Frankie Crocker

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.

Quantities of Dream Team and more recently, Ward Burton have turned up. Naturally this makes bidders hesitant. carolinasoul has had a few Ward Burtons over the last year or so whilst Dream Team have featured on his auctions for several years. Plenty of good results for Manny this evening reflecting the improved calibre of his offerings.

Agreed Chalky. Too many YouTube clippers think they’re the bees-knees but they just churn out a choreographed routine bearing no relation to the music. The latest craze seems to be late 70’s style shuffling to late 60’s stomping tunes. When you can’t tell the difference between Mistura’s Flasher and The Jewel’s Togetherness, you really are in trouble - time to go home and practise to Murder On The Dance Floor....

A rather grandiose title for an event with dubious claims. The suggestion that world-class dancers will be drawn from all over the globe to contest the most important championship on planet earth is laughable. Once upon a time, there was a place for dance competitions - when there were dozens of highly competent youngsters at a major venue hosting weekly events, they were an accepted part of the scene. Nowadays, they are too out of place, feature unskilled egotists and tunes that don’t always suit the footwork of break-dancers looking to showcase their acrobatics.

Nothing outrageous to report, just trivial things. Sound system playing up at Mr M’s and 100 Club. Wading through flooded bogs at The Casino and 100 Club. Slight infringements of dancefloor etiquette post 2000 with handbaggers, faggers, drinkers etc spoiling the parquet. Generally all been 99.9% positive experiences. Memorable journeys to and from Cleethorpes, Keele and Stoke...brilliant soundtracks that still bring back happy memories. Sunday travel on the railways was always a character building experience but no hard feelings looking back. As for Soul Nights as opposed to AllNighters, that’s for another thread...

I took a couple of screenshots as I was following Mel Britt. I didn’t check the figures prior to 6 pm as I sometimes do - the records in the photos were being bid on after 6 pm. Nice price for Mel Britt.

Eddie Foster dipped below expectations - seen a few of these up for sale recently. Nabay raised a princely sum - rarely seen for sale. Plenty of healthy sales in the £200-£400 price bracket. John seems to have increased the quantity and quality of the auction records. Nothing at set sale prices tonight...

Thanks for the clarification. I stand corrected. It looked like a collection was being sold off - other comments confirm Tim’s auction items are indeed from other collections.

Perhaps it was tricky to price up given lack of recent sales. By having a lower than should have been minimum bid, there was plenty of action with bidders plunging in earlier than is often the case.

Maybe not every single one of them but I doubt if Tim has doubles of some of these high-end items. Week after week, Tim’s auctions throw up an eclectic mix of grails, classics, in-demanders, disco-pop etc as though he is selling off his collection...just a guess of course...

Shametts went for a decent price. Not seen one of these for sale in a long while. I suspect these auction items are from Tim’s personal collection so he should be fairly pleased with the auction results.