Frankie Crocker

Dobber - John would not even contemplate selling bootlegged Northern Soul records. John is a top dealer and his livelihood and reputation depend upon flawless transactions. Members should think carefully before posting unfunny comments that could have damaging consequences. Maybe Wigan Bob should sharpen his wit on eBay and the dozens of bootleg sellers it ignores...

You can't be serious... John is the absolute tops in the world of rare records.

Nice one Len. I like the white label as someone's written on the pink one...

Ady Crosdell gets my vote as the man who gave us most of these unissued gems via world premiers at the 100 Club then again on Kent CD's. Cheers Ady.

But what a record. I used to ask Mark to play this every time he was behind the decks. It reached a point when he just spun it and said it was requested by yours truly which was handy as I didn't have to move from the dance floor. Top man. Top DJ and he told me a joke once...

Steve - thanks for clarifying this. I assumed that VAT was factored into all sales individually. At one stage, John maintained that the valuations in the Price Guide included 20% VAT but evidently it works differently for records sold on a commission basis.

And %20+%20=%40, in this case, a deduction of £400 making IDKAY a £600 sound. I doubt we will see IDKHT becoming an auction record in this class...

Keep up at the back there...£200 commission and £200 VAT leaves the owner of the record with about £600...

Nev - I'm pretty sure it's 20% commission so the seller gets £600 which is pretty good compared to the price it would fetch at an allnighter.

John. Hope you get your record back. Since I put a handful of records back in the wrong sales box, I've put all my sales box records in white card sleeves with distinctive coloured labels on. One record going AWOL has probably been palmed by someone, but you never know, it could be a genuine mistake...

Hi Pete. I missed the Stafford years but made do with the Soul Supply version of IDKHT until 1990 when I picked up the original - only heard it played out on the odd occasion until the recent upturn in demand and price as it deputises for the superior IDKAY. When I picked up my copy of IDKAY in 1993, it was a virtual unknown but on a few wants lists and yet to have a major impact on the dance floor such was it's scarcity. Nige RIP of the Hawaiian shirt brigade managed to get his hands on a good quantity maybe 10-15 years ago helping DJ's to popularise it. Since then, just about every copy auctioned has fetched decent money. Both of these Constellations tracks are very good but only one of them has that special X Factor that prompts a stampede to the dance floor.

Loadsa good tunes here and tons of early memories. Many of us started out dancing to these records so they hold a special place in our hearts. However, time turns up better and better records fuelling the quest to track down the elusive and most awesome sounds - dance floor reaction over the last 17 years places IDKAY in this special category as the price tag confirms.

Pete, sure you're not mixing the titles up? You Didn't Know How To, good record though it is, only rose to prominence and increased in price because I Don't Know About You had such a major impact on dancers and collectors...

Could be a typo.. Should read Aberration - an abominable record that should never have pressed let alone played in public...

Gordon, bad news I'm afraid, the mint white demos are boots. The original is easily identifiable as it's credited to Ian Levine and the Three Vandals, the run-out has a Cashville Matrix stamp and all existing copies are warped...

Constellations...WOW. Sadly, the VATman gets £200 of it. All the copies of this have now disappeared so don't expect too many to surface from the shrewder collectors - this is a record to hang on to!

If the new chapter was 70's newies that have stood the test of time, good records such as the Carstairs, I'll go along with that - if the chapter is about quasi-Eurovision song contest poppy-soul tailor-made rip-offs then the scene is no better off, indeed, the complete opposite... ATB

Best ignored like virtually everything else the egomaniac has corrupted. He was a DJ and a pretty innovative one at that early in his career but lost the plot in the Highland Room believing disco to be the next best lucrative thing. Pure laziness and greed that fractured the scene and held it back. Ian Levine is now a mere footnote in the history of the soul music and the less we hear about him and his novice DIY syntho-pop, the better for all concerned.

The same thought went through my mind. There should have been a Product Recall on this one. This track ruins the Allnighter 3 and Ginger Taylor's Northern Soul Banquet Goldmine CD's. I would have thought there was a strong case for any DJ's snapping the few surviving copies into two for light entertainment between cueing up decent records...

You can't be serious! This synthetic garbage is not even fit for karaoke nights. Gimme L J Johnson, Barbara Pennington and Doris Jones any day...

How about Hot Tamales - Love's Inventions on Detroit or Herb Ryals - Tell It a To your Mother on Jubilee or Roy Brown - Baby It's Love on Gert or Bob and Gene - I Really Really Love You...just a few on a tape I've just played...

I do like stories with happy endings...

This is awful...how did it happen?

Roy. Use Soul Source Sales links or look at the Other Items for sale by reputable vendors. eBay searches have to be filtered to avoid the dross so save any good UK dealers in your Favourites. Bid on US records and the dealers will add you to their e-mail list to receive regular sales listings. All the top UK dealers have good quality, low end sounds for sale so strike up a relationship with them and turn up some bargains.

Saints - I'll Let You Slide on Wig Wam: a seriously fast track that clears the floor of most dancers not up for some frantic aerobics...