Frankie Crocker

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?

Not sure about this thread. There were so many dance competitions back in the 70's. A starting point would be to list the venues and dates then solicit contributions. Wigan has been covered in an earlier thread. For the archives and for a good general read, this is a worthwhile exercise. The competition winners 40 years ago were legends then and still are now - each had their own moves and were admired for what they brought to the scene. Somewhere along the way, things changed and competitions nowadays are little more than a jolly jape bunged in to liven up an event, and an opportunity for exhibitionists to perform rhythmic gymnastics for YouTube contributors.

Should do well at auction. Fantastic record. Virtually impossible to obtain an original. The bootleg doesn't skip but it is made of styrene which devalues it somewhat. Hope it finds a good home where it will be enjoyed in private.

Hi Dave. Surely the juke boxes for businesses such as bars, diners etc would be stocked with proven chart sounds rather than obscure promos. ABC, MGM, CBS, RCA and other major outfits must have had links with the strip printing enterprises that fed the juke box distributors. Obviously, local independent labels who failed to secure radio station air-time would also miss out in the juke boxes as their operators would replace one money spinning record with another potentially lucrative sound.

Mr Sheen. Then a few plays, cleaning the stylus carefully with a fine brush. Lots of advice kicking around but avoid solvents if the records are styrene.

Very droll. I hope the Northern Soul Police approved of this, otherwise you could be in big trouble?

Not so much overplayed but played-out, had its day, overtaken by better sounds. Some lucky fella, not sure who, won a copy at auction that had been listed as a bootleg but was snaffled under the radar as it was the multicoloured issue. Still hanging onto the white boot in vain and pretty sure I will never find an original - for sure a good sound, and big at Wigan, but who needs cracked records?

It's a cracker... As Steve G says, surely it has been played to death? Mind you, Stevie G has been known to slip up... A good record and one any discerning collector would like to own, but 40 years down the road, surely it rests towards the back of the box with Kenny Smith, Black Nasty and Lloyd Michaels. One to pass over if cracked and probably not worth the book price if mint?

Scandalous. I hope you get your record back. Readers be warned, lending records can seriously jeopardise your friendships.

Nev, it's already happening with wannabe DJ's 'renting' the next big sound by paying over the odds and moving it on smartly when the masses are chasing after it. The scheme would create an upsurge of 'lost' records with Ray Agees and Mel Britts being 'left on the turntable' all over the country. Me, I couldn't subscribe as I tremble when seeing DJ's put fingerprints on records; I collapsed once seeing a record with a fag burn on it...

Will they be dancing to 'She's Putting You On' by the United Four?

Only in the sense that it avoided the travel and ticket costs of attending 29 Anniversary Allnighters. Many folk, myself included, have over a dozen of them and rarely play them so the winning bid today is higher than expected. If the next set auctioned fetches a higher sum than today's lot, then the winner may have had a bargain. Expect to see more 100 Club singles on the market in the weeks ahead...probably overpriced and not selling...

Would be more of a challenge to buy them one by one... Also a lot more fun. Could also save a fortune. Maybe someone's going to open a soul music museum and they're gathering exhibits the quick way? Acquiring records en masse like this seems weird, rather like buying sets of cigarette cards or boxed sets of videos. Hopefully they will end up in the hands of a young DJ with a high regard for the evolution of the music. May the richest man not win, but the one who will treasure the sounds and enjoy them the most.

Unless there's soul music in the afterlife...

More to it than mere rarity and availability. Timi Yuro delivers one of the finest mid-pace soul tracks, a timeless classic, and one that would grace any event in its 45 rpm format. Darrel's contribution, excellent though it is, was very much part of the '70's up-tempo avalanche, great then, but not so great now unless squeezed into an oldies set. As an ender, or music to be cremated to, Timi Yuro has very little competition as it oozes with so much soul, it chokes you.

A totally mindless act of incredible stupidity. Anyone with any genuine feelings for the music or the records would not have committed such wanton vandalism. There's only one Kenny from Scotland who walks on water and he scribbles his name on red football shirts for a good cause...

Hey, a regressive music policy... Why not dig out the Wayne Fontanas and Spencer Davis Groups best tracks to set the floor alight... This was fine in the late 60's, but things have moved on a bit since then. Just mix the sets up with forgotten oldies and lesser known sounds and you can't go wrong. Just avoid the Flash Mc Kinley-Marvin Gaye-Charles Sheffield sequencers and you'll be alright...