How long have you been collecting?
I have been collecting records of various genres for the past 16 years. Over the past decade that focus as been mainly rare soul, more specifically crossover, modern and boogie.
Do you remember your first buy?
If we’re talking soul music, the first record I bought was for about £20.00 (which compared to now was like giving it away) and it was The Artistics – The Hope We Have on Brunswick, backed up fantastically with its incredible crossover A Side I’m Gonna Miss You. Two outstanding sides, one a smooth crossover floater with the most amazing piano and strings section, accompanied by the B-Side, a stomper of a 45 with one of the greatest sax breaks I’ve ever heard.
What’s your favourite record in your box?
This does tend to change with time/taste and it might be cheating but I’m going to pick two.
The first is one of my most treasured 45’s and an incredibly tough one to nail down, It’s St. James Infirmary – Don’t Take Your Love From Me on Mazel Records. It’s a killer record I first heard championed by the likes of Swiss soul collector DJ Henning Börm.
The second of these is an LP pick and one of my favourite current spins, Ronnie Butler & The Ramblers – Peace Without Love on Pot Luck Records. This LP cut straight from the Bahamas is such an uplifting record.
Which record do you regret selling the most?
I don’t tend to sell a lot of my records, but I probably regret letting go of Masters of Soul – Do You Really Love Me? on Ovide. A record that was sold relatively for pennies at the time but given a new lease of life by the crossover crowd, It’s actually quite a tough 45 to acquire for less than a couple hundred now.
What’s your fave all time soul club?
As surprising as it might be, I don’t get to go to a lot of Soul clubs outside of Newcastle as I’m usually DJing on weekends . If it had to be any club, it would be the one which totally changed my outlook on the scene, The 100 Club. To be asked by Ady and Matt to spin records there was a true honour and there has not been many times (if any) where I’ve been DJing to a full floor and totally overcome with emotion, it was a dream to play there.
What’s your all time want?
Easily one of my favourite records and still my all time want (even if it was only ever released on crappy styrene), Luther Davis Group – You Can Be A Star on Life Time Records with it’s stunning flip, To Be Free.
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