Chris L

Just sold mine, VG++ for £175.00, 3 years ago I sold one for £285.00, my mint twin shields demo went for £310.00. I prefer issues than demos, it means someone actually made an effort to go and buy a copy, must have liked the record !! Chris L

The tragedy for her was that her writers & producers were the Kasnetz Katz guys who went on to make many a hit record, frankly I think she's loevely I'd marry her tomorrow (don't tell the wife I said that though). Chris L

Dave Edwin sang once in your kitchen didn't he ? Was he trying to get out of doing the washing up Saw him once circa 1969, at the Agincourt in Camberley, midweek. The tour was on the back of those re-releases that had started (and of course launched the NS scene - that's another story) he invited 2 people on stage, me and girl sang "If I had a hammer" with him, super bloke. I saw him last time on US TV during a revival concert, I believe it was Pittsburgh, think he died a few weeks later. I regulary play his stuff in the car and at home, very much the sound of young America. It just reinforces the edict "go see 'em while you can"....................'cos when they've gone, they've gone Chris L

A great (short) record but whata tricky dancer, need real rubber legs for this one Chris L

I didn't know him but I was at Stoke, if he felt that his time had come and needed to be a NS venue then he chose well. I guess we'll all meet up at that big all-nighter in the sky. Condolences to his family. Chris L

A pal of mine had a source at a record shop in LA. He used to get all his rare stuff from him. One day SS walks in and starts looking around, during the chat he casually asks of he is selling anything to any Brits in the UK. The shop owner (remember this is still the early 70T's) mentions he was and says my mates name (I won't mention it) SS says "Oh he's a great mate of mine he asked me to pick up his records" well, believe it or not the shopowner GAVE the records to SS. I know one of them was a demo Rose Batiste - Hit & Run, can't remember the others. He had an extremely pursuasive character that's for sure. If he repaid all the money he nicked, apologised and walked around the world barefoor, twice, he could be forgiven. Chris L

Thanks Pete, look forward to getting it mate. Chris

Keith Williams had a copy of that type sale at Stoke on Saturday. Chris L

It was booted but on the other Parkway demo labe not the 2 shields design (unless I'm wrong :-) check for stamp on run-out, it's very, very, erry faint, if you can just about see it, it's a goodie. Chris

Thanks Mark I have to be honest and say that i heard it for the very first time about 2 weeks ago (don't ask) I fell in love with instantly Chris L

I'd be interested in the Motown CD's Pete, got a list of them ? Chris L

It's not that important any more Ian, what people should know that an awful lot of stuff came from the London area in about 72/73, including things like Duke Browner, Fuller Bros, Sweet Things, Cooperettes, there were some decent places to find stuff, all dead cheap, the Cooperetees cost me about 35 pence !!! People like Dave Burton, Dave Rivers, Nigel Martin plus the Record Corner gang were giving DJ's like Keith M, Jebby & Ian L stuff to play and I have to say they were really tops in givin these records a chance, not sure how'd that work today !! I'm in a great mood today, the Stoke afterglow still working........... Chris L

Graham Warr did NOT discover the Soul Twins, I did !!! In summer 1972, I called Ian Levine, played him over the telephone and brought down the Torch, there he played it for the first time. The following weeks both Tony Jebb & Keith Minshul tried to buy off me. I pulled it out of Record Corners basement. This is well documented, listen to the Richard Searling shows August 1999 or ask Ian Levine. I didn't set the Northern Soul world on fire but did bring a few unknowns up from London in 1972/73. Chris Lalor

Could some lovely person mail me thru some label scans, I understand that there are 2 types of labels (one blue the green ?) also some prices would be handy too. Was it ever booted ? Many thanks Chris L

I suspect that was because CHESS had such a reputation for deep soul, whereas Motown appealed constantly to white pop fans too. Had CHESS perhaps had a subsidary label that would have replicated Motown who knows, they certainly had the clout to take Motown on, the Chess brothers were canny businessmen too. However they followed up with a few similar "Rescue Me" type tunes for Fontella that didn't do her cred any good. Having said that, what a sound "Rescue Me" is, that intro, that beat, the singign, it's got it all, that black UK Chess copy in it's original sleeve is a treasured item in my house, I only ever DJ'd once in my life, that was my intro record. Chris L

Some of the greatest Northern Soul records of all time are out and out Motown soundalikes. The 2 really go hand in hand, although when I 1st started in NS in 71/72 there were very few Motown records played. I do find that the production quality on Motown to be on the highest strata, just listen to Velvelettes - Lonely, lonely girl, the arrangements and production are wonderful. On a personal view I just Motown, always did and always will, when I'm in me room bashing out stuff on my PC I tend to put on Motown stuff quite frequently, never a duffer........... Chris L

Jimmy Soul Clark - I'll be your champion - VG+ - £50.00 Not for one minute suggesting anything untoward, just an observation the label seems a very light red ? Mine is a deep red & also a demo so maybe a different colour for that reason? Obviously I know there's white demos. great record anyway & a great price

Let's hope so Naked women can ask for a discount Chris L

Jimmy Soul Clark - I'll be your champion - VG+ - £50.00 SOLD The Dells - Run for cover - EX - £28.00 Madeline Bell - Picture me gone - MOD - EX+ - £18.00 thanks for looking Chris L

I once though I'd "discovered" a source (pardon the pun) in St Louis, MO, in Hampton, The Record Exchange, went thru all his singles, pulled about 50 or so cheapes, few good one in there, nothing more than £50 though. Anyway I told afriend about it he sent some mates over to go thru the 500.000 singles he had in his basement and after about an hour into the searching Nancy Yahiro arrrives at the place . Well they didn't find much apart from about 500 Chi-Lite and 600 Royalettes I want to do "one last go" at record huntin' before I go, been saving up me air miles, once you get started ploughing thru all those boxes something weird takes over my body and I seem to go into a trance "I'll be Baark" Chris L

Ians big story is the Goodwill secondhand store in Miami in 71 (I think) he spent 3 weeks if I'm not mistaken, going thru rows and rows of demos, a whole herd of stuff came back, La Rues, etc. He bought some 3000 singles at 5 cents each................he's such a generous chap One wonderrs if some barn, shed, old warehouse may still be full of old singles that no-one's yet touched. Contrary to popular myth, get outside of the big cities in the US and it becomes extremely parochial with communication with the outside world pretty thin to say the least. Once driving between the 2 freeways that criss-cross Penn state I drove thru many a hicksville and stopped at a junk shop I saw in the main street, popped in asked if he had any records for sale he brought out a small box of about 100 singles and I bought a copy of the Ambers - Potion of love, back in the Pontiac, all in about 10 minutes. Chris L

That's a good point Pete, as you know your self something's worth what someone will pay for it. In the Northern Soul world that gets magnified 10 ten times, so when something's worth £300 there'll be a nutter out there (or maybe more thn 1) who'll pay the doubel, treble or even quadruple so he can go down his local club and show if off. This particulur example is already bid over £500. Chris L

As a young lad of 14 or 15 (in 1967, yes I'm that old ) it was the Tamla Motown and their soundalikes tunes that seemed to stay swirling around in my head when I should have been studying for some sort of school work or career. At 17 I was hanging out at those concrete monuments The Mecca & Lacarnos in London and a lot of soul music got played. Thing is end 69 that all seemed to change to funk shyte, reggae and a loada pop. We still wanted things like "You've been cheatin', etc" luckily I had a mate who was a DJ and he'd buy his records from Record Corner. After getting to know the people who worked there and they knew our tastes it was Tony Rounce who suggested to us "Go North Young man". After our 1st trip to the Cats & the Mecca in 72 we were hooked. In those days there very very few "different walks of life" soulies, very much a working class thing. I think we shocked each other by our differences, the clothes, money cars, etc but by 'eck lad we didn't arf like them norverners. Our fellow Londoners thought us quite mad, they would ask us "what ja doin' diss weekend" "We're going to Stoke On Trent" it really did sound quite bizarre at the time. Getting there in a bashed Cortina Mk I was even more weird, but as they say is a another story. Chris L