Peter Richer

Ah right, I see now. You'd already corrected the problem by the time we saw your notification. Yes, titles that just say 'want' are very annoying. Always better to have some sort of indication as to what it is they're after (same with sales too). Cheers

I was wondering that too. Is there some obscure infringement here?

...errr, wasn't that kind of the thrust of my last comment ... with an attempt at a dash of 'humour'?! A difficult demo nonetheless though, and looks good too.

To help us get Al Wilson out of our heads, I'm sure we can all think of loads of fantastic white demos on the Motown labels and Atlantic. Even these two: Miracles - Tears Of A Clown, and Soul Brothers Six - I'll Be Loving You are very decent collectors' pieces.

Oh, and how can we forget: Al Wilson - The Snake - Soul City ... seriously, please, how can we forget ... any suggestions most gratefully received?!!

Good topic! Many absolute classics fall into this category. A few nice examples: Mamie Galore - It Ain't Necessary - St. Lawrence Spyder Turner - I Can't Make It Anymore - MGM (although this is, of course, yellow) Darrell Banks (both of them) - Revilot Precisions - If This Is Love - Drew Epitome Of Sound - You Don't Love Me - Sandbag (although the issue is actually quite expensive now) Gloria Jones - Tainted Love - Champion (also getting a bit pricey on issue) Jackie Lee - Oh, My Darlin' - Mirwood

Didn't think you were being stupid at all. I was actually hoping there may indeed be a useful book out there which I wasn't aware of ... I would have found one very interesting. Over to the main dealers with longstanding databases - John, Tim, Pat etc. - time you got cracking on an LP guide guys. First one to get a decent book out is likely to get plenty of kudos ... plus, of course, rake in the cash!!

Just out of interest, are there actually any book prices (geared towards the northern soul collector market) for LPs? Which 'book' please? I'm not reaIly as up on LPs as perhaps I should be, and might like to buy one.

That's fine, and fair play to them (and the effect they have on the market ... increasing demand for certain tunes). In the north east of England, however, there are far too many playing boots rather than originals (even at the cheaper end), so I wish there were more 'genuine' collectors dominating the decks. The bootleg Billys out there are probably distorting the market for reissues in the same way - just look at the £100+ that the Duke Browner recently went for, as one such example. Ultimately, there will be good days and bad days with selling prices. There is no set value, just guide prices with adaptations for trends in demand and the application of experience; plus the odd freak result either up (nice result for the seller), or down (a bargain!).

... except of course he didn't. It was bought by someone else - and it's another big record that leaves the shores of Blighty.

Quite right. Credit to Mike Powell and that terrific long jump competition at the world championships in Tokyo (where he had to break the record to win the title). Mike has now held the record for almost as long as Bob Beamon did. Shame to ruin an almost funny joke with facts though. Although, of course, being a GB athletics fan, perhaps the answer should be 17 years ... in tribute to Jonathan Edwards!

Definitely played at the Howard Mallet in Cambridge in the late 70s. Tony Dellar played lots of classy records before they went big elsewhere. Another obvious example would be the Metros - Since I Found My Baby.

Cheers Nev, I'll remember that in future. But for today I decided I'd like your post instead.

I'm now showing as added to the list because I just pressed the 'like' button by mistake ... as I was looking to see who else liked it! Doh!! Not that I don't like the record - though not my favourite Shrine by a long way.

You're probably right there. Except (again bringing things back to the original point of this thread), it would still be madness if an identical copy was simultaneously available from JM, Pat Brady, or Anglo for £40.

And that all sounds perfectly reasonable. However, bringing it back to the original point of the thread, would you still have made the £150 offer if the same record (in the same condition) was immediately available from a trusted and respected top-end dealer for, say, £125?

In which case, I refer you to my original post which opened this thread!

Not sure I understand what you're getting at here. Last time I looked, all the top dealers took credit cards too. So why pay more on an e-bay auction than you'd need to, the same day, from a reliable dealer?

Ah, but that's not the point. It doesn't matter whether other people think it's a good deal or not (although condition is crucial, and if Duncan's Cashmeres is mint then maybe not far off). The point is this. If you were about to buy a record on auction for, say, £1,300, would you not first have a quick look at the top dealers' sites to see if there's one immediately available (allowing for condition), set sale, for less money? Assuming you've not 'fallen out' with that dealer, it would surely be silly to pay more money than you need to. Plus, as most people tend to regard JM as the 'Harrods' of northern soul dealers, wouldn't the price you see on his site indicate a top-end figure? Most other people selling identical items, set sale, would pitch them a little lower.

Yes. And there's the Mutt & Jeff / Sunlovers / Breakthrough connection.

Technically, the 1977 pink Breakthrough is a legitimate 'tailor-made' cover version. Albeit an extremely close cover, as most of the re-recording shares the same production team, but with Charles Diamond taking the lead instead of Johnny Hendley. An interesting point of detail, which most people overlook, is that the two records have different titles. Original version of the song is called 'No One ELSE Can Take Your Place'. Charles Diamond version is called 'No One Can Take Your Place'.

Yes, I'm sure that happens too, and I guess that's part of the psychology. It's not all just about the price and condition of a record. Some people don't like some dealers (and vice-versa), or don't like any dealers at all. Some people won't buy off e-bay with the additional risks and uncertainties involved. Others prefer the chance to haggle over price; or face to face contact where they can see the actual record. Some get 'carried away' when they are involved in an auction; and plenty are simply too lazy to do a bit of research! All part of the mix. But it's interesting to see results go a different way to that which we usually expect.

Thought I'd point out that the phenomena of buying at higher prices from auctions, when the same records are available cheaper on set-sale, sometimes hits the main dealers too. Take the Darrow Fletcher 'What Good Am I Without You' which sold on e-bay last night for £115: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110933062882?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_957 Well done to the seller, and good result! But as for the buyer, why did they not just go to Manship's site and buy it for £100? https://www.raresoulman.co.uk/d/52019/FLETCHER,_DARROW It's there plain enough in the 'shop window' for everyone to see. Just goes to show the record buying/collecting world is a funny one, and the psychology involved is interesting to say the least!

Hello, This seems rather confusing, so perhaps you would be kind enough to clear this up for us. On the one hand you are saying you would prefer ('a plus') Detroit and northern soul 45s (which the vast majority of tracks would be, as they were only seldom issued on LP); yet on the other hand you say you are not looking for expensive collectibles. [i have highlighted your comments which indicate this] If you want northern soul singles, and I assume we are talking about the genuine original records here, then surely you must realize that they are all relatively expensive collectibles? Even the cheapest ones (e.g. some of those issued on the Detroit based Ric-Tic label) are comparatively expensive, and you'd be hard pressed to get very many in near-mint condition for less than £10 each. There are also, literally, thousands of non-LP northern soul singles which would cost more than £50 each. So the question is - are you really wanting to buy large quantities of non-LP northern soul records at the going rate? Cheers, Peter