Frankie Crocker

The Well’s Gone Dry. Higher And Higher. What Condition Is My Condition In? Same thoughts as for previous results. Folk buying as though these copies will be the last to come up for sale. If you have the money, then splurge it on good sounds like these.

Thanks to contributors for their thoughts. Although Record Collector is a general magazine, it is excellent overall. February’s issue had an obituary for Nancy Wilson, a Bay Tripper spot for Walter Wilson on Wand, a CD review for a Kent soul release and other features of interest. The magazine certainly caters to a broad range of genres and is inclusive of all types of soul music. I just wish there were more in-depth Northern Soul features that would encourage me to buy the magazine regularly.

They don’t play properly. There is conspicuous distortion to the music. As the record is off-centre, half the record plays at above 45 rpm and the other half at below the correct speed. The record spins around eliptically and each rotation produces a variable sound that wows as pitch increases and decreases. The record can be re-centred in a number of ways so that it plays the true sound. I think there are threads on Soul Source explaining how you can do this. Records being pressed off-centre sometimes explains apparent scarcity, as whole runs could be scrapped never to be re-pressed.

Don’t think it is the DJ Honey above comparing photos. An interesting clip nevertheless, watching other people getting right into their music and seeing Simon Cowell, who hasn’t a musical bone in his body, squirming away as he just doesn’t get it.

Honey says she DJ’d there on her birthday in 2017. The article mentions her residing in Singapore, spinning 45’s on her radio show in Australia, online and events all over the world. The article concludes by mentioning her show, Kiss! Kiss! Bang! Bang! can be heard on Mixcloud.

I reckon these people should be buying more 45’s... Does the readership figure include the W H Smith browsers?

Didn't realise this - W H Smith must’ve sold out. I read the book though, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Good to know the soul scene is receiving coverage.

That's true. Give me 45’s anyday. That said, I have kept all my Northern Soul albums and a few others.

I’d never heard of her but she guested at the Cleethorpes Weekender one summer. Certainly has a nice record collection.

Just bought this month’s issue as there were a couple of articles that caught the eye. On pages 52-53 there’s a special feature on Northern Soul collectables. On pages 20-21 there’s a profile of DJ Honey. I can not remember the last time I bought the magazine although I try to check it out monthly using W H Smith’s station stores to browse. If there were more Northern Soul articles, I would buy Record Collector regularly, but coverage of this most collectable genre of music is nigh on non-existent. I would be interested to read any views regarding this publication. Ian Shirley’s article on Northern Soul collectables has loads of discussion points, particularly the prices quoted, but I would like to see more articles like this on UK and US records on a regular basis. This magazine has the potential to reach a wider circulation by broadening coverage so it would be interesting to hear of any thoughts on this.

Nothing on earth you can do about this. If the label is paper and the fibres are impregnated with dye, only a bleaching solvent will remove the ink but will take the label colour with it. If the label is printed onto styrene, a solvent will remove the ink but take a patch of label with it. Probably best to just buy another copy of the record.

He now says there are ‘additional copies’ so does that mean 2 or 20 or 200?

More than the first one that went for big money and more than the second one that also went for big money...watch this space...

I’ve just been offered another copy from the eBay seller on a second chance-basis. The seller says he has found some ‘additional copies’. Apparently, the buyer of the second copy was very pleased with it and posted positive feedback, but I bet he will be hacked off when he learns there were more than two copies. Until we know precisely how many copies there are for sale, I would advise potential buyers to wait patiently.

Northern Soul is a hobby. Only a fool gets conned. Buying music you like is sensible. That’s what money is for - buying what you like. Paying stupid prices for records is reckless, but sometimes necessary, but doing so for investment purposes can be foolhardy. Sure, there are conmen in the record business - I’ve certainly bought bootlegs in the belief they were original records. None of us wants to be conned or even taken advantage of, so returning to the original question, buying records and attending events is pretty straightforward if you know what you’re doing. Only the gullible end up being conned, but you wise up quickly when you realise you splashed out too much cash.

Serious collectors who value the music and can afford the outlay. Plenty of pension pots being blown wisely and successful businessmen investing in priceless assets. If we all had the dosh, we’d all be doing it but sadly there’s not enough of it to go round.

A vintage selection of top tunes last month. Some of them were in mint unplayed condition. Sadly, I couldn’t land any of the biggest ones but did hook Rose Battiste. Competition for these rarities has definitely increased.

No-brainer then. Disable the comments. Provide visual enjoyment and cut back on admin. Spoil it for the trolls, make them even sadder, waste more of their time and worthless existence...

Shameful. Pity the poster of the video clips is unable to override the comment section. Trouble is, there is no option, you post a clip and it automatically has the comment section for trolls to spoil.

So Tim, why did he give it up? Are you able to clarify? Jud’s contribution was excellent and valued by many.

I really like Jud’s clips. They are good quality and give an insight into what venues are like. Providing the videos are taken from the sidelines, I don’t think there’s a problem. The wider problem is everyone with a phone seems to think it necessary to photograph anything, anywhere, anytime - this ruins the dancefloor atmosphere. Slightly off topic, but I was walking through the East Village at Stratford on Tuesday, admiring the Olympic accommodation and taking photos on my camera. Two security jobsworths came up to me and told me taking photographs was not allowed. So, I really detest being told I can not take photos when there’s no law against it but I think photographers should show real restraint when inside soul venues when choosing who to video.

Tricky question to answer. Are we talking about records that have been played by top DJs at major venues? Or minor records of dire quality that are played after a buying trip to the States? Some of the records already flagged up have an irritating facet, perhaps due to overexposure, but there are dozens like these that annoy some but please others. I reckon many of the tailor-mades fit the ‘Hated’ description. Four Vandals comes to mind and wins the Drosscar. Biddu Orchestra’s Northern Dancer on Epic is similarly dire but surely never played out by any self respecting DJ. Some of the Casino Classics releases are so poor they sunk without trace and are not worth playing even for a laugh. Such is the depth of brilliant soul music, it is a real struggle to identify the worst record as nobody would bother to play it. If I had to nominate one horrible sound, if only to provoke debate, it would be ‘I Love My Baby’ on GSF but I don’t care who sings it... I would run off the dancefloor if this was played in public and applaud the DJ who snapped it into two.

Topic has been covered before on Soul Source. Could be that some of the top U.S. soul acts of the mid-to-late 60’s such as Major Lance and James Brown displayed a shuffling style of footwork. The showmanship of their contemporaries threw up back-drops and splits etc that were adopted in the earliest British clubs such as the Twisted Wheel. The dancers featured in the clip are an invited audience bopping freestyle. The character you point out who exhibits moves commonly seen at Northern venues is simply moving with the minimum of effort in a very basic pattern. The earliest soul dance styles in Britain were pretty energetic by all accounts.

Always paid to get in - well worth the price of entry. Beachcomber warm-up was free and a welcome haunt when introduced. 1975 Footsee period was a bit of a media-frenzy with huge numbers of new faces but most dressed the part, lads and lasses. The crowd was the best dressed in the country bar none. 1976 was a good year. 1977 was a good year despite the Oldies v Newies debate - we still danced to The Flasher, Big Nasty, Kim Tolliver etc. 1978 was a good year. 1979 was possibly the last I went so cannot comment comment beyond then. I think the great times totally outweighed the bad so we can wallow in nostalgia 45 years down the road. The 70’s decade was generally a time of austerity but those who got to Wigan had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time.

Great tune. Packs the floor when the lucky few who own a copy spin it in public. Always been rare and unavailable. Would be mighty proud to own a copy. Hard to convey just how good the record is but it’s a superb dancer, distinctly haunting, so tuneful it hooks you, just perfect for the scene.