Frankie Crocker

Good luck with the venture Pete. Should be successful and a valuable addition to the scene.

What a load of pretentious twaddle, lifted no doubt from some media undergraduate's coursework. There are so many errors in these three sentences, they should be deleted.

Fantastique. Made me smile seeing the locals out having fun. Maybe Wigan's finally waking up to it's musical heritage. Time to re-build The Casino and incorporate a National Museum perhaps... My late gran used to dance at The Emp but The Casino as we know it started in September 1973. I hope the Christmas shoppers will be boogieing around to the sound of piped Salvadors, Jades and Lou Pride this coming festive season...

Grading is a real minefield. Watch out for sellers who modify the standard grading system otherwise you will end up with a poor buy at some point. Be extra careful when buying styrene records - only buy if the sound-bite is acceptable. Be prepared to buy a low grade copy but with a view to paying more for a better copy if and when another pops up - trick is, set a low outlay for this sort of record. The big annoyance is a reference to 'surface noise'. What is this exactly? Are we talking snap, crackle and pop or the tick, tick, tick of a feelable gouge? Ideally, there should be no noise other than the music - if there is audible background hiss or intrusive non-musical sounds, then you have to question whether the record is worth buying.

Yes, all the time, and usually we're grateful for this as it saves a trip to the sorting office and it beats parcels sitting on the doorstep...

Rob, what's your general knowledge like? Should we put your name forward for next year's Mastermind? Any other specialist subjects you could offer?

To coin a catch phrase, he should go to Soul Source more often...

Five quid from Halfords, all leather. Or, the plastic ones with a checkerboard pattern on the knuckles if you thought you were really hard or kept falling off your scooter...

A great record and one of the biggest floor-fillers around. Would have been giant in the 70's so a good investment musically.

Great story Dave. Well tracked down. Not sure if I've heard this played out. Which DJ's are spinning it?

The auctioning of this record by John Manship confirms that it is in great demand but short supply, particularly in mint condition. Future auctions should realise well over £350 for the seller due to the apparent scarcity of the track. Many 70's biggies are going for higher than ever prices, such is the demand for classic oldies. Selling records at set-sale prices can guarantee a quick turnover and modest profits but that doesn't necessarily establish the actual value of them; it merely confirms cheaper records are easier to sell. This is a hard record to buy so worth paying handsomely for, the surcharge essentially being a finder's fee for coming up with the goods in great condition and putting you at the front of the queue to buy it.

Spot on Ivor. No longer a £200 record as it rarely crops up. Recent auctions have been combative so a mint copy would go for £350 plus. Also on a few wants lists confirming scarcity in circulation. Been getting a few spins recently as the Wigan Wheel goes full circle...

Don't think so. It's much more of a contemporary record given the tempo. Are you thinking of Kenny Smith's 'O Lord What's Happening'...?

A seriously rare record seldom seen for sale so very difficult to value. Gloria has been up for grabs a couple of times in the last year or two. I found three of Rodd's 45's in New York in the summer but left them there as they lacked the necessary ingredient. Have seen other records by him in Portland and Austin but left them behind, one being cracked and the other was just really odd. I think we are seeing an increase in old collections finding their way into US record stores so there is hope that copies of 'The Lord Said' will turn up...

Great track. Thanks for sharing the info. Would definitely like one of these...dream on...

Doesn't sound like Gene who had one of the most powerful voices in the business.

Good post Ady and well enhanced by Andy's contribution. Great record and one that I dream of owning one day.

Not at all common but it does turn up occasionally. I have a mint unplayed copy for sale but as it books at £200, I would be reluctant to part with it for less than £160.00. PM me if interested.

Manship has one for auction at present that will probably go for 50% more than the book value...

In twenty years time, the Northern Soul film actors will be crediting Kung Fu Panda as a major influence. At one point in the film, someone says 'he dances like a teapot' or words to that effect, a line if I'm not mistaken appeared right here on Soul Source, but can't remember the wag responsible, maybe Nev, Byrney, Chalkie dunno, one of the regulars... Good to see that topical debate of dance styles on Soul Source has helped the scriptwriters of the greatest ever Northern Soul film to date keep up with the cutting-edge dance moves of the modern era...

Sorry to be off the pace a bit but there was a nice article in The Times on Saturday October 25th, more on the background to the film and how Ourscreen stimulated screenings, rather than a film review. The budget of the film was quoted at £1.35 million which may be low in film-making terms but it's staggering in absolute terms, especially as the bulk of the outlay has come from her family's business. Film takings were put at £350,000 which may be highly encouraging but there is still a way to go to break even - let's hope the bigger cinemas put it on and revenue from DVD's/CD's plus foreign sales continues to grow.

Great post. I think the move under debate is the high kick. On this evidence, the high kick was in place well before Wigan. I think the general feeling is that some of the later Wigan dancers, especially the martial arts 'grasshoppers', took a bit of inspiration from Bruce Lee but the floorwork routines were well established at the Twisted Wheel.

Pure brilliance. Surely had to have been an influence on the Chicago artists of the 60's. Read recently that Purdey of the New Avengers had a high kicking style - could she have been an influence on the girls like Bruce was imitated by the boys???

Anyone for Carl Douglas? Disliked Kung Fu Fighting at the time but quite like it now. Hope the latest wave of recruits to the scene don't bring any Ninja Turtle moves into their dance routines, or come to think of it, any Funky Chickens either...

It looks awesome on the picture sleeve of the Edwyn Collins 45 A Girl Like You. Anyone got a scan or know the dude? Now KF is being mentioned by every other media contributor, it's time to squelch the rumour.