Frankie Crocker

John Manship brokered the transaction quoted to be 100K. How much money actually changed hands is open to speculation! If he took a 10%, fee, arguably the record is worth no more than £90,000 although inflation over three years may well up this amount a bit. Yes, plenty of people are interested in the history and destiny of this record, notably those who could afford to buy it or part with some big trades to secure it.

He evidently wants to make a 50% profit. Not sure whether the sale would be taxed or not, but if so, this would reduce the return on the investment. There will be other millionaires who could afford this item so let’s sit back and see what happens. I thought there was another copy but somewhat damaged...can anyone confirm this?

Invite him onto Desert Island Discs for a fuller disclosure...

Here’s the off-centre item with a DIY centre enabling the record to play perfectly.

Looking at £1,500 minimum but closer to £1,750 for a mint copy. Pink label variety is dead rare - grey label very rare! A word of caution if you’re buying - my grey copy was pressed badly off-centre...could be the reason the supply was disposed of QED?

Wow...how do you follow that? First of all, big thanks to Tim for his essay, especially when he should be wrapping presents, busy in the kitchen etc. Yes, all enjoyment of music is subjective and very personal, but me, like many others, the Mello Souls features very prominently amongst the very best of Northern records, kick-started by a rousing introduction that John Manship terms a ‘clarion call to the dance floor’. This is a dancers’ record. One best heard in a venue packed with like-minded souls. The tempo is perfect, fast, but not too fast. The duration of 3 minutes 12 seconds is magical - a full 50 seconds more than a typical Northern track - the song could have finished after the sax-break but goes on and goes on, just what you want the best songs to do before they fade out. As Tim says, Butch made this record the grail that it is. For those who danced to his sets at the 100 Club and other venues in the nineties and noughties, you witnessed something special. Mark would play better and better sounds, mixing things up a bit with his latest acquisition, a mid-pace gem, a frenetic crossover, umpteen one-offs and cover-ups then drop this into his set to trump everything beforehand...the supreme DJ as always. Tim puts the Mello Souls nicely into context. The Northern journey started for many with Al Wilson and Dobie Gray. Good songs back in the day. Then came other eras of good songs, Leon Haywood, Seven Souls, Major Lance etc. By now, the essential ingredients of a decent sound were established - beat, melody and harmony. The many great tracks of the Casino era had these qualities and sometimes an unusual twist eg Jewels, Cecil Washington, Deadbeats etc. The Stafford era conditioned the connoisseurs to accept a wider range of sounds and to tolerate their flaws, muffled vocals, low-fidelity, minimal solos etc. And then the Mello Souls came along... hear this played out and you know you’re at a royal banquet, dining at the top table. It is a rare treat indeed and made all the more enjoyable by not playing it on YouTube too often! Anyway, it’s at the very top of my Christmas List if anyone has a spare copy?

The answer is no but it depends on the venue. OK for youngsters starting out at the back of a pub on a Friday night. Definitely not at a regional venue when collectors have travelled from afar. Shrewd DJ’s will minimise styrene use on unknown decks and stick to vinyl. If the 45’s are suffering from wear and tear, surely it’s time to introduce a few new records into the set. There are enough records out there to make up a decent Oldies set without having to resort to the clapped out Top 500. Any DJ with a big gig coming up should be able to conjure up a box of quality sounds making sure the knackered records are left at home with the second issues, emi discs, carvers, bootlegs etc.

Younger generations will benefit in 10-20 years time as older collectors fall off their perches and masses of unwanted records are put up for sale by canny offspring. Theoretically, prices should fall but demand for the choicest pieces will remain high. Already, the market is seeing early signs of cashing out - there must have been half a dozen copies of the Cautions on Shrine for sale recently. In the meantime, there are plenty of cheap US imports to be had from abroad and British dealers. Research will throw up plenty of obscure titles in plentiful supply. A holiday in the US can still reward the committed crate digger. The very best music will always be available in one format or another, but the rarest of the rare with high price-tags will remain in the hands of those with access to funds.

Seller listed as in Spain but business address quoted as Germany, uses a daft email address, uses two styles of photographic backgrounds and as Benji says, provides matrix scan for a less expensive record but not fir the item under discussion. Draw your own conclusions...

Four Voices - Your Love Is Getting Stronger & With A Lonely Heart. Lots of really good suggestions above too such as the Admirations, Jack Montgomery, Billy Hambric, Dena Barnes etc - very tricky to pick the best of the best, so just fortunate you can listen to two for the price of one... now where have I heard that one if it’s not too late to mention it, or picture it in a sleeve...

Magnetics - Lady In Green & Heart Of Stone.

We live in hope - there could be a box somewhere or a handful sitting on a shelf. In the last year or so, I’ve corresponded with members of the Ambassadors and Bristols to be told no other members of the groups have spare copies for sale although some of the musicians are hanging on to the one copy. So, the chances of quantity turning up after over 50 years are very slim. Perhaps someone at the pressing plant kept a box or the sales rep dumped them with a family member instead of the record store...dream on...

Returning to the original three questions, Andy Rix, super-sleuth, answered two of the them in a previous Soul-Source article, well worth reading again...The introduction was indeed borrowed from a Supremes song and the introduction was played by Keith the guitarist.

Yesterday’s MixCloud offering from Pete Smith made my jaw drop...

No yawning necessary...this record is fast becoming Number One of all time. Very rare indeed but has been played out sparingly since the 1990’s - Butch brought it to a wider audience but newcomers to the scene may well have not heard it ‘live’ spun on original vinyl. Question 3 is probably the toughest to answer but there are probably fewer than 10 copies at a rough guess. Like many top tunes, it is slightly quirky but full of the elements dancers love to hear and much longer than the average track which is a huge bonus. I’ll leave the first two questions to the experts, suffice to say that this record represents the epitome of tunes and one that only the fortunate few will ever own.

Lots of great calls above and many better than these not mentioned so far... Bobby Paris - Night Owl Bobby Paris - Personally Gene Chandler - Mr Big Shot Sam and Kitty - I’ve Got Something Good Reparata - Panic Salvadors would be my first pick so I liked it FB style...

More like he’s embarrassed by the criticism and hoping things will blow over by the time of the next one. If he has any real insight into the situation, he’d scrap it and put on a live act or give the slot to some up-and-coming young DJ. We’ve probably all been asked to fill in some questionnaire about a course taken or service at the checkout - my view is that management should be able to judge how things went without asking dumb questions...so Kev should know whether it was a resounding success to be repeated in future or given the heave-ho as there’s insufficient talent to make up a great competition...

Thanks Mick. Very useful. As the second most watched UK auction, it’s interesting to see what these rarities sell for. Adam’s Apples did very well...

Paul, you’re right to be concerned about the degradation of subculture, particularly dance. Yes, corporate activity has accelerated the process as YouTube clips have spread the antics of attention seekers who give a misleading impression of what Northern dance involves. The Blackpool event featuring the final 24 contestants is another example of corporate degradation of subculture - many of the dancers involved could not dance as they were hopping, skipping, kicking, revolving etc anything but dancing 60’s and 70’s style! At the root of change are the young dancers who now present their lazy, goofy, uncoordinated movements bearing no resemblance to the dancing seen at The Wheel, Torch, Casino and other legendary venues. Facebook has also spread video clips of youngsters holding dance workshops that resemble student union discos, a woefully retrograde occurrence. It is heartening to learn that some venues such as Rugby are keeping faith with proper dance styles so there is hope yet looking on the bright side.

Current new vinyl and cassette tapes are on the increase. Both formats are deemed to be cool by youngsters. CD’s are almost extinct as are new players. I always taped compilations of USA finds and mix-tapes of various genres and found them to be long-lasting and therefore ideal. CD’s I’ve made have deteriorated to the point they are unplayable, some within a shirt space of time. For what it’s worth, I’m sticking with home made C90 tapes that feature about 20 Northern tracks on each side.

Dynamics went cheaply. Bill Griffin higher than expected. A few set sale prices. Jackie Day well worth the outlay. A bit up and down for Manny tonight.

What a shambles to watch. Worse than VAR at a football match. The lanyards would be better distributed during the record so there’s no hanging around. Some pretty good dancers were not acknowledged whilst weak ones were. Loads of folk seemed to be on the floor at the start but then just wandered off - were they actually in the competition to begin with? Kev announces the judges are looking for athleticism and personality - I saw very little of either quality and would go as far as to say nimble footwork trumps athleticism every time. The lass at the bottom left of the video, blonde hair and patterned top, knew her stuff and outclassed plenty of blokes doing the hokey-cokey-left foot-right foot-on the spot-thing dads do at weddings. Slow Fizz is OK as a Nighter tune but rather plodding in a dance competition as it lacks the oomph to energise. And by energise, I mean not skipping, not prancing, proper footwork, appropriate use of arms ie none of this cricket umpire signalling...I despair...

Kev - you’d be disqualified as Time’s a stomping tune danced left to right whilst Summer In The Parks is a shuffler danced forwards and backwards. First round tunes could include classics like Epitome Of Sound or Checkerboard Squares; Second round tunes could include Hamilton Movement, Frankie Crocker etc; Final tunes should allow scope for self expression, minimal gymnastics and be fast stompers such as Jewels, Royal Esquires or Saint’s I’ll Let You Slide. If Kev Roberts is reading this, could you include a cat-walk for contestants to parade along next year?

Totally agree Paul. The tracks were questionable - using a Motown number for the final defied belief given there are some pretty decent Northern records out there... Perhaps Kev could have said what the judges were looking for which would clarify matters for participants, spectators and us commentators. That way it could be a credible sideshow. Nothing wrong with having older entrants by the way, but they must be able to dance, and ideally, demonstrate different styles to an assortment of tunes!

So, now the competition is over, what do people think? There are a few clips on YouTube to view plus a thread on Facebook. Jack Morgan from Scotland was deemed to be the winner. His acrobatics and spins drew much applause from the audience. For what it’s worth, I thought Sharon was easily the better dancer with good footwork in time with the beat but no scrabbling around on the floor to titillate the judges. Jack’s performance was quite impressive but scored nil points on my scorecard for musical interpretation or basic footwork. The 1st round as shown on YouTube looks more like a wedding reception disco with most punters affecting the lethargy that comes with six pints or two bottles of prosecco. Ultimately, it was just another dance competition judged by unknown subjective criteria so the winner deserves credit fir turning up and impressing. On the other hand though, the spectacle was rather disappointing and the most eye catching dancer, namely Sharon, did not win IMO.