Frankie Crocker

An unexceptional week apart from Buddy Smith but not all that much up for grabs really. Still the best British auction by far compared to the competition. The spiel is brilliant - someone's angling for an Honorary Degree - but most importantly, the whole process is totally transparent. How John sources records in such good condition I'll never know. I guess it's tough coming up with better and better records so some weeks inevitably will be fairly low key. I check the bids on John's auction items daily but very rarely bid on them. I strongly recommend watching some other ( non eBay) websites with auctions to observe how superior John's is.

The book is brilliant and a must for all serious vinyl hounds. The contributors are credited at the front but are ordinary guys who don't seek publicity in the UK or the USA. Several of the records pictured have been sold on via JM auctions. If you want info on a specific record, someone on here may give you brief details. Most of the records featured are hard to obtain and some are almost impossible to acquire so it's worth attending a major venue when the scans' contributors are DJing. Could you tell us which of the records featured in the book you have in your collection?

Very sad news. Only knew of Joe through Soul Source and others who mentioned him at various events. His contribution to the scene will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and condolences go out to Joe's family at this time.

PM'd you

PM'd you Billy.

No, sorry. Caught the end of the match and spotted the tune. Unfamiliar, RnB, pretty decent. Thought to myself, the BBC Northern mole has been at work again. Can anyone unmask the mole? If we could, not only would there be someone to identify obscure tunes, but maybe give requests to eg Footsee for Strictly, Double Cooking for Masterchef etc

Record Store Day is a good thing, especially in the USA. Any initiative that keeps vinyl outlets open is a welcome in my books. Anyone who buys vinyl and keeps the record player industry alive is an asset to us all. It's fun being in a store on the day watching younger generations searching for vinyl, kinda reminds you of what searching for good music is all about. If you are planning a trip to the States, check out any store in the RSD scheme and you will find all the accessories you will ever need, crates of old vinyl under tables and forward thinking record dealers who genuinely love music. Sure it's all got a bit commercial but we've always trumped that digging in the hush-hush bargain basement end of the market.

I don't understand why someone who wants a record won't say what they are willing to pay for it? Surely, if you want a record badly enough to advertise on here, then you should have an idea of what you are willing to pay for it. Moreover, rather than put the seller on the spot to quote a price then confront them by a rejection, surely it would save everyone's' time if a figure was quoted. This is a classic, always in demand tune of the highest calibre and anyone wanting a copy should be savvy enough to offer £175 say as the value of this record is not going to fall.

PM'd you...no Record Show again this Easter.

Nice copy on auction with 7 hours to go and nudging $300 - looks a beaut in it's company sleeve, mint and unplayed until sampled for the soundbite. Sadly for Jack, the drill hole goes through his name - would this put buyers off? Weird that this release sold plenty of copies, but this one was consigned to the fate of the BB gun. Hope it finds a good home.

Thanks for all the comments.. Keep'em coming. Just about to fly from Austin to Chicago with a small box of goodies so looking forward to picking up on this in London tomorrow.

Actually not a reissue as it had not been issued as a 7 inch 45 rpm single in the first place on London or any USA label either. The release could therefore be regarded as the first British release of The Champion and of course put out to meet the demand of Wigan Casino followers once the tune had peaked. It also looks pretty fetching in it's dark red DJ format on the British London label.

OK, I'll qualify that then - first USA issue in a 7 inch format was on a Hi LP lookalike' release in EP 33 1/3rd rpm format. Not sure of the first global 7 inch 45 rpm release though...

Agreed and hugely underpriced but fetching decent money on the rare occasions it comes to market. Great flip as well.

May well have been a party record back in the day. Lots of Chicago collections coming to market show considerable ring-wear suggesting the records were spread out on the floor around the record player and were swirled around as punters picked the next play. I'm in Texas at present, in and out of antique malls, and seeing plenty of those old wire toast-rack type record holders that must have damaged so many records filed without sleeves.

Good point. I think the collectors are going for any and all copies put up for bids with condition governing sale price more than anything. I keep meaning to compare my copies before selling one but if they're different, I may well hang on to both.

The typing was pretty immaculate Ian - did you do this? To achieve this standard of formatting on a word processor today, still needs a bit of skill.

Two great sides and a must for all good collections. Evidently sold a lot back in the day and was well played judging from the condition that many turn up in.

Three hundred for a nice copy would be the minimum Pete. On a good day, this record could fetch more. Are the red issues more coveted - I suspect so. Not in the Dana Valery league yet so below £400 for the time being.

Currently three copies of Dearly Beloved in the most viewed listing. Countless copies, amongst his other releases, spanning nearly 20 pages on Popsike. Could this be the most frequently auctioned Northern record or are there others that have been put up for bids more often?

Anti-climaxes galore this week. Barbara Lynn has achieved a record price for this release so I might even dig mine out and flog it but expect to be bargained down to a more realistic price 33% lower.

Original is on American Hi EP only. Came in a nice picture sleeve. One auctioned on Manship's site a few weeks back for big money. Plenty of copies have turned up so it is available for sale from time to time. Also available on an English label released in the 70's - vinyl quality superb.

John's book needs updating as it's a while since the last edition was published. That said, what he actually sells records for is one price in comparison to eBay where prices fluctuate quite drastically at times. Because the soul market is so volatile at times with latest in-sounds being chased by a small number of highly competitive bidders, the latest price guide would be inaccurate within a few moths. Nevertheless, a new guide would be most welcome, especially a variation on the fifth edition complete with a bootleg catalogue and label scans.

Sign of the times. Good records are getting harder to come by. Give me 'How' any day or 'That's The Same Thing' or even 'I Got The Power' over this particular record.

What a fantastic set of records. I'll take the Matt Lucas if you still have it? Doubt anyone will ever see the Salvadors, Tobi Legend and the Professionals up for sale on the same list ever again and certainly not listed consecutively at the end of a list. Do you ever regret selling them Ian?