Frankie Crocker

I think your observations are right. The prices are rocketing exponentially for the rarer, classic, top-drawer sounds but also the recently unearthed obscurities and minor plays from the past. Just look at what's happened to the Salvadors, Lonnie Lester, Alpacas and Southside Movement to name but a few. There is clearly a resurgence in record buying by both young and old collectors. Spinning vinyl has become fashionable again and the turntable market has undergone something of a rebirth. Not only is demand on the rise but supply has virtually dried up with the primary source of second hand USA imported records being somewhat thin on the ground despite the contributions of a few key dealers. The secondary sources of USA records are also proving to be more expensive with collectors hanging on to their treasures and only parting with them reluctantly to finance long-term wants and dealers waiting for major collections to come up for sale. The internet makes it easier for the well off to bid (or overbid) but there are plenty of bargains to be had as no-one can track every record for sale 24/7.

Lots on Popsike at varying amounts up to £200 so it does pop up at a bargain price from time to time.

Interesting article. Thanks for posting. Evidently they were doo-wop influenced and perceived themselves as a soul group. The Sultans recording also sounds pretty good also.

Broadways...bonkers. Melvyn Davis a bargain. Some record breaking prices here though if you pardon the pun.

I share your pain. This is absolutely awful. Fortunately, I am on holiday otherwise I would phone in sick... It looks like it was folded in two. I always ask the sender to use multiple cardboard stiffeners taped together in a 7 inch record mailer to improve the chances of safe arrival.

Very sensible. Just flown out of LA and been stopped by TSA due to case of vinyl. He flips up the lid and then starts sticking fingers between records. Has anyone ever had records broken by TSA in searches of record boxes?

Think it was the Cavaliers or the Counts, one towards the end of the discography. I told him to keep the pieces as the laser technology is out there to fix it. Great idea for a thread. I received a Lou Courtney on Philips snapped in two in a Jiffy bag a few years back - the sender had the cheek to ask for photos that clearly showed the numbers in the run-out groove. As it happens, I still have the photos somewhere and the broken record which I keep meaning to take back to the States with me so I can post It back at minimal cost.

Is Russ Winstanley on here? If anyone should know, he would. At a guess, I would say the paperwork was binned, what little there was. I doubt there was anything in the Casino worth preserving for posterity when it burned down. Enjoyed reading the posts on the badges above so thanks for posting them.

I've got two DJ copies of this great tune, one on vinyl, the other on styrene. Both look stunning. Had the yellow vinyl black & red label version but sold it in the belief it was a boot. You have done well to land a copy of this record as it is a hard one to locate and everyone wants a copy.

Methinks I'll be Holdin' On to my copy of Gary Sole on now... Blimey, Tobi Legend but what a record.

Don't hear it out much at all but it is a good tune. There have been a few for sale this year fetching reasonable sums so the interest is there. Would never sell my copy and recommend collectors hold on to this one.

The boot is very convincing as the label looks so authentic with the dazzling array of colours. I sold the boot when I acquired an original but wish I'd kept the boot for reference. For a jazz label, there were a variety of music styles and fortunately for us, a sprinkling of good Northern numbers. I cleaned A1 Recordfinders at Melrose and Vine out of their Pzazz stock in the 1990's but there were no Len Jewells in the load that had just come into the store. It was a big tune in the 70's hence it being booted but odd that there are so many differences between the original and the boot... In those days, most record buyers just wanted the sound and did not worry too much about the format.

One on Manship's auction at £187 right now so why not bid on this? OK, this will go for more than £400 inducing some to chase the inferior version. That said, if someone just has to have this on vinyl to spin in the confines of their bedroom, fine. Great record by the way and not one I own yet but can stave off bootleg-cravings long enough for one to pop up at the right price.

Dean, keep it as the boot is now valuable and hard to come by. Some of the originals actually skip rendering them less desirable than the boot. I am resigned to keeping the boot as it is unlikely that I will ever own an original copy.

So what did it sell for in the end? Anyone out there know?

Would be surprised if it fetched £700. Great record, but still turns up regularly albeit not often in great shape

Ah ha... Could explain why Tim was keen to take the block printed version off my hands at a bargain price one Cleethorpes many moons ago. Pottsy's is the business and I've never seen one of these before. Actually got the red swirl variant and oddly enough, it could be bigger than 7 inches as it is a real effort to get it out of the white cardboard sleeve it lives in.

I also have an Italian picture sleeve edition but give me the black ABC issue anyday.

John must have a barn full of company sleeves. When he's run out of records to bid on, he'll auction sleeves for us to start a thread on.

Hi Pete. Was rare in my house. Had two fake issues now replaced by two demos, one vinyl the other styrene. Not cheap, but they sure look good alongside Tony & Tyrone, Cliff Nobles. Soul Brothers Six red and white demos. Much prefer the red and white demos to the black and white ones.

Pointer Sisters Demo makes sense as issues are controversial. Lonnie Lester now hard to find but this price is off the wall. Mind you, lots of cheapies from 20 years ago are now impossible to locate in the USA.

This gives me hope I actually have an issue tucked away in a box - I just can't visualise it at the moment, but let's hope it's a red one. When I heard it at Soul On The Square at London University Union, I thought great tune, gotta have it but oblivious to its existence in the house. I've often said one of the best places to discover new sounds is in your own collection.

I doubt John will think the gains from selling Yvonne Baker will make up for what he failed to realise on Herman Lewis. Some of the records were really set-sale fodder confirming how difficult it is to source top-drawer auction items week after week. Still the best British auction by a long way.

Hi Kim. Good to see you're alive and kicking. It's a good place to be when you discover records you didn't realise you had. Recently heard Joe Murphy - So Blue Without You played out, liked it, went and bought it on a white label. Saw it again on a white label this time labelled DJ Copy so bought it. A few weeks later, found Joe Murphy in the Filofax lists of records in the collection, picked up 20 years ago in Pittsburgh - not yet stumbled on this copy but rather hoping it's not a duplicate that will be sold on... not a clue what colour label this is...

Suspect you're referring to Melvin Davis here. Now at £800+ with a fortnight to go so probably north of £3K. Fantastic record that ticks all the boxes and pretty high up on so many wants lists.