Frankie Crocker

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?

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?