Frankie Crocker

Very true. In any case, my Sweet Things demo and issue plus Drifters demo and issue look very pretty sitting in my record box, so they will never be offered for sale.

Wotcha Ted. I agree. I also enjoy reading John’s descriptions as they convey a sense of history and acknowledge the contributions of those behind the artists. If John put the auction descriptions in a book, I would happily buy a copy.

Pushkings copy sold for £20.66. With a bit of patience, most cheap, common records turn up sooner or later at a bargain price.

Relax you say... I am frantically digging through the collection trying to find the Sweet Things and the Drifters. If I’m really quick, I could get £1,000 for the pair. Without looking them up, I vaguely recall they’re listed at £100 apiece. James Fountain must have fetched a disappointing sum when compared to the common records that fetched £1,000 plus. That said, it went for the going rate, give or take a bit.

Thanks for posting as usual. Are you sure these figures are correct? Surely there must be a few errors here? Maybe a comma or decimal point in the wrong place. I’m going to look up the Drifters and Sweet Things in Manship’s Price Guide #7 to see if there are discrepancies...

Yes, three bidders and one smart#@*£ at the end. He could have had my spare copy for a tenner. This is a record I’ve stopped picking up in the States as it is widely available and not in demand. The reputable dealer pushkings from Sweden had it on his auction starting at $15.99 a few days ago. Baffles me why some final auction prices finish at the level they do... or is there something I am missing as flagged up by the starter of the thread?

I wish dealers would apply the Record Collector price/grading-scale to the records I bought... Whenever I’m in the States, just about everything is priced as if it was mint. With the feeding-frenzy auctions we’re currently seeing, the price/grading scale just goes out the window.

The ten highest Popsike sales figures for Clydie King’s ‘Soft And Gentle Ways’ range from £200 to £254. The most recent sale was in April 2021 for £219. ‘Soft And Gentle Ways’ is her most wanted Imperial release judging from Popsike sales, although a Philips 45 sells for a bit more. The Manship sale price at £313 was therefore 20% above the Popsike peak value and c90% above the recent benchmark. The record should set-sale at £200 for a VG+ copy, £225 for Ex and £250 for M-. The record is regularly auctioned by eBay, but a top dealer like John should sell this at a set-sale price.

It’s a £10 record, really common, not in-demand and probably won’t regain the level of popularity it achieved in the 70’s.

Steve, your frequent contributions on here are testament to how much you love the music.

Epitome of Sound jumped up £250 beyond the going rate, but such a great tune. Clydie King a set-sale record any day of the week, fetched a set-sale price once commission was deducted. Cashmeres a 2K record nowadays when in good condition like this one, so somebody will be pleased; two top sides for the money.

One listed on Manship’s website at £150.

Big tune at The Dome. Sad news. One of the best blue-eyed soulsters ever.

Thinking of Florida and North Carolina in particular. Jimmy Bo Horne and the carolinasoul Detroit offerings such as the Majjestees, Dusty Wilson, Jimmey Soul Clark, Angela Davis and umpteen others.

Thanks for posting as usual. Some of the screen-shot values went up a bit further according to John’s website as your updates show. Did the Buster & Eddie creep up further as this was not on John’s list? Some awesome figures here and plenty of PB’s eg Pic & Bill, Yvonne Baker, Johnny Maestro etc but I’m no longer surprised after seeing the eBay winning bids in the last four days.

A five-figure Feedback Rating is pretty huge in my books. I’ve only got a three figure rating for 20 years buying, mainly records but plenty of other items also. A lot of the expensive rare records seem to go to collectors with four figure ratings, evidently very regular buyers over a long period. I always leave feedback for sellers I buy from but my rating only creeps up despite the numerous purchases I make.

Thanks for spotting and posting. Interestingly, the Discogs image has the release number on the right whilst the eBay image has it on the left. This suggests there were two pressings of the record (or contemporary releases from two pressing plants). I had the eBay record in my Watch List - 21 bidders made 44 bids with the winner staking $10,099.00 ie £7,132.82. The winner had a Feedback Rating of 12,670 (with a nice yellow star) and was therefore a huge buyer-dealer but not on the corporate level like Craig Moerer or carolinasoul. The Discogs record is in mint condition so appreciably better than the one sold on eBay but for just a few hundred pounds more.

Yes, I still make them. Always have done, and intend to long into the future. Records bought on trips to the USA and compilations of recent purchases are recorded when there’s a decent quota to fit on a C90 tape. The tape-to-tape machine is long gone, so it’s not possible to duplicate tapes for swaps. The CD’s made on the double-CD machine did not last long before they started skipping. Taping records is way better than making CD’s, especially if you have a decent player. Great to see a recent surge of interest in buying cassette tapes to make DIY compilations; just like the resurgence of new vinyl, it’s good to see the tried and tasted old formats still proving their worth.

My point exactly. Why play the Mello Souls to a ‘hand-bagger’ when there are plenty of easy-to-grasp tunes out there. Most folk will never stumble across the songs featured in this thread, but that’s their loss.

Hi Hugh, a good idea for discussion, so thanks for posting. It’s not that complicated really. I know this is all a bit hypothetical, but if this person is oblivious to Northern Soul, we should put them in an empty room and play them something poppy to see if they react positively - 5,000 Volts ‘I’m On Fire’ should do nicely. If they tap their feet, then see what their reaction to Dave Newman ‘Make Up Your Mind’ is. If they start humming, then play them the Specials ‘Everybody Say Yeah’. These two should show the ignoramus what the music is like without spinning some of the rarer, more exotic records mentioned earlier.

Condition. Condition. Condition. Sure, the figure was a surprise given an inferior copy went for about 2K a week or so ago. This copy was one of the best to appear on the open market. Evidently there were two keen bidders willing to go to war for this trophy piece. It is a true floor-filler and a record any top-flight DJ needs in their box. For those with money in the bank, it was probably a small outlay that could give 20 years of pleasure.

Gene Chandler- Mr Big Shot-Constellation. Proper, proper Northern.

Ted Taylor is a common record so baffled why it has doubled in price. George Kirby is a way better record but surprisingly sold for less than Ted Taylor. Durettes/ Perfections pretty much tripled in price but two decent sides for the money.

Nothing to worry about if you’re sitting on an original copy. The re-issues are for these who are unable to obtain an original. The demand for great music is out there, so we need to face up to the current trend - in a way, it’s not too different to the Grapevine, Inferno and Soul City releases of the 70’s. Providing the reissues can not be confused with originals, there is no conflict for buyers. If royalties are paid to the artists, somebody could be well pleased with both the money and the recognition. I don’t see these reissues being spun at OVO events but they could well be played at college discos, weddings, pub-do’s etc and spread a little happiness. The buyer of re-issues today may well be the buyer of your unwanted original 45’s in 20 years time, so good luck to them as they collect the alternatives available.

I’m even more puzzled now I’ve re-read this thread. My understanding is H was identified on Sunday during the last episode of ‘Line of Duty’ (starring Soul Boy Steve) but there could be two more H’s out there judging from the misspelling of the word ‘definitely’. If this continues, Steve Ted, Kate and the wee donkey will come looking for you...