Frankie Crocker

Hard record to find. Was a minor classic back in the day. The bidder sure meant business and won the prize.

Not sure this can be correct. Mass produced records were usually put into small brown cartons containing 25 records - these are known as 25 count boxes in the trade. Four 25 count boxes were put into a cubic shaped carton to make up a 100 count box for shipping purposes - these were heavy and cumbersome but could be moved easily enough with two hands when unloading a truck or carrying records into a store. Sometimes, records came off the presses in limited runs and were put straight into a deep tray type box containing up to 400 records in two rows, but more often than not, these boxes contained several different titles, usually on the same label, and were destined for a wholesaler. Given the number of Montclairs on Arch in circulation, I doubt this alleged trove of 200-500 records has been uncovered, if indeed it ever existed. Tony Tisovic of St Louis turned up several dozen copies in the estate of the label owner, together with the master tapes that were eventually shipped to Kent Records for a belated release given that it was a Stax owned title. The track got some big spins from the London boys in the 1990’s, especially on Jermyn Street alongside Oxford Knights ‘Just A Lonely One’ and ‘Johnny On The Spot’...

Ah, but it came with a signed photograph of John with a very red face... how come the record was not packed in an indestructible way?

Thanks for posting Kev and good on you for carrying the torch... I enjoy this feature as do plenty of others, but lack the skills to put it together so slickly. A mixed bag for John here with some set-sale items getting in the way. Plenty selling for the going rate rather than premium prices - maybe Christmas has brought some high rollers to their senses. I like the Manship Mints strategy towards the end of the year - come on John, tell us where you find these beauties...

Thanks for the confidence booster...now thinking of changing my Soul-Source name to William Wordsmith... Just been on your website and I must say it is FAB, easily the best one out there and miles better than John’s, Pat’s and Tim’s... At £15, this unsung offering is a real bargain and I would urge seasonal splurgers to buy now to avoid spiralling record price inflation.

Couldn’t get past the first few bars...best filed next to Wigan’s Ovation. The vocal is weak and warbles. Not sure what the purpose of this cover is as it is so musically inferior, it surely won’t be a club-hit or a commercial success. The Hamilton Movement track is a great slab of uprising dance music that just builds and builds, a real gem.

Try phoning. You never have to wait long before someone picks up. Better still, bid a few thousand for the Andantes and John will phone you up to see if it needs gift wrapping...

Sounds good and no doubt I’ll treat myself to the set. I must say, Dooley Silverspoon is an odd choice as it was a ‘newie’ at the time it was first spun at the Casino. My most vivid memories of M’s include Anne Sexton, King Errison, Travis Wammack, Al Wilson-Help Me and of course the big tunes from the Wheel-Torch era incuding Spencer Davis-Keep On Running, Williams and Watson-Too Late plus others by Major Lance, Gene Chandler etc.

Copy here up for grabs - PM’d you with details.

A quiet month and evidently fewer big Northern sounds turning up on eBay. Quite fancied Ernestine Eady, first time seen for sale, but out of my league. Still, there are a few real obscurities here proving there are good and rare tracks still to be dug up.

Thanks for posting - it’s now on my Christmas List.

No, definitely not mainstream, well not yet anyway. A little bit of media coverage does not automatically mean popular culture, particularly as the dim-witted journalists/presenters just don’t geddit. Yes, we all get sick of pathetic puns on ‘Northern Soul’ headlining articles on weekend breaks in the Yorkshire Dales etc, but virtually all references in the press are mistaken, stereotypical and so far wide of the truth, they are not worth printing. Most of the time, it’s some saddo with a Media Studies degree trying to be hip but actually coming across as a total ignoramus. The time to be really concerned will be when there’s a ‘Top Of The Pops’ type show featuring Northern re-releases, free Northern patches in the Kelloggs box, Prince Harry carrying an adidas holdall, Theresa May on Desert Island Discs telling us why she picked the Professionals... No, fortunately the scene is light years from becoming truly mainstream but it remains surrounded by mystique that prompts some with a few brain cells to take a closer look.

Was there a Volume 5 on CD? if so, I must have missed it...

Great find Pete and a terrific story unfolding. Not an expert on this, but the Quality Control stamps on the sleeve, Test Press and demos appear identical. The hand written date and the OK appear to be penned by the same hand. The sleeve of the Test Press looks to be the ‘Birth Sleeve’ so the record could be in pristine condition. A date of 1965 surely places this recording in Detroit rather than Los Angeles - maybe someone can clarify. Now speculating that the master tape was sent to the Nashville Matrix pressing plant, probably in a batch with others from that day’s studio output. The mastertapes were processed one by one, and the Test Presses stacked up as the quality control workers did their job. Later on, the demos were cut (at this plant or another) and the Test Presses disposed of as per usual. One Frank Wilson Test Press was mixed up with other discards and tapes etc, swiftly removed from the premises and recently turned up outside Detroit. All the white demos bar two and any remaining Test Presses were destroyed in line with Berry Gordy’s wishes so this recent find is of considerable importance. The matrix details suggest the Test Press is genuine but more research needs to be done on the sequence of numbers to clarify the timing ie are there any other Test Presses in the hoard that turned up in the store? There are enough experts out there to prove the Test Press is genuine - I for one believe and hope it is.

Nicely put, but you missed the badges...lots and lots of them stuck on their tops to convey vast experience of dancing at Allnighters up and down the country...

Much ado about nothing... Saw a big Northern Soul CD in the background... A bit of Nashville line dancing mixed up with Run DMC breakers and some of the cast of Fame...sub-standard Junior School Christmas Concert fare... Over in about three minutes, a few bars of Frank and a feeble cover of Edwin Starr. Somebody at the BBC should get a bollocking for mis-naming this dross. I was all set to take the poster of Lev off my bedroom wall but it can stay there now. Anton, Craig and Bruno, I invite you to dance on the 100 Club rutted parquet whilst Jud films you... Darcy, you are given the night off to swan around on a lake someplace...

Trying hard to look on the bright side, I think it might be quite comical. Sure, it’ll be watching-through-one-eye cringing behind the sofa stuff, but the last laugh is ours. Here’s a trashy TV programme put on by a useless TV company, fronted by washed-up has beens (sorry Darcy) with inept paticipants floundering around to tuneless garbage. Since the demise of the popular music industry, the virtual disappearance of musical talent has been replaced by endless troops of dancers who can’t even mime, let alone sing. Mass dancing has now become the latest but lowest form of popular culture. Go to any school concert and there’ll be dozens of out-of-step show-offs desperate for attention in this me-me-me age: watch Strictly and witness the grown-ups’ version. As we all know, cream rises to the top, so the sad saps at Strictly Prancing, running low on ideas, have reached for the Northern manual to salvage the programme. The music is guaranteed to be laughable and the dance steps even worse. But, hey, who cares? None of us watch rubbish on Saturday night TV anyway...

Best to have records sent to a convenient point in the States and have a mate post them in batches. If the import duty is ridiculously high, just don't pay it; leave the packet at the sorting office and it will be sent back to the States. The seller will then come to an arrangement of sorts... Always possible to liaise with US sellers re ‘best practice’ so transactions are mutually satisfactory. Most dealers are very accommodating and will help out.

It was big at Wigan back in the day. Possibly a Mecca spin at first but then on the ‘newies’ conveyor belt at the Casino with Prince George, Black Nasty, Kim Tolliver, Lloyd Michaels etc. A good tune then and now, but dwarfed by the sheer weight of later 70’s discoveries so unlikely to be revived.

Can’t remember the title but it’s by someone called Dean... Think he used to be in a group with Jimmy and Tobi but not sure - confused really as lots of places just play Dean or Jimmy or Tobi at the end of the night.

The Servicemen’s original is now fetching over £1,000 and pushing £1,500 in perfect condition. The Magicians bootleg which is on vinyl and looks pretty smart has sold for over £100 recently. On eBay, the latter could fetch more or less due to the fickle regard for bootlegs but this format will be the only way most likers of the tracks will get to own them. One of the very, very best double-siders of all time.

Fewer biggies than usual. Supplies are evidently drying up. Professionals did. well jumping up from a solid £3,000 to over £4,000 in a year or so. Condition of some of the big ticket items is wavering also but punters are not deterred.

Presumably the question refers to buying records as a financial investment. Most of us probably regard the gathering of records as an entertainment investment, something to listen to for pleasure. If a record appreciates in value over time, so much the better, especially if it is no longer wanted and can be sold for a profit. Now, if several collectors decide to move discs on by selling for financial gain, the market becomes overloaded. Too many records are currently hitting the market at sky-high prices and not selling - expect prices for expensive items to fall in the months ahead as UK sellers cash in but in the face of growing competition.

Four Seasons New Gold Hits LP has I’m Gonna Change On it. A huge track at Wigan. Robert Knight LP has Branded on it. Not released on US 45 but released in Britain.

How about the Skullsnaps, My Hangup Is You and I’m Your Pimp? I remember talking to Russ in his Wigan shop about this as I broke my journey between Manchester and Southport. Russ said it would be a great double-header and indeed it is on the white label bootleg.