Frankie Crocker

eBay is now adding VAT to invoices. Whether they pay this all to the UK Government is open to question. This obviously deters UK buyers, especially on big ticket items. Not sure if high value items are charged again at Customs? Having a low value on the ticket makes sense for many reasons but some USA dealers will not go down that route because of the legal implications. One other problem has worsened on eBay due to their changes - a lot more dealers will not send to the UK and their settings do not accept UK bids: this is a major nuisance if records are to be sent to a contact in the USA.

Gimme the medium-pace of The Lady In Green anyday. All the Magnetics rarities are floorpackers but when the average age of the dancer is 88, tempo is appealing, especially for the chinstrokers...

A massive Dave Rimmer spin in the 90’s and into the Noughties. Rarely turns up for sale, so this copy fetched a nice price in spite of the condition. Quite possibly the least desirable Magnetics rarity but still packs the floor - I’d put the various releases by different groups on Bonnie and Sable ahead of this record but it’s a great sound nonetheless.

Gotta keep movin’ as they say... I’m a gym member and have used gyms since the early 70’s. No longer do Olympic lifting but use the resistance machines after a warm-up session on the mats. Now using the Infinity Stairs machine despite the dodgy knees - it has led to massive improvements in a very short space of time. I row 5km, nice and steady and find this excellent for the upper and lower body. Finish off with a 2km swim. Wipes out the morning 4-5 times a week but ensures retirement’s not wasted sitting around. The more you do, the easier it becomes so walking becomes a pleasure, stairs no problem and the dance floor is not a worry on the rare occasions I’m at a Soul function.

I vaguely remember the auction but facts need verifying. Copy reportedly was found at a USA record fair. Copy allegedly went to Japan based collector. A truly great record and big credit to Mark for giving it the exposure it deserves.

Nothing too remarkable here. No real bargains. Cautions did OK.

In line with recent and current record price inflation. Not seen one for sale in a while. Very good sound. Decent oldie. Ripe for reactivation perhaps? Doubt we’ll see too many for sale in the near future.

Now you’ve gone and hurt Ian Levine’s feelings... Maybe a thread of your top 10 Allnighter DJ’s might throw up a few less obvious names BUT I’m still enjoying what’s been posted...

A few set-sale prices here eg Determinations, Clyde McPhatter. Good price for Kenny Carlton. Bit of a dull Wednesday apart from Rita and the Tiaras.

Parisians went for a bargain price - has sold for 3K in the past. Pat Brown, great sound, usually valued at less but a discerning buyer has done well to bag this. Seeing a lot of Invitations and Sam & Kitty lately - great oldies - prices have peaked it seems towards the lower end.

Not easily done. As soon as I see someone dancing in their back garden, in a chip shop, around a statue, in a park, in their kitchen etc, I hit the stop button ASAP. I’ll leave it to the YouTubers to work out who are the most narcissistic...some of them have lots of self-produced videos...

An interesting thought. Your observation could well be correct. Self-obsessed YouTubers portray styles that could be practiced at soul venues. Videos of soul events depict a marked slowing down of movement, often associated with age etc In fact, much of the video material online shows a fair bit of Dad Dancing and Round The Handbags stuff. The dancers who know and understand the music adapt their personal dance styles to the tunes eg 60’s v 70’s. Some folk can only dance one way whatever’s being played. At the end of the day, it’s what’s in the grooves that counts and folk should be free to dance as they choose. That said, uptempo soul music virtually requires nimble footwork so long may this tradition last as it’s fast disappearing.

Terrible news Ted. Thinking of you at this awful time. The photo is clear enough for the scumbag to be identified. The records are too prominent to move on so there’s a good chance they can be recovered. Fingers crossed there’s a positive outcome to this nasty business.

Good spotting. They could be Spanish but as Sherlock Holmes might say, ‘it’s not an open and shut case’.

Thought the whole programme was pretty decent, an eclectic mix of contributors from a range of backgrounds. Jordan’s record room was hugely impressive and a real insight into Englishness. Richard Searling’s contribution was excellent as always. The Northern tunes were OK but Marvin’sLove Starved Heart could have been bettered by hundreds of other USA records. Usual Wigan footage of spinning miners and back-dropping factory workers might have opened a few young eyes - just a shame there’s so little video evidence of the Casino in its heyday.

Ah ha! How many Ted? Two have been on Soul Source recently but they looked like sales prompted by Manship’s 5K winner.

Thanks for posting as usual. Thought Cecil would go for more as the finishing figure was well down on the last one auctioned by John. USA 45’s went for normal prices in a few cases rather than insane figures as is often the case.

I’ll be there in April so I’ll take my panda as it eats shoots and leaves...

Ditto... Thanks for doing an a amazing job of keeping us in the picture. Compulsive viewing every Wednesday. Cheers.

Probably the 90’s. I’d had a few Toppers from Gilly but this double sider eluded me for a few years...still haunts me, one of the ones that got away.

Johnny Honeycut was a bargain. Still kicking myself over Tobi Lark. Last time I held a copy was in The 100 Club - seller had it in his box priced at £25 but said it was sold.

No, not really. John sought out, stockpiled, shipped, distributed and sold 60’s and 70’s records for commercial reasons. Along the way, his discoveries boosted the collections of influential DJ’s who shaped the UK soul scene. Essentially, John salvaged 45’s ignored by USA mainstream culture and directed them towards a sub-culture that appreciated them. Mainstream culture is an irrelevancy - it never understood what actually happened and still misrepresents this today. Serious record collectors today are still in awe of John’s varied contributions and that’s good enough for those who knew him - John was very grounded and modest so wasn’t too bothered about mainstream culture.

Not sure re this....yes, there’s a degree of repetitious hype, but John has obviously researched the credits of his wares and generally done justice to the records up for auction. His prose, whilst not perfect, would make for a decent volume of top-drawer records auctioned (provided he excluded the many set-sale items that creep onto the auction site).

One on eBay finishing in just over 8 hours time. Seek and destroy...

Johnny Praye, very rare and a very good sound, so someone snagged a bargain. Barbara and Brenda was a big surprise - what’s the story on this one?