Frankie Crocker

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...

We're programmed to monitor the record market. Record collectors do it by instinct. Dealers have to do it for a living. Not everyone is valuing their collection or timing when to sell an in-demand item. Partly, it's mere curiosity or something to read on the iPad permanently glued to the hand. Usually, I can't be bothered to add the thing to the Watch List as it's easier to bid - this enables you to receive reminders to bid on records you knew you couldn't afford in the first place. Terribly sad but it passes the time pleasantly enough...

There's Ric-Tic Relics on Tamla Motown STML 11232. Eight tracks per side, great tunes all the way.

Cheers Pete. You've saved me buying a mint copy to upgrade. Perhaps this flaw explains limited circulation of the record?

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.