Frankie Crocker

If the record is cracked then this characteristic defines the grading and is the most important factor that would induce a buyer to pay a discounted sum for it. By all means, describe the vinyl in accurate terms but highlight the fact that it's cracked. If the price is right, someone will buy it.

Initial response, what a load of pseudo-mumbo jumbo and why does some academic feel a social scene based on musical taste should be analysed? Who is Wall anyway? Sure, more lads went to Wigan Casino than lasses, and maybe the dance floor reflected this, but there were obvious reasons for the difference. I doubt the assertion that lasses outnumber the lads dancefloor nowadays but of course there will be exceptions given the more localised nature of the scene. My recollections of Wigan in the latter half of the 70's bring back memories of 13-16 year old school kids rather than 'men' doing much of the acrobatics, with media interest focusing on the 'spectacle'- in reality, most of the crowd stayed on their feet avoiding the limelight. Huddled around the main room, balcony and M's were hundreds of lasses from all points of the compass, having a good time, and now probably bewildered that somebody wants to write about their Saturday night out 40 years ago...

Hi Ted. Good to see you're back in business. I watched this one sell and wasn't surprised to see what it fetched. Manship #7 has it significantly undervalued. The six white label sales on Popsike are mainly Jamie/Guydnen but two are not, one thought to be Jamaican and the other unknown? Maybe a story here perhaps? Good luck with your quest.

Good clip. Move over Michael Flatley. These girls know their stuff. Proper dancing. Dancers moving to the beat, feet following the music, having a good time, no showing off, how it should be done. I could watch this all day long.

Spot on. Requires a flexible outlook. Takes more skill based on experience. It's not just about throwing in a backdrop-kung fu kick sequence...

According to Manship #5, it may be a boot as the O in BRoS is smaller than the other three capitals. The original and boot demos are virtually identical apart from the matrix markings, the info from solidsoul above being particularly relevant. You could check out Popsike to see the variants and differentiating detail - one sold for about £200 a few months back if I recall and that looked pretty real.

Someone must have. John Manship auctioned one a month or two ago and it fetched £300 plus. Tim Brown had one at set sale a fortnight ago which presumably sold at £250. Both were original issues. Demos keep popping up for sale all over the place so surely outnumber issues. Most 'issues' up for sale are actually boots so caution is advised, buy from a dealer really in the know.

Back to the clip. Vaguely recall seeing it on a TV at a soul-night in Central London a few years ago. How many copies of the original take are out there? I would have thought the only person worried about the WCF clip was the person who removed it from the BBC archive: that said, I don't suppose the BBC cares who took it. The only people who have an interest in the video clip are us so can we please have it back?

Great clip. I always thought I was going to a club in Wigan and now it turns out to be a discotheque. But now there's hope for us all as we enter our 60's and 70's - clapping competitions instead of dance-offs. Bags I clap to Tainted Love...

Obituary in the Times today, page 54. Plenty of interesting points raised. The label Phil established has to be one of the best with so many good sounds from a host of artists.

Sounds awful... The Goodies were just so excruciatingly bad even then. Great news there is no evidence of this, unless of course someone puts a clip up on YouTube...

Thanks for this Steve. I have the Chosen Few record but it has not been played in 20 years. I really wanted to know about the dance troupe - who chose the dancers and what were the dancers' names? I remember the episode vividly as it really put the underground scene on the front pages generating much ridicule, which sad to say, persists today. Gethro Jones brings the topic up in his book and as a crack dancer at The Casino, understandably would be included in a collection of good dancers. When I was in Manchester in 1975, fellow student named Keith Jackson told me he was in Wigan's Chosen Few... a month later at the Casino, I asked Gethro if Keith Jackson was around and he said 'never heard of him'. Keith was from Wigan (or so he said) but evidently claimed some of the fame that rubbed off on the town - I wonder how many other lads claimed similar bragging rights at the time?

Probably fewer on trips to the US and fewer on eBay. There are fewer rare records in nice shape coming to market and the competition for them has hotted up. Becoming more interested in quality rather than quantity as I have too many records already and would prefer to buy one great, sound rather than half a dozen cheapies of lesser quality.

So, who were the Wigan's Chosen Few? What were their names? Is there a team photo of them out there? Who actually chose the group of dancers? I remember the TOTP clip at the time, yes a bit cheesy but not too zany for the era. Sure it is cringeworthy now but it is a footnote of some significance. I think the full clip should be in the public domain. It was once the property of the Beeb and then it left the building, another topic worthy of discussion? I can't recall the earlier thread but would appreciate any fresh info on the topic of 'The Wigangate Tapes'.

Shame Mike...PM me re 'drama', very curious. Did Gethro object to being seen in a Sunderland shirt? Clip reminded me what a bad prancer Sandy Holt was...

Not sure re this. They seem to have introduced another scam... been quoted $65 to send two records from Los Angeles, not having it, tried to change address to post to US hub and won't let me (but usually does), attempts to contact eBay futile, requests to seller to amend situation denied but not by seller so presumably eBay overrides requests. eBay see postage charges as another cash source so they force the costs up to gouge more fees. Small wonder they are regarded as EvilBay, greedy beyond words but beyond the reach of the Monopolies Commission or whoever looks into business skullduggery. Forget exchange rates, there's plenty of other deterrents to put UK buyers off.

Fair point Chalkie. We lapped it up in the UK about 10 years ago. The US dealers never really mentioned it but were more than happy to take the money we handed over in larger quantities than usual. Thing is, the market is mainly in the UK and the supply is in the US - sellers give discounts and buyers get them if they're lucky. I would hope the US buyers got their cash or bulk discounts back then but maybe they didn't as some dealers are just too paranoid about losing out, so greedy they want a Popsike record breaking sum each sale or just too short-sighted they forgot they only paid 10 cents for the rubbish they laughed at in the first place. I've been in four US record stores this week and the best of them gave me a 50% discount and the worst never got the $400 they could have for being naive, lazy and greedy. All the best US record dealers offer a discount and the very best do so without the customer having to ask. Repeat business is the foundation stone of a successful store so dealers have to nurture this through whatever means necessary or perish...

A laudable approach sir. At times, I'm inclined to do just the same and say bollocks to the cost, I like the record so much I'm having it and that's that! Other times I get narked when a late snipe forces me to shell out another $100 or whatever so the currency value becomes a lesser issue. More recently though, I've thought fuelling record inflation by making generous bids is something we could probably all do without. It's certainly worth noting that several record buyers are maintaining their commitment to securing that elusive sound regardless of cost which ultimately benefits them in the long run.

As the pound is no longer worth $1.50 and is closer to $1.20 if anything, why should buyers pay $150 for a record that sells for £100 or £80 plus £20 VAT? The US seller may need to discount that $150 record to move it on, as expecting anything listed in Manship at £100 to fetch just that, might be a little optimistic. I would like to think there's a bit of flexibility on the part of buyers and sellers on both sides of the Atlantic rather than just taking the priceguide listing as the set-sale price.

Fair point Ted. Holly St James being a good example. But, if the UK collectors have shelled out big money on auction wins, you can't fault them for wanting to recoup their outlay. It looks like prices in both the US and UK continue to rise despite the currency plunge with no sign of US dealers discounting in the face of global demand.

Global Shipping enables eBay to make a token contribution to customs charges at the expense of the buyer. They have set up a shell company to action this and syphon funds offshore to Luxembourg. Record buyers can request the seller amend the mode of postage but this does cause difficulties. The last time I bought a US record was 29th September and I bought one today to end a barren spell of just under a month. Whether this was because there's been less out there to bid for or due to the pound's depreciation, I'm not sure. The condition of many records just lately has been off-putting but at the same time, the pound has lost vital purchasing power that would otherwise enable bidders to contend competitively.

A sore point. I bid a substantial sum but less than the $1,500 I would have bid three months ago. So, this one escaped my clutches because of the poor exchange rate. Also a good example of how a previous big sale (in Texas), is soon followed by another copy as a patient seller thinks now's the time...

Agreed. Just got in from the All Dayer at The Dome in north London - this was played and it packed the floor.

You get caught six ways. US Post cost. eBay fees. PayPal fees. Customs charges. Post Office service charges. Credit card interest charges. And now to top it all off, an exchange rate that does no favours. I thought hobbies were supposed to be fun...