Frankie Crocker

But this has been going on for years though. If it is a bad time to do mail order sales, then why not wait until the Covid-19 situation improves?

Some USA sellers declare they won’t send auction records to the UK. The Steinways on Oliver is a case in point right now. How frustrating is this for UK collectors and dealers? Why the discrimination? Surely the sellers want to realise a high price! How many of these records ultimately sell for below the going rate? Here’s hoping someone in the USA or the rest of the world can grab the Steinways for under $60.

Not too much out of the ordinary here. Some classics at affordable prices, but in nice condition. Jimmey Soul Clark maybe a tad on the high side, but what a great record. Jeanette Williams possibly a Set Sale record these days, but John sells for a commission in some cases. Thanks for posting as always.

Look at the other stuff for sale. Grab a genuine fake George Lemons while you’re at it. Rubbish like this makes me puke. It gives UK eBay sellers in particular a bad name.

Joe Hicks original has shot up in price over the last couple of years. It has been selling for between £200-300. Even the second issue has been selling for £30-40. It is actually a scarce record. Very few copies were around in the 70’s. Some emerged in the 80’s, but most went into collections and stayed there. Very few were offered for sale in the 90’s as this is a great oldie and a real keeper. The internet era has seen a trickle of originals, but outnumbered by second issues. The seller obviously knows the value of the record so the high reserve is understandable. As for the rare variant, this is $1,000 and upwards and extremely hard to find.

I think we should be optimistic, and regard the current Covid19 pandemic as something of an opportunity. Collectors with access to funds or credit may well be filling their hot-boxes right now. Auction sales reveal no shortage of big-hitters, whilst there are bargains galore to be had online. I suspect there are plenty of wannabe DJ’s out there, itching to spin their latest acquisitions in public. When life returns to normal, let’s hope that some of the collectors turn to promoting local venues. It would be good to see dealers and DJ’s promoting fewer, but larger events that attract record buyers and dancers alike. Surely, the owners of venues will be willing to help support events that boost bar takings. Letting my imagination go wild, I can even see weekend events in Cleethorpes, Prestatyn and Blackpool becoming giant foam parties as youngsters abandon Magaluf, Ayia Napa and Tenerife to embrace the hedonism of Northern Soul as it sweeps around the globe. At last, the era of the super-well-paid Northern DJ finally arrives as sums of £100,000 are paid to those with the finest collections of rare sounds...

Very few copies of the Admirations on Peaches exist. Even fewer of the Poets on JV. The Andantes is dog-rare. Very few people on Planet Earth own all three of these records. Jackie Day is very scarce. Unless a top collector was selling up, I would not expect a dealer to have all these titles for sale in a short space of time.

The figure of 100K is unconfirmed. Lee has said he is not going to disclose the actual value. The figure mentioned by the media is pure speculation. Newspapers have become too willing to manufacture fake facts to fill column inches, something that is reprehensible but they get away with it all they time by cribbing from other media sources. The actual value of the transaction may never emerge as only Lee and the seller know the figure involved and have decided to avoid publicity. If I was Lee and I’d just got married, I’d not want my missus to know the figure either...

I’ve just read the Times too. Who disclosed the figure of £100,000? I was under the impression that Lee was not going to disclose the amount. The article stated Lee was a record label owner - does anyone have further information on this?

I’ve been meaning to get round to doing, it but have not mastered the technology. The plan is to do a separate thread on it captioned ‘Try phoning this number for a free copy of George Lemons’. Scooterboy also has the same sleeve so he might be able to scan his.

Drat. Missed it. That would have been really tempting had I known about it. I expect a few will be offered from collections in the coming months - can’t see too many people stumping up 2K or more for Patti Stokes, even though it has two decent sides.

I thought it was a mis-print. Another world-record broken.

No... Never... I’ve been watching it daily, but was focused on Georgie Boy. Apologies to readers for this careless oversight.

Not me, boo hoo I was gutted when John’s last copy went for £300-400 and had been waiting patiently for the next nice, affordable copy to surface... Trouble is, a lot of people still want this record pretty badly.

Not as lucky as me as I have a George Lemons and the Magnetics on Bonnie...

Try owning it - you might change your mind. I was never overly fond of Eddie Whitehead until I found a copy a few years ago. Then I started to appreciate it. Later on, I went to a Soul Night and John Manship spun it to a great response - since then, it just gets better and better when I play it. Compared to what...?

I made it 19. One copy is double-counted as the bidder did not pay so it was re-auctioned. Patti Stokes was the auction surprise finishing at c£1,500, jumping from c£900 in the closing seconds.

Even if a dozen or two Soul Source members have the record, and some quite possibly own those listed on Popsike, it is still a very scarce record. I rather thought the Professionals was a harder one to come by but I’ve not checked Popsike on this one lately; probably seen more Professionals offered on Soul Source than eBay in recent times.

Finished at £3,717. No frantic last minute activity on this one. Surprised it did not go above 4K. My particular interest in the record was largely due to owning a copy in similar condition. The sleeve of mine has been customised by Gold Soul and hand-stamped by a rubber-print stamp. I paid $1,300 for it about 25 years ago, top-whack for what it was fetching in those days. Pleased my investment was worthwhile in more ways than one. John often gives a little back-story on the prime pieces he auctions, but not this one...

Very wise Tony. This record’s a ‘Keeper’.

If you read the whole thread, you’ll see that it is not. I already have the record and I would never sell it. Ted, that's pocket change for a collector like yourself. Hope you’re well mate.

Thanks Mike. Definitely some superior copies here. Maybe Soul Source is the best place to find a really nice copy of George Lemons

Bidding now at £3,637. Less than three days to go, so it looks like the 4K mark should be passed.

Bidding now at £3,117. Thought I’d do a statistical analysis of the 19 sold on Popsike 2005-2019... penance for oversleeping and missing my ‘O’ Level Statistics exam that I’d not revised for anyway... VG- = 4 copies, VG = 5 copies, VG+ = 4 copies, VG++ = 2 copies, Ex = 3 copies and M- = 1 copy. Many had grubby labels, a few had WOL, one was warped but all were in acceptable playable condition without skips, cracks, chunks missing etc. For those who are quite fussy about condition (like myself), 10 copies were of a nice enough condition to bid on without too much hesitation. The Median value was <VG+ ie the central value of the ranked sequence of 19. The Modal value was VG ie the most commonly occurring grade. The Mean value was VG+ ie the average grading. So, the copy up for auction is probably the best to be put on the open market this century, with only two copies in the survey of 19 (M- & Ex++) approaching the near perfect condition of the one that will sell on Wednesday 5th.

Nice motor John... I like the number plate too.