Frankie Crocker

Great record. Great performance at Cleethorpes. Great story behind it all too.

Does an upset DJ chuck their records out of the box if they they've not got a pram to throw their toys out of? And where do upset Wannabe DJ's go for counselling if there's no cloakroom at the venue?

Some handy tunes there. Good to see the art of crate diggin' is alive and well. Still plenty of 'unknowns' to be discovered and always nice to grab a few bargains.

Up for auction to bidders in UK and Ireland. A mint unplayed copy of this top tune. Reserve price is £3,000. PM your bids if interested with email address. Auction scheduled to close Sunday evening. Payment by bank transfer. Not interested in trades as funds required for major want. Delivery costs would be extra and by special arrangement. I'll do my best to keep interested parties notified.

Demo copy - the letter 'A' makes a difference, but how rare is this and can the price tag be justified? Skullsnaps sold for a bit less last week so maybe the underbidder is coming back in a more determined frame of mind? These records are now 40 years old, on top quality vinyl and have decades of play left in them.

PM'd you. Spare copy here.

Brilliantly put Alan. A couple of other additions would be:- has a large flight case with stickers on cues up records using one headphone keeps two spare adaptors in their pocket (or handbag in this age of gender equality) pushes to the front of the queue saying I'm on the Guest List is the worst dressed person in the venue on the rare occasion they use the mic, never mumblemumblemumble

Easy answer, when they stand behind the decks. Easily done too if you promote yourself to MC in the back room of a pub and can carry a small box, maybe with some popular sounds in, possibly a few on records that have a large hole in the middle of them, I think they might be American and I think they might have come off of a jukebox... To be a proper DJ, you've got to practise. It helps if you have a stack of truly great records on original vinyl and maybe even a few one-off sounds. You need to have a deep love of the music and an ability to match the tunes in the playbox to the dancers in the venue. This comes with age and experience. If you have the talent, a Wannabe Promoter might give you a warm up spot. If overlooked, you have to grovel a bit and boast a little about your latest acquisition. Then comes the being ignored stage so now you have to really suck-up and spend stupid sums on auction records. After years in the wilderness and hours of practising on your own Technics in the bedroom, you become bitter and twisted, then turn to Facebook to remedy matters. Finally you give up hoping for a spot at a legendary venue and book up a back room in a pub so you and your mates can take it in turns to entertain each other. Now you are a DJ.

Three Rivers Band-Ophelia-Lion: Excellent £100 Art Grayson-Bad Dreams-4 Corners: Mint minus £35 David And The Giants-Superlove-Crazy Horse: Mint minus £30 SOLD Onyx-You Never Fail To Amaze Me-Yew: VG++ £50 Bobby Wilson-Feels Good-Volt: VG++ £20 PM to reserve please. Prices include free postage to UK address. Payment by PayPal, buyer to cover fees. Thanks for looking.

Ever the optimist when it comes to Northern vinyl, the music will last for ever. Some records will wear out, others will break, but the volume of 45's out there ensures a future for the music. Given the sounds are the best on the planet and there's a lack of new music being produced, Northern and it's close relatives will continue to thrive. Forgotten tunes will come back into fashion as DJ's look for something fresh. Those on modest budgets will enjoy the sounds on one format or another and probably buy up the legacy of previous collectors in decades to come - by then, Holly St James will sell for £10,000, a month's wages, and collectors will be just as skint as they are now.

Some dealers' auctions are not worth checking out, let alone bidding on. Not mentioning any names but you can work it out... Some of the best auctions around are US sellers on eBay, (despite the flaws of eBay). John's records are as good as they come in 2017 - no other seller can match the condition of his wares, the range of records, after-sales service etc. The sales-pitches are poetry to these ears and well worth publishing - maybe a new book next Christmas?

John's auction blurb makes for interesting reading and the prices achieved warrant discussion. Some of the prices are staggering - Holly St James @ £2,500 virtually doubling what it went for recently. Jack Montgomery, again realising a sum greatly in excess of the Price Guide valuation, and rightly so. John's auctions are the best around in many, many ways...keep the discussion flowing.

For Jeanette, it's still first time around, admittedly for over a decade or so now, and as a quality tune, the bar has just got higher and higher. On the other hand, it's second time around for Salvation as this was popular in the '70's. Other recent reactivations show similar price inflation such as Turley Richards, Ronnie Forte, Barbara Lynn etc. I think there's heaps more collectors all wanting the good sounds, particularly if they intend to DJ. Tragedy is, there's not enough original vinyl out there to satisfy everyones' cravings. A few three-figure records have lost their value but most have held up or increased, some staggeringly so.

Couldn't agree with you more Chalkie. The vast sums involved are tempting collectors to cash in. Maybe the distorted market will be shortlived - the record ultimately will be spun to death, dropped from playlists and the price will tumble.

As always, supply and demand collide to determine the market price. Supply is finite in this case, and most copies are probably in collections to stay. Demand is infinite and those wanting a copy in M- or Excellent condition will pay more. What we are seeing is Wannabe DJ's bagging the latest hotbox-sound... if they want to pay a premium to own the record, that's fine by me. Many 'bread and butter' tracks from decades ago are likely to be resurrected in the years ahead, especially any spun at Wigan

Maybe... Some of the Old Wigan Souls will relate to climbing the hallowed stairs, heading for the double-door then being socked in the face by heat and sound. I think plenty of us still endure the queueing to sample the 'blast' you experience going through that last door. I think the advert got that bit spot on.

Because it's Northern Pop! Simples... Lowest common demominator stuff. Squeezes into the Top 500 at number 499. Packs the floor at weddings for nostalgic 55 year olds. Made it's mark back in the day and has earned the right to be classed as Northern - that said, it hardly enhances it's status in this context.

This is a real head scratcher. First, the advert teases us up the stairs inside The Casino. The dance scenes have been choreographed in the way they were on the 'Northern Soul' film. The dancers know what they are doing and seem to be a mixture of Europeans and Americans drawn from a selection of soul scenes. So, there are some Northern dance movers, a few funksters, a couple of break-dancers and some acrobats. The Night is really a pop tune best filed next to The Snake, rather than a serious Northern dance track but some will quibble with that as it was played at some awesome venue... Personally, I liked the show but I would not be seen in Gucky clothes even if they were giving them away. Anyone know any of the dance crew?

Rayons-You Confuse Me Baby-Forte: £50 EX light marks on label Jimmy Beaumont-You Got Too Much Going For You-Bang WD: £70 VG++ two small nicks on edge NAP Ray And Dave-Wrong, Wrong, Wrong-Mica: £80 M- slight WOL Jay Jay Jones-I Don't Know About You-V Tone: £50 VG++ Ruby Andrews-I Just Can't Get Enough-Zodiac: £30 M- label off centre Sophisticates-Back Up Baby-Sonny: £30 VG++ SOLD Emanuel Lasky-Lucky To Be Loved-Wild Deuce: £35 EX XOL, slight label fade, slight label damage on reverse PM to reserve or further details. Free postage on orders over £100. UK postage £2.50. Payment by PayPal please - buyer to cover fees. Thanks for looking.

Pamela Beaty-Talking Eyes-Tip WD XOL: VG+ £275 Founders-I Don't Want A Second Hand Love-Triode: Ex £60 Jerry Ganey-Just A Fool-Verve DJ: Ex £75 SOLD Dobie Gray-Honey You Can't Take It Back-White Whale DJ: VG+ £70 Del Rays-Mama Was Right/Rosalind-New Breed green issue: VG++ £150 Colt Brothers-Hold Me, Hold Me, Hold Me-Bullet DJ stamp, SMOL:VG++ £90 PM to reserve or further info. Prices include free postage, packing and Special Delivery to UK address on orders over £100; £2.50 U.K., overseas extra. Payment by Pay Pal - buyer to cover fees. Thanks for looking. All messages replied to.

The Empress Ballroom featured big bands in the pre-record era so there would have been a piano there. Later, the stage was used by up and coming groups such as The Beatles and other artists who would have needed a backing group. Pretty tricky getting a grand piano into the Casino via the stairs or Mr M's so maybe it was inside before they put the roof on. Certainly an odd photograph when you focus on the piano - maybe it had been specially fitted with a flip-up lid and stuffed full of firelighters by the Director of Arson at Wigan Council... The piano now rests in a retired peoples' home in Burnley where the ex Chief-Inspector of Wigan Drug Squad practises his scales in readiness for the Christmas Concert...

First time I've heard this. An interesting take. The three Zuma records on Popsike look to be unplayed stock from one hoard QED. I wonder if it's a vintage pressing or a recent reissue of sorts? Evidently someone had confidence in the song hence the various labels and artist permutations. Anyway, I'm on the lookout for this version now. Thanks for posting.

Hi again Natalie. A good question and one I've asked myself. I think the maroon one on Popsike is the original. I always thought the original was on a green label - I bid on one a couple of years ago but did not win and then was given a second chance offer on a blue label version. Maybe this was the pale blue variant on Popsike by Sunny and Phyllis on the Zuma label - there are three copies of this, all sold by the same seller? My copy is like yours, and judging from the number on Popsike, has survived in some quantity but buyers have not been deterred by the price. There are other Le Cam releases on the same pink and white label and I suspect these are later re-issues of earlier releases.

Not the first issue. Think it is a legal reissue. Even this goes for three figures these days. First issue rarely turns up for sale nowadays. As for playing your copy out in public, most wouldn't complain but some might find fault. A great song that deserves to be spun but maybe best to be selective about where to play it out.

Just so scarce. Never seen a copy for sale. Well done to the buyer - this gem needed a good home. Doesn't need to be played out to be enjoyed - stick it on a turntable in the house and pretend you're a millionaire but now going hungry for three months... But wasn't it worth it.