Frankie Crocker

Not seen a MINT copy for sale for many, many years so you may have to wait a very long time! Even VG+ copies are very scarce and command four figure outlays at auction. Great record with a double-A side - good luck in your search.

Not just about the numbers... How many you can carry and the weight of the flight case enter the equation. 120 records in a two-channel case are fine for a couple of DJ spots. But if you DJ regularly or do two venues in an evening, you keep one larger case to avoid shuffling things around. No need for bodyguards when you carry a flightcase with a strong handle... On a security note, a case large enough to be seen and one that nobody can run off with, can be a wise choice.

Looks like a proper original. Has not been booted to the best of my knowledge. The paper label is authentic. The print on the label would be very difficult to replicate. The paper label is stuck onto styrene; the original is not made of vinyl. I do not own a copy of this record, but it looks OK. If you check the copies sold on Popsike, I suspect one or two may confirm the matrix details. Hope this helps.

Thanks for posting. Blown away by some of these prices. Younghearts must be a PB for this disc. Eddie Parker demo fetched 50% more than usual - evidently very rare and well worth having. Maurice Williams achieved double the old price also. Condition-wise, John’s auction items are unbeatable. Easily the most gripping auction viewing around and the fairest of them all.

Better to phone him. The staff are very helpful and will call John to the phone if he is around.

No, it’s not a problem. If you are a dedicated collector, then go forth and collect. Some go for demos and issues. Others go for West Coast and East Coast releases. Just lately, I’ve started holding on to label variations to avoid the hassle of selling records I already had a copy of. Better to have and to hold...

Discogs ha. Put it up on eBay and see what it goes for. Great record by the way. One I would dearly like to own. Doncha just get sick of sellers with the odd rarity putting them up for sale at a stupid price. At auction, this might fetch a shade more then £1,750, but then again, it all depends who’s up for it that week.

Well, that leaves plenty of scope for Volume 2. The post-Wigan period has received relatively little coverage compared to the early years, so hopefully someone will put a volume out on Stafford, 100 Club and the venues in-between. A sociological study you say? This skews it towards the participants, but without their stories, what sort of read will it be? If it is another out-and-out academic book that downplays the music, skates over the dancers and ignores the anecdotes, the reviews will limit sales. Do we actually need another tome on youth culture when the scene has become open to all age groups who share a common liking for the music, dancing and dressing up (in some quarters)?

It appears the book has already been written by two or more authors judging from the opening post. As it is to be published by my alma mater, it’s sure to be a book of considerable merit... A history of Northern Soul suggests it looks at the very beginning, the Wigan era, and maybe afterwards, but this is not clear hence the reasonable enquiry earlier. Every additional book on the topic has offered something different for readers (and browsers) so I’m looking forward to it. Let’s await further details and maybe sample pages to whet the appetite.

Looking forward to buying the book. The ‘Spotlight on Wigan Casino’ photo that appeared in Blues and Soul would be a suitable contender. Not sure who owns the copyright - it might be Russ Winstanley? A collage of photos could also work with emphasis on interior shots and dancers...

Saw the film on Sunday at the Curzon, Bloomsbury - apparently the only theatre screening documentaries only, and a string of other music movies on the way. It was really well put together featuring Berry Gordy himself, so the story was totally authentic in contrast to some of the stuff in the books. In essence, it was a Gordy bio-pic with best mate, Smokey adding to the reminiscences. Most of the early artists got a mention but there were glaring omissions. The soundtrack was excellent but somewhat narrow given the scope and length of the film. Had the film been only about the Detroit years, a Part 2 covering the Los Angeles era could have been an opportunity for a follow-up; I would have liked more of the Detroit story. All in all, a really good movie for soul music fans and definitely one not to be missed.

This is a tricky issue Mark. Lots of us old-timers regret there is so little candid footage of the Wheel, Torch, Casino etc. On the other hand, everyone carrying a mobile phone to a match, concert, dancehall whatever, feels it necessary to video anything and everything. I don’t think Jud and Ralph are a trend - more like a tiny sample of respected figures just doing their thing. Yes, I agree the camera should be avoidable, but it strikes me, some of dancers like the publicity whilst most are just not bothered. Jud was hassled by the trolls a few years ago, so stopped posting video clips - I enjoy watching some of these, as do others judging from the viewing stats.

Very sad news. John’s list was the best reason for getting up early in 1975 - Cool Off, Unsatisfied, Too Late etc, all the top sounds I could afford as a student. I got to know John at the Austin Record Conventions. Easy to get on with and a joy to talk to. A dealers’ dealer, held in the highest regard by all the top U.S. record dealers. John Anderson will be remembered as the greatest importer of rare soul records, one of the key figures in shaping the Northern Soul scene and an all-round nice guy, a larger than life character who will be sorely missed.

Ralph strikes me as being a pretty decent guy and a committed soulie like many of us, so it is alarming that someone would attack him. To do so at a soul event is also disconcerting as down the decades, violence has been virtually nonexistent at Allnighters, Alldayers, Weekenders and soul nights. There’s no welcome for trolls on the soul scene so just stay away.

Voila. Many thanks. Just tried your suggestion and I get what I want. Funny that eBay.co.uk keeps you in the dark...

Just tried again to view a bid history. There is an option to tell eBay what you think, perhaps because of some innovation. So, it looks like they have changed the format so you can not tell the bidding patterns of individuals such as withdrawn bids, number of bids per item etc. To some extent, this masks dodgy bidding patterns but I think it could be down to eBay simply reducing the amount of data flowing through the system. I always thought this was a very useful feature and already I’m missing it.

Thanks for the responses. I should have explained further. When you clicked on the bidder’s ID code, it used to show how many items the bidder had contested in the previous 30 days. Now, there seems to be no response when you click on the coded ID. Not sure if this is an eBay change or have I mucked up some settings?

Not sure what has happened, but when I try to check the bidding profiles of bidders competing for records I am interested in, no information pops up. Has eBay changed the settings to deny bidders insight into who is competing for a particular record (or anything else)? Any confirmation would be appreciated.

Not personally but someone on here will have. I don’t think Russ is on here though. Oddly enough, a distant relative who I have never met is mates with Russ and stands in for him sometimes - one day, I hope to catch up with them both in Wigan.

I’ve got the book and am working through it slowly. Even though I have bits of paper from three uni’s, it’s still a tough read. It is pretty academic and presented on an analytical level. I have had the book for six months but I am only up to page 64 - the next subheading where I will pick up reading next is ‘Post-subcultural subcultural play’ so you can see this is a work to dwell on rather than a page turner. The book contains some good sections that I am looking forward to. Trouble is, when you are a record collector, travelling the States and browsing online, important things like reading get put off. I will now set myself a target of reading some of The Northern Soul book every week.

You will need to contact the DJ’s of the main venues to get contact details of the promoters and management. Trouble is, we are talking about a time 40-50 years ago so any young designer then, could now be 70+. Good luck with your project but I suspect you could find it rather tricky. I think Russ Winstanley did a rough draft for one of the Wigan Casino patches so you could try to contact him. Russ is a top man and ultra-helpful so that is where I would start.

Cool stuff. Does anyone know the story about this one?

eBay does not condone acts of criminality but gets by doing next to nothing to curtail it. The corporation is really only interested in making money with the minimum of hassle. You would think the recent prosecutions of bootleg makers/ sellers would deter anyone from getting involved in illegal activity. Ultimately the record buying community should police itself by not buying fake rubbish. We should all speak out against the circulation of bootlegs that deceive record buyers and dancers at OVO events.

Good luck with the project. The demand for a quality portable is out there. They are a must for USA crate diggers. They are very handy for UK collectors when playing VG USA records needing a good groove clean. You will need to ensure the player can adapt to both UK and US records. The Bush Discassette does. I have a Discotron that only plays UK records with a solid centre so it sits in the box unused. There are plenty of second hand players that work OK and new machines from Crosley that serve a purpose. Your pricing will determine whether the project succeeds in the face of competition.

Sold for £52. Rather a lot to pay for a fake record. I concede it was worthwhile auctioning the thing from the seller’s point of view. That said, I would rather not see these things cluttering up eBay. Bootlegs had currency in the 1970’s but the way forward nowadays is to arrange some sort of licensing agreement like Kent do.