Frankie Crocker

Carl, Man of you to own up. You are evidently a soulful guy but you can achieve this state of nirvana at any half decent venue every weekend in Britain. Keeping The Faith means just that, not smearing it across the TV screens because you reckon you are 'better than the person next to' you. The BBC was out of order dressing the presenters as clowns and to get a young soulie do a backdrop for a biscuit was dog-training at its demeaning worst. You all looked stupid in the wrong setting and should be ashamed for dragging the scene down a notch. This weekend I shall be celebrating my 40th anniversary of starting the journey at The Casino by listening to a live tape made that night in March 1974 - appreciating good soul music is a personal thing, best expressed in the clubs where it is rooted and in the company of fellow soulies, hopefully something that won't change. On this occasion, you let your 'media head' over-rule your 'soulful heart' and and exposed the scene to ridicule...

My World Was Empty Without You...

Not aware of this seller but am interested as I collect Texas labels. Houston is a poor city for finding records but a few years back, there were reputedly tons in storage. Given the importance of the recording industry there, it is odd that more records haven't emerged from Houston. Bud Harper has cropped up a few times lately but via different sellers.

Feminine Ingenuity...sublime soul with a hint of Detroit, awesome music...

As featured on the One Show, Wednesday 26th March 2014...

World Champion floor work if you don't mind... Personally, If The Shoe Fits, then wear it rather than trashy trainers...How foolish does this youngster feel I wonder?

Well, I heard Bob and Frank and Al, but where was Marvin? At least with Dobie and Sandy etc the sound track was true to the 1970's. I think the presenters made total idiots of themselves so the soulies came across as just plain dumb by comparison. Not impressed with Elaine's contribution despite the nice dress. There were a couple of good dancers in the background but plenty featuring in the clips need to put in more 'bedroom mirror time'. At least the film promises to be worth seeing but the One Show feature will have done nothing to appeal to an outside audience. The three segments all made for uncomfortable viewing so the less said the better and maybe folk will soon forget this pointless episode.

Likewise. The tension's building. In fact, I'm so excited, I've put my brogues on to join in with the dancers...

Have you considered Ruby Sherry on Take 6? Superior flip namely Please Don't Go AND it's on vinyl rather than tinny styrene. Not sure of current value but seldom seen for offer and mystifyingly rated worth less than Ruby...

Big C? Time waster. Chancer. Attempted fraud but rumbled through stupidity. Had the decency not to crack the record deliberately. No wonder honest dealers/sellers lose faith in a business where transactions should be fairly straightforward most of the time.

Fair points. Popsike is not the perfect database but it is starting point in establishing a record's scarcity. Check out Fortson and Scott for example.

Tim Brown did an article for Record Collector getting on for 20 years ago - the list has barely changed apart from Danny Moore. He also put a wants list in Discoveries magazine roundabout then. Both of these are worth tracking down but until you see them, Manship's Million Dollars of Rare Soul is a great place to start. Remember, the rarest records have yet to be discovered in some cases. Some serious record-hounds like myself are sitting on the identities of potentially rare records and we are not about to disclose them. Go to Popsike and if there is just the one copy auctioned, it will be rare: two copies makes it particularly scarce etc. Get yourself a copy of Jeff Beckman's 'Soul Harmony Singles' and if the record you're considering isn't in there, it's probably rare. Finally, ask Butch if you can thumb through his Playbox or talk him into revealing a few cover-ups and listen to what he says...

Spot on Smithers. Pete and Sue are beyond criticism. Paul Mason was the guilty culprit, a media whore without a foot to dance on. Now we have another media nobody trying to drag Northern Soul into the open where it does not belong. Shame on any show-offs for even contemplating this prat-fest. Once upon a time, the BBC was a fine institution - now it has become a lazy, corrupt, self-serving shambles not worth the license fee. Do the dancers have the conscience to boycott the One Show - I would like to believe so but I very much doubt it?

It's Northern Jim but not as we know it... The scene has evolved to the point there's a scene for anyone who likes soul. Some scene goers kept the faith, others lost it but plenty never had it in the first place. Courses for horses really, Cheltenham for the purists, Ascot for day-trippers and Lingfield for the die-hards. However you look at it, the fragmented scene is what the punters want.

Phil, you're right, the Premiership sounds are not popping up for sale but that's because they're extremely rare and discerning collectors are keeping hold of them. Championship sounds continue to appear, Delites last week, George Blackwell this week, two Ward Burtons in the last couple of months etc but these are increasingly difficult to find yet the money is evidently there for them. It pays therefore to consider the lower Divisions where there's availability at the right price plus lesser known tunes to sample. John Manship continues to provide the Big Ones, as do other top dealers such as Pete Smith and John Teftteller on both sides of the Atlantic. Soon collectors will have to settle for bargain basement originals for quality sounds as the rarest, rare and scarce records will have all been collected and stowed away.

A very moving justification but this underground scene of ours belongs underground - if we are a truly soulful clan, then we keep the faith out of the public glare: soulies' weddings, funerals, birthdays, anniversaries etc count as underground, but a BBC studio is the court of public embarrassment.

Promises to be a hoot. Watching 'good' dancers jump through a few hoops to titillate the masses is so cringeworthy, it beggars belief that genuine soulies would open themselves to inevitable ridicule. Dancing takes place in dance halls, clubs and function rooms not kebab shops, street corners and TV studios. Hope that Salford's Modest Few have got their outfits ready (no trainers or handbags please) and plenty of talc to really impress the viewers with those cunning stunts. As for the sound track, stand by for Frank Wilson, Al Wilson, Bob Wilson and Marvin Gaye...

Paul - you have sorted out my Christmas Wants List, thanks. I can't be bothered with records these days but would travel the length and breadth of the country to add to my badge collection...

Not too many bargains this week...

Hope they turn the lights up and get lots of spinners falling over so it will remind us all of the BBC visit to the Casino in 1977.

Was there a stall selling barf bags? Top Tip for soulies of a nauseous disposition, always travel to Weekenders with extra-strength British Airways sick bags. As the economy picks up, will the scene reach a point when event attenders receive a Goodie Bag on arrival? Would the scene be divided on whether to fill the Goodie Bags with Oldies Tat or Modern Trash? Can I propose we set up a Northern Soul Governing Body to regulate tat sales, check the vinyl is original and ensure Goodie Bag contents are sub-Christmas Cracker standard and in the worst possible taste...

Not his finest set perhaps and one that should have been better given it was the first hour and punters would have expected the unveiling of the next big sound...

It's all relative really. These tunes were deemed OK at the time. They were better than some of the 70's Newies played around then. Compared to today's wealth of excellent sounds, sure most of these are insignificant, but the Ad Libs were big then and still a Classic Oldie now, likewise, Stemmons Express. I have no complaints about the Wigan playlists - they were simply what was being turned up as the Tomangoes, Shaun Robinson, Velvet Satins etc were sidelined. Is the tape a selection of tunes recorded stop-start or a solid 30 or 45 minutes; if the former then obviously someone liked them, if the latter then it is weaker, commercially oriented set? For me, Russ was the main man and he made the Casino the number one all-time allnighter.

Hi Rod. Incidents like this should not occur within a well run business. I can understand why you would refrain from bidding in subsequent auctions. If it helps you to reach closure on this matter, I'd be pleased to take Sam Ward off you for £400...

Hi Pete. The comment simply implied there were other auctions open to criticism. There was no allegation that every auctioneer was untrustworthy. Even apparently trustworthy auctions can be called into question or open to debate as this thread and another one earlier in the week testifies.