Frankie Crocker

Thanks for that Hammie. Appears the item in question is genuine. It was put up for sale again when it failed to meet the initial reserve price. I would be inclined to hold on to the record myself...

Yep, I noticed this too. Puzzled why the Bashie is circled on the original demos featured on Popsike, but not this version? Given the demand fir this recird and latest sales prices, I could understand why someone might want to press more up.

More like £1,500 if mint and not off centre. Most recent sources of multiple copies sold out a while back.

White demo of this just failed to sell on eBay and has been relisted. Reserve price of £182 evidently not enough for the seller... The copy for sale does not look like any of the white DJ copies on Popsike, the text hints at it being remastered and a lot of matrix numbers have been quoted in the sales blurb. Anyone out there with further info on this?

Dave, you're right as Sad Thing is pure class. Fact is though, on a UK label, it does not appeal too much to collectors of US imports. I know the vinyl is 22 carat but it's hard to juggle UK and US collections so I guess we come down on one side of the fence or the other in the main. Millionaires is flavour of the month on the circuit, an overlooked record that now has it's five minutes of fame - there'll be another one like this along shortly...

Another fine selection Pete. Pretty much as it was around the country, Wigan particularly, but also Blackpool, Manchester, Cleethorpes and elsewhere. There are probably a few others such as Topics 'Women's Liberation', William Bell 'Happy' etc but your listing does justice to the sheer quality of sounds that were rising to classic status.

As mentioned above, Marvin's storming number is a first release BUT has become one of the biggest floor-fillers in recent years AND one for the hot-box carrying Wannabe Sheep DJ who has little else to prompt a rush to the dancefloor...

Suspect the sale was cancelled. Item resurfaced shortly afterwards but described more accurately.

Agreed. Not worthy to sit alongside the other wares on his shelf.

Some set-sale prices here rather than auction bonanzas. Bit of a reality check given recent price rises.

£1,000 in mint condition. Demo a bit scarcer than the issue valued at £900. That said, if unplayed copies surfaced on eBay, they would fetch more given current trends.

I like them. Something interesting to read. A window on what's happening in another part of the country. Obscure tracks given a mention. Helps DJ's get noticed by promoters. Good to look over them when browsing events attended long ago. Settles arguments about who played what first, when and where. What's not to like about playlists? Would like to see more playlists please...

Yet this cover version was acclaimed by the unwashed masses as a fantastic, chart-topping tune... Just goes to show how utterly brilliant, yet underappreciated the original version was. Nothing like the Soft Cell version to pack the floor with closet-soulies - request it at your next wedding do, and see what happens.

Sad news. Sorry to hear it. Only been to Philadelphia the one time, but got loads of nice tunes from John, enough to fill two C90 tapes.

All good tunes too. And you could probably throw in a couple of dozen Northern classics before pondering over the Mecca biggies at the time.

A brilliant summary Pete reflecting how it was at the time. I can think of a few others you could add, but if you haven't got them, you haven't got them.

Dead rare Billy. Almost never up for sale. One of the best tracks played out over the last couple of decades but only in the hands of the chosen few. Hope you're well and picking up some of the tunes on the wants list.

Hi George. Not sure there was ever a Northern Soul sub-culture in the way the way there was punk rock, skinheads etc - it was more a dance music appreciation movement that morphed from RnB to Motown to Sixties Soul to Crossover. Rock music evolved in the same way albeit on a larger scale, but this is not regarded as a sub-culture. Northern Soul has flourished since Stafford picked up from where Wigan left off and the scene has become more overground, bordering on mainstream popular culture nowadays. In 2017, you now have the Festival Goers, Hi Fi Nerds with big headphones, Teenies wired to phones sampling chart-topping ballads, Wannabe Gangstas chanting vile verses, Ravers re-living the dance scenes of decades ago, and there are probably others that your readers will know about. Please keep your write-up objective, and with as little pseudo sociological mumbo-jumbo as possible. We continue to enjoy a particular style of music that is almost 50 years old - that in itself is the story, that there exists relatively unknown music, yet it sounds better than anything that has ever been composed, and is still being discovered by young and old alike. I look forward to reading your finished product on Soul Source.

Also a picture sleeve to factor in so maybe add another £10-20. Classic record and a must-have for collectors, but not seen too many for sale recently.

Picking up from where I left off earlier and thanks to the above posters for clarifying a few details. I make it 11 versions of the same backing track but with a different vocal, delivered by a variety of artists but largely featuring Fred Mark who may be Mark or Mark Jarjisian, time will tell. Mark-I Want To Live-Mel Omega 1832 Fred Mark-I'm Coming Home-Omega 812 Fred Mark-Dance With Me-Omega 842 Fred Mark-After All I'm Human Too-Omega 813 Liza Mae-Breakaway-Omega 846 Chase Randall-Maltese Summer-??? The Petersons-What's It Gonna Be-Mel Omega 1833 Thom Macke-Mr Business Man-Omega 831 Fred Mark-Someone To Talk To-Concept 925 Fred Mark-Continue To Love-Concept 910 Willie Eliza Pugh-Don't Leave Me In The Dark-Fox Century Plaza 119 So, is this a PB for the number of similar releases by a single artist or label-family? Also curious to learn which was the earliest version - suspect the Mel Omega releases may have preceded The Omega and Concept numbers? Where is Andy Rix when you need him?

Copy of Dance With Me up for sale on eBay, perhaps one of the lot of 40 that sold a couple of weeks ago. There is a soundbite revealing this is yet another version of the tune featured in the thread started by Kirsty yesteday. The tune could be described as funky-northern-crossover but the vocal is a bit underwhelming. This track might have sold for a bit when rare, but it is not likely to hold it's current value. Punters shooting for the one Brad has up for auction must be feeling miffed as they have now bid double what it is available for in San Antonio. Now awaiting the Buy It Now price to tumble.

Lo and behold, another copy of Dance With Me up for grabs at a Buy It Now price of $49. The soundbite confirms it is the same track with a vocal variation, perhaps somewhat inferior to the other releases. The original buyout is now with at least two other dealers so the record will be trickling into venues shortly with three sources competing to sell this.

Well spotted Kirsty. Thanks for posting. I was on the verge of starting a similar thread as it's not been done before. You mention Fred Mark - Dance With Me on Omega, a copy currently up for auction at $91 finishing later today: not yet heard it yet but you confirm this is the same track but presumably with a different vocal. I started a thread on the quantity of this track that had just sold at auction a few weeks ago. The Omega story is not well known and does not rate a mention in the Philly Soul books. There is a brief reference to how Fred Mark would cut a track for DJ airplay but not be pressed up: evidently, he kept experimenting and maybe settled for the Dance With Me track which appears to be the only one that has survived in quantity. I will add details of further tracks later.

If you are tripping over from Europe, there's not much time to visit yard sales, thrift shops etc. If you live in the States, then these sources are viable, especially if you're inner-city savvy. The best places to visit are the well maintained stores run by knowledgeable owners who have sometimes done the digging for you - OK, the records may not be cheap but head to Primark if you want to save money. Not only do we know way more about the music than most locals, we know what's unknown if that makes sense. There are still plenty of good, obscure and unlisted 45's to be sampled and bargains to be had in this realm.

Something of a quirky thread this. Is it a trick question? At risk of sounding too pedantic, as Northern (as we originally regarded it to be) was the Motown influenced local label spinoffs in the 60's, particularly the later pre-Los Angeles era, the vintage sounds were mainly generated between 1966 and 1969. Most of the local labels, and those of the majors for thst matter, did not have a date on them in any case. If we are talking 45's on vinyl, up-tempo classic Northern, with a date on the label, I think I would plump for a Detroit release produced by the moonlighting Motown house band musicians, maybe in 1966. For the record, Phil's Wall of Sound tunes have been excluded as being too white, too teeny, too girly and Phil was unavailable to comment.