what was your first boot? usa press ,mine invertations and jo armstead urge keeps coming on from robs revolution records....birmingham

Beautiful Night-Jimmy Thomas on "TB Super Soul", from Tony Banks at Leeds Central , probably summer 1972.

I had no idea about boots etc at the time , being 15, but I was well chuffed with my purchase!

Tim.

It would have be a SOUL SOUNDS 45 bought around 1970.

It would have been a Wellington boot about size 5😁. Seriously think it was Billy Prophet what can I do, didn't realise it had been pressed.

Edited Wednesday at 05:432 days by Greedy Mick

Rat Race on OOTP (sold a few weeks ago after 50 years of ownership)

The Furys "I"m Satisfied" instrumental with The Performers "Set Me Free" on the flip of a light/sky blue Mirwood

One of Mosieur Simons ?

Cheers Paul

RAL DONNER DONT LET IT SLIP AWAY ON A GREEN INFERNO…..STILL LOVE THE TUNE

NOT SURE IF ITS A BOOT OR A LEGIT REISSUE?

Inferno was legit. Run By Neil Rushton.

Cheers Paul

Baby Reconsider by Leon Haywood on Soul Sounds.

This was in among the first few I bought.. 'Lou Roberts & The Marks - Ten To One' (MGM).

Edited Tuesday at 19:482 days by Soul-slider

nope .... had the soul sounds list before fl moores was nocking them out

£1 each happy days

47 minutes ago, Dobber said:

RAL DONNER DONT LET IT SLIP AWAY ON A GREEN INFERNO…..STILL LOVE THE TUNE

NOT SURE IF ITS A BOOT OR A LEGIT REISSUE?

Still love myself after all these years remember it shivering the timbers at the Casino circa 79...with that intro it brought a storm to the dance floor as sure you know.

55 minutes ago, Dobber said:

RAL DONNER DONT LET IT SLIP AWAY ON A GREEN INFERNO…..STILL LOVE THE TUNE

NOT SURE IF ITS A BOOT OR A LEGIT REISSUE?

There's a version by 'The Daughters Of Eve' on Cadet but re-titled 'Social Tragedy' for some reason!

Can’t guarantee it was my 1st but if not very close. Sam & Kitty £1 on my 17 birthday at the casino 4th anniversary 1977 - Still got it. 1st original epitome of sound £4 Notts Palis same year - still got it.

tainted love ?Could of been anything when i was 14 in 1974 i just wanted every northern record i could get my hands on .it took me a couple of years to get educated .I still have a box of boots that i just cannot part with .They are part of my personal history .Part of growing up .Who would have thought that soul music would be such a journey

I went to morecambe scooter run in 1984,I got Beverley Ann -he’s coming home and others on sounds of soul after hearing them in all nighter,I was 14 ,I’ve got the originals now, but it didn’t matter then ,great times.

The Bells -Don't Pretend + Instrumental on flip on Soul Fox..85p from Selectadisc who were on Bridlesmith gate at the time. I think Rob Smith was working there and all the Soul 45s were upstairs , displayed on the wall.

Father's Angels - Bok To Bach on green Heritage. Paid 85p from a record shop in Blackburn.

Still got it by the way.

Edited Wednesday at 07:332 days by Dave Morris

My Mechanical Man - Leah Dawson & the Choker Campbell Orchestra

Bought for 10p in about '73 from a box in room above a stationers in Chorlton along with several excellent legit releases. Never heard it but bought on because of Choker Campbell's name on the label. Loved it and was gutted to find 30 years later that it was a boot. Why someone would've booted that is beyond me!

11 hours ago, Soul-slider said:

There's a version by 'The Daughters Of Eve' on Cadet but re-titled 'Social Tragedy' for some reason!

Never knew of this version,you know what it’s alright! Backing is as punchy as rals version,and the girls sound like dottie & Millie on topper.

3 hours ago, Dobber said:

Never knew of this version,you know what it’s alright! Backing is as punchy as rals version,and the girls sound like dottie & Millie on topper.

Same here never heard that version will have to check it out, At the time i thought Ral Donner was titled "I got news for you"..had it a few times down the years on the original Sunlight label, seems to still command a £100 price tag, certainly a marmite record but instant nostalgia for me , back on topic first boot for me was Dena Barnes iyewooml followed by an emi disc of Matt Lucas bybgg back bar 50p.

7 hours ago, Richard Free said:

tainted love ?Could of been anything when i was 14 in 1974

Same here, would have been amongst the first certainly ... 16 years old not a clue what a boot was.

The only boots I ever bought were the OOTP stuff wholesale (50p each) from Chris Burton. My mate Twink used to sell them at Wigan for £1. Did any of you become a customer of ours?😁👍

I reckon the first boot I bought was lady in red by ronnie Dyson on soul beat, think it had sister sledge on the flip side, got it at parr hall all-nighter in Warrington, I had tomangoes on washpan for years but for the life of me can’t remember where or when I got it, deffo a boot though……I hope

Vividly remember mine , it was the Barbara McNair/Vandellas - You're gonna love my baby/Spellbound on TamTown.

Got it at the Oddfellows in Leicester around 1981 for a quid , was admiring it on the bus on the way home with the Ely crowd when I got an almighty bollocking from Aggro , he'd just bought a stone mint British red and white demo for something silly like £300.

Makes £50 these days so not a bad buy at the end of the day , if Aggro's red and white had increased in value pro rata it'd be £15,000 now ...

Edited Wednesday at 16:001 day by Woodbutcher

My first was Don Thomas Come On Train then shortly after I bought a metal EMI Disc at Wigan hand written Night Owl on one side and Inky Winky Wang..... on the other. Probably 76/77 not completely sure of the year. Flood gates opened after that with I'm Where it's At, Forgive and Forget and I'm Cumin Home In The Morning.

My first bootleg purchases were the 3 Flamingos' issues on Parrot Records from 1953-54, made during the early 1960s(1961-2?), with the only difference from the originals being the word "Bronzeville" (Chicago neighbourhood) being misspelled to "Bronxville" (reflecting that the boots were pressed in New York, rather than Chicago, and so the boot could be distinguished from the original, as otherwise, it was really difficult to recognise the difference from the originals).

My second set of boots were 3 1952-53 Flamingos, and 2 Moonglows issues on Chance Records, also pressed by an East Coast R&B collector/record dealer, around the time during the early1960s(1963?), as the Parrot records were booted.

Edited Wednesday at 18:281 day by Robbk

Sidra's Theme

On 17/06/2025 at 20:06, Dobber said:

RAL DONNER DONT LET IT SLIP AWAY ON A GREEN INFERNO…..STILL LOVE THE TUNE

NOT SURE IF ITS A BOOT OR A LEGIT REISSUE?

That was a huge wigan sound. I bought it off Tony Just for a fiver on white vinyl and sold it a week later to my mate at work in Rylands wire works Warrington for seven quid. To buy Ronnie Forte from Soul Bowl.

Jannette Harper circa 1978 from late sister

first buy Yvonne Baker, most probaby £1-£2 at the Fleet circa 1980

Lee David Temptations calling my name, a quid at wigan 75

Soul Sounds - Dean Parrish - Tell Her

Still plays pretty well.

Mike

Nobody but me Human beinz, Soul sounds , bought in school playground for pennies 1972.

My first was probably Do I Love You 'Eddie Foster'.

Quite a few other boots followed, of varying quality; dodgy sound, off-centre, etc. The vast majority have long since gone.

My first boot was a classic "The Temptations - I Wish It Would Rain" from a local record shop. ❤️

VIVID MEMORIES OF I'M GETTING ON LIFE WOMBAT WAS LATER TOLD OFFICIAL REISSUE DUE TO DEMAND FOR US LOT SO NOT REALLY A BOOT?? NEXT ONE WAS RONNIE MCNEIR SITTING IN MY CLASS ONE I STILL HAVE, BOUGHT IN THE RECORD AREA UPSTAIRS RUSS'S FOR 1.25 ONE THAT'S ALWAYS EVADED ME FOR SOME REASON ,ALL MY BOOTS ,OR MAJORITY, I SOLD AND RE BOUGHT FOR MY JUKEBOX AFTER LONELY,LONELY GIRL TAMLA W/D GOT CUT IN TWO BY THE BLOODY THING !!!!

Birdwalkin' by Emanons Orch. Still have it, still got a soft spot for it , love an instrumental me !

Stanley Mitchell - Quit Twistin My Arm / Get it Baby / Groove City,

think I got a ton of others on the same day, all off Bham rag market, I put back Ray Merrell demo, and 21st Century demo on Dot, cause I didnt fancy the names as being any good!! young and dumb... !

The Precisons- If This Is Love (I'd Rather Be Lonely)

Had Such misery on the other side but the label was the same as If this is love side of the record

On 18/06/2025 at 08:44, Soulfinger said:

My Mechanical Man - Leah Dawson & the Choker Campbell Orchestra

Bought for 10p in about '73 from a box in room above a stationers in Chorlton along with several excellent legit releases. Never heard it but bought on because of Choker Campbell's name on the label. Loved it and was gutted to find 30 years later that it was a boot. Why someone would've booted that is beyond me!

This was done by Global Records for some strange reason. No demand for this at the time except as a collectors item on original. Other strange boots done by Global include Marsh Brody- Right Combination and Rose Batiste- That's What He Told Me. A bit more obvious were Duke Browner and Ed Crook. All on look a like labels but thin recycled plastic with terrible sound quality. I think John LaMonte's House of Sounds in Philly may have had something to do with these.

23 hours ago, washlively said:

My first was Don Thomas Come On Train then shortly after I bought a metal EMI Disc at Wigan hand written Night Owl on one side and Inky Winky Wang..... on the other. Probably 76/77 not completely sure of the year. Flood gates opened after that with I'm Where it's At, Forgive and Forget and I'm Cumin Home In The Morning.

There were large quantities of legit copies of Come On Train around so yours may have been OK. Discogs lists an unofficial 2nd press but even those could have been a re press by the record label.

My 1st pair boots 85p each bought from Sinfonia Records in Blackpool ,1973 ish David & the Giants , Ten Miles High , & Dusty Springfield, What's It Gonna Be ,O.O.T.P. white label . But did buy any originals from there as well Sandy used to split soul packs from John Anderson amongst the regulars .

Got back home one evening from school & could here Ten Miles High , blasting out on the family radiogram , which was my Dad's really , & my Sister aged about 10 was leaping up & down loving it , I went off on one taking it off the player asked what she was doing , she said she thought it was the Osmonds because it was on the Crazy Horse label , can laugh about it now .

First one I got was The Poets -She Blew a Good Thing on Old Soul Records from Spin Inn in Manchester. Over the moon to get this but no idea it was a boot and didn't care.

Anyone know anything about Old Soul Records. They looked like US pressings unlike Soul Sounds. There were others on the label:

Mickey Lee Lane -Hey Sah-Lo-Ney

Jackie Lee -Temptation Walk/Shotgun and the Duck

Bobby Freeman - S-W-I-M

Bobby Freeman and Poets for sale on Discogs but not the other two.

1 hour ago, Rick Cooper said:

There were large quantities of legit copies of Come On Train around so yours may have been OK. Discogs lists an unofficial 2nd press but even those could have been a re press by the record label.

Possibly. It was 1.50 ordered from a local record shop who had a list of imports they could get. It was on a blue Vee Jay label sounded really good too. But I thought the genuine copies were on a pink NUVJ label. May be it was a genuine re issue. It's long since gone now. My auntie actually got me UK demo as well when she worked at British overseas radio in Berlin.

1 hour ago, Rick Cooper said:

There were large quantities of legit copies of Come On Train around so yours may have been OK. Discogs lists an unofficial 2nd press but even those could have been a re press by the record label.

On 17/06/2025 at 20:06, Dobber said:

RAL DONNER DONT LET IT SLIP AWAY ON A GREEN INFERNO…..STILL LOVE THE TUNE

NOT SURE IF ITS A BOOT OR A LEGIT REISSUE?

That was mine! And I still love it too!

When I first got started with Northern, I just wanted the records to play and wasn't bothered about the label.

I sent for a Monster sound at Wigan at that time, Dana Valery "You Don't Know where Your Interest Lies"

When it came it was an Emi disc with six tracks on it.

Dana Valery "You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies", Pointer Sisters "Send Him Back", Len Barry "I'll Always Need You", Lynn Varnado "Wash And Wear Love", Bernard Pretty Purdie "Fickle Finger Of Fate and Phil Loman "Rock Me, Till I Want No More"

Phil Loman was another very big tune back then and the others were all a bonus!

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by Solidsoul

15 hours ago, Rick Cooper said:

This was done by Global Records for some strange reason. No demand for this at the time except as a collectors item on original. Other strange boots done by Global include Marsh Brody- Right Combination and Rose Batiste- That's What He Told Me. A bit more obvious were Duke Browner and Ed Crook. All on look a like labels but thin recycled plastic with terrible sound quality. I think John LaMonte's House of Sounds in Philly may have had something to do with these.

Thanks Rick. I didn't know Global had done that and, though I was in Global most Saturdays, don't remember seeing any of those in there.