Home Of The Blues

No. 6 November 1966

Continuing our historical listings of very rare 60s British Soul Fanzine comes this debutant to the auction - the much-hunted embryonic Blues & Soul magazine as “Home Of The Blues” this is issue 6 from November 1966 - and I’m not ashamed to say I’ve not seen it before.

This issue the front picture underlines how obscure the editor John Abbey dug - with a leading picture of North Carolina vocal-group The Corsairs. Other features cover Percy Sledge (with pic), Bobby Hebb, 5 Stairsteps (with pic)) Otis Redding (live review of his performance at “THE TILES), Robert Parker (live review of his performance at “THE TILES” London, Linda Carr, The Tonics and a review of the 5th. American Folk Blues Festival.

Percy Sledge live Sunday Night @ the Harlem Apollo, meeting DJ’s Frankie Crocker & Rocky G backstage

A unique insight into Joey Young & The Tonics and up & coming Jamaican gathering gaining a reputation on the London Soul circuit.

Plus new release 45 reviews…

You could not get this information anywhere else..unique window into the beginnings of the British Soul Scene…

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 305.00

Showstoppers

Gotta Get Closer To My Love C/w Heartbreaker

ONE OF THREE KNOWN COPIES ON PLANET EARTH.

For the first time ever for auction in the UK! Click the sound file and prepare to be blown…….away!

One of only THREE copies known to exist! This is the aborted follow up to their Club-hit “Ain’t Nothing But a House Party” that never saw the light of day in the USA.

A 1968 “Frankford & Wayne” stamped SHOWTIME 102 test press gives up not one but TWO astonishingly good Northern Soul dancers that almost defy believe. The UK tours sparked by the success of “House Party” in England delayed this groups return to Philadelphia, leading to a string of UK Beacon releases that never received a USA press.

The magnificent “Heartbreaker” received a 1968 UK only release but NOT “Gotta Get Closer To My Love ” which had wait until 1979 for a ltd press on Neil Rushton’s Inferno label under the banner of previously unissued.

If you like the RARE and unbelievably good this 45 delivers on all fronts.

Intimidating vocal-group Northern Soul of the very highest calibre.

This copy has a TINY 12mm hairline edge crack, not affecting play in the slightest. The only other person in Europe to own this 45 is the World’s #1 Norther Soul DJ…

Northern Soul collecting can hardly get rarer or better than this!

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 371.00

Raymond Kee

You Got Me Goin' C/w Dancin' On My Mind

Rare Soul Scholars wrap your ears around this New Jersey 12” obscurity and the masterful vocal of Raymond Kee!

On this his D.I.Y. project where is spares no expense with a shrill group of girls hanging on his every word with timely and heavenly harmony chorus back up.

Vocally strong and precisely produced soulful-stepper from the top-drawer, with the right credentials for a weekend break at Soul Essence, Great Yarmouth or a Saturday night out at The Orwell where all truly soulful obscurities eventually end up.

Flip it over and a huge lump of Boogie launches itself out you, this may well make take a trip on a cross channel ferry..

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 69.00

Barbara Acklin

I'm Not Mad Anymore C/w Nobody Cares

You are viewing one of the rarest Northern Soul 45s it is possible to own.

That comes from the knowledge that this disc is the FIRST copy John Manship Records has had to offer since the hot-summer of 1976! When I foolishly swapped it for some forgotten nonsensical in-demand disco-tripe that became so popular that year.

One of my lifes biggest regrets…. at least when I traded Euro-Disco dross with Colin Curtis; I gave him Bernie Williams - Ever Again - for Andre Gagnon’s - Wow - I can can truthfully say I’ve acquired several “Bernie’s” since then.

But this extreme rarity took fully 36 years to get again.. so having validated this disc extreme elusivity - click the sound-file to hear why I spent the rest of the 20th. Century in vinyl-remorse.

No smooth-as-silk Brunswick session here, it’s a Monk Higgins journey into PROPER-NORTHERN as he interprets Pam Sawyer & Lori Burton’s lyrics - like only the collaboration of Monk & Burgess Gardner so often did.

And the flipside is a killer too… Condition of both labels is clean, vinyl both is immaculate - except the A-side vinyl has a minuscule dimple which we have run the soundf8ilev through - listen ti hear it play clean & true!

But I’m very happy today - to be able to listen to and hold such a NS Jewel !

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 989.00

Jackie Trent

Only One Such As You

Jackie gave Northern Soul quite a few recordings to consider throughout the 60’s but this NS Popcorn mover is the best and rarest.

I defy anyone to listen to this Chris Andrews composition at not be pulled into it’s contagious arrangement courtesy of Jackie’s husband to be Tony Hatch. Right from the xylophone littered intro you know your in for a treat, as Jackie’s demonstrative vocal lifts and falls perfectly to the infectious rhythmic happenings…

One listen and you’re hooked…One glance at the label scan and you’re in love..and this 48 year old in an amazing perfect MINT - !

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 184.00

Lou Johnson

The Magic Potion Of: 4 Track Ep

Do not confuse this with the relatively worthless 90’s Goldmine label press that replicated the front cover. This is the authentic seldom-seen1963 UK 4 track EP showcasing the doyen of the Big City Sound authoritative vocal style.

Includes his best from that year

1. Reach Out For Me
   
2. Always Something There To Remind Me
   
3. A Message To Martha
   
4. Magic Potion
   

Neat clean vinyl, two perfect labels and a laminated sleeve with only very light shade of age “browning” as the only flaw.

A UK only testament to this great man’s beginnings

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 110.00

Techniques

I Feel So Good Inside C/w The Project Song

The growing demand for Sweet Soul harmony records from the European collectors, has sparked us to process as much 60’s & 70s harmony group ballads during the holidays as possible. Over 100 new titles have been added to the site in the Group Harmony section, with the same amount pulled and reserved for future auction listings.

We kick off our now weekly listing of Sweet Soul 7’s with this delicious Texas rarity from Austin. This is the same band who gave us the impossible 45 on “Twink” again they skillfully weave a Sweet Soul delight that gracefully builds as the falsetto lead soars aloft a perfect cloud of harmonious backing.

Sweet Soul could hardly be sweeter… so silky-smooth n’dreamy.

The flip as so often happens with these street-level indie creations jets off in a different direction with a gritty excursion into FUNK.

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The winning bid was £ 86.00

Marvin Gaye

Pride And Joy

Condition, condition, condition.

TMG addicts and compulsive up-graders you will not find a finer copy of this 1963 UK Motown Oriole than the copy n front of you now - still as you can see from the graffiti on the company sleeve it’s still sits in it’s original birth-sleeve; with every so very near to perfect!

Beautiful!

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The winning bid was £ 134.00

Vel-vets

I Got To Find Somebody

Does it get anymore classic than this100% Los Angeles girl-group wedge of Northern Soul.

Not if you stood peering over on the balcony of Wigan Casino witnessing 100’s of pioneering NS soldiers simultaneously punch the air with “Whoa!” at the end of the chorus, you’ll be nodding you head saying “So Classic” it catapults you back nearly 4 decades.

to when Northern Soul was the most-vibrant energetic experience a teenager could ever have on a weekend!

This dance-floor-detonator has two perfect label, original birth sleeve and near clean and tidy vinyl!

Whoa!

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The winning bid was £ 294.00

Eugene Gaspard

On And On C/w Holding On

At long-last this outrageously fine New Orleans double-hitter is receiving the accolades it thoroughly deserves.

Top side drips with soulful emotion as Eugene pleads for his love to go “On & On” - you will find yourself pulled under into an abyss of fervent desire. As Mr. Caspard saturates his vocal in burning passion and need. Proper real-deal Soul…at it’s most inspiring.

Flip it over, and this “sleeper” offers up a funk infused dance tune that fits perfectly into today’s Northern Soul lust for the punchier 70s groove. Watch this side race into the most-wanted charts..

Twice over Eugene displays passion from the heart, serving us notice with not one but two killer tunes, from a City that has long since ceased baring vinyl-fruit. A tune to secure now…as demand, awareness & value are rising…

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The winning bid was £ 235.00

Ike Strong

I Owe My Life To You

Currently receiving exposure from highly regarded DJ’s like Ted Massey and others, is this uplifting Southern produced dancer that ignores all disco influences retaining a soulful stance whilst still delivering a mighty-strong dance tune.

Ike Strong’s earthy vocal style has long been admired by the rare-soul collector, so when James Terry & Sam Moultrie construct a wave of strings for Mr. Strong to rinse his tonsils with - the outcome is sensational!

Soulful dance does not get much better than this easy-flowing mover - little wonder the “Ted’s” of the scene, i I do, consider it a potential monster..

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 309.00

Formations

At The Top Of The Stairs C/w Magic Melody

An end of an era - The Twisted Wheel closes but the sounds that this most-famous of clubs spun, will live on, perhaps forever!

Here is a timeless “Wheel” classic as the rarely seen 1968 UK release, offering two fabulous examples of Philadelphia Northern Soul.

We think the label, sleeve scan & soundfile, say it all, as I’m sure you’ll regress to your NS infancy and the wonderful memories evoked by tunes like these, that nailed most all of us to a lifelong love for Northern Soul.

This copy s in flawless condition..both sides..long-live THE WHEEL!

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The winning bid was £ 159.00

Optimistics

Inc: Say It Baby

The original 1970 press…A Soul LP Holy Grail -

7 tracks that gift us with a mixture of sublime Sweet Soul, message infused Funk dancers and one outrageously good Soulful dance tune “Say It Baby” that lifts this album into the exclusive “Must-Own” album club.

This album so very rarely comes to market, and every track epitomizes the emerging East Coast vocal group sound of the late 60s early 70s covering all three major styles of collectablity. Funk, Sweet & Soul dance are exquisitely delivered by this 4 man gathering guided by the inimitable duo of George Kerr & Gerald Harris.

Check out our selected RARE in the extreme -

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 133.00

Jo-jo Hammett & His Hurricanes

Ain't That Heavy C/w Next Time

Potent Deep Funk backed with an equally powerful Deep Soul ballad.

This 45 is very tough to acquire in fine clean condition, I’ve only experience this 7 before in vg and water damaged..

With the meteoric rise of the FUNK sound within Northern Soul circles lately, we this juggernaut would fit in nicely..

Deep Soul fans will adore the flip..

Sorry, this item has already been won!

The winning bid was £ 149.00

jackie trent and ike strong done good

Jackie Trent wow?

I thought the Showstoppers test pressing went a bit cheaply, considering what it is.

jackie trent and ike strong done good

Agree. Jackie probably went to a UK 45 collector. Plenty of US Kapp copies around. And even italian Pye (or Piccadilly?). Never thought this is worth more than 20/30. New lesson learnt.

Ike Strong obviously no longer an under-the-radar tune. Was 70 quid on Mr Fish's list last september. Is it an easy to find tune or rather tricky to locate?

Agree. Jackie probably went to a UK 45 collector. Plenty of US Kapp copies around. And even italian Pye (or Piccadilly?). Never thought this is worth more than 20/30. New lesson learnt.

Ike Strong obviously no longer an under-the-radar tune. Was 70 quid on Mr Fish's list last september. Is it an easy to find tune or rather tricky to locate?

i dont think ike strong is a common record..but its not that rare.....£100 maybe

I

i dont think ike strong is a common record..but its not that rare.....£100 maybe

I sold my copy about 4 years ago for around £75

bugga me i got the jackie trent onlylast month for $35 , & i thought that was $5 too much, what a crazy world

Agree. Jackie probably went to a UK 45 collector. Plenty of US Kapp copies around. And even italian Pye (or Piccadilly?). Never thought this is worth more than 20/30. New lesson learnt.

No you are right Benji. Jackie Trent's rarest record by a mile is The One Who Really Loves You on Oriole, followed by You Baby on Pye.