Steve G

We went there on the train. Remember having to wait for a connection at Hitchin once and going in a local pub, where they had O'Kaysians "Girl watcher" on the juke box. Really liked St Ives, but like Yate is was a burger to get to if you didn't have a car and had to rely on BR. Great records to be found there as well. DJed there with Adam etc a number of times in the early 80s in the moddun room, and enjoyed that as well, though obviously Ken Cox was not connected with it by then. Again no car, but by then I was living in Peterborough, so undertook Kamikase runs on my Honda, record box strapped to back, up and down the A1.....and am still alive to tell the tale.

Superb - sounds like a near complete list of Russ and Richard's sets, which I remember well from the same period.

Think Pete Widdison had one many years ago. There is still a missing good one. And I still cannot remember what it was. :angry:

Depends what you are after Paul. Apart from Mick Smith for British and some northern oldies I have struggled to find or buy anything of interest at record fairs in the last couple of years. My sunday mornings are more productively spent watching "Countryfile"

I believe copies have gone for over £1,000 a couple of years ago What about Edwin Starr on a Polydor demo?

Yeah I met him about 8 years ago. Real nice guy, written some awesome lyrics and had considerable success with things like "one bad apple" The Mercury guy I've never met, but I did check with the Hi one and he confirmed it was a different guy as others have said.

There is supposed to be a really good track right at the end of the labels life - one of the missing numbers. Richard had it at one point and sold it to someone. None of us can remember what it was now

"Everything" has stood the test of time to me. thought it was a Richard spin, and Pete Smith you can blame me I was one of the kids asking for it to be played at T'Casino. Don't like his voice on "You fooled me"

London is pretty dead for record fairs soul wise. Haven't been to Des's for a while, Olympia mega fair had Soul Provider and Dick Sniff and nothing else. Almost a complete waste of a saturday morning. Very little going on unless Mick turns up with his UK stuff.

So I am not going completely made....just yet then

Mustn't forget Mark Houghton's do's in London. They are across the board and if it wasn't London (where people rarely cross the street to attend a venue), I am sure the numbers would be stronger. Sean, agree on Spondon - cracking little venue. Steve How's the Orwell these days? As you know I haven't been up there for a long long time. I do think the gaps between genres is closing a bit as we get older. Fraser anmything happening in Scotland? Seasons greetings to you all amigos. Steve

Fantastic stuff! I knew that Texas connection was there and the connection to the road (there is also a Stemmons Expressway in Dallas). To add I did ask a local who "Stemmons" was -basically a major property developer in Texas in times past. And to confirm the group were white for what it's worth. gr8 tune.

Like Pete I remember Russ playing it at WIgan in 77 - massive record. Think Clarkie went with the Precisions at Yate. Anyway Stemmons Express(way) is a major road running into Dallas Tx. I know the record mentions "touching down in Memphis", but I always thought they were a Texas group. They are white 98% sure, but it's still a very good record.

"Thanks to X for the last hour and a great set of Goldmine and Kent compilation CD tracks"

Yup, as an occasional DJ (when anyone allows me behind the decks) what you play in part depends on the type of venue you are at, and also the time you are on. So if I can put it another way using two examples, at the Bass Museum later this month it'll be mainly new (i.e unplayed / less played) material from the 70s / 80s. At an across the board northern night last hour or two (as in Letchworth last Friday), it'll be mainly known sounds / oldies with fewer first time spins. IMHO starting DJs should always thank the previous jock (whatever they might think); it's just common courtesy after a set. No one sets out to play a bad set, so all this "last set cr*p" stuff sounds severe.

Ian has always had impeccable taste! Never understood the fuss over Elipses either

I have both and don't believe it's a remix either, just lighter vinyl and a 12" groove making the sound slightly different. Played the 12 for years before managing to squeeze a 7 out of someone for a reasonable price.

Fascinating, another story from NO in the old days. There was a record distributor that had these Ice Cream type vans, but with a record player and loudspeakers. So instead of ding-a-lings you'd get the latest Bobby Bland 45 blasting out. Anyway he'd go out to a neighborhood on a daily / weekly basis, park up and start playing all the new releases, before moving on a few blocks to the next location. People would come out and buy the records they heard from his van, which was to all intents and purposes a converted Ice Cream van. Absolutely true story.

Reminds me of a story doing the rounds pre Katrina in New Orleans. This dealer has all his stock of rare rock LPs in a van which he parks up in the hotel, the night before a record fair. These two dudes come buy and steal the van overnight. On discovering the LPs in the back they systematically remove all of the covers and throw them away - we are talking rare rock LPs here, loads of them. They then go to some record shop (by which time the word is on the street) and try and resell all these rock rarities minus covers. Swift call to 911 and the two dudes are "bagged, tagged" and sent off to a correctional facility pending trial. Whilst the records were retrieved, sadly the covers were never located.

We must remember the role the Mafia played in the distribution business. Some of their finest were buying and reselling and rebuying and reselling stock (and more often than not pretending to buy and sell as a tax scam). They had truckloads of old records going back and forth across the USA and conceivably shipped lots of records by boat. I don't believe 45s were generally used as ballast, but it's quite conceivable that crates / containers of records were going backwards and forwards on vessels under some sale / return con.

Agreed, MasterKeys shades it for me, the lead vocals are just superb....

LasVegas record isn't it? Same label as Buck Ram Platters.

Yes that's the other side of the Will Kerr 12" - it's a different True Image to the "Haven't stopped dancing yet" Malaco / Glades etc outfit.

but that's by True Image rather than Ike Strong? Simon I will have a look round for you.