How long have you been collecting?
I started buying records in the very early 70’s, around 71/72. It wasn’t with the view to start a collection, it’s just what everybody I knew did back then. We’d go to the ‘Youth Clubs’ of which there were many, hear loads of ska, Motown and the pop hits of the day played by the older kids, then off to the record shops in Manchester and Moss Side that sold British as well as US and Jamaican releases…..the gems I must have left behind!
Do you remember your first buy?
It’s a long time ago now, and sadly I can’t remember my first actual buy, it will have been something in the charts, soul related. However from the age of 10 I used to get the Motown comp LP’s for Christmas and birthdays, so the mold was set, my path was chosen.
What’s your favourite record in your box?
Again, a difficult one as this changes so regularly! Generally it’s the last record you bought, depending on how long it has taken to track it down and finally place it on the shelves and move to the next. If pressed, I’d probably go for the Martineques – If You Want To Call Me on ME-O Records, another great slab of Detroit mid tempo folklore. A record I’d lusted after for years and years, finally bagging a mint white demo a while back, one I would never part with.
Which record do you regret selling the most?
All of them, instantly after parting with them! I only sell to buy more, but it’s always painful. One that sticks out (and one that I would like back) is The Sophisticates – I Really Hope You Do on Underground Sounds. Fem L.A. masterpiece, vocal perfection, this was another record that took an age to find but then ended up selling to fund a want as I thought I’d easily find another…. yeh right. Anyone help?
What’s your fave all time soul club?
I’m a little biased, but it would have to be the Greatstone Soul Club which I was involved with, together with lifelong friends for 13 years. Brilliant times spent in a cellar bar in Stretford, Manchester. I could write pages on the times I had here, so many great friends and even more rare records, there were just so many great DJ’s and so many new discoveries.
What’s your all time want?
Another tough question, the answer to which changes regularly. If pressed it’s probably Buddy Smith – When You Lose The One You Love on Brute. A mind blowing piece of late 60’s Detroit from the pen of Tony Clarke. my God what a voice this fella has. I did have my hands on a copy a good few years ago but funds left me wanting… I wish.
