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Frankie Crocker

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Everything posted by Frankie Crocker

  1. Maybe that's why they called themselves PayPal and blackmail you 4% to keep things under wraps...
  2. This is Sod's Law - the glut usually occurs at the end of the month when you're skint or just before Christmas when you're even more skint and not done any shopping... Sods Law applies to different records and particularly to those at the top of your wants list that are three figure records in the price guides. An even more interesting phenomena is the Cashing In Principle when eBay sellers offer a copy of a record that has just sold for silly money - expect plenty of Lonnie Lesters in the coming weeks following a recent stream of Jack Montgomery on Scepter, and to a lesser extent, Joe Jama, Soul Incorporated, Delites, Constellations, Maurice Williams etc. The frustration here is you by-pass two or three VG copies then settle on a VG+ and a week later, a nice mint copy pops up. The time to start really worrying will be when the records stop turning up...
  3. You could be the owner of a London football club or his girlfriend with a liking for cultural artifacts. You could be a professional footballer who leaves his Porsche in a pond. You could be a retired snooker player reputed to have rooms full of soul records. With the numbers of Chinese, Russian, Indian and African high-rollers increasing, it's not the prices I'm concerned about but a takeover of the whole record market by nations still unaware of USA music collectibles.
  4. Spot on Pete. Add Kismet and Twirl to the list. Look out for the X in the run- out to identify the pressing plant, the name of which eludes me at present.
  5. Over 15 years ago I sold one to a guy at the 100 Club - he offered all the loose change in his pocket so was obviously keen and I didn't want to disappoint so accepted £18. This was before Lonnie took off. About 10 years ago I sold about 30 copies to mainly UK dealers in small lots. Another case of Northern Soul defying the rules of supply and demand - the supply goes up and the price goes up...
  6. Frankie Crocker replied to a post in a topic in All About the SOUL
    He's a tough fella - he'll be OK.
  7. Pete - when was this? Recently?
  8. Lonnie Lester is a £100 sound, decent and in limited supply nowadays. The buyer must live in the Amazon Forest or Ayers Rock to be oblivious to the going rate for this record...
  9. Ayup Sooty. Is this not the badge of the CUFC Away Supporters' Club? Apparently Oxford supporters wore a similar badge mentioning the word 'Shufflers'... On a more sensible note, do Stax have the copyright of the fist logo or finger-up symbol whatever you want to call it?
  10. Hi Pete. It is and it isn't. It is mainly about the grooves. Take the mythical Carsteers record 'I'm Gonna Drive Over You' on the Sticky label - if it sounds good, you're gonna buy it, but if the centre is missing on the UK (only release) you won't buy it because the centre is missing: if the record was dire and had a centre, you wouldn't buy it on the basis it was intact. I'm with you on this - pushing out centres on UK records is a flogging offence...
  11. Great tune. I hope the record finds a good home. Saw Ray at the 100 club - what a belting voice.
  12. Yes, totally understandable in terms of scarcity. However, if you really like the cheaper tune or must have it in a hurry, then buy it. Ownership of an inferior copy is better than not owning a copy - you can always upgrade later although this is sometimes easier said than done. Sure we mostly want mint unplayed records with pristine labels but in the real world, this is hard to achieve. I've bought badly damaged records in The USA as I couldn't be bothered to write down the details - a duff record in the collection is a great incentive to try harder and seek a replacement. I respect those on an income that necessitates settling for less than M- records but it is the music that counts more than the labels' aesthetics.
  13. The copies of the record Kev was asking about, Aalon Butler on PKC came from Russells Records in NOLA. I had all the ones I could carry off the wall in the store pre-Katrina. The storeroom upstairs suffered from a leaky roof during the hurricane and maybe again during Rita. Loads of records were spoiled. The outcome of this was the damaged records were cleaned by the hired help in an amateurish way but access granted to the damaged stock upstairs and stuff that survived unscathed. Don Davis in Austin has had records from Russells post- Katrina but they looked OK on his site. The fellow doing the cleaning took a chunk of stock, bashed out a list and sold them privately for a while. Some of the records I ended up with were H20 damaged but will suffice as the vinyl is generally VG+
  14. I would buy your book. I like looking at label scans for a variety of reasons. The Million Dollars book built upon Kev's featuring 1,000 desirable records. John replaced the faulty hardback copies and hinted at future volumes of label runs such as Thelma etc. The scope for an enterprising publisher-collector team is endless; Detroit Top 500, MGM Top 200, Chicago Top 500 etc so is the interest out there to make it worthwhile?
  15. Duke Browner - Crying Over You Dave Love - Colalined Baby Luther Ingram - If It's All The Same To You Babe Treat yourself to two or three volumes...
  16. Great idea for a Thread. Good book. Good concept. Successful project yielding three editions that I have read, enjoyed and keep for reference. Nowadays outmoded - could be a list of what Kev had played at Wigan by 1978? Now a volume of oldies that made an impact someplace as Northern soul evolved and reached a late 70's peak. Would be a handy guide for a wannabe oldies DJ just starting out... What I would like to see is a new book - the Northern Soul Top 5,000. Records not ranked but graded using Manship's Million Dollars Of Rare Soul three criteria system. Full colour scans. Info on artists, DJ credits, venue spun and quotes from soul fans to ensure sales of 5,000. Water repellant pages to drool over. If a record is in the book, it's been well received: not in the book then it goes into Volume 2.
  17. Not necessarily a boast. Maybe precise quantification to reflect on. Some of us are getting older, others have dodgy knees but a falling attendance at any venue is a cause for concern and the promoter is often best placed to pass comment if sufficiently introspective. Ady acknowledges a stick patch at The Hundred Club and other venues have seen numbers dwindle. - the reasons for this are worth speculating on especially if there is a solution out there. ATB FC
  18. Nice one Bearsy. A blend of truth and levity I admire in a man or a cuddly, furry animal... ATB FC
  19. Simsy - no quibbles about that. A legendary venue for many reasons, always has been and always will be. Still one of my all- time favourite venues. Having been forced to vacate the floor on one occasion because a few outside degenerates took over, I feel in a position to comment. That is not a criticism of the regulars who I hold in high esteem. I am not a fan of non- soulies traipsing across the dance floor carrying pints when I shake a leg so am a little apprehensive about sundry visitors to the club. Neither am I a staunch advocate of Dad Dancing before the regulars hit the floor at 2.30 a.m whenever, regardless of the footwear they have settled on. The 100 Club continues warts and all but is it unacceptable to pass comment based on personal experience and opinion? Keep up the banter... ATB FC
  20. Ady - please excuse the delay in following up. I understand where you are coming from on this as no one likes being rejected at the door. However, the soul scene has had many clubs with membership requirements that were not detrimental to the paying customer. Carrying a membership card involves commitment and encourages a sense of belonging. I could not conceive of tearing mine up even though it is redundant. If nothing else, this thread has got me thinking about how important it is to have outsiders on the inside as this may be where the young blood comes from, after all, we were all outsiders before we joined up. I enjoy the presence of youngsters at Cleethorpes as it is good to see them dragged up proper, and hopefully, eventually join the ranks of full time soulies. As as the door keepers keep the drunks away and the thugs at bay, regulars should have a good night out - membership requirement also achieves this also spats between mates excepted. Sounds like I missed a good night out and maybe it's time to rejoin the crowd again? ATB FC
  21. Roddy - excuse the delay in replying. Like yourself, I have travelled far and wide to experience both new and old tunes. The 100 Club is a legendary venue and hopefully it will long remain so. My comment alluded to the changing character of the clientiele which despite a core of regulars, has dwindled and fluctuated but there are still numbers of transients ie tourists, students, music fans, club goers, the occasional jazz buff AND from what I can gather, smallish numbers of social drinkers and dancers. This may be down to the open door policy that Ady advocates. Whatever, I felt a comment was appropriate but never intended to hurt the sensibilities of any delicate soulies out there. I remain a battle hardened, membership card carrying soul follower so it pains me to see any venerable institution suffering through loss of members, attendees or indeed morphing to cater to a more catholic audience. Nothing too puerile here I hope, just sincere and genuine concerns about how a top venue functions. ATB FC
  22. Ady. Thanks for taking the trouble to write this. My latest post has not been saved for some reason, probably the rubbishy hotel broadband I'm using, and as it was a longish one, I'm not redoing it... Nothing in your comments I would disagree with apart from the quota of non- soulies who attend. In fact, I'm enlightened by them as this is the benefit of discussion. I would respectfully suggest that you re-establish the membership policy to maintain a soul clientele and deflect the non- soulies elsewhere. Zero tolerance of Handbaggers Okeh?
  23. Kev - if the post is negative, maybe it's because Handbaggers are regarded as being negative... For what it's writhe the 100 Club scenario is a lot less worse than is reported at other venues. Sometimes in trying to be objective, the outcome can be negative but perhaps that's actually the situation under discussion.
  24. Roddy - are you a regular attender and if so, what's the issue?