finds in early March


Been after a decent copy of this old 70's comp for ages and it's still really bad, as in good.




I took a punt on these old soundtracks of films I'd never heard of with mixed results.











This was an unusual find, a double album of stories for schools released via the BBC & Penquin Books in 1973






A copy of the classic Ian Fleming story on an imprint better known for releasing Psych albums by Arzachel and Raw Material.




One I've been digging from a Jazz collection I bought recently.







Cat bothering bad opera compilation.







£1 find I hope to put to good use.







Lovely unusual private pressing I found in the same box as the jingles 12".

all found for a pound a pop in a couple of boxes at an antique market


The theme to TV show Follyfoot - nice touch with the release date stamped at top of the sleeve.





This has the release date stamped on the side of the sleeve too.




Four track EP from 1977






B side is The Finale sung by Edda.




Taken from their beautiful Barafundle album.






Demo for the theme from the 1968 movie of the same name that starred Lucille Ball & Henry Fonda.




Best find was this gem by Broadcast, probably the first vinyl by them I have ever found out in the wild.




A few oddities




Despite it's title this doesn't sound like it has any Zappa connection, it sounds more like a rubbish Rolling Stones song.





Described on her sole LP as a cross between Max Boyce & Pam Ayres this is her blue vinyl EP featuring Viva La Wales (Viva Espania)







A great Century 21 adventure released in 1967, luckily the token was not cut out of the sleeve on the back to enter the competition.

I picked up some Bowie bits but these 3 were the pick of the finds at my first ever Monday car boot!


a test pressing by mid 80's folk band



private pressing by hairy rockers Terraplane (I took a punt on this as he wanted £6 so I offered £5 which turned out to be a good deal)



the only single by 2 out of 4 Rutles

A very early start dug up a few gems in a packed field this morning, I awoke early and after putting the kettle on and looking up at the time then realised
I was an up an hour too soon so went back to bed until 6:15 and then merrily drove off to sit in a queue outside the massive car boot in Northampton.



There were plenty of singles and one guy had 2 huge boxes at 25p a go, so I pulled loads including Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd and even an 80's re-issue of The High Numbers I'm The Face
which was an unexpected treat but this 7" was the pick of the bunch for me as I never knew the French drink Pernod had released a record on it's own label before and it's pretty good.






I saw a bloke dipped down over a big box of promo card & pvc sleeved promo CD's and started to dig when the woman said "these were my ex-husbands, he used to have a record shop, you can have the lot for £8"
which was so cheap I couldn't haggle so just said yes straight away and the bloke who had been going through them was a bit miffed but he had a handful of them and she told him to just keep them.
There were so many I have pulled out loads of compilations to listen to on my trips up to Scotland and will give a mate who is helping me to move all the rest. The smiley face sleeved disc turned out to be a great surprise,
it's by someone called Dr. Coca Cola and it's worth the free download : http://www.duckworthsquare.com/AAS037/




I couldn't resist these which were all on the same stall at 2 x fiver, the Screaming Lord Sutch is a keeper!

Hits and misses at a couple of tip shops this week, I doubt the Scottish ones I'll soon be visiting will be quite so eclectic or fruitful...



Despite heavy racks of vinyl I only found a couple of bits in here.


This isn't all that rare but it caught my interest to find out what a Bond era Connery has to say on it.





This kind of single is catnip to me, I have yet to hear it though as I've already packed away my deck but I'm sure it has some merit.






All sorts of things turned up in these ramshackle piles.



I have the Trunk OST album but never seen this US copy with actual episodes on before.






I don't remember this version at all and I'm old! The New Seekers version is on the flip though and everyone knows that one.





Rarest find was this 1st pressing (of only 250 copies) of the debut release by The Deep Freeze Mice.





The most curious was this Mexican 12" club mix by Jabba's Palace Band

Mixed picking in my first week since moving to Scotland, I'll be heading back to my regular haunts in sunny England once every 6 weeks
or so but considering how most of the charity shops are shut and the car boots are yet to kick off up here it hasn't been such a bad week.
Scottish law demands that face masks be worn from this week too so I covered up and headed into Arbroath and Forfar.


yeah, yeah, East Fife 5





The Serge connection was enough for me to take a punt on this French EP from 1960












Nice surprise find of the week was this single that I'd not heard of before but looked interesting.








Rarest find was this Xian Folk 7" which originally came free with a Scottish bands privately pressed album in 1978
sadly there was no LP in the box but this is quite lovely.

I have discovered the joys of Scottish auctions this week which has turned up all sorts of things and not just records, I won a couple of boxes of folk albums
of varying quality but pretty much all in tip top condition. However, when the kind gentleman from the auction house loaded them into my car told me to make room
for the other stuff I'd won which confused me as I assumed I'd only won records but it seems part of the lot included paintings, crockery, mirrors and other stuff I never
wanted. So the lesson I have learned is that I have to watch the "additions" to lots I bid for as I was left with a car full of some dead persons belongings that I had to make
a trip with straight to the nearest charity shop, apart from a couple of really nice plant pot holders.



I found quite a few Scottish singles in the charity shops (probably no surprises there) but there were some interesting ones (to me) like this pair celebrating
the opening of the Tay road bridge in August 1966 turned up among the albums. The blue bags hanging from the railings were full of sweets and crisps (not poo)
and are dotted along the bridge, not sure if these have been left to try and dissuade folk from leaping off but it's possible as there are lots of warning signs not to jump.






The legendary rail bridge is in the distance, it was as grey a day as it looks too.



Charity shops and SNP HQ side by side.


A cool minimalist sleeve for a disc by a folk duo released in 1963 and how nice to "come by" a whistling EP by the great Jimmy Shand.


Does it get any more Scottish than these three?


yes it does...

I'm currently on a trip to my old hunting grounds, local car boots & charity shops etc, I've had a few good finds in Scotland including a huge jazz collection but for sheer I-never-know-what-is-gonna-turn-up,
Northamptonshire has few equals for surprises, although I rarely stray further than Bucks so I'm kinda biased, but I did find a few nice things at a boot and a shop with the weekend finds to come.


Time was I'd pay little attention to the boxes the records were in but this pretty 60's case was too good to leave for a pound.


Some of the more interesting albums most of which were 50p from the same car boot as the fancy case.



I assumed the 'Featuring CHILDREN' refered to the kids on the front but it was to a composition of his own and sadly not a cover of the Robert Miles tune either.






I've never come across a copy of this scarce album before, the sleeve has wear but the disc is lovely.



A nice minty album of childrens songs released on a Topic imprint, some good witchy (Ritual Games) tunes on side 1.





I find it incredible that an Appalachian folk album released in 1977 to raise money for an obscure American coal mine somehow finds it's way to a field in Northampton!
It's signed on the rear but I can't make out if it's either of the artists - Rich Kirby or Michael Kline.








The tip shop in town had a lot of fresh albums but I unearthed some interesting globe spanning singles.




Arabian release from 1962 by Saken Qassadi


Square flexi-postcard picture disc from Venice.


Obscure Welsh indie band from 1984.


UK one sided stereo test disc.


12" of the classic Planet Rock complete with Hip Hop sticker.

Visited my first Scottish car boot on Sunday, the field slowly filled up but there were some very dodgy looking characters about, so I had to watch my step but
I found a few albums and just missed getting into a good box first and I was up at 6am. These are some of the folky things, there were more a lot more, at 50p a pop.








Not a Scottish folk album in the same box as the three above shock!! a great sleeve for this one from '73


On Saturday morning I had visited a Northampton boot before I drove to Dundee (bloody hardcore me) and found a few things I liked.



A local rap act 12" from the early 90's released by the Northampton Musicians Collective, inside was a flyer to a local festival, below.





A well loved but playable copy of Stevie's 2nd single from 1962.




I couldn't find anything online about this 10" disc, possibly because typing Marley Vinyl into a search engine throws up quite different results!





I admit I only picked this up for the cheesy sleeve, but listening through it's not that bad either.

album finds in recent weeks from a few charity shops and a couple of boots, the sun shines on the early bird




broody




jazzy













soundtracky





poppy

Picked up some unusual BBC records I'd not come across before earlier this week stuffed at the back of a box of Mantovani and James Last albums.
They all have what sounds like easy listening background music on, they are not muzak as such, more light orchestral instrumentals.
I guess they were issued to radio stations in the late 60's early 70's? but there is little info on them online to confirm.

my local paper has done a follow up article on the records I found a few weeks back - am chuffed to bits that they have included a link to my mix!



https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/nostalgia/1531822/dundee-showbiz-boss-speaks-of-regret-that-folk-duo-didnt-walk-the-tay-road-bridge-to-success/

I've picked up a mixed selection of 7" finds on a trip down south, I only came to Northants see my mum for a few days but she insisted on taking me charity shop hopping.
She's got a great eye for ceramics and jewellery but I tend to stick to the things I know best and they're usually round with sound.


yes it's (probably) rubbish but I can't leave 20p records like this for some strange reason.




These 2 EP's we're sandwiched between some classical LP's, I was very pleased with the Moondog as I've never found anything by him in the wild before.








Lovely blue vinyl horoscope disc from 1960, I guess there are more in the set...



I'd never heard this this 70's Dutch summer tune before but it has a spookily familiar tune.






a Funky Disco classic



Scarce finger snapping tune from '63



Even Discogs don't have this single listed, it was the theme to a musical about Robin Hood starring Ronnie Corbett that totally bombed.

Various vinyl finds at a car boot, a tip shop and an auction lot win.



I'm quite into folk music but this global lot are really Inter folk!




This curious looking pair caught my eye in a 50p box but they both turned out to be line dancing records, damn.












A tune still used today to plug things in Corby even though it's steel industry is long gone, it came in a nice swirly paper sleeve but I doubt that originally came with it.






An unusual white label 12" from 1986 sent by Alex Pascall who was the organizer of the Notting Hill Carnival at the time to his friend John
it features 2 songs to promote the Caribbean Focus Festival, I could find no other info on this so if anyone knows more?




Released in 1969 this was 1 of only 2 records released by the SCS the other was a year later and called Songs From Irish Pubs.








Dear old Mike certainly loved his idol Winifred Atwell and was an incredible pianist.









To find this LP in a charity shop in Bletchley, Milton Keynes is probably just as freaky as this 1966 album.






I have a tidy copy of Ravi's first UK album from 1956 but the vinyl on this, his third one from 1959 looks unplayed.

An afternoon in Aberdeen turned up some interesting finds.



I Googled 'charity shop warehouses' and discovered a couple of vinyl drops, with one offering a fine selection of walking sticks and the other picnic hampers.







I am sure I have another copy of this 2 x LP spoken word tour of The Pyramids somewhere, but I know it doesn't have the little booklet insert.






A pair of early 70's Dana Gillespie albums, the best (red) one has a cover of Andy Warhol with Bowie & The Spiders From Mars backing her.





First Jamaican pressing of the second album by a priest who sings a strangely delightful hybrid of Christian Folk and Reggae.







Dunno wtf this is tbh but it was signed and was on SRT which is an imprint that turns up unusual tunes.







Another odd album, the sleeve and it's exclusive availability through the NY Herald Tribune paper piqued my interest, might be just rubbish though.




odd singles, like the DVD's and CD's in the store they were 10 for a pound!


released in a limited edition of 200 copies




Catchy power pop, does kinda sound like Blondie





Signed by Ruthie herself, whoooo?




The Belgian Tornadoes!







Very scarce (ie hardly anyone bought it) charity 7" from an Edinburgh band released in 1982 - note mis-spelling on front of gatefold sleeve.







Nicest find was this Canadian kids picture disc released in 1948

I'm back down south for a few days and after digging in a handful of local charity shops came away with some curious singles.
The first stop though was an antique centre where 7"s were £1 a pop, I'd actually have been tempted by more if they were 50p...






I was the most likely chap in town to snap this one up, initially thought it was a joke disc, but no it's for real







Debut disc by a power-pop duo called France/Angleterre ‎titled Carte De Visite in a signed fold-out sleeve.





Odds 'n' ends found elsewhere I've not listened to them all yet, but they took my fancy.













Orange/silver 2 x French EP released on Stampa Alternativa in 1987.



















Nicest find in a 50p box at the tip-shop was this old acetate featuring 4 covers of rock 'n' roll tunes by an unknown/forgotten band from the early 70's.

Album finds in one tip shop and two charity shops.



























watch out he's going for his carrot!

I've picked up some strange odds and ends in the past few weeks, I dunno if it was a karmic payback for dropping a load of albums and singles at my local Shelter
but I came across a lovely stash of folk and classical albums in a charity shop warehouse just hours afterwards, so I like to think what goes around comes around.







No doubt quite a story behind how these 2 Scottish paper bag and video ad cards turned up inside a South African album sleeve.








I have 4 of these South African albums somewhere but this one goes up to 11 and includes an unusual choice of Lennon cover.








I love discovering unusual Scottish singles I never came across in Northampton.



Another nice find to add to my football vinyl collection.







Best find was a EX+ copy of this Trojan album by Tommy McCook & The Supersonics which has at least half a dozen stunning standout tracks.






A John Hassell private pressing of a meditation record from 1966, it looks unplayed and came with a card insert.







I'd never seen or heard of this odd album from 1975 which is hit + miss but I think the right word is "interesting".

Bits & bobs picked up on a recent trip to the beautiful city of Perth, I was pleased to find this handful of early 60's card flexi-discs which were given to doctors from drug companies as promo discs to persuade them to use their products.



Some drugs like Nialamide offered here once used to treat depression are now long out of use due to unforeseen side effects like Hepatotoxicity.










Diabinese is still in use today.






Terramycin is no longer available in many countires due to side effects.






This vinyl disc promoting high blood pressure drug Centyl came in a wrap around sleeve featuring the same design as the actual sleeve.








Away from drugs and away to the Mediterranean was the way ahead for Jan Cunningham who boarded the SS Uganda in Dundee for her trip of a lifetime.











When Jan and friends came back from their trip on the high seas with all that rich food she would have given this promo disc many spins.






One of the stars of The Rocky Horror Picture Show released this cheeky red vinyl 'triple B side' single in 1978.










The ultimate chill-out record for plants, which turns out to be mostly classical music, who knew?

Soooo....Do you collect these for the interesting album covers and band names or are you really listening and loving all of the music on these vinyls?

yes indeed, I collect/listen to everything I find and record and post some of the things I like in the resulting mixes here http://www.obner.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=47479

Records I have picked up in the past few weeks mostly in auction lots, some in Northampton and one lot in Dundee,
no prizes for guessing which country these few came from.


This caught my eye as I thought it said on the back that the drummer was Bill Nelson but I'd misread it, as it was Bill Neilson
and besides Bill is a guitarist anyway so it was one hell of a long shot!


Volume 1 was withdrawn of course as it was With Kids


Almost taking the piss in such Scottish pants, I really am gonna have to start a 'Scottish vinyl' blog soon...


Other bits from down south.


His brilliant debut 7" in great nick, thanks Ronnie.





Quirky 4 track EP which I'd not seen before but I recognised a couple of the tunes.



This single has crossed my path before but not in this if... movie sleeve




I was well chuffed to find this pair of Century 21 EP's in the same box - never had a copy of the Daleks one before.








Never seen nor heard this one before either.




I didn't pick these up in an auction but found them in one of the many boxes of CD's in my garage after the move up north, the One Cut
disc looks like I hardly ever played it and the top 2 are We Love You Records comps and all 3 have artwork which makes them collectable
because of some fella called Banksy.












This was a sweet find in a charity shop in Arbroath last week, an un-played UK issue complete with booklet.

It's been a while since I went digging anywhere and have since moved to Scotland, but rather than go back to England just yet I found myself digging in Wales, however just while I was visiting friends there.
These were found in a handful of charity shops, nothing too shabby & there were a load of cheap folk EP's I couldn't resist picking up and I am certainly now the owner of far too many singles on the Cambrian label.


Nice poster I couldn't persuade my mate to part with even for some lovely Beatles albums, can't blame him.



£1 boxes





No shortage of action! or girls! on this cheesy mid 70's film soundtrack I'd not come across before, though it should have come with a warning sticker, contains Robin Askwith.








Really enjoying this one from 1968.




Sadly no paper bag sleeve with this flexi but it does feature the first recording by whistling Roger Whittaker under the pseudonym Hank And The Mellowmen.







I couldn't find anything online about this pair of acetates, one a 5" the other 10".







One of only a couple of singles ever released by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, narrated by a suitably plummy voiced lady.








A flexi-disc personal message to cereal growers about the different varieties of barley, nice postal sleeve.



Another flexi-disc, this one is narrated by the English character actor Vernon Reeves, okay yah.





Maybe it's because of dull songs like this that politicians are not releasing singles anymore, this one features the leader of the Liberal Party throughout the 60's.







Best of the bunch of 50p EP's I picked up, nicely signed on the back.

Not bad Sunday booting finds considering I only went to this one and was there at 7am, by the time I took this pic an hour later it was pretty much all over (for me)




The best fiver I spent was on a bundle of jazz books including this early 60's programme which had surprising extras.



I guess the guy (it was bound to be a guy, right?) who went to the show made these drawings as he sat tapping his foot.




Inside were some beautifully handwritten notes on the show, so I guess he went to the show to review it, maybe for Jazz Mag Monthly?



Finding some Scottish sevens was inevitable but I only picked up wheat I hadn't seen or heard of before, I don't just buy any old rubbish!









Loved this delightfully daft Celtic-electro-poppy-folk one.










It wasn't all Scottish singles however, this signed Irish EP in a fancy sleeve was irresistible.








Always nice to find cheap 60's singles in good sleeves.







Three 'pound a pop' albums


This original UK mono in lovely condition was lurking in a box of Cliff albums.


A quite beautiful sleeve.



If they were releasing anti-cuts albums in the 80's, I wouldn't be surprised at an anti-vax compilation coming one day.

This recent find of Kate Bush's Hounds of Love had mixed blessings, the slightly oversized outer sleeve is for the US promo edition which originally came with a bio/photos and the LP was even pressed on marble coloured vinyl, all tied up with a pink ribbon. Alas the copy I found in an animal charity shop (for £2, cheers!) has the outer fold-around cover + ribbon but the album inside is a UK stock issue with original inner/insert and not the fancy coloured version which I can assume the previous owner had swapped for this one and kept the other, but it's nice to have this outer sleeve and all even if it only just fits on my shelves.