Derek Pearson

Pretty sure good old Frank must've paid for that session/release out of his own pocket eh?!........ Seem to think I already had the Lee Harvey 45 then picked up the Frank Foster 45 dirt cheap in a sales box or via an American list circa mid/late 1980's. Was pretty excited until I played it. Recall hearing this played somewhere (late 70's at WC or where ever?) then a few weeks later - much to my great surprise - picking up a blue plastic UK 7" copy in VG+ nick somewhere up Manningham Lane near the football ground in Bradford on one of my regular dinnertime junk shop trawls. Flogged it for a fiver at WC a week later.

Lee Harvey released this decent mid tempo semi known in 1964. The song was written by M Alexander who owned the label. Dx A few months later Frank Foster & The L.A. Untouchables released their version of the song also on Kris - if you can listen to longer than a minute of this song you're a better man than I.........phew that man can't sing.

Barbara Brown originally did the song “Pity The Fool” in July 1972 on MGM Sounds Of Memphis. It's good but not nearly as good as Carl Sims. Dx

Carl Sims opened his singing career with his blistering debut 45 straight outta Memphis, Tennessee in May 1974 and it's still in my all time top ten after all these years. Dx

Hearing the fabulous "My Love Is So Strong" reminded me of this truly outstanding deep (bordering on blues) 45 by the same chap. Geater Davis “I'm gonna change” (Luna) the local label release from 1972 before Seventy Seven picked it up a year later. Now that's hardcore. With a voice that can cut wood. Geater Davis: His career began in Texas but he was always on the move looking for a better chance, keeping his career alive and the ‘big break’ so many artists look for. Just weeks after moving to Dallas he suffered a heart attack and shortly afterwards died, aged just 38, on the day he was supposed to record a new session.

Memphis label circa 1974. Dx

All 4 records now sold - thanks for the interest. Derek THE TOM - EMMANUEL AND RON EXPERIENCE Why (The Knower) / When You Lose Your Groove (Golden Three) Excellent £110 DARROW FLETCHER My Young Misery (Groovy) rare WDJ Excellent Plus £65 THE CHANNELS You Can Count On Me (Groove) WDJ released April 1965 Excellent £30 THE CHANNELS I’ve Got My Eyes On You (Groove) WDJ released October 1964 Excellent £30

Hi Jonathan - it's time for that old good news, bad news routine. Good news first: see attached scan. I'm sure you've already figured out the bad news - it's not for sale. Sorry. Yes it is single sided with just a plain white label - the credits were simply hand written on in blue ballpoint pen. Those golden words loved by many collectors - Promotion / Demonstration copy - are nowhere to be seen as it goes under the name Advance Pressing.

I gratefully thank Robert for his fascinating and very interesting comments on the music side of things which made a lot of sense and filled in many gaps in my knowledge. Nice one. Ta. Here’s another ‘last release’ 45 that should’ve been on my list – not northern as such but on a well known label famous for its northern output. Out of PhiladelphiaPA on Arctic 160 The Royal Five “Ain’t No Big Thing (But It’s Growing)” released in 1971. A superb group harmony effort not that well known, not that expensive either but not that easy to find. Sadly it slipped out un-noticed as the label folded all around it. The flip side “Peace Of Mind” was originally done by The Magnificent Men on Capitol 5608. The group also recorded “Say It To My Face” on Tyler Records Inc T 200. Some previously un-released 1960’s recordings for P&L Records in Philadelphia “Nobody Else / Don’t Stop” finally saw the light of day sometime around the mid 2000’s. co-written by Garnet Mimms anybody know if he ever released the song himself? Derek

As is well documented Billy Woods “Let me make you happy” on Sussex SUX 213 only came out as an insanely rare promo only 45 in January 1971 but the label released over 100 singles and survived well into the summer of 1975.

Nabay ‘Believe It Or Not / Believe It Or Not’ (instrumental) on Impact 1032 released in 1967 was the last 45 issued by the label. credits soulfuldetroit.com - Nabay (Nabay Restum) was Lebanese and raised in the south side of Dearborn, Michigan. Most of the time he sang under the name Nicki Robbins but friends called him Nabay. A.N.B Productions stands for Ali (Ali Bushamie), Nabay, (Bob) Babbitt. They funded "Believe It or Not" and recorded it in the Tera Shirma studios on Livernois. Then they took it to Harry Balk who "flipped" over it and immediately signed Nabay to his Impact label. Dennis Coffey arranged and played on the song. And even though Nabay's not listed in the credits, the writers were Ali, Nabay, and Babbitt.

Good call - as soon as you mentioned it I immediately remembered it from my original list way back when. What happened was sometime along the way I lost my original 'last release on the label' idea/list when I blew up/corrupted/damaged my PC and then years later revived the idea/list forgetting some and discovering loads more via the massive wealth of info on the internet. And you're right the Brilliant Korners was the last known release on Modern in 1969 and the only one that featured this green/yellow design. This change of design sadly didn't help the group either. Unable to confirm/deny whether any stock copies exist. Derek

Roy Hughes ‘When I’m Back In ‘64’ www.yorkpress.co.uk/video/33243/read By the early Seventies, Roy was DJ at Hypnotique in Lady Peckitts Yard in central York. It was, he recalls, a small, smoky venue with a capacity of only about 200 people - though sometimes double that number would squeeze in. It was hot and smelly and basic, he says, with a small dance floor, a disco in the corner and a small raised stage for the live bands. There was mildew under the carpet - but when Hypnotique was packed and heaving, the atmosphere was awesome. Live bands appeared on Thursdays - including, one memorable Thursday, Robert Knight. Knight had a couple of records in the charts at the time Roy recalls, and had been at the Top Of The Pops studio the night before to record. He was playing Hypnotique the following night, when TOTP was screened. The whole audience, Knight included, watched him perform on TOTP - and then he mounted the stage and started playing live. (DP: prob late 1973 - early 1974 ish). And as par for the course time moves on and clubs under go name changes - so Hypnotique became The Revolution which hosted regular punk/new wave nights (Joy Division played there on 22nd December 1978 supported by Cabaret Voltaire). By 1979 it was called Casanovas And it was still called by that name in 1988

Took me a while before I figured this one out (smile). Thought to be out of Washington DC sometime 1971. Flip side is decent sweet soul. Dx

I could never get my mouth 'round that word...... Dx

First c/up by Pat Brady early-mid 1980’s as Little Carl Carlton “Hey girl we’re in love” and stayed a one-off for near on 20+ years. The recent circus surrounding the sale via Ebay prompted me onto YouTube to remind myself just how good it was. Wow abso-bloody-lutely wow. Talk about improving with age. It must have been a massive instant success - it’s got all the ingredients you need to get your shirt off and go absolutely mental to. Anybody there the first time Pat played it? Was a John Anderson find? So my natural curiosity made me wonder what the flip side was like? Very rarely talked about by collectors primarily because no buggers got a copy (laughs). With a title “She Wrote It – I Read It” you know straight away it’s not gonna be one of them happy clappy songs. And it doesn’t disappoint…….. No point putting it on mi wants list then eh?! Dx

according to Google the year would be 1974 if this helps. Derek

Motown and reggae aren't two words you'd normally associate together however....... Bob and Marcia "Young Gifted And Black" more commonly seen in the UK on Harry J records was released in the states 23 July 1970 via Tamla 54197. Was this the only reggae 45 Motown licensed in for distribution? Wow you learn summat new every day eh? Derek

Last releases on the label which became classics on the Northern scene. Years ago probably before the internet started to gain a foothold in most UK households circa mid 1990’s many people - myself included - attempted to compile label listings either on handwritten A4 sheets or via good old fashioned typewriters. After a while I started to notice that quite a few well known classics had the unfortunate claim of being the last known release on the label. Assuming that many of the promotional men at the time had an inkling that the company they were working for was going under – instead of pushing the latest releases into record shops and onto radio DJ’s I guess a lot of their effort went into finding another job possibly maybe? Last release on the label coupled with no promotion could condemn the record into an instant rarity. No promotion into securing radio airplay meant no demand was built up for the record which in turn would do little to convince the owners to press up stock copies to distribute amongst the record shops. If these last releases were only sent out as promotional copies this could explain why issue copies of some 45s are so rare or in some cases non existent.. I’ve cross checked most of these 45s featured on the list below via www.45cat.com but please remember mistakes can be made and gaps are frequent. Also bear in mind I have never worked within the record industry in any capacity and all my opinions come from being an enthusiastic outsider who reads a fair bit, remembers a fair bit less and constantly adds 2 and 2 to make 5. Please add to this thread as and when. Ta. Derek (Lizard 21010) N. F. Porter “Keep On Keeping On” (released 1971) However in this case red stock copies are pretty common and all over the place as it made the Top 40 in the Billboard R&B charts late 1971. (Lo Lo 2307) Bobby Hill “To The Bitter End” (1970) (Lawn 256) John Leach “Put That Woman Down” (1965) (Elbam 72) Tommy Turner “Lazy / I’ll Be Gone” (1965) (Topper 1015) Tobi Lark “Challenge My Love / Sweep It Out In The Shed” (1966) (Karen 45-1551) The Volumes Ain't Gonna Give You Up / Am I Losing You (1970) (Kellmac 1010) The C.O.D.'s “She's Fire” (1966) (Kellmac 1011) The Combinations “What' Cha Gonna Do” (1966) (GSF 6916) Connie Laverne “Can't Live Without You” (1974) Only known release by this woman. Promo only copies compound its extreme rarity. (Music Merchant MS 1013) Eloise Laws “Love Factory” (May 1973) ……………………………………………………………………….. Alright these two might not exactly be the last releases on this label but they are at the very end of its life. (End 1127) Lenny Curtis “Nothing can stop me now” (June 1966) (End 1129) Harry Starr “Another time another place” (June 1966) …………………………………………………………………………… Not northern classics as such – just 2 of my favourite soul 45s that conveniently fit into this thread. (Revue 11071) Len Woods “I’m In Love” (1970) Only known release by this chap. (Hi 5N-2297) Jean Plum “Look At The Boy” (October 1975)

Record labels that are named incorporating the owner or owners names: Johnny Guitar Watson "Ain't Gonna Move" on Jowat is a great example. I'd love to know - or be able to remember - just how long it took me to spot this hidden in plain sight detail. There's bound to be loads more but none spring immediately to mind. Help me out eh? Labels such as Karen that were named after the name of a family member (one of the owners daughters so I've read) also count I guess. Derek

The old Archway Sound Studios at 4251 Natural Bridge, Saint Louis. Building currently vacant. https://www.saxophone.org/resources/guestArticle/view/article/11 Derek

Always liked this 45 and thought it would/could have been much bigger had it been recorded properly and not in some echo riddled cellar. Hard to figure out why they even released it with this mix? What happened to quality control at the test pressing stage? Unable to find a link on YouTube. Derek

Not as easy to find as you'd think - some say its promo only which would certainly reduce the number of copies in circulation. Popsike has exactly 19 copies listed as sold in between 2008-2016 averaging £50 ish +/- Derek

And what a fine record it is. Derek

thanks chaps glad you enjoyed listening to it - it's still available in the listen again archive https://podcasts.canstream.co.uk/bcb/index.php?date=2016-06-18 if anybody wants to hear some of it. Ta Derek