Sweeney

this lot must use the same stylist!

Interesting article. Things to consider - Most of the people that had their minds blown by Elvis in the 50s didn't generally pass their love of Elvis onto the next generation. The next generation usually have their own heroes that reflect the age in which they live. It's unhip to like things your parents like. Hence little demand for the recorded artefact - which in most cases are readily available on cd/digital download anyway. The vast majority of his records aren't that rare to begin with and the internet enticed many copies of big-selling records out of the woodwork meaning that prices have settled at a more realistic level. Demand - Elvis was a cultural phenomenon rather than a genre of music. There simply aren't loads of Elvis all-niters or Elvis Weekenders taking place on a regular basis nationally and internationally like there is with the Rare Soul scene. The Rare Soul scene also benefits from not being about a single artist and has always been about the recorded artefact and gatherings that celebrate the music rather than the cult of personality. Other record collecting scenes like the Doo-Wop and Blues scenes were all about relatively few collectors obsessively finding stuff the others didn't own in virtual secrecy without a significant social scene attached. Prices were high but demand was confined to a few. Once they started to die off there wasn't really a newer generation to take their place. I've been wondering since the late 90s when the bubble is going to burst with the Rare Soul scene - so have many others. I guess it will eventually when there are more records than the perceived demand for them - but it seems incredibly buoyant at the moment. The problem is arguably the opposite - you see less and less records in mint/mint - condition than you did back in the 90s or even ten years ago. Plus people seem willing to suspend belief (and common sense) and regularly pay incredible amounts for the more popular (rather than rarer) trophy records.

So was this worth a 350 mile round trip in the pouring rain? You bet it was! Incredible playlists from all concerned. If you haven't been - you're missing out. It's a national treasure.

Every home should have one!

https://www.jimmyhelms.co.uk/#!music-videos/chxx There are similarities in the vocal styling and phrasing on some of those tracks.

Good marketing tactic though. How much traffic has been driven to that site in the last few days? Far more effective than Google Adwords.

I recently asked an Omega Service Centre about a service for my 1958 Seamaster. Because it's considered a very old calibre they want £620 before they start. On top of that there's no guarantee that they have all the parts to fix it if it needs spares. A more recent Speedmaster Professional will cost me a mere £440 + parts by comparison. Omega/The Swatch Group are also about to stop supplying spare parts of any type to non-accredited repairers meaning that if you've bought an Omega of any description in the last 150 years or so it more or less has to be sent back to Omega or one of their agents to be serviced or repaired at a rather inflated cost.

Given the amount of time it takes to disassemble, clean, lubricate, fault find (if needed) source new parts, add new parts, reassemble and test to a acceptable timekeeping specification and give a decent warranty I'd say £150 is a good deal.

I recently bought a pair of Weejuns which were OK considering they were made in El Salvador. I think they cost about £80 delivered from the States in the GH Bass post-Xmas sale. Truth be told they stack up pretty well against an early 1990s US-made pair I have but rarely wear. They use the same rather cardboard-like corrected grain leather they always have. I also have a couple of pairs of Allen Edmonds loafers which were made in the USA and are far better in terms of construction, materials etc. They did cost at least twice as much though to be fair. Not as stylish as the Weejuns though IMHO.

A reasonably well put together pop record. Not great but not altogether bad. Not sure what it's got to do with soul and there would be a raft of records I'd rather spend a grand on. Of course - all in my very humble opinion etc. etc....

Arguably the opposite is the case. Like many others I've long regarded this as being one of the very best double-headed Rare Soul records. To find out that there really is a UK London issue was mind-blowing and arguably the biggest thing that's happened on this site and possibly one of the biggest pieces of news on the Rare Soul scene ever. I think it's BECAUSE the record is held in such high regard that the bidding has reached such heights.

Brilliant stuff! Didn't everything seem so black and white 30 years ago!

Who claimed that it was in any way a "definitive story of Northern Soul"? I can't recall Elaine Constantine or anyone else involved with the project making such a bold statement. It's a feature film and not a documentary.