Frankie Crocker

There’s an Anthony and the Aqua Lads on eBay right now.

Well pleased that Turley Richards fetched a nice price. Mine cost £25 at the 100 Club about 25 years ago. Back then it was a tape swappers tune, so belated thanks to whoever put me onto it. Now of course a DJ staple with the power to pack any floor. If anyone wants to DJ at a big venue, they have to have this one in the box hence the rabid bidding when it comes up for sale.

Thanks for all the feedback music lovers. I can see it going for 4-5K, well above the level I have it pegged at right now. It is not the rarest of the really big sounds as plenty of copies have surfaced to be snapped up. This record is a real ‘keeper’ so once in a collection, it stays there for a long, long time. My first copy cost $1,700 at the Austin Record Show - I had that exact amount in travellers’ cheques but didn’t mind being cleaned out one little bit.

Nice copy up for auction hitting the 2K mark within 24 hours. Speculation about the finishing price inevitable. Yes, a truly great record that no collection should be without. Sure to go beyond £3,500 which is what I would peg the current value at. So at the insistence of Zan The Man, here’s the new thread to make your predictions.

Cheap at £200. Was stuck at £100 for years. Been on lots of Wants lists in recent times. Not an easy one to pick up, but there have been a few on the open market recently. Set to rise further in value as demand continues to exceed supply.

You must have been a real keeno at Wigan. Summer In The Parks has been easy to find. Pointer Sisters a tough one, but a Demo clinches it. Lou Pride, nigh impossible...like yourself, still waiting but I do have the Wigan boot in the meantime waiting for an upgrade.

Semantics, semantics... It’s knobhead with a silent K. Some may prefer dickhead but why split hairs? We’re talking pratts here. Maybe spoilsports in some walks of life, but out and out morons, tossers, scumbags, etc etc. The original post raises the serious point of why individuals are spoiling soul fans’ nights out, and these low-life deserve to be branded nobheads so the Mods on here don’t have to issue warnings (to the over 50’s) for using the extreme terminology that could apply.

No, they’re the dodgy ones, we know of their flaws and embrace them. The dubious ones are those we are not sure about. They’ve not been seen around. Don’t smell of Brut. Drink large quantities of beer. Possibly incels? They can’t dance for toffee. Act like John Travolta and think they’re funny. Sometimes act hard ‘cos they have a fresh tattoo. In the bogs, talk about other peoples’ wives and girlfriends instead of matrix numbers and cover-ups. If the security team could stamp a big N for nobhead on their foreheads, it would help monitor their antics as the night wears on.

Sixteen copies on Popsike sold in the last 16 years. That makes it a rare record in my books. In some years, not one copy was auctioned. There will be dozens of collectors who will never own this record. I doubt we will see many copies offered for sale in the future. The chances of anyone buying a top-condition copy anytime soon have just been witnessed at 6.00 p.m. tonight.

Sad to read that committed followers have been put off attending established events. Maybe it’s partly a post-Covid thing with Brits behaving badly? Perhaps the scene is now so mainstream and high-profile, events automatically attract local ‘handbaggers’. When the tribe wore the uniform, you were safe - now anything goes, so the security people can’t spot the divvies like the old-school bouncer could. Promoters should sell advance-tickets, limit numbers, early entry only, hire crack security and tongue in cheek, tell dubious characters they should have filled in a soul music questionnaire online before turning up.

Thanks for posting as always. Not much to say that hasn’t already been said in previous threads... Delegates of Soul price was quite understandable for a brilliant record, and vindicated my ‘rash’ purchase of it for half this sum a few years ago.

Trust yourself. You know the score. Monitor the sales databases eg Popsike, Collectors Frenzy etc then go for a Set Sale on Soul Source. Manship’s auctions indicate maximum global auction figures, so don’t expect to achieve similar prices. Sell direct in the UK, cut out the middleman, maximise returns for your treasured records. Put the cheaper stuff on eBay. There are several trustworthy dealers who will sell on your behalf for a fee, but do you want to lose 10-20% of the transaction value? The market for high-end records is booming, so sit tight and watch your vinyl-investment appreciate.

As always, Ady adds clarity to a scenario that could go pear shaped... I was baffled to see so many people clamouring for the Anniversary single within hours of the event finishing. Once upon a time, Anniversary attendees who did not want the free record, would offer it for sale, often on Soul-Source where the most knowledgable collectors waited to pounce. Back in time, spare copies went for modest sums, with many unwanted copies passed to friends unable to attend the event. This Sunday gone, it was weird to see quite a few desperados putting out feelers for the freebie, even offering silly money for a copy. This, without a copy being offered for sale. What happened to patience? Why must some folk have to have the record instantly? Collecting is an art requiring patience - many of us hardy souls have waited decades for elusive ‘wants’. In due course, spare copies of the freebie may come up for sale - let the availability of them determine the price, but wait until they trickle onto the market before joining the feeding frenzy.

A nice clean polished or varnished wooden floor does the job. Leather soled shoes a must if you take the dancing seriously. These two together are the ideal combination rendering talc not necessary. I’d rather see a sign saying ‘please do not take drinks on the dancefloor’ as spillages make for deadly puddles followed by a sticky mess.

Price should rise much higher still. Superior version of a great sound. Very difficult to find in decent condition. Hugely in-demand. Could even go for double what it stands at now.

Dynamics surely a Set Sale record. Went for the going rate.

Thanks for flagging this up. I don’t have my copy to hand, but I will check it next time I shuffle through the box. I think it’s OK and I would imagine the few I sold on were not marked. My copies came from Skippy White’s in Cambridge MA. I left a load of copies behind. I also left a load of Exits in the basement as this was just before demand shot up. I must have left 100 plus Precisions on Skippy’s label behind too. When the sales assistants in Cheapo’s Records across the street realised what Skippy had, they cleaned him out of the best stuff including a box of goodies I set aside to pick up on the next trip.

True up to a point Dave. UK dealers have bought wholesale from US dealers for years as a basis for their business. Nothing the matter with that. However, we’re witnessing a new movement in high-end record sales. Take for example the Anderson Brothers sold by carolinasoul on 23/5/21 that fetched £1,569 that was later put up for sale by a UK dealer at £2,250; some might consider this a smart piece of business, others may regard it as daylight robbery or plain extortion. Earl Jackson sold by carolinasoul on 23/5/21 for £531 and was later put up for sale at £800, then swiftly dropped to £750. Jeanette Harper from the same batch was also ‘flipped’ later. The problem with this high-end flipping is galloping price inflation. It puts records beyond the budgets of many collectors. It distorts eBay auction finishing prices - this encourages other US dealers to fall back on high starting prices. It denies serious buyers their chance to acquire a long awaited want. Maybe I’m a sore buyer talking through my pocket, but I feel it ethical to express concern about the way the record market is being manipulated at the expense of committed collectors. As we are commenting on John’s world record prices, one has to ponder whether some of the sales are records to be ‘flipped’ by another dealer, exchanged temporarily to brighten up a colourful website, put in a vault for 10 years to appreciate in value or enjoyed by dedicated collectors.

Well spotted. I’ve noticed this too. Likewise, I’ve lost numerous auctions only to see the same records later advertised at significantly more. I’ve raised the matter on Soul Source previously - peoples’ views on the buying of records purely for re-sale vary. There is a possibly a darker side to this though as a duopoly can manipulate the prices of records allegedly ‘sold’. Dealers moving records to other dealers can create the illusion that values have increased when no actual sale has taken place.

Bang on. Top, top musician. A fitting tribute, long overdue.

Thanks for posting. I think the film will go down extra-well with folk north of the border. I thought some of the scenery was spectacular. I had planned a city break in Edinburgh last year but it was cancelled - I hope to be there before not too long so will be practising for the karaoke evenings

Just got in from watching the recently released ‘Our Ladies’ film set in Scotland. Reviews in the press were full of praise for this vulgar comedy, but no mention of the karaoke in the aptly named Pillbox Club was made. Half a dozen lasses on a schooltrip to Edinburgh end up on the razz, three of which end up on stage belting out a decent version of Tainted Love. Other soundbites included Love Reputation, He Who Picks A Rose and Let Me Down Easy. The dance floor had a few people dressed the part, moving as you do, and with the regulation acrobat thrown in for good measure - I wonder if someone can recognise any of the dancers? I enjoyed the film and can see it becoming cult viewing - I would certainly recommend it to those with a warped sense of humour. That said, I wonder if the inclusion of a Northern Soul karaoke scene set in a mid 1990’s club was for extra laughs, realism, to showcase good tunes to enhance the film or possibly revive an old trend? Whatever your thoughts, try to see the film if you get the chance.

It’s a styrene bootleg. Original is on heavy vinyl. I don’t have my copy to hand but it replaced the format pictured. Great sound. Big at the Casino in 1975. I think it could be a Simon Soussan bootleg as anything that was in-demand was pressed up at the Monarch plant.

Styrene record. Paper label. Folk wrote their names or initials on them. Come party time, there’s a pile of 50 records on the carpet. The records are stacked 10 at a time on a portable Dancette player, spun, then dropped back in the pile. Ten spins and the styrene burn turns to a hiss. Ah well, stuck it in the metal rack and forget about it. Finally, the kids grow up and the records were chucked sleeveless in a box, then stuck in the basement to wait for the inevitable flood... It’s a miracle that any Jackie Beavers on Revilot survived. Those that eventually surfaced often have that ‘ghetto worn’ look that Detroit records have when uncovered in a yard-sale 50 years down the line.

It partly depends on whether the record is made of vinyl or styrene. Vinyl cracks can be ‘tighter’ and less subject to displacement causing audible imperfections. Styrene is prone to hairline cracking but sometimes this can sometimes actually be a manufacturing defect; if the crack cuts across the run-in grooves, this can be a problem, but if it is the result of an impact on the playing surface towards the run-out grooves, this can be less of an issue. Ultimately, the length of the crack and the part of the record affected would be factors affecting the re-sale value.