Frankie Crocker

It was a good record when covered up as Eddie Foster. Now it's used as background music by the BBC, on every other CD compilation, film and documentary, it's become overexposed, dull and uninspiring.

Brilliant Ian. I would like the lot for Christmas but I guess I can hang on for a couple of months.

Nice one but you had a real bargain there, especially given the condition. Competition for this title and another by the Adventurers has intensified in recent years pushing sales prices beyond the Manship #6 valuation.

A return to sanity here with some Okeh prices such as Adventurers and Sherlock Holmes but the Adorables doubled in price compared to recent values.

Crackers... Anyone who wants this that badly might as well wait a bit longer and pay top whack for an intact copy. Hardly ever turns up for sale though...

The fact that this title has been ignored for the last 34 years at Val's speaks volumes for its quality. I've had the record for 20 years and listed the other side 'I've Tried' as the better track. Perhaps Fred had put it back in the sleeve the wrong way round, took it out, spun the B side and the rest is history...

She must have been a girl in a million for him to do that. Frankly, the notion is highly implausible as I can not think of any bloke that would stump up that sort of money for a record with writing on the label AND just give it away... I can see a girl in Hull being head over heels with a guy called Kenny and surprising him with a rare record paid for with money from a joint bank account. The mystery deepens...

Hi Rob. I see the record staying in Britain where it will hopefully grace a top collection of British soul releases. That said, I also feel that we in Britain should continue to gather as many American soul releases as humanly possible, ideally for as little as possible, as the appreciation level over here greatly exceeds that in the USA.

Really good article too. Much better reading it in an original newspaper as well. Don't mind the online take but prefer to get my hands on the hard copy. Can't see anyone in Hull stumping up for Frank Wilson and pretty sure John would not disclose any details of any winning bidder.

I heard this place was closed as he'd retired to Florida. Can anyone confirm whether it is still there or closed?

Val's is in Philadelphia. Outside Pittsburgh there's George's Songshop in Johnstown.

Cool, cool and more cool...

It's the Christmas post season so expect everything to be delivered on December 27th or January 2nd. Make sure you stay in the house for the next three weeks otherwise someone will leave a card saying no one was in and your parcel will be returned to sender in the next two hours... Don't give up hope as packets can take a month or more to arrive.

The earliest one was red. There were pale blue and yellow versions also. The ladies card was green. I have a blue one, a yellow one and two green ones in the name of the old girlfriend. My first membership was separated into two, as were many others, as the wheeze was to give a mate without a membership, half of one to flash to the bouncer on the door. Estimates put the total membership at 100,000 but this is probably an overestimate given the number of us who had several membership cards.

Yep. Ray Dobard. Another thread on here with a detailed quote from John himself. Vaguely recall there were other premises in Oakland not sequestered by the IRS so there could still be more records to uncover QED. Barry Wickham located the warehouse and invited partners to the venture - John, Barry and another dealer put up $250,000 and won access to the records. There was a photo of the team loading up a truck with piles of stock on a table, the Servicemen on Wind Hit topping one stack. Definitely the find of the century, any century. The Sacramento haul was a huge collection containing many unplayed big-ticket items, again, the find of a lifetime, but one that was dwarfed by the Oakland haul.

Looks more like the Oakland find that Barry Wickham had a share in?

The vinyl that's selling well amounts to limited edition releases going to a boutique audience who have woken up to the pleasure of hearing music played on a turntable. Sure, sales of new vinyl are on an upward trend relative to previous years, but the actual volumes are paltry compared to the 60's and 70's. At least the marketing of new vinyl gives a boost to turntable production and keeps the hi-fi separates market moving. Some of the vinyl converts may well turn to second hand records in due course, so this is encouraging for the stockists who have had a tough time of it lately with many outlets closing due to falling trade.

Confirming this is a scam, ruse, underhand ploy, deceitful practice, self-serving money spinner, call it what you want...

Dave, you're right, the GSP is real pain and another eBay scam that benefits the middlemen and not the customer. Plenty of us already boycott the sellers that have settled for the dubious practice. The sooner the sellers wake up to the loss of revenue, the better, then we can return to the situation as it used to be, mutually beneficial to vendors and buyers.

This is not on. It is unethical and unnecessary. Too many events in a locality at the same time only undermines the attendance at all of them. Surely it makes sense to plan accordingly without rocking then boat.

Well said Kev. Good to see there are principled figures on the scene. Sounds like the venue owner should have a chat with the current promoter to help smoth things over.

You're absolutely right. Trouble is, counterfeited goods advertised as FAKE just won't sell so they're called second issue or something similarly deceptive. The problem really occurs when a seller omits to state a record is either an original or a second issue when it is known there are two variants. Sad state of affairs that this hobby of ours has been hi-jacked by fraudsters who pay no royalties and give record trading a bad name.

Some thick spray on cleansers such as Mr Muscle and Mr Sheen supposedly help as they help the stylus gouge ingrained gunge out of the grooves AND theoretically fill the cracks giving a dampening effect. Never tried it but a metal polish abrasive wool like Duraglit might help lessen the worst scratches - used it to buff up surfboard dings fixed with fibreglass and it came up a treat. Ultimately, there's no quick fix for the problem other than to buy a better copy when the chance arises.

Further evidence of the fickleness of selling in-demand, rare records in great condition. Jades went for a four figure sum a few months back but has now tumbled 20%. William Cummings has jumped crazily, virtually doubling in price. Irene and the Scotts selling for less than hyped-up for but more than its normal valuation. Clearly someone is hoovering up the best specimens burning cash in the process, but heck, that's what it's for... Cancel Christmas and treat yourself to the best present you've ever had...

Spot on. Thanks for jogging the memory.