Frankie Crocker

Rob, what's your general knowledge like? Should we put your name forward for next year's Mastermind? Any other specialist subjects you could offer?

To coin a catch phrase, he should go to Soul Source more often...

Five quid from Halfords, all leather. Or, the plastic ones with a checkerboard pattern on the knuckles if you thought you were really hard or kept falling off your scooter...

A great record and one of the biggest floor-fillers around. Would have been giant in the 70's so a good investment musically.

Great story Dave. Well tracked down. Not sure if I've heard this played out. Which DJ's are spinning it?

The auctioning of this record by John Manship confirms that it is in great demand but short supply, particularly in mint condition. Future auctions should realise well over £350 for the seller due to the apparent scarcity of the track. Many 70's biggies are going for higher than ever prices, such is the demand for classic oldies. Selling records at set-sale prices can guarantee a quick turnover and modest profits but that doesn't necessarily establish the actual value of them; it merely confirms cheaper records are easier to sell. This is a hard record to buy so worth paying handsomely for, the surcharge essentially being a finder's fee for coming up with the goods in great condition and putting you at the front of the queue to buy it.

Spot on Ivor. No longer a £200 record as it rarely crops up. Recent auctions have been combative so a mint copy would go for £350 plus. Also on a few wants lists confirming scarcity in circulation. Been getting a few spins recently as the Wigan Wheel goes full circle...

Don't think so. It's much more of a contemporary record given the tempo. Are you thinking of Kenny Smith's 'O Lord What's Happening'...?

A seriously rare record seldom seen for sale so very difficult to value. Gloria has been up for grabs a couple of times in the last year or two. I found three of Rodd's 45's in New York in the summer but left them there as they lacked the necessary ingredient. Have seen other records by him in Portland and Austin but left them behind, one being cracked and the other was just really odd. I think we are seeing an increase in old collections finding their way into US record stores so there is hope that copies of 'The Lord Said' will turn up...

Great track. Thanks for sharing the info. Would definitely like one of these...dream on...

Doesn't sound like Gene who had one of the most powerful voices in the business.

Good post Ady and well enhanced by Andy's contribution. Great record and one that I dream of owning one day.

Not at all common but it does turn up occasionally. I have a mint unplayed copy for sale but as it books at £200, I would be reluctant to part with it for less than £160.00. PM me if interested.

Manship has one for auction at present that will probably go for 50% more than the book value...

In twenty years time, the Northern Soul film actors will be crediting Kung Fu Panda as a major influence. At one point in the film, someone says 'he dances like a teapot' or words to that effect, a line if I'm not mistaken appeared right here on Soul Source, but can't remember the wag responsible, maybe Nev, Byrney, Chalkie dunno, one of the regulars... Good to see that topical debate of dance styles on Soul Source has helped the scriptwriters of the greatest ever Northern Soul film to date keep up with the cutting-edge dance moves of the modern era...

Sorry to be off the pace a bit but there was a nice article in The Times on Saturday October 25th, more on the background to the film and how Ourscreen stimulated screenings, rather than a film review. The budget of the film was quoted at £1.35 million which may be low in film-making terms but it's staggering in absolute terms, especially as the bulk of the outlay has come from her family's business. Film takings were put at £350,000 which may be highly encouraging but there is still a way to go to break even - let's hope the bigger cinemas put it on and revenue from DVD's/CD's plus foreign sales continues to grow.

Great post. I think the move under debate is the high kick. On this evidence, the high kick was in place well before Wigan. I think the general feeling is that some of the later Wigan dancers, especially the martial arts 'grasshoppers', took a bit of inspiration from Bruce Lee but the floorwork routines were well established at the Twisted Wheel.

Pure brilliance. Surely had to have been an influence on the Chicago artists of the 60's. Read recently that Purdey of the New Avengers had a high kicking style - could she have been an influence on the girls like Bruce was imitated by the boys???

Anyone for Carl Douglas? Disliked Kung Fu Fighting at the time but quite like it now. Hope the latest wave of recruits to the scene don't bring any Ninja Turtle moves into their dance routines, or come to think of it, any Funky Chickens either...

It looks awesome on the picture sleeve of the Edwyn Collins 45 A Girl Like You. Anyone got a scan or know the dude? Now KF is being mentioned by every other media contributor, it's time to squelch the rumour.

Yep, me too. A few older lads were bopping around a car park and had a Bush Discassette with a small carrying case of soul sounds. Arthur Conley was played again and again by popular request by us youngsters who were not only too young to get into clubs, but had never danced a step and were knock-kneed at the prospect of even asking a girl to dance at the school disco.

I blame Sandy Holt. Early floor artists back-dropped to Funky Street but the Allnighter acrobats lifted floorwork to greater heights. By the time Wigan was ultra-commercial, Dragon Films and David Carradine had left their mark on plenty looking for a twist to their choreographed routine. Sandy popularised the move in his Wigan dance competitions as a prelude to a sequence of tricks. Kev has immortalised the concept in a documentary contribution admitting that martial arts fans inevitably used moves from practises in their dance routines. The move continues to plague the scene - it should have died out with the Tiller Girls but it's still popular at the Moulin Rouge and Yorkshire discos, weddings and football matches.

Just got in from seeing the film. Absolutely brilliant. Better than a night at The Casino. Deserving of a BAFTA nomination for sheer realism, great acting, awesome soundtrack and all this achieved on a shoe-string budget.

Mark, shit happens and you've just gotta put up with it. The Post Office are not perfect as some of these comments testify, but the real problem is the chicanery some customers get up to, and on rare occasions, the odd dealer. I have never not had a record delivered and on the single occasion one went missing, it was stolen by a neighbour and seen in her flat. For records above a certain value, it makes sense to insure them against loss; to not do this increases the risk of losing out in terms of money, time and effort. I have been eBaying records with a partner for over three years and lost track of the excuses, wheezes, tricks and triple whammies. In fact, it's reaching the point when I don't want to sell via the mail, even though the vast majority of rare soul buyers are totally honest; the trouble is, just a small number of unscrupulous individuals spoil it for everyone else. Pick your customers with care and you won't go wrong.

Confirming what we already know that bootlegs are shameful, unethical and criminal. They deprive artists of their dues not to mention other people involved in the production. In the USA, piracy is a Federal offence and handled by the FBI - in Britain it is largely ignored by the authorities to the detriment of the music industry. Don't be a cheapskate - go out and buy the CD and the DVD.