Frankie Crocker

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.

So it hit the spot then. Nice work team.

Most definitely, I couldn't agree more with you but with Northern Soul at the pinnacle.

Wigan on a Saturday then in the shires the following Friday? Like yourself, I reckon Wigan DJ's doing the rounds would pick up on potential sounds. Many of the top jocks were into Soul Bowl, Soussan's specials and a few specialist record shops so collectively they were influencing each other and the venues they featured at.

Like you, I remain baffled by the pop-up venue promoted by Wigan connections. All the venues I went to such as Locarno, Ritz, Cleethorpes Pier and minor gaffs around Manchester and North Wales were heavily influenced by Wigan playlists and still managed to air new sounds such was the availability of recent imports. For sure, credit should be given to a host of regional venues but Wigan was THE national venue and it's contribution should not be underestimated.

Dave, like yourself, we were youngsters(17-22) just out for a good time. Certainly not elite in any way unless you viewed Allnighter goers in general as the mega-privileged and of course that's how it felt back in the day.

I reasoned the picture sleeves were for commercial purposes and the white demos just giveaway items but this evidence confirms Okeh used picture sleeves for both demonstration and issue copies.

Pete, the white demo probably never came with the picture sleeve - you could have kept the sleeve and married it up with an issue at a later date.

I wonder if it was the same one? Can't remember the date I sold it but the first guy I showed it to fetched his mate from the Record Bar and he snapped it up.