Frankie Crocker

It's a long time since I had the boot but I think it was styrene with a crinkly label and the sound quality was typical of similar boots. When I got the original, I was miffed to hear the start as it was distorted. It sounded like damage caused by DJ backwinding. I have come across similar distortion on another copy on eBay but on other copies for sale, the distorted start has either been been edited out or the record actually has a clear start. Can anyone verify if the start on the original purple label with pussycat is indeed a studio sound not edited out? Do copies exist with a perfectly clear start without studio distortion?

The seller has revolving dollar signs for eyeballs. Holy gruel.

Sounds pretty good to me. Real deal Northern. Well done fellows.

What a tasty bunch of records Pete. Move over Manship there's a new kid on the block. Really fancy John and the Weirdest.

Well put Ian. John tried to do something similar with symbols in the Million Dollars book. I think the phrase Holy Grail should be left back where it belongs in a Monty Python film though. As Russ says, better to have a good record than a rare record so the quality rating is more significant than the rarity quotient. I have dozens and dozens of unlisted sounds but none of them get close to the Mello Souls.

Yep, these were the early pioneers and making trips during the peak years of Wigan. I never knew the late Nev Wherry but have bumped into Rod in Philadelphia and bought from Dave Withers in Britain. Martin Koppel was in the wonderful position of being in Canada and could just pop over the border to shop in Detroit and Chicago, then send his finds across to Tim. Nowadays, most really serious collectors have tripped over to the US at some stage grabbing up-tempo then mid-tempo, beat ballad and more recently RnB, generally speaking, always ahead of US based collectors. I think the view here in Britain is there are too few US collectors to spoil things too badly but just enough to allow a steady trickle of scarce records across the pond.

Hi Rob. The number of Brits visiting the US in the 60's was tiny. Even in the 70's, US travel was rare but the players were big hitters who took everything they could carry. John Anderson is the patron saint of record plunderers for recognising and procuring what would be appreciated here in Britain. Other guys like Levine and Searling fetched over the samples to fuel interest but there was only a small number of dealers and travel pioneers stripping the shelves pre 1980. Mass tourism in the 80's enabled many more driven collectors to visit the US but the Yanks had still not woken up to what has happening - even now, the average record dealer/collector in the US does not know what the soul record market is about and only takes note when there's $$$$$ flying around. Sadly for us in the UK, there are growing numbers of real experts in the US, Europe and Australasia making collecting a little bit tougher but we like a challenge, especially when we've had a thirty year head start...

Bari Track was given away at the Casino one night. At Anniversaries, records were thrown off the stage into the audience and up to the balcony.

Ian, you were right the first time. Most records brought over in the 70's started off cheap and many titles were in plentiful supply. Bootlegs sufficed for most collectors as they were affordable, available and hankered after once exposed. Some of the early Wigan spins disappeared into collections, never to be seen again giving them scarce status due to lack of availability according to Manny in the Million Dollars book eg Idle Few, Wombat. I remain doubtful about Mel Britt in quantity - I do remember Keith Minshall flogging box loads of boots at the Casino. Mel Britt sold well in Chicago judging from the Popsike listing but was probably only pressed up in the low thousands for the local market. The Tomangos is much rarer and I would be surprised if more than a few hundred were pressed up. Pressing plants put batches of 25 into small cartons then put 4 of these in a box for ease of handling and stock control - most groups cutting a record could not afford more than five boxes, and these were for promotion, radio stations, one-stop shops, friends and family. Many of the 25 count boxes found in recent years have come from band and family members. I would estimate that the records on minor independent labels we chase after were probably pressed in quantities of 300-500 in the main but in the low thousands if there was real confidence behind a particular release.

All out of the top drawer Pete. Reads like a best of the best list. These are timeless classics, still as good today as they were back in the day. Much more of this and you'll end up on the Queen 's Birthday Honours list.

Voucher was issued Spring 1978. Had a dozen of us from Anglesey cashed them in at Spin Inn in a manchester the next day.

Pete, remember money is for spending and what better to spend it on than records. Baffled why bootlegs go for tidy sums but if someone has more money than sense, they are not likely to complain about a tune they evidently like.

Well done son. Sounds like it is going to a good home. You need a seek and destroy mentality to win anything rare these days. Always wise to remember that it is far easier to find large sums of money than rare records.

Well spotted. It is a good sound. Not listed, possibly due to the blue-eyed nature but deserves to be as it has a real feel-good sound to it. Only ever seen white demos. Now had 4 or 5 in the last 10 years so I would say scarce and overlooked sums it up. Could go down well with an Oldies crowd or a Christmas special. Value still to be determined by the market but could be three figures when the geni is out of the bottle.

Put it down to Wolverhampton sales spiel. Not sure records like this warrant the ten out of ten sales pitch but it has convinced some naive soul to part with the funds.

Velours? Are the MGM issues the next collectable black label for completists who've bagged the black RCA's? Major Lance went for more than expected but becoming hard to find in good nick as those in the know, sit on their copies.

The Chess white demo has become overhyped. Yet another Holy Grail. The sooner Monty Python finds all these bleeding Holy Grails and buries them, the better. Getting pretty sick of all the Holy Grails flying around. Landslide on a Chess issue is the way to go, authentic Youth Club spin circa 1974.

Can't pin down the first time I heard it played out but roundabout the turn of the century. Might have had odd plays here and there before going big, but for someone who has been on the scene over 40 years, it is relatively recent if it is 13-15 years since making an impact. There are about 60 copies listed on Popsike dating back to 2003 making it pretty common, but nevertheless a very highly rated record looking at the prices realised.

Yep, it's become a hot-box spin but stands up well compared to other recent 'discoveries'. Just wish these DJ's with no imagination would flood the market with their cast-offs.

'Tis a dancing man's record. No thought required. Hear the first three notes and it's drop everything and head to the dance floor.

A great record and one of the best discoveries of the last two decades. Still plenty of milage in it too. Sure, more a scarcity than a rarity but I doubt there are many minters still to come to market.

Flabbergasted. I bid on Jeanette but never envisaged this outlay - condition was ace though and the best copy to pop up for a while. Possibly a buzz on Turley Richards at present - is it getting spins? Maybe there's a Lottery winner out there who's decided to invest in top condition vinyl?

Resisting the temptation to annotate this like a GCSE English text, I hope you get well soon and please note that the International GTO's - I Love My Messy Baby, is overrated, overpriced and much lower down the Northern tree than it once was, a wall of tempo that lacks melody and towards the end, loses direction...

What's the fuss about? Good piece of journalism from the Grauniad. Two decent tracks that are well passed their play-by date but still OK for an Oldies night, just. Does anyone get excited collecting UK sixties soul? Not me. They're generally US tracks on admittedly superior vinyl but almost always best on US labels, the original format and easier to handle with the centres pushed out. Holy grail is a term becoming far too commonplace, a marketing term aimed at pushing up prices rather than the best sounding record ever.

You would be perfectly entitled to have a go. eBay is clogged up with rubbish that it is completely intransigent about. Consequently next to nothing sells and serious collectors waste time looking. However, there are ways around this so ultimately eBay will choke off this revenue stream and punters will thrive elsewhere. eBay has become a global jumble sale and whilst there are still bargains to be found and more than a few rarities, the organisation is best used to buy unwanted Chritmas presents, household goods and other collectables.