Frankie Crocker

The two songs are totally different so I can't see what the fuss is about. Marvin's song is distinctive and a well known disco classic. Pharrell's song is feeble, bland and forgettable despite making loadsamoney. The lawyers are the only people who've gained anything, but that's what they're in it for, nothing to do with justice.

A quiet Wednesday for John - a few more like this and he'll be laying off staff...

I don't see anyone accusing this Chicago outfit of anything illegal but the bigger issue is the proliferation of re-issues and especially lookalike labels that are clutterring up the sales lists and DJ playlists. Now, we are looking at a boxed-set trend that puts the scene on a par with Star Wars and Downton Abbey. Nothing wrong with a small, local project salvaging lost master tapes etc but getting pretty fed up with packaged product overwhelming the stacks of decent 60's lesser known records worthy of attention, and certainly worthier than much of the reissued stuff.

I'd already had the Excuses via an auction before visiting the Las Vegas store. As I was sorting out the piles into expensive, extortionate and ridiculous, he went around the back and slid this under my nose. He said he had a few and wanted two or three hundred for a copy but this was dependent on how much I spent... I now avoid Las Vegas, much as I like the place, and shun the Las Vegas dealers as too many peddle bootlegs etc.

Wotcha Dave. It's one thing to issue unreleased tracks on vinyl but another to re-release tracks on lookalike labels. Other outfits get by releasing series of CD's and this suits plenty of music lovers. It's worth noting that Ady combs through hundreds of studio takes to identify one or two high quality gems for 100 Club exposure and/or Anniversary singles and Kent label releases; wholesale reproduction of dud takes with a few marginally tolerable tracks is hardly something to be applauded. I can remember Rich Rosen trying to sell me 'Ringleaders' carvers a while back - I would be fairly dubious about anything put out by the Ringleaders unless there was sufficient evidence it was absolutely genuine. Sure, legacy is important but so too is the rare soul scene and the rare records it embraces.

Ditto - makes you puke...

Put the bootlegs away and play some original vinyl. No one's fooled by Eddie Parker, Mello Souls and Al Williams these days so put on some cheap oldies. Use the warm up slot at the start to mix things up a bit, and if no one dances, hand over to the next DJ pretty smartish.

...'get bookings'...the wannabe DJ's will be having agents next... Being a purist at heart, I'm gonna pretend it's going to someone who collects Detroit labels by number and is more concerned about the state of the vinyl than the aesthetics of the label.

True, but a savvy British buyer could have the record directed to a U.S. contact. The purchaser may well be a U.S. dealer who feeds John auctionable items.

I see one on eBay offered by fancyjoe in Portland with a reserve of c$300. This is rather optimistic and totally unjustifiable given the record is probably a bootleg until proven legitimate.

Suspicion is the yellow copies are boots but something in the thread hints that it could be genuine QED. Have still not delved into the cellar to locate the remaining boot, regular issue or yellow vinyl, but have acquired a second demo so the boot will eventually be moved on...

Well spotted. Possible case of double-your-money misfiring. Great record but this copy looks doomed by the felt pen swirls reducing the value by 20% or more.

Seller probably wanted £3K for Al Williams but might be better off on eBay with the market continually peaking on the bigger ticket items. Joe Douglas - crazy price. US imports generally lower than Manship #6 valuations - will the priceguides need rewriting if this continues? Just wish he'd put those pesky records with the push-out centres on a set-sale list to spare the majority of us having to flip past them to drool over the proper stuff...

And look out for the sequel, Robin Hood set to Modern Soul, RnB, Crossover etc during matinees (half-term holidays only). Special Christmas event forthcoming, The Sound of Music Northern Style showcasing the talents of The Pristines (Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do), Brenton Wood (Molly Malone), etc

Just played this back...can't believe the BBC have the nerve to peddle such tripe. Not sure how the sound track fitted with the dialogue. All in all, a complete waste of time, effort and license payers money. Would still like the mole at the Beeb to be unmasked...anyone any idea who is stuffing Northern Soul into every other advert, link, programme, jingle whatever opportunity arises?

Very hard to say. I would put the number of record-collecting, travelling and dancing at events at roundabout a few thousand. A lot more interested in the music and attending local events. Add to this the off-the-scene but still like the music CD buying numbers, there's plenty of interest. Between five and ten thousand followers of different levels of devotion probably sums it up fairly accurately.

Maybe Wigan received this many membership applications as you had to be a member to get in, but many of these were one-time visitors just checking the place out. I had three membership cards and the missus two. Loads of cards were ripped in half to help get mates in with another application filled in later that morning so a new card would be posted before the next Allnighter.

Hi Ian. Joe public put The Tams and Archie Bell towards the top of the charts. R. Dean Taylor was played at Wigan in 1974 but most of the sales were probably on a novelty basis to ordinary record collectors. Wayne Gibson and The Javelles were big Wigan sounds that crossed over to the general public during a commercial period when Wigan was seen to be plumbing the depths for cash sales. All in all, it was still an underground scene for a tiny minority until Footsee was on Top of the Pops and even then, the number of tourists didn't actually double the numbers at events.

Bill Bush and Montclairs - surely a recent pressing?

Clearly not a VG copy or even a G copy but perhaps a PP copy. Looks like Torvill & Dean's old copy that fell onto the ice and they skidded over it a few times. The sound bite suggests it might be a filler copy at best. Sadly, it would not even look good in a picture frame.

Several absurd prices here that give a totally distorted view of some records' values. Mind you, not even the hype for a couple of more obscure records could convince the punters to speculate heavily on rarity confirming quality usually trumps scarcity. More and more British records popping up so is the USA well running dry?

PM'd you.

Bend it. If it snaps, it's styrene. If it doesn't snap, it's vinyl. Simples... Alternatively, hold the record with thumb and index finger by the centre hole and rim, lightly flick the record with a finger nail and listen to the sound. Styrene sounds tinny, vinyl sounds dull. Play the record - if it starts with a short hiss, chances are it's styrene. Styrene is easily discoloured by solvent so be careful when cleaning records with lighter fluid in case you accidentally discover it's not vinyl. Err, that's all I can think of...

I have a spare copy. PM'd you.

Slight snag as quite a few have no discs to jockey with. Being a downloader, bubble bath switch flicker or CD inserter counts for diddly-squat unless you have some decent vinyl in a flight case.