Frankie Crocker

Better to have too many events than too few. Maybe best to have too few, but committed punters at events rather than too many hand baggers, tourists, voyeurs, media types and kids looking for the latest band-wagon to jump onto. If some of the wannabe DJ's can contribute some good tunes and give folk a good time then it can't be all that bad.

Some current popular tunes here Matt but Butch's playbox contains way more better sounds that have echoed around for 25 plus years. Sure, some half-decent tunes pop up to be spun, but often as a result of their rarity than their musical content. Every era has had its great sounds but the 70's revelations such as the Salvadors, Cecil Washington, Adams Apples, Bobby Paris, Embers, Coasters etc still sound every bit as good 40 years down the road. Every era needs fresh sounds to lift the dancers and the ones you quote are just that in some quarters.

Listen again soul brother. The drumming in this attains perfection, the melody is brilliant and the vocals exceedingly good - pretty awesome for a common, staple tune but one of many upon which the scene thrived in its first decade.

Barry, always travel with a plastic cone-shaped adaptor, readily available from the US, usually in yellow or pinky-red colours but also seen in pale blue. Seen them in stores behind the counter in a bubble-wrap packet. The record slips on and off this type easily. Avoid the black plastic flat-top adaptor as these are prone to jamming. Aluminium adaptors supplied with higher-end turntables are also dodgy. Avoid clip-in centres at all costs as they stress the vinyl/styrene and nick the label. Err, that's all on the subject of adaptors for now until I return to the theme of designing centres for off-centre records...

Does the leading bidder know the US version is easily obtainable? There have been several on eBay in the last year, but not in mint condition, going for reasonable money. Great shame I'm Your Pimp never got a US release on 45rpm. I can remember chatting to Russ in his Wigan store about the possibilities of a double A side release but this sadly never came to pass on UK vinyl although the opportunity must have been there. The Skull Snaps also have another decent release listed in Manship #6 as a DJ copy, but Didn't I Do It To You has turned up a couple of times as a light- brown issue. The Skull Snaps, like some other big late 70's artists, seem to be in demand again recently judging from the competitive bidding.

Rotten bad luck Baz. Maybe you should have played Gonna Get Along Without You Now instead?

A load of these have turned up and been available from several vendors. Is this another case of increased supply meeting latent demand and prices rising accordingly?

Gareth - if the book was written to introduce Northern Soul to people then OK as it informs...but if it was to introduce people to Northern Soul then some doubts as the scene does not need hand-baggers, voyeurs, tourists etc. As a tie-in with the forthcoming film, the book was a logical bit of marketing plus a useful volume with a different slant to the books hitherto published. I for one wish the film every success but hope that it does not rebound on the scene by attracting wannabe DJ's and acrobats. The Northern Soul movement will continue to thrive because of the music potential sought by devotees and the less the media are involved, the better things will be.

Phil, once you own a copy you will change your mind. Buy one ASAP as the price is soaring.

Sorry but I posted the comment based on an outbid notification but on reflection, someone has done very well to secure this rarity. Don't recall seeing one for sale so maybe it's a 3 thousand dollar record in mint condition and the thousand pound tag dating back ten years is now an irrelevancy. Hope you find an equally rare but good sounding record to drop your savings on...

But it's a thousand pounder at least and at the current exchange rate therefore 1700, less something for being below M-... so someone had a bargain.

Not the going rate but some celeb who has a minion buying him a record collection...or has Ashley Cole started to collect good soul music? Check Popsike for the going rate and note how prices fall over time as more copies turn up.

So Theresa, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of commission do you get on these big ticket items? Surely John doesn't pay you a flat-rate for your prose? I for one eagerly await a glossy book of US auction items in the not too distant future...

Salvadors - mind blowing... James Bounty - astonishing... Not everything John auctions commands ridiculous prices though and for the second or third week running, some items have gone for less than book price or what the consigner might have hoped for. Pete is absolutely right in what he says as we're now seeing common items going for stupid money to lazy shoppers who plainly don't search the internet and have no regard for the current going rate of readily available records.

Useful to know. This is a confusing one. There are at least three variations, and although I have two of them, I still don't have the original release.

End of an era. Would go there in the 70's breaking the journey between London and Manchester. One of the better stores back in the day but surely must be mined out long ago?

Not seen the clip but question whether Northern Dancing can be done well in a TV studio? Can you enjoy a glass of Chardonnay in a public toilet? Should you laugh at stupid people making fools of themselves or take pity on them? Northern Soul was once an underground movement so shame on anyone for giving it unwarranted media coverage? Northern aficionados never courted publicity - it was the media writers and camera crews. Maybe it's time to tell the media to get lost and have nothing to do with them.

Hi Pete. I happen to like the Comedy Sale thread. I also think the Salvadors pressing issue is worthy of our consideration. It may come to pass that John has allowed erroneous details to be published in conjunction with an auction item. Hopefully further discussion will throw up the truth, or stimulating reading material in the meantime.

A lot of sense here Richard. The Salvadors were essentially a Chicago group it appears. They left St Louis. They somehow hooked up with Jo Armstead and her amazing song writing talent maybe in I967 or shortly after QED. They recorded an obscure track on the Nike label, presumably soon after arriving in Chicago: this Nike label format is different to other artists' releases. Stick By Me Baby appears to be the first release on the Wise World label unless there is a #300 out there? There is another Wise World label, the one the Classics recorded on, presumably a Chicago label but pressed in Detroit? So, speculating further, did the Salvadors take their great song back to St Louis for a Wise World re-press to avoid clashing with the Chicago label or did they just take a second batch of Chicago pressed 45's down to Missouri QED? I do not think there is any evidence of a St Louis pressing at present - all the signs are that the record was pressed twice in the same Chicago plant. Whatever the true story, it is a truly fantastic record and one that no amount of discussion will discredit. Anyone got Joshie Jo's side of the story?

Why is Elliot James Langridge wearing a green round-neck jumper over a shirt, when high-kicking at the Casino? At least he appears spaced out and has matching towelling wrist-bands to add to the authentic look

Ask Tony Smith #2, Prophonics on here. Shame if it has been booted recently as someone will be hoodwinked at some stage.

Andy, your sales box was ALWAYS worth a look. Agree with the bit on clowns spending big money to collect to DJ... Better to buy for the sound and if the records pile up, well so what...

Ownership gives opportunities to play whatever you want, whenever you want. Discover B sides. Make your own mix-tapes. Discover records you never knew you had. Buy records for a second time and then find the other one in the collection - then buy a third copy not knowing you actually had two already. A thousand records is pretty substantial so don't be hard on yourself. Think of how to spend your retirement - you will need a lot of records to pass the time so buy them now...

Hi Kev. Did you wear Wayfinders shoes as a kid? Should have as they had a compass in the heel. The north starts at Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Hull. South of this is the Midlands, in two bits, West and East, once known as the Black Country because... All this tosh about miners going to Wigan Casino is down to Pete Waterman but BBC documentaries are trying to clarify matters by mixing soul history and the industrial diversification of Northern England during the Thatcher years.