backing on the work of proper collectors who spend the time and money tracking down these records and playing them - which is what initially makes them popular, and creates the "demand". And as for asking to borrow records from collectors to scan..... needs to have an entire box of his bootlegs shoved right up his arse!!!!!!

Apologies for putting this list in this part of the forum, but in the ebay/ websites section I couldn't see a "start new topic" button (not sure what's going on there), so I decided to drop it in here - mods please feel free to move it if you don't think it is appropriate. Anyway below is the full list of what I have up for auction on ebay currently with gradings/ descriptions etc. all starting at 99p and ending next Sunday - here’s the link: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/sevendaylover/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= Platters – Oh No Not My Baby b/w/ Sammy Ambrose (6Ts Anniversary) VG+ clean labels, clean vinyl, one small surface mark NAP Pat Thompson & Archie Powell – Darling, Darling (Mir-A-Don) EX clean labels, clean vinyl, surface mark on flipside NAP Richard Brown – Sweet and Kind / Don’t Listen (Steeltown) M- clean labels, clean vinyl, bought as "stock copy" probably only played once to record sound clip. Johnny Benavidez – Tell Me That You Love Me (Stylart) M- clean labels, clean vinyl, bought new played once to record clip. Valdons – Stop, Wait A Minute Girl / Whatcha Gonna Do (Secret Stash) VG+ clean labels, clean vinyl, punch hole in label, and pencil line Johnny & The Expressions – Now That You’re Mine / Shy Girl (Josie) VG small WOL (says Carolyn, and what look like two C's), slight label wear, some surface marks/ scratches to playing surface (Styrene) Gene Middleton – No One To Love You / Don’t Let The Green Grass (Andee) VG small X on label, vinyl difficult to grade really so I have gone with VG… has no scratches but looks dull maybe due to have been kept in a PVC sleeve at some stage of it's life Little Jewel – I Want To / It Doesn’t Matter (Tayster) VG+ some damage to labels, playing surface of record is clean (styrene) Supremes – Stoned Love LONG INTRO VERSION (Motown demo) VG+ sticker residue/ tear one side, pen tick on other side, vinyl clean just a few marks Ed Crook – That’s Alright / You’ll See (Tri-Sound) VG clean labels, pretty clean vinyl, few marks one scratch can be felt with fingernail (otherwise it'd be VG+), but plays through brilliantly Owen Grey – Help Me / Incense (Island UK) VG+ two sticker marks to label, vinyl clean Jackie Lee – Oh My Darling / Don’t Be Ashamed (Mirwood) VG+ very slight ring wear on labels, vinyl in decent shape, overall a nice copy! Emmanuel Laskey – Don’t Lead Me On Baby / What Did I Do Wrong (Thelma) VG- slight wear to labels, vinyl has wear scratches/ scuffs, but plays great really strong and loud!! Herbert Hunter – I Was Born To Love You / Push Away From The Table (SPAR Nashville Matrix) VG+ clean labels, clean vinyl, few surface marks NAP no scratches - great copy original Nashville Matrix stamped Maxine Brown – Let Me Give You My Loving / We Can Work It Out (Wand) VG some wear to label, punch hole in label, surface marks/ scuffs, but plays fantastic (styrene) Eddie Holman – I Surrender / I Love You (ABC) VG some wear to label, ink on flipside label label, surface marks/ scuffs, but plays well Drifters – Drip Drop / Moonlight Bay (Atlantic) VG+ clean labels, clean vinyl, just a few hairlines but very nice copy Lydia Pense – I’ll Forgive You The Forget You (Invader) VG+ clean labels (slight discoloration), clean playing surface (styrene) Mike Williams – Lonely Soldier / If This Isn’t Love (Atlantic) VG WOL, X on label both sides, and initials, vinyl few surface marks looks quite dull actually on "Lonely Soldier" side but plays well Chuck Flamingo – What’s My Chances (Rojac) G+/ F WOL, vinyl has many scratches and scuffs, plays ok on the side you want it for "What's My Chances", less so on the ballad flip due to some scratches visible in the scan Pamala Stanley – That’ll Be The Day (EMI, Canadian) VG+ clean labels, clean vinyl (couple of pops in intro but otherwise spot on) - great copy and rare on this Canadian press Bobby McLure – You Bring Out The Love In Me (Island demo, UK) VG+ WOL (says DEMO in biro), vinyl shows a small number of marks, no deep scratches or anything - plays really well Coke Escovedo – Make It Sweet / Rebirth (Mercury) VG very slight ring wear on labels, playing surface (styrene) has some wear with surface scuffs, scratches, nothing too bad - plays decent!!! Joan Moody – We Must Be Doing Something Right (Sylvia demo) VG label damage & wear, it's a styrene record and the glue is coming a bit unstuck, and part of the label has actually fallen off at some point… playing surface is decent actually with some surface marks Six Feet Under – Foxy Woman (Le Cam) EX clean label, super clean copy all round Bobby Boyd – Whatcha Gonna Do About It (Bang demo) VG++ clean label, clean copy all round, same song both sides Capitols (Three Caps) – Hello Stranger / Cool Jerk (Atlantic, UK 1969 issue) VG+ clean label, clean copy all round, the only reason it didn't get a VG++ is that it displays very very minor wear on the label Chancellors – Girls Do Wonderful Things For Boys (Cap City) VG label wear, labels reversed - playing surface (styrene) is actually nice, better than VG would have been VG+ if the label was clean, great uptempo soul from DC, with instrumental on flip Theresa Lindsey – I’ll Bet You / Daddy-O (Golden World) VG- some wear to label, playing surface (styrene) has some wear appropriate to the VG- grade Millionaires – Never For me / If I Had You Babe (Philips) VG+, clean labels, punch hole, styrene has slight groove wear that causes a minor hiss on "Never For Me" despite the record looking in VG++ condition, but no major distortion and the music plays loud, so I have given it the grade of VG+ and provided full scans and sound clips so you can make your own mind up about it. Inez & Charlie Foxx – You Fixed My Heartache (Dynamo) VG+, clean label (well it has two labels stuck on it, see scan) clean playing surface (styrene), nice copy Barbara Lewis – I Remember The Feeling (Atlantic) VG+, clean labels, punch hole, styrene has slight groove wear that causes a minor hiss despite the record looking in VG++ condition, but the music plays loud, so I have given it the grade of VG+ and provided full scans and sound clips so you can make your own mind up about it. Soul Brother Six – You Better Check Yourself / What Can You Do (Atlantic) EX clean label, punch hole, clean vinyl – lovely copy all round Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Little Boys With Shiny Toys (Daptone RSD) EX Only played twice – once when I first got it, and once to record - lovely copy all round Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Got A Thing ON My Mind (Daptone) EX Only played a couple of times – lovely copy all round Bob Brady & The Con Chords – More More More Of Your Love (Chariot) VG+ clean label main side, slight liquid mark flipside, few cosmetic surface scuffs NAP, nice copy Grier Brothers Weeping Baby All The Time (Melody Disc) VG+ some label damage (check scans), glossy vinyl displays some hairlines/ surface scuffs NAP – I was tempted to grade this VG but that would in my opinion be really selling it short because of a bit of label damage – it plays fantastic and is a nice copy, no scratches or gouges etc.

Decent copy of this wanted if anyone got one? Regards, Jim

After a decent copy of this if anyone has one available. Cheers, Jim

The handling fees is a parasitic operation it really is - it's basically a legal form of extortion and I fail to see how it can cost £8 to not deliver the package, and to bung it on a shelf in a warehouse... in any case, Royal Mail are providing a service to HMRC i.e. collecting the VAT money, so why is that being passed on to the customer? Surely HMRC should be paying Royal Mail for that service... I had a very odd situation recently where I had a record that I paid maybe $250 or something for it, and I asked the seller to mark it low. He replied "don't worry - I'll take care of you!" So I then get the ticket of doom thought the post, and go to collect the item, and prepare myself for paying the £40 fee or whatever - but when I get there, the bloke behind the counter hands me the packet, I pay nothing, and I walk out of there a bit confused. When I inspect the packet, the dealer had written "value $65" and I'm think WTF so he marked it at a random "lower" figure, well I've never got to the bottom of what went on there, but I feel like I must have dropped lucky! Anyway, more importantly regarding the import fees - according to HMRC website antiques are exempt from VAT. Antiques definition: a collectable object such as a piece of furniture or work of art that has a high value because of its age and quality. Now without doubt this applies to original vinyl - it's collectable, it's valuable, it's old, and it's quality Perhaps this is what needs to happen, rather than "used record" which is what is normally written, dealers should write "antique vinyl record" on the import slip and we can avoid this altogether? I fail to accept that a Claris Cliff teapot is an antique, and a 40/50 year old original soul record is not - I plan to phone HMRC about this for some definitive clarification.

Well that is just outright deception, fraud, whatever term fits. Vinyl records are the only example I can think of where people are so casual about deception/ sale of counterfeit goods... thinking back the days of the blokes selling perfume/ aftershave on Oxford Street and legging it when the old bill came, or people being jailed for selling counterfeit paintings.. it's a massive big deal, yet for some reason the sales platforms/ police fraud squad seem to turn a blind eye... I even had a CD listing ended (seriously) by ebay a few years back, as it was claimed it was a "counterfeit/ unlisted item" yet I know where it came from and it was a promo/ test press, from the label. I just don't get it...

It's probably the worst effort I have seen yet of this "photocopy label" nonsense - I cannot believe ANYBODY would be fooled by this... and if they are then I'm sorry but they deserve it... You would know that is a wrongun from a hundred paces!

Sorted now, many thanks!

Anyone have a copy of this they would sell please? Cheers, Jim

After a few too many beers and suffering from severe butter fingers I dropped my previously NM Stratoliners on Federal and cracked it... then whilst giving Geno Washington "I'll Be Around" on ATAC a bit of a clean the day it arrived, I was perhaps being a bit over-exuberant and snapped it over my knee.... completely avoidable, and stupidity on my part! taped it up and it still plays... but it doesn't half hurt just thinking about it... Theres a few others too, but I have tried to erase them from my memory....

Hello sir, I have never had any damage from cueing records, as I do it very carefully. Wind it forward VERY slowly with the headphone volume turned up loud, and at the fist slight sign of the music starting, rewind it VERY slowly back a rotation or so... It helps to have your own cartridges too (my suggestion would be conical stylus) so you can guarantee they are in good shape. And the advice about checking the tone arm weighting etc. earlier in this thread is absolutely sound - you do not want to put it on a rare styrene 45 with it wound up to maximum weight, as I have encountered before, for instance... End of the day, with a conical stylus set up correctly there's no reason why winding it backwards would be any different to winding it forwards - within reason of course - and when done carefully!!!

I'm really scratching my head about why any confusion remains about how cue burn happens - over time using a heavily weighted (I have seen people blue tac coins to headshells), heavily worn (never been replaced) styli, and dragging the record back and forth and back and forth without any regard, over the opening few seconds of the track..... it wears them out - the styrene MUCH quicker than good quality vinyl. It's like if you spend 3 hours a night jogging on the spot on the same patch of carpet in your living room it'll go threadbare quicker than the rest of the carpet...

Yes totally agree it's the dreaded combination of poor quality equipment, set up badly, and used incorrectly... If the tone arm is set to the correct weight, and use spherical stylus (like the Ortofon Concord ones marked with "s" rather than "e" which are the eliptical ones) this is a good start... I place the stylus on the run in, while the platter is stationary, and rotate it manually, slowly until I hear the slightest bit of sound that is the first beat or whatever, then slowly rotate back a couple of turns... Never had any cue burn doing it that way.