I was Rick James' Bandmate Bitch (45 raers rel)
DrWu
4,021 Posts
A little something for the classic rock clique here on the Strut. Neil's very first record just sold for 3.43k. Rick James Did Not Play On This Record, Bitch 
Comments
"Many consider this to be the rarest 45 in the world. (...) Only 8-10 copies are known to exist today and this is one of them."
Aha, I thought this was the raerest 45 ever.
Frank Wilson - Do I Love You - Soul 35019 - >>>> ??15.000
(here is a good currencey converter http://www.xe.com)
The holy grail of Northern soul...only two known copies,
A source at Motown/Polygram revealed Wilson's about turn on his vocal debut and quickly convinced Berry Gordy to destroy all existing promo copies.
(Here is another story I found)
The record was recorded in 1965 on motown records, but the story goes that after recording it Berry Gordy ordered Frank to concentrate on writing rather than singing so his one record never saw the light of day, supposedly all promo copies were destroyed
So what's the real story? Well, being one of the former owners I will attempt to shine a little light on the mystery surrounding Frank Wilson's anthem 'Do I love You' Soul 35019.
Firstly the actual discovery was made by a former researcher Tom Dieperro, a Motown historian who worked for them in the mid 70's. The disc unplayed, had been given to him by the company for future research purposes
Low on Tom's list of priorities, the disc and its destiny were about to be turned upside down when legendary Northern soul dealer and record producer Simon Soussan finally met with him. They both shared a love of Detroit and Motown in particular, Dieperro gave a clutch of oddball 45's including Frank Wilson to Soussan to listen to.
The initial play was enough to send Simon into a frenzy and with his marketing know how immediately sent acetates to UK DJs under the guise of Eddie Foster.
Understandably it became Northern's biggest ever find and caused much debate as to its real identity (Simon being notorious for discovering Northern classics and giving them false identities).
The secret was out in 1978 when Simon offered his collection to Les McCutcheon (an entrepreneur from Weybridge in Surrey who later formed the band Shakatak amongst other chart successes).
The fact that it was now owned by a relatively unknown player in Les Mac, and the fact that its origin was Motown, made collectors give it a luke warm reception.
Whether or not Les got cold feet or simply moved on to pastures new remains unclear, but the disc was subsequently sold to Jonathan Woodcliffe, a Nottingham DJ who briefly emerged as one of the UK's top collectors. Jon later became a dance jock and a close ally of Alex Lowes and the Southport dance weekender.
With a sudden change of heart Jonathan agreed to part company with the record to yours truly, who owned the disc for over 10 years. When my future partner in 'Goldmine/Soul supply Ltd' Tim Brown, who is reputedly the worlds biggest Northern soul dealer offered me the (then) staggering sum of ??3,000. At the time I thought that the Northern scene had bottomed out and I couldn't see prices getting any higher, so I agreed to the deal. Tim was subsequently offered the unbelieveable sum of ??15,000 for the 45 by Kenny Burrell. The 45 has been voted by collectors and d/j's the biggest Northern soul single of all time
(Another source)
Frank Wilson-Do i love you indeed i do) on Soul is the rarest of the rare
First found by Motown researcher and historian Tom Dieperro while working for the label in the 70's, the disc was in unplayed condition when he received it as research material from the company for some future project, as such the record was put aside, that was until famous (infamous) Record dealer and producer Simon Soussan met up with Tom, Both having a love of Detroit soul Tom gave a stack of obscure 45,s for Simon to listen to, well Simon was Blown away by "Do i love you" and in no time it was covered up as Eddie foster and acetates were soon winging their way to UK DJ's...well the rest is well known, it went massive becoming a Northern classic. the real identity only becoming know in 1978 when Simon sold his collection, Question did Tom ever give Simon the record or is it still on loan ??????
So how did Kenny Burrell get it ?
Simon sold his collection to Les McCutcheon (Shakatak etc) including the Frank Wilson, at first when it became know what had happened and the news filtered through the scene it seems that the fact Les was not in the inclowd the discovery was somehow ignored or given short shrift (nothings changed there then) anyway for unclear reasons Les sold the 45 to
Jonathan Woodcliffe a Notts DJ quite well known in his day, I think he has something going on in the Southport scene today, Nothing is known about the time Jonathan owned the disk, he sold the record to Kev Roberts who owned the record for 11 years until he sold it to his business partner Tim Brown for ??5000 a then world record.....but not for long...enter stage left Mr. Kenny Burrell clutching his ??15,000
Timeline:
1977
Tom Dieperro discovers the disc at Motown in California.
1977
Simon Soussan acquires the disc from Tom in Los Angeles.
1978
Les McCutcheon reputadly paid $500 to Simon for the single. Les loans the single to Russ Winstanley to play. (Russ, later in various publications and CD booklets, claims ownership... falsely).
Winstanley was the key DJ in turning the record into a monster. After a mishap at Wigan Casino the disc accidently develops an edge warp. Les McCutcheon retrieves the disc from Russ and sells it to Jonathan Woodliffe for a reputed ??250.
1979
Jonathan Woodliffe sells the disc to Kev Roberts in an exchange deal valued at ??350 for 12", LPs and white demo Funk/Soul releases for his collection.
1989
Kev Roberts sells the disc, warp and all, to Tim Brown for the new world record of ??5,000.
1990
The only 'other' copy turns up in Canada with Martin Koppel who acquires an original from former Motown collector Ron Murphy in Detroit.
1996
Tim Brown is offered an earth shattering ??15,000 for the ultimate Northern Soul 45.
(And here we have a list of records and how much someone paid for it)
Don Gardner - Cheatin' Kind - Sedgrick 3001 - ??10,000
The Springers - Nothing's Too Good For My Baby - Wales 428 - ??7000
J D Bryant - I Won't Be Coming Back - Shrine 108 - ??5000
Lester Tipton -This Won't Change - La Beat 6607 - ??4000
The Andantes - Like A Nightmare - VIP 25006 - ??3000
Junior McCants - Try Me For Your New Love - King 6106 - ??2500
The Butlers with Frankie Beverley - Because Of My Heart - Rouser 1017 - ??2000
The Magnetics - I Have A Girl - Ra Sel - ??2000
Neil Young
Haven't calculated insurance, but before the price hike at the USPS, registered air mail for one 45 could get up to $12.50, so $9 is a deal.
Northern soul is an interesting scene. Love some of the tracks but I can't stand those let-me-tell-the-crowd-how-much-??-this-record-cost cunts that often DJ's these northern soul nights
By the way, what do you think of the Frank Wilson track Hawkeye?
The track ??? I heared it and wouldnt take the record if I would get it for free. Na thats not true, but the I think the track is not worth 15.000 British pounds. Which track is worth so much ??? No clue. Not that track.
To be honest, I dont like 90% of the music that is called Northern Soul Its just not my thing. But I like trivia, thats the reason why I knew of that 45.
Peace
Hawkeye
This dude lives in the US...that's $9 for priority mail. I guess insurance could get up to $50 but you can add registered mail for like $10 or $15 (which includes insurance).