Sean Hampsey

I got mine from the very wonderful Steve Plumb - after he beat me to a copy on eBay back in 1999 - and I emailed him a tirade of abuse. Fabulous record. Sean

Thats right Ian. Chris had 'Amazing Records' after working the markets for many years. I had some fantastic stuff off him during the 70's from his stall in Bawtry. Then one day he called me and told me he was opening a shop and wanted to give me first look at the stock. When I got there, amongst the regular stuff, he produced a suitcase full of 60's UK Femme Vocal 45's - a Mint condition collection he'd acquired, all in original sleeves. From there I got; Barbara Mason - Keep Him - London Chiffons - Nobody Knows - Stateside Nancy wilson - End Of Our Love - Capitol Maxine Brown - Yesterday's Kisses - Stateside Ruby Winters - Better - Stateside Various Orioles and Lots of early TMG's (Brenda Holloway, Velvelettes, Marvelettes, Vandellas, Supremes etc.) A bunch of Black Atlantics and Londons (Barbara Lynn, Barbara Lewis, Doris Troy etc.) It was a very good shop and a really great day! Sean PS: Did you get the email I sent this afternoon?

Previous thread here, and my contribution to it. I met James in 1979 - at the height of the DISCO boom - on a market stall I used to frequent in Bawtry, south of Doncaster. The guy running the record stall was called Chris (from Leeds, as I recall - he later opened up a shop in Leeds, but that's another 'amazing' story). I was going through the boxes, when this tall, suited, distinguished looking gentleman peers over my shoulder and started making comments about the stuff I was picking out.... 'ah, that's a good one'... 'mmm... that brings back a few memory's' etc... I thought he must have been having me on - he didn't look like anything like a Soulboy so I struck up a conversation to see if he was for real. Could have knocked me down with a feather when he told me who he was. We talked for over an hour. He told me about the time he saw the Spellbinders live in New York and how great they were, all about when he had dinner with Van McCoy and so on... a mine of detailed information... all bloody mindblowing stuff. As a Soul DJ I always considered his column essential reading - even though I could never get fully to grips with BPM's and all that mullarky - his descriptions were always superbly crafted. Sadly, he passed away in 1996, but I'm glad to have had that one 'chance' meeting with him. Sean

I was waiting for you Joe. :0) Sean

I have this too Roger. Don't know if you've noticed... its a different take with no backing vocals! Sean

Hi Dave, What are the titles on the Barry Smith, White label? All the best, Sean

Seen this for sale on eBay Dave, for about £75, which I thought was cheap. Obviously pretty rare. There was a copy in Sales on here a couple of years ago and I saw one in a box for sale a few years ago (think Ian Clark) but they dont show up too often. Nice one. Sean

Reckon The W King Cole is far rarer on Rahtid than on Micron. I sold my spare Micron for £20 last month. Never had a sniff of a Rahtid copy. Sean

All same version, regardless of colour. Smashing old tune! Sean

Great dealer. Comms usually superb. Don't know if he's on here. Maybe ill or on Hols? He'll get back to you, I'm sure. Sean

OK, found the date. Because Of My Heart was copyrighted Dec 14 1966 - Words and Music by Frankie Beverly Copyright Cameo Parkway Pub Co Inc and Pecle Music. No mention of Tommy Rouse, but who owned Pecle Music? Possible that belonged to Tommy? I'm in Washington DC this afternoon. I'll look him up, lol. Might also have a dig around for the stock of New Wax Unlimited :0) Sean

Yes Peter, it was New Wax Unlimited. And have just learned that Chris, the owner, passed away around 10 years ago and the store closed. So both the TP and the "latest copy" both came from the same store. Distribution - The secret of success! :0) Sean

That's right Arthur. Chris was Van McCoy's road manager for a number of years, apparently. He gave us private press LP's of early VanMC stuff featuring Chris Bartley, Sandi Sheldon etc. We had a good day there. Cashmeres Showstopper, a dozen Ruby Andrews, Vivian Reed etc. at 3 bucks apiece. But left behind the grail, for you to pick up the week after. :0) Sean

Nice one Arthur. About 15 years ago would be right. Was a great record shop. Wonder if its still there. Sean

Also, worth noting "A Quaker Town Production" is abbreviated to "A QT Production" on the Rouser issue. Had to be shortened from something! Short form normally following the original in most instances. Also adds weight to the theory it was done on the QT ;0) Sean

Thanks John. Pretty sure I recall Arthur saying it was a TP of the Rouser edit. Makes sense, being found in Washington. I always thought the Rouser copy was first small label release, but there's a lot of merit in the idea of it coming after the Fairmount issue, since it uses the Fairmount numbering. Tommy Rouse's name does not appear on the Fairmount issue. Wonder if he was supposed to share joint credit with FB, got pissed off because his name didn't appear so pressed up his own? There are numerous possible scenarios I can think of. Always been a curious one since young Adam first played the Rouser copy BITD. Would certainly like to know the facts behind it. Sean

Did it come from Arthur, John? About 16 years ago we were in a shop in Rhode Island, Washington, DC, and in the basement was a small pile of records, in the corner, next to a record player, which I didn't get to look through, such was the vast quantity of vinyl down there. About a fortnight later, Arthur and Sam went to the same place and Arthur told me about the Frank Beverly TP he'd found down there... In a pile of records, in the corner, next to the record player! Not like me and my muckers to leave a stone unturned, but we did that day.... but haven't since! :0) Sean

Killer 45 Dave. Best, Sean

Bought as a new release and couldn't live without it. Sean

A couple of years ago, at a record show in Harrisburg, Tats and I met the 'count' who tried to get us back to his place to see his collection. After he'd introduced himself and a few minutes dialogue, it was pretty clear what the guy was made of and so Tats asked him if he had 'vowel problems'. Think he's probably still trying to figure out what he meant. :0) Sean

Hi Dave, good point but infact Curtis didn't get away with the similarity in "Can't Satisfy" and "This Old Heart Of Mine". He apparently had to give up publishing rights to Jobete on that one! Didn't stop a lot of groups copying the Impressions sound verbatim though! Cheers, Sean

Yep Elbie Parker was Huge late Wigan / Clifton Hall tune for Gary. Agreed 80's was quieter than the 70's but it brought a lot of new and young devotees and hung on to hardcore Soul fans. The diversity in music, early to mid 80's, was incredible and I'll bet many of the discoveries of that time are the tunes now making their way into the new Top 500', replacing the classic Torch and early Wigan Stomper! It will be interesting to see how the content of the book compares with the first edition. And to see where the 'new entries' are and in what period they were discovered! All the best, Sean

My recollection is exactly like yours Mak. I was just a kid collecting Motown / Stax / Atlantic in '68 / 69 then, influenced by my older sister and her mates, bought 'Skinhead Moonstomp' on Treasure Isle and it all started getting messy. Turned up Levi's, OxBlood Doc Martens, Grandad Shirt, Ben Shermans, Braces and in our case Levi Jacket with the label unpicked from the inside and re-sewn above the left breast pocket! Thought it was only those of us round my neck of the woods that did that, Mak, cos I remember talking to some lads fom York at Skeggy one Bank Holiday and they thought we were crazy defacing the jacket! Guess it was a way of showing off the brand, but we never really thought about it, it was just the done thing. Then Harringtons came along, Pewter Sta-Prest, Red Socks, Barters or Royals, and that paved the way for the suedehead look, with Crombie, brolly and a longer (suede) haircut. I always felt 'skin' was just a progression of Mod. The hard 'boot boy' apparel was 'fashion' for only a couple of years, and soon evolved into a 'smoother' more 'mod-like' smarter look (we even called ourselves 'smoothies' or 'smooths'). All the while, although I bought loads of Reggae, Soul never went away for me, or my mates, and we would collect and dance to a Maytals 45 followed by an Impressions track without even thinking much about it. It was all 'our' music. By '72 I was buying more 'imports' and 'northern soul' was being talked about, but it was always a seamless progression for me: although I take the point made earlier regarding the 'cool' skin / mod / suede look and how the 70's Nighter gear seem totally unrelated. I always thought that style had a lot more to do with the Bay City Rollers than 'mod culture'. And it certainly attracted a lot of 'mainstream' people who wouldn't necessarily have any history or interest in Skin or Mod style, or taste in Music. Sean PS still got my orig copy of Symarip too and wouldn't sell it at any price. "Must Catch A Train" is still one of my favourite records of all time!

Sock it to 'em Ivor! Sean

Which is why I got £39 for my spare, not £25. Sean