How long have you been collecting?
I started collecting at around the age of 17/18. Just some mainstream soul records and Soulful house to begin with. I got more serious with it when I hit 20 and had a decent job to help fund the addiction. So all told, 22yrs and change.
Do you remember your first buy?
I never thought I’d be able to remember my first buy as I got older, but it must have left an imprint in the grey matter. It was also my very first visit to a record shop too, in the Grand Arcade, Leeds.
The shop isn’t there anymore, and the name of it escapes me now to be honest, but the record was Johnny Bristol – Love No Longer Has A Hold On Me, on the Handshake label. At that point, I don’t even think I knew much about the difference between British solid centre releases versus American, or vinyl and styrene for that matter. Little did I know what was in store over the next 20 some years and counting!
What’s your favourite record in your box?
Really tough question. Not sure I can single just one out.
As a collector, you tend to have an angle on your buys whether it’s a genre you’re listening to and really into at that phase of your life, or whether it’s a label catalogue etc. The records do seem to hold more meaning that way.
However, if I was to throw spotlight onto a couple I’d start with Harvey Scales – Trying to Survive on Magic Touch. The lyrics in this song are simply incredible, and sadly not just a snapshot in time. The hardship spelt out in the songs’ words are delivered impeccably by Harvey’s heart felt vocals. The whole arrangement is absolutely on point in fact.
The second would be Small Society – If You Stand By Me, on Cadde records. A small, local production that suffers somewhat from a lo-fi recording but has oodles of charm and passion; a simple story of a man and the love he holds for his lady. Fitting then that it was my now wife Michelle who, when we got engaged, pointed out that guys don’t get a ring and did I want to buy a record to mark the occasion….. this was it, and hence why its a treasured piece of the collection.
Which record do you regret selling the most?
I’ve moved a few records on in my time, but none with regret. Many I’ve bought back further down the line, or some I’ve accepted I won’t see again due to scarcity or demand being much higher years on.
The only one I’d say I have a slight tinge of sadness about was one I sold in a batch of rarities when raising cash to fund our family house move. It was Just Us – We’ve Got A Good Thing Going, on Vincent records. Epic double sider if you like your soul on the mellow side. The demand on it had pushed the price to six times what I’d paid for it, so I did well, but it’s one that I won’t get back as it continues to soar. Tough one to source too.
What’s your fave all time soul club?
I wasn’t young enough to go to the big soul clubs of the back int’ day generation. I’d have loved to have been able to witness Stafford and all that it brought to the soul scene for example. I did get to some great places with my old man when starting to cut my teeth on the scene. Prestwich, Frobisher, Sheridan were a few that come to mind.
I’d have to rank the legendary 100 club niter up there, and Rugby. Credit to them for still leading the way. But outside of that, its really been about some of the more recent clubs on the scene for me.
It would also be remiss not to mention Beat Boutique – not exclusively a soul club as such, but a club night that introduced me to same minded folk of my age, leading to me spending pretty much every weekend in Manchester / travelling around the country with these guys to whom we’ll soon be entering our third decade of friendship. That’s what this music can do.
What’s your all time want?
I don’t necessarily have a wants list. I do have a stack of records i keep at the forefront of my mind and put more effort in to find than others.
There are two records that I’ve been chasing for some time. Problem is, they’re also on many other people’s radar too! Being a Yorkshire man, this is where the struggle becomes very real; I have to balance patience with the price being right! Maybe one day I’ll be lucky enough to bag copies of Anubis Ecology on Salt City, or Ellipsis – People on Briarmeade at a price I can convince my conscious is representative of the Yorkshire reputation.
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