Frankie Crocker

I don't understand why someone who wants a record won't say what they are willing to pay for it? Surely, if you want a record badly enough to advertise on here, then you should have an idea of what you are willing to pay for it. Moreover, rather than put the seller on the spot to quote a price then confront them by a rejection, surely it would save everyone's' time if a figure was quoted. This is a classic, always in demand tune of the highest calibre and anyone wanting a copy should be savvy enough to offer £175 say as the value of this record is not going to fall.

PM'd you...no Record Show again this Easter.

Nice copy on auction with 7 hours to go and nudging $300 - looks a beaut in it's company sleeve, mint and unplayed until sampled for the soundbite. Sadly for Jack, the drill hole goes through his name - would this put buyers off? Weird that this release sold plenty of copies, but this one was consigned to the fate of the BB gun. Hope it finds a good home.

Thanks for all the comments.. Keep'em coming. Just about to fly from Austin to Chicago with a small box of goodies so looking forward to picking up on this in London tomorrow.

Actually not a reissue as it had not been issued as a 7 inch 45 rpm single in the first place on London or any USA label either. The release could therefore be regarded as the first British release of The Champion and of course put out to meet the demand of Wigan Casino followers once the tune had peaked. It also looks pretty fetching in it's dark red DJ format on the British London label.

OK, I'll qualify that then - first USA issue in a 7 inch format was on a Hi LP lookalike' release in EP 33 1/3rd rpm format. Not sure of the first global 7 inch 45 rpm release though...

Agreed and hugely underpriced but fetching decent money on the rare occasions it comes to market. Great flip as well.

May well have been a party record back in the day. Lots of Chicago collections coming to market show considerable ring-wear suggesting the records were spread out on the floor around the record player and were swirled around as punters picked the next play. I'm in Texas at present, in and out of antique malls, and seeing plenty of those old wire toast-rack type record holders that must have damaged so many records filed without sleeves.

Good point. I think the collectors are going for any and all copies put up for bids with condition governing sale price more than anything. I keep meaning to compare my copies before selling one but if they're different, I may well hang on to both.

The typing was pretty immaculate Ian - did you do this? To achieve this standard of formatting on a word processor today, still needs a bit of skill.

Two great sides and a must for all good collections. Evidently sold a lot back in the day and was well played judging from the condition that many turn up in.

Three hundred for a nice copy would be the minimum Pete. On a good day, this record could fetch more. Are the red issues more coveted - I suspect so. Not in the Dana Valery league yet so below £400 for the time being.

Currently three copies of Dearly Beloved in the most viewed listing. Countless copies, amongst his other releases, spanning nearly 20 pages on Popsike. Could this be the most frequently auctioned Northern record or are there others that have been put up for bids more often?

Anti-climaxes galore this week. Barbara Lynn has achieved a record price for this release so I might even dig mine out and flog it but expect to be bargained down to a more realistic price 33% lower.

Original is on American Hi EP only. Came in a nice picture sleeve. One auctioned on Manship's site a few weeks back for big money. Plenty of copies have turned up so it is available for sale from time to time. Also available on an English label released in the 70's - vinyl quality superb.

John's book needs updating as it's a while since the last edition was published. That said, what he actually sells records for is one price in comparison to eBay where prices fluctuate quite drastically at times. Because the soul market is so volatile at times with latest in-sounds being chased by a small number of highly competitive bidders, the latest price guide would be inaccurate within a few moths. Nevertheless, a new guide would be most welcome, especially a variation on the fifth edition complete with a bootleg catalogue and label scans.

Sign of the times. Good records are getting harder to come by. Give me 'How' any day or 'That's The Same Thing' or even 'I Got The Power' over this particular record.

What a fantastic set of records. I'll take the Matt Lucas if you still have it? Doubt anyone will ever see the Salvadors, Tobi Legend and the Professionals up for sale on the same list ever again and certainly not listed consecutively at the end of a list. Do you ever regret selling them Ian?

Well, now's a really good time to investigate further. The scene has never been richer in terms of quality sounds and styles of music. Most punters dress how they want and dance how they feel. Still best to watch from the sidelines until you're ready to hit the floor for a serious work-out as there are a few minor conventions such as no pints on the dance floor, no stubbing out fags, no spitting out gum, watch out for the talc, no chatting up the girls, tuck your elbows in, no bombing, no running and no petting in the shallow end etc. Get yourself to the 100 Club for a real taste of what's in store.

Should have got the Mercury release when offered it then.. Ah, well, I did get four of Herman's records in the buying splurge and couldn't afford this one as well.

Good track. Thanks for posting it. Worth buying the LP for the track but aren't albums such a pain...

The B side might have some sort of flaw or distortion but the Cool a Off side plays OK.

Actually it is very rare. Andy Rix had a handful from the artist. My copy came from Herman via a dealer. Herman kept back a white demo copy. He also got rid of the one or two Mercury copies he had. This is a record that rarely comes up for sale so good luck in finding one.

Been a recent thread on this record which may help. All issues are worth close scrutiny as they are tricky to distinguish from the bootlegs. According to Manship Volume 5, you have an original so the matrix number should be deeply etched in with other markings in the run-out ie AT, S with reversed C and R in the curves. Hope this helps.

Cheers Pete. My mistake. It is a C120 tape, not the usual sort I tend to use. I still have the box somewhere but am currently in Texas doing a bit of crate digging. C120 was the longest tape available and being thinner, easily got caught up in the machine. Over the years, it got twisted several times hence the quieter and distorted patches. This was the only tape we had in our family at the time so it got absolutely hammered until it went to Wigan and then the tabs were broken out. For the record, you have put up the B side first and the A side second. Part of the tape is continuous but much of it selective as I just had to have Butch Baker and Dana Valery, the standout tunes from the previous Saturday, my first visit to the Casino.