Frankie Crocker

Absolutely Richard. It's one thing to express surprise at common records such as Nate Evans and Sonny Herman popping up and reaping in-demander type prices, but to devalue seriously hard to find sounds is not in collectors' interests. Quick discounting of three figure records by wannabe DJ's who must have the next Nolan Porter whatever is seriously damaging the value of prices, more so than the availability of Price Guides to US dealers who continue to augment the supply of scarce records. The price fetched by the Chandlers should go some way towards establishing its scarcity and current market value rather than have collectors/dealers announce how many they've had and how cheap they were in the pre-internet era.

Vince, don't be too disheartened son. Your records are worth owning, even though most of them are common, run-of-the-mill tunes; trouble is, factor in postage costs for a single record purchase and the buyer loses out. Many collectors have these sort of records, probably picking them up early in their gathering habit. The hard-core collectors are looking for high-end, mint condition sounds but these are so scarce, they crop up only infrequently - a few of these in a list gives the commoner sounds more exposure, and crucially, budget conscious multiple buyers will dabble in the minor sounds if the condition is right. As Ian says, the record market slumps in the summer and peaks in the winter so perhaps have a break to stockpile a decent haul of in-demand tunes and nicely-priced 'bargains'.

Did they have a CD for sale at the counter? Starbucks like to market an extravagant lifestyle through exorbitant coffees and World Music CD's so maybe this is a concession on the ethnic front as dreamed up by some bonus-obsessed suit who has accidentally stumbled across some catchy tunes?

Kent LP's. Soul Supply LP's. Then the 100 Club came along and a swarm of other London venues. By-passed by the Stafford scene as career took over but back on track by late '80's with the help of London record stores such as Rocks Off and Rock On. Trips to the States have provided ample sounds between occasional Soul Nites. Now addicted to Soul Source, eBay and YouTube, career is on the slide and main concerns are where to store all those records and find the time to spin them as much as they deserve to played...

Agreed. Sure there are packaging materials involved but these are often being recycled anyway. I suspect some dealers charge for the time they spend selotaping packets up and driving to the Post Office then getting in line. Are eBay also taking a percentage cut of the postal charges these days?

Are we talking Allnighters in the same region here? There are so many events nationally, occasional clashes are inevitable. For promoters in the same region to hold events on the same night is plain daft if the clientele would attend both events if held on different nights. Could be a power struggle that ultimately benefits no one if events are poorly attended. The very fact that this topic has popped up indicates a lack of cooperation between promoters - let's hope this can be remedied in future.

Very sad news. Bob was a Chicago legend and a major Soul Source contributor. He will be sorely missed on both sides of the Atlantic. Gone But Not Forgotten...

As much use as a chocolate fireguard. A portable player that doesn't take batteries, go figure. Tone arm weight is a copper coin held in place by blu-tac. Guaranteed to gouge styrene records in one play. There are much better low-end contraptions on the market that perform the same functions and actually look like hi-fi separates. Crosley were a serious firm in Chicago after World War Two but are unlikely to gain converts with this model.

Perfect for City Gents on the morning train - impress the passengers with something other than sandwiches or an umbrella.

A mouth watering sight Andy, but how many are actually good Northern dance tunes?

Just come back from the States with three Okeh white demos - Too Late matrix is hand etched in contrast to Major Lance YDWMNM and Vibrations Soul A Go-Go, both stamped. All three have a big 45. Got an issue of Too Late somewhere but buried too deep to dig out. Sold Too Late in a picture sleeve at Wigan for a fiver in 76 or 77 following the British release - not the shrewdest of moves looking back. You are absolutely right to query the Okeh issues as there are plenty of dodgy ones around.

Not good enough. You have every right to complain. Too many minor dealers are skimping on packaging yet are content to charge heftily for it. Leave sarcastic feedback and watch him change his tune. Most dealers I buy from are excellent but I always request cardboard stiffeners be used AND taped together AND sent in a 7 inch mailer. Top dealers offer top quality packaging eg Craig Moerer, John Anderson, Lew Stanley, John Tefteller et al and need no reminding of how records should be packed. If the record you are buying is known to be styrene, it is worth mentioning it is extremely fragile in the hope they use extra packaging. The trick to watch for is the sly dealer who sends a cracked record but deliberately packs it badly so it appears that postal damage may have conceivably occurred.

Nice one Pete. Loadsa good tracks here and a few unfamiliar ones also.

This is such a load of pseudish, pretentious twaddle. Maybe relevant to some other scene out there, and possibly even a musical one with foam squirted in, but not the Northern world. The technical skills of putting a record on a turntable, cueing up the stylus and back winding to mesh up with the speed of a direct drive turntable are minimal for a grown adult of average intelligence. The issue of whether the vinyl is real or fake is key to the Northern scene - any fool can spin bootlegs but it takes a connoisseur to amass the tunes to DJ well. Just 'cos some BIG name gets paid a load of money on New Years Eve, it doesn't necessarily make them a good DJ, just an overpaid one.

I wonder how many 'first played by' claims are actually true. Likewise, 'first played at'... Surely credit should go to the crate diggers, trackers and travellers who did the hard work, but the goods don't come with guarantees and deeds of provenance. So these claims, though often aired, are just opinion or hearsay, like the statement 'only X known copies', a soul scene cliche of little significance.

Don Varner RnB??? Surely Northern, a tad unorthodox, making it unpredictable and hence messy...

Northern, yes. Rare and collectable, yes. But out of the same box as the International GTO's and Enchantments. For sure worth owning, but a tricky dancer and not a tune to promote a movie. Not top drawer in my humble opinion and overshadowed by many other sounds.

Hi Ian. Thanks for going to the trouble of penning this. It certainly justifies the selection of some tracks and highlights the enormous hard work taking place behind the scenes. You indicate that the CDs have not yet had the tracks sequenced yet - as they are in an unfinished state, perhaps this creates an 'amateurish' impression that will not be apparent in the final product. I was not aware that Disc 2 contained Elaine's choices - now I do know, I would question the inclusion of Epitome of Sound as surely this should be on Disc 1? Why include the messy Don Varner on Disc 1 when Gloria Jones' Tainted Love would enhance the crossover appeal to Joe Public and encapsulate a pivotal Casino moment? I will be buying the CDs and watching the movie having already bought and read the book - the team behind the project deserve high praise for their commitment and ensuring that legalities have been adhered to but the inclusion of some tracks is perhaps open to debate as you no doubt appreciate.

Name and shame the squeally baby. I doubt there would have been a clash of dates so the reaction to your proposal is unreasonable. Maybe he could come on SS to explain and apologise. Gotta be better venues than Crewe out there so good luck in finding one where they put out a welcome sign.

The crossover concept is key to what we're talking about. Prior to 1969, the records were mainly artists singing to amplified instrumental backing, sometimes with a full orchestra. Post 1969, electronic trickery started to play a greater role with synthesisers etc taking a lead at the expense of proper instruments. In the 1970's, newies were 1970's tracks with a high soul quotient but leaning more to the electronic end of the spectrum as the decade advanced. The vintage years of 'oldies' production, 1966-1969, crossed over into the embryo years of 'newies' sounds, hence the divide that emerged at Blackpool Mecca and subsequently Wigan, Cleethorpes etc. Fortunately, both periods either side of 1969 spawned enough decent music to hook us all, and lucky again, some of it is still emerging for the first time in 2014.

An excellent CD by most standards but has included contemporary rare sounds at the expense of other Wigan classics. Why oh why compile Marvin's 'It's Killing Me' when there were so many class acts to choose from namely Saxie Russell, Willie Mitchell, Little Ritchie, Rubin, Anne Sexton, Major Lance etc. The discs could have been sorted into 'then' and 'now', tracks put in some logical order and the 'Enders' put at the end. As the package stands, it has an amateurish feel to it and the tracks are in a muddled sequence for a film portraying a historical context.

Rated much higher in Manship #6. Value depends on whether you're buying or selling a copy. A couple sold at auction recently at well below book price but this reflects shrewd buying rather than true worth. £75 would be a more realistic valuation for a seller.

I would have found it strange if Levine was DJing and people applauded his selections...did they boo and hiss when he played the Four Vandals? Pete's right about 1976, Casino era, impossible to pin down the night, DJ or record. Must have been something spontaneous. Did it start because the crowd applauded the end of a great set and then folk carried on clapping each record? As clapping on the beat had been around for years, it was only a small step to applauding a good record, and in the mid1970's, they just kept coming.

One on Manship's auction at present.

Janie. As you were invited to join the Wigan's Chosen Few dance crew that featured on Top of The Pops? Who did the inviting and how were the dancers selected?