Frankie Crocker

Ayup Kegsy. You're right that Cleethorpes combined the best of Wigan and Blackpool but it really only served to supplement these iconic venues. I only went to Cleethorpes once and was impressed despite having to sacrifice a night at Wigan. Cleethorpes evolved to cater for the masses east of the Pennines as much as anything with crowds from Leeds, Sheffield and the eastern counties. Back in the mid to late 70's, twenty year old soulies were guided by proximity and convenience when travelling on a Saturday. Back then, despite differing music policies at Blackpool and Wigan, punters tended to stick to their habitual haunts rather than switch venues. Nowadays, much more is made of the Wigan-Blackpool political divide than was apparent then with us youngsters attending and grumbling but not necessarily switching to Cleethorpes. To return to the theme, maybe Cleethorpes was in fact worthy of a mention in the documentary as it made an important contribution in breaking some new sounds and catering for a regional market distant from the north-west.

All worthy venues but none were pivotal like The Wheel, Torch and Wigan. Stafford and The 100 Club were pivotal and deserving of a mention for notable contributions in a historical context. Loads of other towns played supporting roles such as Warrington and Morecambe but these are only comparable to the profusion of regional events such as Stoke, Lowton and Allbrighton - significant but not pivotal.

Pete, you're absolutely right. It was mainstream 1974-76. School trousers were 24 inch parallels with turn-ups and side pockets. Soul patches were for sale in record shops. The pop charts were littered with Pye Disco Demand sounds. Youths were spinning in the streets, bus shelters and factory floors. Every youth club in the country played The Snake five times an evening. The exposure was somewhat embarrassing for the hard core who backed off travelling to Wigan as swarms of divvy tourists went out of curiosity.

No chance. The Mecca was a warm-up for Wigan. Once Wigan started up, no tunes played by Levine and Curtiss topped the tunes heard at Wigan. Even the Ritz eclipsed Blackpool Mecca.

We've planted a Northern Mole at the Beeb. He's really into Northern big-time hence all the backing tracks and oldies popping up. He's keen to make sure all license payers get their money's worth so he regularly drops hints to the programmers about putting on something for minority groups such as aged black-music lovers...

Carstairs I would imagine. Miracle's Love Machine, Pointer Sister's Send Him Back, O'Jay's I lLove Music, the list of early 70's tunes is endless. Check out the Mecca CD's for lists of latest discoveries being exposed in the mid 70's. Can't believe that Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles rarities were sitting around in Florida in their hundreds just waiting to be freighted off to Blackpool in a Wright Brothers plane with Mr Levine Snr chucking Gwen Owens out of the window to lighten the load...

The crease in the cardboard sleeve suggests the packet has been bent by about 90 degrees. Under normal circumstances, no mail would be subject to this sort of force. The damage has been done deliberately but not necessarily by your postie but some rogue in a sorting office someplace. Hope you can get compensation ...

These people were invited to SEX the programme up but for Joe Public. They have now been boxed away in storage to be wheeled out for the next programme...

Job well done Ian. I thought Searling talks so much sense. Dave was spot on though.

Thanks for posting it. Hugely enjoyable. Probably the best potted history so far to date. ALL the contributors came across well.

Ditto, in Los Angeles...

The early Manship guides were priced up in dollars but somehow the figures today speak pounds...go figure. In the beginning, John acknowledged the figures quoted were subject to a deduction for VAT but this seems to be overlooked nowadays. Early on, the price guides gave the ignorant US dealer an advantage they did not have, but the guides have now been replaced by the internet which is used by a large number of dealers who check values on Popsike etc. The price guides are an invaluable resource to collectors, most of whom do not have encyclopaedic knowledge or the experience of the top dealers - the collector travelling the US or browsing the internet simply has to make use of a price guide for details of artists, titles and labels, otherwise they are missing out.

Yes, I noted this one but can't remember if I bid on it. I wonder if Manny won it? It strikes me that records auctioned for big money appear in John's auctions a few months later. Coincidence? I reckon he still turns a profit on those bought for re-sale but the odd loser gains publicity and more importantly, keeps the shop window full of desirable product. At a time when lots of big hitters in the auction market such as Moerer, Stanley and Tefteller have little up for grabs, Manship continues to keep raising the bar.

I paid John twelve hundred for a copy a few years back so it came as a relief to see it upped to £1,250. Two great sides and very hard to find in nice condition so hardly surprising it is trading above the book valuation.

It wasn't a funky sound when it went big at Wigan. It was simply a 'Newie' and one that was well received by the assembled masses. Kinda getting fed up of having funk labelled records swarming everywhere - funk should be kept to the discos where it belongs and out of the Northern dance halls that focus on spinning quality sixties soul (with a sprinkling of quality soulful seventies sounds).

True up to a point as Sandy Holt won a competition at a Wigan Anniversary. He was eliminated in an early round a year later for not actually dancing but going through a rehearsed routine choreographed in his bedroom mirror practising to a Carl Douglas soundtrack watching David Carradine King Fu programmes. Sandy became the stereotype that legions of acrobats sought to parody, a trend that sadly lingers on to the chagrin of the scene.

Record bags are so1990's... Why not invest in a smart 12 inch record case, available from HMV before they all close down. Be the man of mystery and carry a case to avoid looking like a delivery boy or raver...

Couldn't read past the second paragraph as there were commas missing after 'mine' and 'eyes'... Scanning the remainder, green, silver and mint were all spelt with an upper case letter so I just gave up... Seriously, a great write-up for a truly great record. Oh, I thought the second press had dimples rather than pimples - any further info on this?

Has Bolton got Soul? Do Wanderers supporters still throw darts at away fans? Has Bolton University lowered its entry requirements to allow anyone with a pulse in? It is good to see a local newspaper addressing the deep philosophical issues of our time. So, will Sandy be combining his Kung Fu moves on roller skates with Thai Boxing steps, complete with beer towel tucked into waist, towelling wrist bands and black-fist necklace to boot, be leading the formation dance troup?

Surprised one sold for relatively little at the weekend. There have been a few auctioned recently but I assumed it was sellers letting the odd one out due to increased demand. Who has the quantity then?

Yep, real ones so the story goes. Steve had access to so much money, he could buy any record. His Hot Box was so full of rare records, promoters were falling over themselves to have him DJ. Steve had to sell his small but select set of records in a hurry to avoid an enforced holiday at His Majesty's Pleasure...

Would suit LP dealer or collector.. Not many 45's in evidence. Most of the stock would sell in time and the thousands of items there would work out at 10-20p each giving someone a chance to make a profit. Pretty soon, there will be no record shops left...

Try Steve Chadwick. Heard he had a spare a long time back. He already had Lady In Green then bought Heart You're Made Of Stone not knowing this was on the reverse of a Lady In Green. Can't believe this person was given DJ spots at top venues. Possibly the very first Hot Box DJ...