Liamgp

Had a lot of people from the late 90s to now telling me they were 'into Northern' and then me asking them (at first enthusiastically but with progressively less and less hope of a sensible response): 'Oh right, great! What events do you go to?' 'What do you mean events?' 'You know, all-nighters or soul nights or soul clubs or whatever' 'Oh I just hear it at nightclubs and pubs and places like that' 'What do they play?' 'Well, you know that one about the Snake and that Do I Love You song and Tainted Love is good but the Soft Cell version is better.' 'Ah, I see...' 'Are you into Northern?' 'Mmmm, a little bit. I've always loved Soul and R&B music' 'R&B? You like R Kelly and Craig David and those people?' 'No. I mean RHYTHM AND BLUES.' 'Did you go to Wigan?' 'No, I missed that. But I used to go to Stafford and Morecambe and Allanton/Shotts and the 100 Club and loads of other places over the years.' 'What are they? Hey, did you wear those baggy trousers and vests and stuff and throw talc around and spin on your head and...' 'Whoops, is that the time? I better be going.' To be absolutely fair, some of them have got more into the scene and got the hang of it, so maybe being a Div is just a natural starting point for many. But if you've been around the scene for more than, say, five years and haven't progressed - oh dear.

I remember talking to Keb Darge and Guy Hennigan in the mid 80s and they were moaning about their jobs. Keb worked in an abattoir and Guy in a carpet shop although it also turned out that they were also 'claiming' at the same time (I think I can mention that now!).

Am I getting senile or do I have too much stuff? I have bought two records that I already own in the recent months - one I thought I had sold (but hadn't) and the other one I had no memory of actually owning! Is this a common problem or is it just me?

Remember they aren't vinyl discs though. The lacquer is much more fragile.

You use some sort of ammonia solution to clean them as I recall.

Better check what won't damage the lacquer before proceeding. I had an acetate from the 60s and, looking around, found this advice: DO NOT CLEAN these discs unless you have the knowledge, experience, and tools. Special chemistry, cleaning fluids, and equipment are needed to remove contamination as well as remove a white waxy substance or dust that forms on these discs with age called Palmitic Acid. Get trained or enlist a professional who knows how to clean these fragile discs. DO NOT CLEAN SHELLAC OR VINYL DISCS with the same cleaning solutions as for transcription discs. DO NOT CLEAN DISCS WITH DELAMINATION, BUBBLED OR CRACKED LAMINATE. Any exposure to water will rapidly exacerbate the delamination or cause delamination. At most, spot clean areas of contamination that are not delaminated, bubbled, or cracked. DO NOT CLEAN DISCS ON A FIBER SUBSTRATE in the same way as glass or metal substrates. The fiber will expand and damage the laminate. At most, a moist but not wet brush can be used, and the moisture should be rapidly removed with a vacuum-style record cleaning machine like the Kieth Monks. Consider only spot cleaning areas of contamination that are not delaminated or cracked. https://www.theaudioarchive.com/TAA_Resources_Disc_Transcription.htm

That's interesting. I assume because the records were 'second hand' or deleted stock, that they weren't subject to high custom charges?

Thanks, although I'm really just curious about how people did this in the 1970s more than today - i.e. I haven't got loads of records to ship myself!

Can someone tell me how large finds of records were shipped from the US? Supposing you found several thousand 45s, how did you go about getting them back to the UK and were there any problems such as customs etc?

It's actually 'Zoot Suit' that ripped off 'Misery' says Mr Pedantic...

This sort of thing was pretty common until George Harrison was taken to court for 'borrowing' the tune to 'He's so Fine' and from then on the lawyers were looking out for any songs which sounded even vaguely similar and there have been many a court case since then. Did Paul Weller have to pay Harrison anything for blatantly nicking the tune from 'Taxman' for the Jam's 'Start' I wonder?

I don't know if it's all copies. Gary Rushbrooke once showed me two he had for sale and he said 'this one is flawed, this one isn't' so he was charging more for the good one. £40 as I recall.

Aren't there defective copies that are prone to skipping?

Good points - the worldwide interest in what used to be an almost entirely UK-based scene has increased a desire for original in-demand 45s substantially. In fact, of the last 5 records I have sold, 3 went respectively to Australia, Germany and the USA.

It cyclical isn't it? Post-Wigan when I began collecting, loads of now highly desirable stuff was cheap because many people thought the scene was finished and so, what was once worth £20 (gasp!) was now going for peanuts. Then you had the mid-1980s Stafford thing and the rush to buy 60s newies and then the prices for some records which would have been 50p before was pushing £40 which was considered a tad extreme unless the record was really rare even then. Then there was another slump and stuff was cheap again and people were selling off records they didn’t think there was any demand for. From the late 1990s on, it seems a lot of people got back into the scene or latched onto what seemed fashionable and, as we all had more cash to spend, prices for almost everything to do with soul, the 60s, scooters, mods, etc, etc, started to rise. Although they were only incidental to the soul scene, I watched with amazement as the price for things like Lambretta scooters went through the roof too. Then R&B came along to the scene (OK, maybe a bit earlier…) and records which once had only a limited market appeal became the next big thing to have. My Rockabilly friends were not amused! Now we have a lot of records which are not really rare selling for large sums once again – how long will that last? One thing that has always stayed the same though – the really, really rare stuff has always been out of the average soul fans price range, I’m sad to say!

Got run over about six months later. Was a little bit sorry about that...

Broken a few, but also left my record box open once, went for a shower and returned to find the cat sharpening its claws on all the closely packed 45s. Five records chipped about 3mm from the run-in grooves and one split down to the label. Little bastard...

Ah, before imports became the only game in town. Strangely enough my eldest sister had stuff like 'Mr Bang Bang Man' on London and 'What's Wrong With Me Baby' on Stateside in her record collection - along with David Bowie, T-Rex, Motown and reggae etc - and she was never part of anything resembling a rare soul scene, they were just popular at the local disco in the early 70s. I inherited them (well borrowed and never returned actually) and when I asked where she found such gems would reply 'they had a big bin of old stuff at Woolworths'!

The Anglo American one went for a similar price. I did see it around 25 or so years ago for about £50-£70 quid as I recall, but I was strictly a £20 maximum man in those days, which meant I missed out on buying a lot of stuff that I now pay VAST sums for...well sometimes.

I thought I was paying top money when I got mine for £350 a couple of years ago, but the bubble still seems to be expanding for certain records. It is a truly great piece of music of course, but £1010....crazy.

More reluctant to buy due to the customs regularly hitting me for charges than exchange rates!

Both now sold.

SOLD Curtis Lee - Is She In Your Town/Sweet Baby - Mira white demo. EX. £500 ON HOLD Jimmy Armstrong ‎– Mystery/I'm About To Say Goodbye - Shrine. EX. £350 PayPal preferred. The records will only be sent out Special Delivery in the UK for £7.25. For anywhere outside the UK, prices depend on which service you wish.

SOLD Bobby Day - Pretty Little Girl Next Door - RCA Victor - EX WOL - £100 ON HOLD Dee Dee Sharp - Deep Dark Secret - Cameo W/D WOL & radio station stamp - EX - £100 Plus still on sale... Jackie Lee – Do the Temptation Walk – Mirwood W/D – EX £30 Lee Rogers – How Are You Fixed For Love – Wheelsville issue – VG - £30 Bobby Miller – Whoa – Yellow Constellation issue – VG - £30 Ruth McFadden – Do it up Right - Sure-Shot issue – EX - £30 Roy Brown – Baby it’s Love – GERT issue – VG - £25 Richard Berry – Go Go Girl – AMC issue – EX - £20 The Marvelettes – You’re My Remedy – Tamla pic sleeve – Vinyl EX/Sleeve VG - £20 PayPal preferred. Post to UK is FREE, except if you want Special Delivery +£7.25 or Recorded +£3.50. Post outside UK – get in touch.