Gene-R

BILLY ECKSTINE: I Wonder Why (Nobody Loves Me) (US Motown) CONDITION: EX+ (faint 1" mark which does not affect play, would otherwise be MINT-). £100 plus registered P&P P&P: UK - £2.70. EUROPE - £8.80. REST OF WORLD: £10.20 Payment by PayPal only, please. PM me if interested - first come, first served. Thanks! Gene

Oh God..............what have I started???

Just found out that Barbara Kay also recorded for Woolworth's Embassy label under the name of Kay Barry. According to Jonathan King, she was "in her 40s" when she recorded Johnny Reggae as one of the Piglets. Wonder if she's still alive? However, according to the clipping which Steve posted above, dating from 1963 and listing Barbara at 22 years old, this would mean she was actually 30 at the time of recording Johnny Reggae. Confused? Yes, indeed. Not been able to find out anything about Sharon Winters yet, nor Mike Morton himself.

Blimey - nice find, Randy! Have to look out for that now.

I wouldn't waste your time on him, Surf. You can't reason with stupid!

I don't think so, know-it-all! And I'm willing to bet a week's wages that you can't even prove it. As a token gesture, and to help dry those tears, I'll send you a bottle of wine - pressed from 100% sour grapes! Sore loser!

Apparently so, Randy (the sleeve notes lists the female vocalists as Barbara Kay and Sharon Winters).

More than you ever could.........next question?

A UK release for "Tin Tin" on Polydor in 1971. I guess both sides were budget cover versions which were probably big hits in Italy at the time.

Got a problem with it? PM me then. Sarcasm, trolling and childish envy will get you nowhere - it only serves to make you look even more of a jealous twat than you already are.

Chris, I'd be more than happy to post the Mike Morton soundclip, but I'm unable to do so for some reason at the moment (probs with uploading it once burnt to CD). The other Blue Sharks single you've posted here is interesting. "Chicago" was originally by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, so I wonder if this (and whatever its B-side is) are a couple more Mike Morton budget covers? Do you know what the flip-side to Chicago is, Chris?

Erm........no, not quite. It was suggested then that it was the Mike Morton Congregation by someone else who had the LP, but no one believed him, despite him saying that he'd played them side by side and knew it was. Of course, every know-it-all and their aunt came up with completely different theories contradicting this. I own the LP and have played both versions alongside each other, and therefore my post should finally confirm this as true It was also coupled with the idiotic phoney folklore that Italian copies on "Grand Prix" (sic - it's actually Gran Prix) exist with a chequered flag label. Obviously the rumour-monger who started it failed to realise that "Gran Prix" means more than just car racing! Can anyone prove to me that the "chequered flag" label exists? I don't think so, somehow!

Mick Holdsworth is completely incorrect in what he says here, and I challenge him to prove to me otherwise. He is also factually incorrect in saying that the tracks are faded together. To be more precise, each track is separated with about 3 seconds of "canned" applause, to make it sound like the whole session was recorded live.

Thanks Sunny! It is indeed one and the same label. They changed their logo to the red label 'angel' design in 1970.

I was junkshopping yesterday afternoon Chris, and I came across a few of these Mike Morton Plexium LPs in the same box. I found this one, and also the LP with its B-side, "The Banner Man" on it. Putting two and two together, and hoping I'd done the maths right, I bought Volume 3 (the one you see here in the pic), got it home and played it against the Blue Sharks version, and lo and behold - the very same version! A bit of digging also helped me to find the 2008 thread from here, where this version was mentioned, but I don't think any concrete evidence had been provided at the time.

Who?

Previously discussed at length on a thread here in 2008, but this should put all past rumours and conspiracy theories surrounding 'The Blue Sharks' to bed. Those of you who have been on the Northern Soul scene long enough to even care to remember will, no doubt, remember a cover version of the Velvelettes' "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" being played by Soul Sam and the late Nev Wherry around 1978. Known as an Italian-only release by an unknown Italian group called The Blue Sharks, on the Gran Prix label, only a few copies are said to be owned by collectors on these shores, and can now fetch anything up to around £700. Oh dear - time to let the cat out of the bag! This version of "These Things Will Keep Me Loving You" is NOT by The Blue Sharks but is, in fact, none other than The Mike Morton Congregation, with Barbara Kay and Sharon Winters on lead vocals, and is a track on the budget "Nonstop Top 20, Volume 3" LP on UK Plexium (PXMS 1004), released in 1971 (Track 7 on Side 2, to be precise). Each of the tracks on the LP are budget cover versions of UK chart hits of the time, with this LP believed to be released in August 1971. The B-side of the Italian single is a cover of Blue Mink's "The Banner Man", also by the Mike Morton Congregation and, of course, credited to The Blue Sharks. Incidentally, "The Banner Man" can be found on Nonstop Top 20, Volume 2". It's believed that the Italian single on Gran Prix was given out free to shoppers of a large chain of Italian supermarkets as part of a special offer. Now we know that both sides were leased from Plexium in the UK, and are both actually by The Mike Morton Congregation. Therefore, a UK recording on a UK release, on a UK label. £700 for an Italian 45? Thanks, but I've just found the 'original' for a quid!

Or "A Pizza The Sky" by Verdelle Smith.

"My Baby Can't Say No" - The Speed Limits "Marching" - Nick Ashford and Val Simpson "Run Run" - Persianettes (played by Keb c.1986 as "You Better Get Away" - Azie Mortimer)

Your Autumn Of Tomorrow by The Crow. Just a load of overrated noise, IMHO of course!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Ted.

Not taking any chances - have added to my blocked list. Nothing from Nothing leaves Nothing.

Presumably before July 1972, when Jayboy released it?

Yes - the ones lacking the diamond design are bootlegs. I've only ever seen one in 35 years, and that's the one I owned in the late 80s. So as far as boots go, it's quite a toughie to find. Sound quality on these boots is excellent.

It's true to say he had just one Top 20 hit in 1967 with Al Capone, but he also had a Top 30 hit (No. 21) with a re-recording of Whine and Grine in 1998.