breathless in Accra
Frank
2,370 Posts
Day three... running daily quarter-page adverts in the largest national newspaper proved to be a good idea. people calling every couple of minutes. Records are coming into the hotel while I'm sitting on the terrace, getting crunk on freezing temperature Star Beer. Other people call and I hop into a cab and go on some wild goose chase, running around town, getting my hands dirty. great fun! Sent out buyers to central, coastal, eastern Ghana and the Volta region.Funniest calls so far that I'm sure you guys will get a kick out of:"I have the old records you are looking for...""how many""oh, I don't know, plenty, they're plenty""how many is plenty? Do you have 20, 30 or more than 100?""... well, maybe 15?""can you tell me some of the titles?""one is Abba. Do you like Abba? Or Bonney M?"another one:"Hi, I'm the ome who you met earlier today, you have to come quick to see me,I found someone who has what you are looking for""what does he have exactly? Can you tell me some of the titles?""he has 6 Ebo Taylor and 7 Kusum Beat. But he wants 1.2 millions each. Can you come to the trotro station (most convenient place in town to rob somebody and disappear in a chaotic crowd) and bring enough cash, the man is in a hurry"One of the good ones:"I'm calling for the advert in the paper. My husband has a lot of those records. We lived in Brooklyn NY althrough the 70s until 1983 and my husband bought so many records. We would play them at parties. They are all records from Africa that he bought at the African Market on Nostrand Avenue and we took them all with us when we moved back to Accra in 1983."*the husband called me back and I'm about to see him in an hour and a half...
Comments
Good luck with 'the husband'.
whatever it takes to save the locals from giving away their records to greedy competitors who pay shitty prices for high value stuff...