Having just done some house clearing at my mothers, discovering a Bosstock record shop bag and all the wish lists & stories of people being able to retire on what they found on the market stall, getting access to the warehouse is another story. Having had a interesting conversation with Soul Sam he believed the records were brought to this country as ballast in hulls of ships, brought to a Ware house in Bradford then distributed to outlets in Bradford Huddersfield and York they may have been more. The labels were mainly Canadiain America Motown related I know of 6 Salvadors being found. I remember as a young lad going into the shop in York and buying a pack of 25 records Jr Walker Edwin Starr and selling them on at Cleethorpes for a large profit I thought at the time, If I keep doing this I wall get that Leather coat

Having just done some house clearing at my mothers, discovering a Bosstock record shop bag and all the wish lists & stories of people being able to retire on what they found on the market stall, getting access to the warehouse is another story. Having had a interesting conversation with Soul Sam he believed the records were brought to this country as ballast in hulls of ships, brought to a Ware house in Bradford then distributed to outlets in Bradford Huddersfield and York they may have been more. The labels were mainly Canadiain America Motown related I know of 6 Salvadors being found. I remember as a young lad going into the shop in York and buying a pack of 25 records Jr Walker Edwin Starr and selling them on at Cleethorpes for a large profit I thought at the time, If I keep doing this I wall get that Leather coat

didn't all the MGM/VERVE stuff that was made popular at the Torch come through various sources via BOSTOCKS ?

Everybody in Bradford had an April Stevens courtesy of Bostocks. Even folks who weren't into Northern

didn't all the MGM/VERVE stuff that was made popular at the Torch come through various sources via BOSTOCKS ?

correct paul, read in a manifesto article a few years ago about colin curtis and keith minshull trawling through bostocks stall in bradford market. things like dottie cambridge and rat race spyder turner and many more, i wish i knew about it at the time!

They also had an outlet in Manchester Arndale, got the Larry Santos and Bobby Hutcherson LP's. .Aroundabout 76/77 I'd guess

They were also selling Soul Packs, but, as I'd never had a decent one, by then I'd stopped trying:frusty2:

Tony

In either late '72 or spring, '73 I was on teaching practice at a school in Gt Horton and used to go down to that stall on a regular basis. Apart from the various 45s already mentioned I came across half a doz James Bounty 45s, also some Shalimars. I never got anywhere near the warehouse, just into a little room behind the stall. I related a funny story at length in Manifesto about 10 years ago - I scrounged about £20 to take to the stall having studied Simon Saussain's 1st sales list and gathered a nice pile of records together then came across a box of 25 Charts `Desiree`. Greed took over and I dumped some lovely records to buy the box. Only to find they were the Doo Wop version when I got them home to Ossett, PLUS they were on a reissue label to rub it in!

didn't all the MGM/VERVE stuff that was made popular at the Torch come through various sources via BOSTOCKS ?

Thats right Paul got my copy Rat Race and a few copies of Kim Weston on MGM can't remember what, nice picture cover, memory's gone but it will come back to me in the middle of Tesco in about 3 weeks time "AiNT that loving you baby"

timestamp='1278964080' post='1370139']

Thats right Paul got my copy Rat Race and a few copies of Kim Weston on MGM can't remember what, nice picture cover, memory's gone but it will come back to me in the middle of Tesco in about 3 weeks time "AiNT that loving you baby"

"I got what you need"

Ahhhhh yes bostocks, good story here, i bought two of the soul packs one saturday morning, usual stuff kim westons, spyder turners betty swann etc but in one of them was a kenny smith issue, which i took to wigan to sell, only to discover on the train graham kelly from york had done the same thing as had five other people in the record bar that night

Is The Records For Ballast Not Just Urban Myth?

ME & A COUPLE OF MATES USED TO MAKE WEEKLY VISITS TO BRADFORD ON A SATURDAY TO SEE WHAT WE COULD FIND.

STUFF LIKE THE SHALIMARS, SUPERIORS, PRINCE HAROLD ETC TURNED UP REGULARLY, BUT REMEMBER ONE WEEK FINDING A COUPLE OF COPIES OF HOWARD GUYTON.

PETE

didn't all the MGM/VERVE stuff that was made popular at the Torch come through various sources via BOSTOCKS ?

Going off on a tangent...back during the mid-90's Phonogram HQ dumped all their MGM and Verve file copies in a couple of Southern stores...the LPs went to Watford and the 7"s to Chiswick.

I hit the LP's first and swept up, taking them to the Jazz specialists in the West End a few hours later for a quick turnaround! Sadly, I wasn't first to the 7"s (think Roger Stewart may have been?), but still scooped up a few of the not so obvious Oldies that had been passed by. Happy days!

Is The Records For Ballast Not Just Urban Myth?

i reckon its more people taking it as literal rather than what may have happened

empty ships need to take on ballast to operate properly

so if your ship is empty then would guess it may make sense to try and load it with cheap goods rather than fill up with actual ballast

maybe...

Ahhhhh yes bostocks, good story here, i bought two of the soul packs one saturday morning, usual stuff kim westons, spyder turners betty swann etc but in one of them was a kenny smith issue, which i took to wigan to sell, only to discover on the train graham kelly from york had done the same thing as had five other people in the record bar that night

I bought one of the Kenny Smith issues , about £8 I think ? Wish I still had it ...Eddie

i reckon its more people taking it as literal rather than what may have happened

empty ships need to take on ballast to operate properly

so if your ship is empty then would guess it may make sense to try and load it with cheap goods rather than fill up with actual ballast

maybe...

Ships use water for ballast when empty. They pump it in and then pump it out again when they load up a cargo (they don't need so much ballast when full). That's why various marine life gets spread around the world, by ships sucking them up and emptying them out somewhere else.

Mind you i think you're right that an empty ship is a ship earning no money, so why not fill it with something to move for someone after emptying the cargo hold. Makes sense.

Edited July 14, 201014 yr by Matt Male

Bostocks stall in the (now demolished Kirkgate market) was originall Pearsons ,i believe where Tony Banks found absolutely boat loadsof stuff --long b4 anybody else was rooting through it( see the book "The In Crowd")

Tony C.

I remember lots of Motown 6 track Ep's coming out of Bostocks (the ones with stiff cardboard covers) and for every gem there must have been a hundred non soul duffers!

Also one in the Merrion Centre market in Leeds before it was Gerrols.

BH

Bostocks stall in the (now demolished Kirkgate market) was originall Pearsons ,i believe where Tony Banks found absolutely boat loadsof stuff --long b4 anybody else was rooting through it( see the book "The In Crowd")

Tony C.

Yes, the bugger got there before most of us TC. I can't imagine what he must have found 'cos I cleaned up plenty every Saturday lunchtime from around '72 onwards when I used to work at John Laing down by the station. Used to spend my whole Saturday job wage at Bostocks and come back with 40 U.S. singles every Saturday and spend the rest of the weekend playing 'em.

We got spoilt. I don't think there has ever been a better place for discovering U.S. unknowns for 5p each since then!

Ian D

Yes, the bugger got there before most of us TC. I can't imagine what he must have found 'cos I cleaned up plenty every Saturday lunchtime from around '72 onwards when I used to work at John Laing down by the station. Used to spend my whole Saturday job wage at Bostocks and come back with 40 U.S. singles every Saturday and spend the rest of the weekend playing 'em.

We got spoilt. I don't think there has ever been a better place for discovering U.S. unknowns for 5p each since then!

Ian D

Anyone remenber Harlem Records rotherham?

Got some goodens out of there in 73 /74

mr ender.

In either late '72 or spring, '73 I was on teaching practice at a school in Gt Horton and used to go down to that stall on a regular basis. Apart from the various 45s already mentioned I came across half a doz James Bounty 45s, also some Shalimars. I never got anywhere near the warehouse, just into a little room behind the stall. I related a funny story at length in Manifesto about 10 years ago - I scrounged about £20 to take to the stall having studied Simon Saussain's 1st sales list and gathered a nice pile of records together then came across a box of 25 Charts `Desiree`. Greed took over and I dumped some lovely records to buy the box. Only to find they were the Doo Wop version when I got them home to Ossett, PLUS they were on a reissue label to rub it in!

They had 2 warehouses - one with all the multiple copy stuff on MGM, Verve etc and the other with single copies of stuff ( to this day I believe I was the only person to get into the 'singles warehouse' which was a run down terraced house in Little Horton) Got some great stuff out of both of these warehouses and made a bloody fortune at the Torch.

Julian

There was a Bostock store in Leeds Merion Centre (not market) about '79/'80. Mainly LP's & 12's. Bought Gil Scott Heron, Bobby Womack, Roy Ayers and lots of Motown there. Cheap as chips!!!

I had forgotten about Bostocks, I bought some chess and stax albums there in the 1970s early 80s, never bought singles though - doh!

When I was living in Leeds in 71 to 73 I used to bunk off college on Thursday morning to go to Bostock's Bradford stall. Arriving early I'd wait for Paul, Ma and Pa to open up. They would bring a couple of 100 count boxes of singles each to top up the racks. These could be bulk of the MGM/Verve stuff or even better, boxes of mixed one -offs. Some of the finds I remember were ''Gallop''-Milton Wright, ''Mighty Good Way''- Robert Banks, ''Cop a Groove inst'' Bobby Wells, ''Unsatisfied'' Lou Johnson, 3 or 4 Billy Butlers on Okeh, ''You Hit Me''- Alice Clark

.

I think they advertised the bulk titles in Black Echoes when they realised that people (thats you Julian B and Ian D) were buying from them and re-selling at quite a profit

.

In 74 or 75 when I was working at Global I got to go to their warehouses. In one they had boxes of stuff that had been out on the stalls and not sold, so not much worth buying but I found a Marie Knight Musicor demo. The other place, which I think was like a row of garages, had the bulk titles which they sold us at a few pence each for use in Global's soul packs.

Paul Bostock had a shop in Manchester in the late 70s mainly selling LPs, but still loads of Kim Westons and Spyder Turners.

Anyone remember what sort of labels never turned up. I can't recall any Motown, Chess, Atlantic , small West coast labels or Ric-Tic/GW .

Rick Cooper

My dear old mum, is one of those people who keeps everything, I was helping her clean out her famous carrier bag drawer the other week and came across on of these.       

The stock from Bostocks found its way into 'outlets' all over Yorkshire back then.

I recall finding 45's that had obviously come from their warehouse in shops in Dony, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Hull & the like.

Their biggest customer in Hull seemed to be the Boyes discount shop chain that had 5/6 stores in Hull plus shops in other York's towns as well.

I got loads of good soul import 45's from Boyes stores in the mid 70's ...

..... THE DAFT THING WAS ....... I never knew of Boyes ever selling 45's, apart from the stuff they sourced from Bostocks back in the 70's.

 

I believe the likes of Kegsy & Swish were also regular visitors to Bostocks and sourced lots of 'their finds' from the place. 

Used to get the Soul packs, think you got ten records for £1, Loads of stuff on Money, Mgm, Verve. Used to go in there with Swish.

 

 

I believe the likes of Kegsy & Swish were also regular visitors to Bostocks and sourced lots of 'their finds' from the place. 

 

Yep I used to go down there almost every day, I worked about 10 mins. away.

Contrary to a previous post there were loads of Ric-Tic stuff although mostly

the earlier red label stuff, only a few titles on the blue swirl design.

Don't remember many if any of the rarer Ric-Tic's however.

There was also loads of Okeh stuff in addition to the Verve/MGM stuff.

I got to back of the stall every time I went, well after the first few times,also

got into the warehouse a few times.

Some of my "pack" finds included multi copies of Big Daddy Rogers, Patience Valentine If You Don't Come and

a few others that sell for tidy sums these days. Unfortunately they were not big records

then and they languished in my garage for years. 

Like Julian and others I also made a few Bob at The Torch Etc, although I was always skint again by Monday

totally wired, but still skint !.

Kegsy

Edited July 12, 201311 yr by Kegsy

 I also made a few Bob at The Torch Etc, although I was always skint again by Monday

totally wired, but still skint !.            Kegsy

 

So what's new Kegsy, same ol same ol for you then    

Still the same today I guess (don't actually know as you didn't make it along to Cleggy this year).

Trust you're keepin well these days.

Myself, I'm finding life tuff, just back off a week long cruise up to the Fiords of Norway (that Slartibartfast certainly did a good job).

Next up, we have to slog it down to Sandbanks to stop with that there Mr. Temple). 

Edited July 12, 201311 yr by Roburt

 

Myself, I'm finding life tuff, just back off a week long cruise up to the Fiords of Norway (that Slartibartfast certainly did a good job).

Next up, we have to slog it down to Sandbanks to stop with that there Mr. Temple). 

 

Don't forget your tablets and incontinence sheets old boy.

 

kegsy

Don't forget your tablets and incontinence sheets old boy.

 

kegsy

Nita looks after that side of things for me, I'm so far gone these days, I can't even remember where I live.

Nita looks after that side of things for me, I'm so far gone these days, I can't even remember where I live.

 

Don't worry mate I'll call round and see you yesterday on Monday.

cruise up to the Fiords of Norway 

 

 euphemism  ???????

Bostocks Manchester, while I worked at Global, few copies of Frank Dell lp. Then down south for another record wholesaler, where we used to buy and sell( to Paul), sadly he died, in a car crash, devastated!.