Northern's new Holy Grail

DocMcCoy

Only one copy known to exist...

Pics here.

Flomotion

Gives me ridiculous hope that I might one day plug some of those decades-old gaps in the wants-list, even if general apathy and being an inveterate record cheapskate aren't shortening the odds much. I like this track, though.

LaserWolf

Am I missing something?
This exists on Rivelot and Stateside and sells for $20-30.

So only known London press. Cool. Rare. Collectible.
But there are 45s out there that had no other original pressing.
Some great ones have only a handful of known copies.

This seems like some Beatles/trainspotters type hype.
Are Northern guys going to start sweating minor label and dead wax minutiae?

Are they going to collect every Motown label variation on Mickey's Monkey?

Flomotion

I don't buy into the fetishism of a £10,000 label variation but good to be reminded every so often that it's all out there somewhere. I think I payed $12 for my not so unique copy of this 45.

DB_Cooper

LaserWolf said:

So only known London press. Cool. Rare. Collectible.
But there are 45s out there that had no other original pressing.
Some great ones have only a handful of known copies.

Exactly. This is just fetish-level silliness.

DocMcCoy

Well, God Save The Queen on A&M is a label variant (of sorts). Label variants have always been a thing to a particular stripe of collectro.

But, as someone points out on the Soul Source thread that the article links to, this particular tune goes straight to the heart of a question that's been asked on this board plenty of times. Dude breaks it down thus;

* A 60s UK release on the iconic Stateside label
* A legendary promo-only UK release on London
* A non-Motown Detroit release on Revilot
* An undeniably great, as opposed to just rare, double-sider (with Our Love (Is In The Pocket) on the flip)
* A quintessential soul voice fronting it all, albeit one largely unfamiliar to non-specialist listeners
* And finally, a solitary, near-mythical UK issue stock copy hidden away for decades and unearthed, almost by chance, by an obsessive collector.

So, the next time someone asks the question; ÔÇ£what is Northern Soul?ÔÇØ, you can tell them it isn't just a sound, it's an aesthetic. And it's all there in this one record and its variants. Rarity is a huge part of it - always has been.

Are Northern guys going to start sweating minor label and dead wax minutiae?

Are they going to collect every Motown label variation on Mickey's Monkey?

Er...they been doin' that, long before people on here were losing their shit over someone finding Pearly Queen for 50 cents.

It's like saying a unicorn is a label variant of a horse.

Yemsky

DocMcCoy said:

Are Northern guys going to start sweating minor label and dead wax minutiae?

Are they going to collect every Motown label variation on Mickey's Monkey?

Er...they been doin' that, long before people on here were losing their shit over someone finding Pearly Queen for 50 cents.

It's like saying a unicorn is a label variant of a horse.

This was good on SoulSource:

Of course, you could always buy a US copy of Open the Door to Your Heart, which would cost you a tenner ÔÇô or even just listen to it on Spotify. On Soulsource, one person expressed disbelief that anyone could get so excited about a record so easily available as a US issue ÔÇô ÔÇ£That's why I gave away my World Cup final and plane tickets to Brazil,ÔÇØ replied a fan, ÔÇ£ because I can stay home and watch it on TV.ÔÇØ

DocMcCoy

Yemsky said:

DocMcCoy said:

Are Northern guys going to start sweating minor label and dead wax minutiae?

Are they going to collect every Motown label variation on Mickey's Monkey?

Er...they been doin' that, long before people on here were losing their shit over someone finding Pearly Queen for 50 cents.

It's like saying a unicorn is a label variant of a horse.

This was good on SoulSource:

Of course, you could always buy a US copy of Open the Door to Your Heart, which would cost you a tenner ÔÇô or even just listen to it on Spotify. On Soulsource, one person expressed disbelief that anyone could get so excited about a record so easily available as a US issue ÔÇô ÔÇ£That's why I gave away my World Cup final and plane tickets to Brazil,ÔÇØ replied a fan, ÔÇ£ because I can stay home and watch it on TV.ÔÇØ

Yeah, I'm not entirely certain it occured to Bob Stanley that maybe dude was being sarcastic. Levels and all that...