Sweeney

Mikey, I see no problem with discussing live auctions. Sure, people actively involved in the bidding may be annoyed, but in the case of this particular item that probably equates to about a 0.01% of the membership of this site, if indeed that high a percentage. This auction wasn't a misdescribed item and had already attracted many hits and bids. In this case it would be naive of anyone to think that there was a bargain in the offing. Unfortunately, in this day and age a great deal of the Holy Grail Records that we obsess about are going to be auctioned on Ebay at some point. Not being able to discuss these while they are ongoing will be a major downer, especially as the vast majority of people on this forum will probably never get to own some of the stupidly rare items being discussed. Many interesting and salient points came out of the discussion about the Walter and the Admerations disc, for example, that was auctioned comparatively recently. It would be a shame if the first we got to hear of it was discussing what it sold for. I think the benefits of being able to discuss ongoing Ebay auctions vastly outweigh the negatives and self-interest of the tiny minority.

Maybe you consider it bad form, but it's not against Forum Rules and unlikely to affect the outcome of the auction. Use of pointlessly obscene language is against the Forum Rules however, and those of us who use the Forum at work may have our ability to use this Forum curtailled as a result. Now THAT's bad etiquette (note spelling)

Hasn't Weller got something to do with this?

Wouldn't this type of thing - a USB audio interface be a more cost-effective and sensible option as it allows you to use your existing deck? I have one and it's very good. Works with both PC and Macintosh. USB Audio Interface

Mandy, I was merely making the point that he oviously regards the Rare Soul Scene as his own personal fiefdom and that we are mere serfs and villeins whose sole task is to buy into his tired and hackneyed vision without complaint or opinion. The vast majority of his posts on here were either trying to sell us something or ridiculing those who were less than satisfied with the shabby nonsense he was purveying.

Nothing this buffoon does surprises me. The sheer effrontery of his responses to paying punters that were treated so abysmally at Whitby was breathtaking. Is there any connection between people's dissatisfaction at the woeful organization of this event and his disappearance from this forum? Or am I being overly cynical? He seriously has an over-inflated sense of his own importance to the scene. Who died and made him King of Rare Soul? It should be US banning HIM by refusing to turn up to his cynical 'N£RTHERN S$UL' marketing exercises and spending our hard-earned cash on his 'product'. If Mr Roberts or any of his cohorts are reading this, please ban me from your events, and while you're at it why not ban me from buying your tedious CDs/DVDs/Books/Magazines/Overpriced 'Reissues' /Rip-Off Excursions to the US etc.

It's nice to see Rare Soul Flyers being dragged kicking and screaming into the 1980s. You get very tired of seeing tedious amateur flyers with the same old imagery (dead soul stars and record label scans) time and time again. Congratulations to VSC for trying to move the Soul Flyer genre forward.

This is a common practice and not necessarily a scam. Caveat Emptor, however. I've been offered records that I was the underbidder on. Sometimes the seller has multiple copies and offers the underbidder another copy of the record. Sometimes it's an unrelated third party who has a copy of the item and contacts the underbidder to offer the item they've missed out on. It is also possible that it's a scam and obviously isn't covered by Ebay rules/protection.

Drinks on the dancefloor? Talc? Surely these baneful transgressions can be curbed with the judicious use of membership cards? Discuss.

Are you referring specifically to the Eddie Bishop, Mikey? It was on an early Kent LP, but I don't think it made it to CD. I've got a Nancy Wilson vocal version on CD. There are probably other versions in an easy listening style too, I would imagine.

Rock On was pretty good, but they didn't really like you looking through Soul 7s for some reason. Possibly snobbery, but every time I asked for the 60s Soul box one of the staff would tut loudly. Camden had some great shops for records then (Early 80s) Sea of Tunes, Popbeat, the Record and Tape Exchange, The Market itself. All yielded many great finds.

The Shop in Hanway Street was called Rocks Off. Owned at that time by legendary miserable old git Stan Brennan. Shane McGowan used to work behind the counter in those days (about 80-81?). Indeed it was him that first introduced me to the joys of the Clark and Croasdell boxes. When I was looking through the Shop's own stock he said "Don't look at that old bollocks, look through these". If only I knew then what I know now! Still, got some very nice things out of them which I still have.

A stab at number 9 - Is it Brook Benton's version of Blue Moon?

Is 7 Bobby Freeman - I'll Never Fall in Love Again on Autumn?

Fair points, Baz. However, do we really care how the scene is perceived? Every now and again the media will plunder the scene for its perceived cool to sell things to the unsuspecting (although catfood was a strange one!) but surely the scene has broad enough shoulders to laugh it off and forget about it. I like the fact that the idiots who were daft enough to waste their time watching Vaughan's drivel think badly of the Rare Soul Scene and don't really have an understanding of this thing of ours. Anyway - if people wanted to have a giggle at our expense all they would need to do is to look at the photo gallery of this very website!

I love the Louvin Brothers cover as well Pete. Q magazine did a supplement called 'The 100 Best Record Covers of All Time' (which I was lucky enough to get a sleeve featured in) and this was included. Apparently they built the devil themselves - it was 12ft high and made of plywood. The 'hellfire' was created by burning tyres in a disused quarry. It started to rain and they were pelted with burning rock fragments. No Photoshop in those days!

I love the vocal style of Linda Jones and this is one of her best lesser known tracks. What've I Done (to Make You Mad) (Loma)

No Rare Soul record is worth the price people are willing to pay! Part of me agrees with you - it's a bit of a train wreck if you analyse it too heavily, but I truly believe it to be one of the finest Northern Soul double-siders especially when heard out at a venue. Truly bonkers kitchen sink production and a ridiculously manic vocal. Ten out of ten for effort, five and a half out of ten for talent. I love this record!

Yep, I foolishly entered into a battle of wits with an unarmed man.

If you're going to insult people, the least you can do is have the wit to spell their names correctly. Hypocrites, idiots and ego-tripping prats? words like Glass Houses, stones and throw come to mind. Your dogged yet misguided defence of Ian Levine is admirable, but ultimately very tedious. Can't you talk about anything positive?

Roy Hamilton's version of Oldham & Penn's "Dark End of The Street" is a very beautiful and poignant record. One of his last I believe.

What the world needs now - is love sweet love - it's the only thing that there's just too little of. Preserve us from celebrities!

Yep, you can't go far wrong. Followed by the Let's Get It On LP. For the adventurous try the Here, My Dear LP as well. But probably not in rapid succession!

I'm put in mind of John Manship's replies to the person that was questioning the integrity of his Online Auctions. He took the time to explain how they worked, why they were set up to ensure that their integrity was beyond reproach - all in a calm and reasoned way. No telling people to "leave the scene/this forum - NOW" no using the forum as a personal soapbox, no pointless histrionics. I do agree re. the forums. It's pretty disgraceful that people can come on here to spread rubbish about others. But that's why we have moderators. On other (non-soul) forums I belong to such behaviour wouldn't be tolerated and these posts would be removed instantly and those who make them banned or asked to justify themselves. I'm glad to see Mike is putting steps in place to ensure thing like this are going to come to an end. It gets very boring when there's more scene politics than scene to talk about.

"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about" - Oscar Wilde. It would seem that the starter of this topic is equally adept at subverting this forum to his own ends as his detractors are. Or am I being overly cynical?