Frankie Crocker

This is a common, cheap record and not really an auction item as it is readily available at set sale.

What about Modern RnB to apply to all black music currently produced and Rhythm 'n Blues for any sounds predating 60's Northern? What about calling Rhythm 'n Blues events Hoe Downs so Northern fans don't end up at the wrong venues.? What about advancing the frontiers of Northern Soul by uncovering late 60's soul sounds rather than falling back on soul-less late 50's and early 60's Blues with rhythm?

Compared to what?

Exactly. Many of the cuttings were vanity projects. Some were just bog-standard filling in work. Small numbers were pressed to gain radio station air-time and if this succeeded, more were pressed up. As it transpired, the commercial failures turned out to be the rich vein of quality sounds that we now seek. There appears to be no demo of Ray Agee on Soultown so the issues must have used as DJ samples confirming lack of confidence and/or investment in this particular tune.

So Mace, is Lou Pride's I'm Coming Home RnB also? It has similar qualities to Ray Agee's ILA though. Not all Northern records have backing vocals or strings but I'm Losing Again has the right instruments, tempo, vocals, structure and duration to fit the bill and it's on a soul label from a soul outfit in a soul centre and at a guess, produced in the latter half of the 60's when soul music was just that, a sound that struck an inner chord...

Chalky - the genre of Northern Soul has flexible boundaries enabling anything that ticks the boxes to be included, so if it sounds Northern, it is Northern. Ray Agee on Soultown was probably only pressed as 100-200 copies, maybe four or eight 25 count boxes judging from the number that have survived, so chart success was evidently not the prime motivator. The UK adopted the Soultown offerings by Ray, Tempos, Sweets, Little Helen etc as they fitted the Northern template and would have been largely ignored had they been early 60's RnB which of course they weren't...

The records were made for a local audience within a radio station radius. Charts were incidental. Records were pressed in batches of hundreds for local one-stops rather than a mass market. Soultown were producing for the ghetto communities of LA and radio time was initially more important than revenue hence the availability of demo records. In the end, the artists settled for local fame, albeit short lived, and no fortune.

Check out Ray's Hard Working Man on Jewel - the RnB song that spawned I'm Losing Again. World of difference methinks...

The term 'Northern Soul' was coined to summarise the predominately late 60's, up-tempo soul sounds that Lancs/Yorks/Staffs clubbers danced to. Being Motown influenced, these records were generally pressed between 1966 and 1969, the vintage years for Northern aficionados. The RnB of the Twisted Wheel was superseded by increasingly soulful sounds at the Torch and Wigan etc to the point it was superfluous and a minority genre for 60's Mods, 80's neo-Mods and today's neo- neo Mods.

Ray Agee is a Northern record performed by an artist who emerged via the RnB circuit. Soultown in LA added the Northern qualities at a time soul music had advanced way beyond its RnB roots. I'm Losing Again is a great Northern record that has virtually zero RnB in the mix so it is ludicrous to call it RnB.

Was at Soul On The Square in London Saturday night - terrific new venue, great crowd, beer at £2.60 a pint, a fantastic array of Northern Oldies and lesser known 60's sounds: the RnB tracks sounded lame and shallow by comparison with only a couple making a positive impression ie Etta James. There is a time and place for RnB, but it's embryonic nature puts it in the shadows unless it really has that oomph factor like Charles Sheffield, great record, but sadly overplayed.

Oh Neville, you are a naughty tease...now get up to your bedroom and make sure you keep the volume down...

Baz, I once felt a bit like this until it got spun at the 100 Club and it took the roof off with a packed dance floor and everyone clapping in unison, one of the best ever atmospheres there. I decided then, I would add Mel Britt to the collection. Owning a record helps you to really appreciate it's qualities so I recommend picking it up for $8 if you get the chance or £1,000 plus if you can as it's not going to drop in price.

Disagree Nev. Butch has the best set of exclusive, one-off, up-tempo 60's records plus a considerable range of rare, medium-pace sounds. Sam has rotated rare sounds down the decades leaning heavily towards the crossover period, an era of plentiful records, many of dubious composition. Mark has a sales box that beats Sam's playbox any Saturday night.

I heard a story about two outlaws called Big Tim and Little Butch who would go to America and rob the rich to give to the poor, or was it the other way round? These bandits would bribe keepers of unwanted vinyl records to part with obscure items for sums as high as 50 cents. Hundreds of dollars changed hands with Americans retiring to live off the proceeds, yes, literally hundreds of dollars. Derelict pottery kilns in the five towns near Stoke were filled with containers full of boxes full of records - a cultural revolution in the Stafford area established these 'unwanted' records actually had two sides, one of which was actually pretty good, extremely brilliant or dazzlingly superb. Apparently these two mellow souls have been nominated for New Years Honours for services to conservation, industry and entertainment...

Are you playing this at the right speed?

Hope this beauty finds a nice home...

No copies of the Del Larks sold recently on Popsike. Almost two dozen Mel Britts on Popsike though. Evidently, the Del Larks is much, much rarer than perceived. Never seen a copy of the Del Larks for sale apart from the Manship DJ offering at Cleethorpes. Fortunately, a nice copy of Mel Britt is shelved somewhere in Crocker Towers, courtesy of Gerry Dietz at the Austin Record Show. The Del Larks may therefore be so rare, a copy may not appear on the open market for some time, and if and when it does, expect it to fetch a princely sum...

John Manship had a black DJ copy for sale at Cleethorpes over 10 years ago, presumably the one featured in the Million Dollars of Rare Soul book. It was the most coveted record for sale that weekend priced at 3K or thereabouts - remember Greg Tormo drooling over it. In those days, the rarest records were hung on the wall in transparent wallets but they kept falling down.

Way to go Stan, the seek and destroy mentality works just as well for shoes on the High Street and top-shelf records...

Good luck Stanley. The bidding for both records looks very open with a noticeable lack of Red Star bidders with four figure ratings. Maybe these guys are going to step in at the last moment, but at present, the records look like they're going to younger collectors.

Del Larks could reach 7K and Mel Britt 2K. The condition of the Del Larks is perfect - has been rated a 5 grand record for years. Mel Britt always seems to fetch a four figure sum but records of this stature are in such short supply that even an Excellent copy could go beyond Price Guide levels.

Hi Rod - the Northern scene would be better without these 'bods' and there would be a lot more positive things to talk about such a high quality rarities unearthed by hard working collectors and DJ's...

It appears not - they're like Gary Glitter LP's as there's no point trying to sell them and you couldn't persuade anyone to take them off you for nothing...

Cheers for this Steve. It appears that the youngsters who attended the Casino were aged 13-14 but evidently passed as 18 year olds.