Yeah, older reggae is not easy or common to come across at decent prices and in decent condition. I've had a few lucky finds. One place in town seldom gets in reggae but when they do they price it all crazy low so I always check in every week or so to see if anything has been put out. Last time I got a copy of Scientist vs. Prince Jammy Big Showdown for 6 bucks. But yeah, at least around here, older reggae for cheap is a pretty rare find.

I always avoided starting with the 45s, but then was down in New Orleans at Domino Sound and picked up a couple more or less as souvenirs. Then, I really liked the B-side stuff that you're not getting on LP. So, I picked up a couple more, then happened across a nice shop that sells about 90% reggae singles while in Kansas City so had to pick up a couple more... Next thing you know I'm sending money to a guy down in Jamaica to send me a pile of 'em back, random selections at a very nice price. Shipping takes forever and the covers are trashed, but the vinyl has all been pretty solid, although a few of the really old ska and pre-ska stuff has been a bit scratchy. And if you like reggae, not much is more fun that a bunch of random singles showing up on your doorstep straight from the source to sort through. But yeah, that rabbit hole looks endless from my first peak down.

Some recent auction wins, I'm really getting into these local auctions now and can't understand why I wasn't that fussed before.


I was pleased to discover this EP which I have never seen before stuck inside a John Denver LP sleeve!






In with a box of Xian Folk was this unusual 7" complete with an Isle Of Man actual stamp stamped sleeve









This one is just pretty rubbish cover versions but I love the sleeve and oh to be one of those lucky bingo winners on the back!







The vinyl was pretty scratched but nice cheeky sleeve, all ship shape and erm...






I bid on one box especially to get this early 70's LP featuring a young Mike Oldfield and an older John Peel








There were some rubbish 78's inside this old Columbia records case but it's a fine keeper I shall fill with good 78's!










The nicest find was a pair of what are literally 'Wedding Albums' recorded locally in the mid 60's
and featuring the whole service including vows, I wonder if the loving couples are still together?

Charity shop vinyl from the past week or so including a double helping of the first and last albums by Grimsby's finest,
The Singing Postman.





The one above was his debut on Ralph Tuck Promotions,"the smallest recording organisation in the world"
before he was signed to one of the biggest, Parlophone. First Class Male was released on Gemini in 1970
and then he disappeared until 1977 when he released a 7" titled Fertilising Liza, bless 'im.










I was pleased to find an unplayed copy of this lovely album, I have had a tatty one for years.











My first impression of the sleeve was that it must be an unflattering painting of a banjo wielding hick,
then I saw the back and changed my mind.







and why not?





Maybe Judy is singing for the only other thing I can think of who was 'born in a trunk' - Basketcase









Great to see Ethel is really getting into it on the sleeve of her 1963 LP







A nice find was this EP of songs from a 1957 movie I have never seen or heard of before.








25p for a stone mint copy of this JB classic.

Shop had all xmas records form 2 bucks each, grabbed some holiday listening.

vinyl odds and ends I've picked up in the past few days



I was most pleased with this curious Saydisc LP which according to the label is a 'Limited Edition',
though it's hard to imagine it ever sold many copies. It was also released on CD a few years ago.







The sleeve for this LP may have been inspiration for this Pink Floyd compilation as it also came out in 1971.





Lovely tunes from Victorian Barrel Organs to musical boxes also released in 1971.




I have bell-ringing albums but this is the first one I've found with them accompanied by a guitar.




This was only 49p so I couldn't resist hearing these oldies slaying the oldies.







A nice pair of JM comps.









A BBC 12" single of narration for you to read / listen along to the Gremlins movie.

Monday morning Charity Shop haul


This sleeve could be Volume 1 of a new LP series, 'Now That's What I Call a Pipe'





I'm a sad sucker for these holiday entertainer records, hey look it's signed!







In the same box as the one above (obviously) I thought there may be a HRH connection, but it turns out
to be a record by a chap called Brian Royal who also does a cover of that easy classic 'Feelings' and I would
have been so disappointed if it too wasn't signed.







A surprisingly Funky soundtrack to a 1977 US TV mini-series I had not heard of before.





Possibly topping the 'Savile at Broadmoor' LP I picked up earlier this year is this string quartet album.
Featuring the theme from Star Wars to Beatles tunes and all with the blessing of JS, it's signed by the band
on the rear but his signature isn't real.










This was a nice find, a private pressing of an album featuring soundclips of interviews
with the Sussex school staff and pupils on one side and music recorded there in the early 70's.







There were three copies of this 7" in the same box as the school record so I had no choice but to pick up one of them!

some of my vinyl finds in the last week or so


I would have paid a couple of quid for this for it's sleeve alone. It's a 1969 album and features a great
Freakbeat tune Girl In a Bus Queue the other tracks reminded me of US baroque poppers The Free Design.




Lovely UK textured sleeve on this US Xian Folk singer's LP from 1973 - check Fork In The Road




A nice pair of Blues comps from the late 60's.




I picked this up in Age Concern for a quid yesterday, side 1 has stood the test of time better than side 2.




Another charity shop find yesterday which surprised me considering that tis the season, etc.






60's soul & pop tunes, like Sgt. Pepper in an instrumental stylee, digging the Hendrix influenced art man!







Not sure I'd fancy cream on my meat pastie, urrr yuk.






I wouldn't be surprised if they re-issued this 7" originally released in 1974 This Is The Season For Us
but someone really needs to write a song for the B side dedicated to Jamie Vardy.






While Rolf was up to no good with Two Little Boys no-one thought to question Captain Mainwaring, it was the 70's.



One of the rarest finds this past week was this great 7" from 1967

Picked up a stash of soundtrack albums today, they were all were £2 each, I hadn't heard of some of the films
but these were the pick of the bunch along with an unexpected album in a plain white sleeve which I couldn't resist.



1965



1972



1968



1966



1967



1968



1968



1968



1972

Local tavern every now and then lets a bunch of people setup tables and sell some records. Didn't go too crazy this weekend, but did pick up a few bargains:

Richard Hell & the Voidoids: Blank Generation (original promo copy)
King Khan & The Shrines: The Supreme Genius of King Khan and the Shrines
Hooverphonic: A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular
Stevie Wonder: Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Fats Domino: Fats on Fire

and grabbed a couple reel to reel tapes:
Fistful of Dollars Soundtrack
Kingsmen Greatest Hits

Vinyl finds on my charity shop + 2 jumble sale travels




I also have an LP by Don Harper titled Homo Electronicus and this LP is the follow up to that one,
but is more straight ahead cover versions, nice of him to scribble on the back though.








This is a double LP of Beatles cover versions with a great version of Strawberry Fields
the sleeve has ripped off that classic 'World Of...' album typeface, despite not being on Decca.




This LP is pretty rubbish but is the only sleeve I've ever seen with a gorilla playing an accordian on it,
so a keeper obviously.







From the same box as the accordian album I found this top opening LP from 1968 though probably
not worth quite as much as some other white sleeved album which was released the same year.










Best find of the week was this demo 7" issued to promote the Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles






some other sweet cheap 7" finds








The single below was released by Milton Keynes biggest star of the 1980's - Eddie Stanton.

Best vinyl hunting day at a local Goodwill in a very, very long time. Found all these on half price day, meaning a quarter each:

Jimmy Reed - Rockin' With Reed
Jimmy Reed - Root Of The Blues
Jimmy Reed - Now Appearing
King Curtis - Sweet Soul
B.B. King - Live & Well
B.B. King - Rock Me Baby
Little Anthony & The Imperials - The Best Of Little Anthony & The Imperials
Little Anthony & The Imperials - The Best Of Volume 2
Little Richard - The Explosive Little Richard
Tex Ritter - Blood On The Saddle
Buzzcocks - A Different Kind Of Tension
Bob Kuban And The In-Men - Look Out For The Cheater
Black Sabbath - Greatest Hits
Lou Rawls - Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
Lime - The Greatest Hits

All the vinyl is in great shape after a good cleaning. A few of the covers are less than perfect, but mostly pretty top notch outside Root of the Blues with a split seam all the way across the top and halfway across the bottom. Once in a plastic outer sleeve, it holds together just fine though.

Spent over 2 hours digging in one of those bloody 'Vintage Shops' yesterday, I had been in before and harrumphed at the prices
in the racks but because I had the afternoon free I thought I would kill some time going through the twelves. I am now glad I did,
as at £1.50 a pop I managed to pull allsorts of unexpected treasures, several promos & test pressings including Portishead, Lamb and U2,
loads of 90's stuff that seemed to have been dumped there and left to gather dust. I'd like to think I've cleaned it out but I left lots of dance 12"s
that I don't have a clue about, these are some of my finds.














I put these in nice pvc sleeves

2 x Tip Shop visits = some 7" delights



No LP's but some nice, mostly Folk finds


EFDSS Records 1969




Late 60's EP on Gus Records






This B is much better than the flip on this teachers plea for more pay in 1970.



A couple of old HMV EP's



other 50p oddities



Not heard of the A but the B is more familiar as the theme to Steptoe & Son







A tatty sleeve but a nice find of Max's 7" co-written by Ian Dury








Best find of the week was this record made to be played as you played.

some Mother's, do have 'em

Cheap vinyl things I have picked up over the weekend


UK pressed 7" in an 8" sleeve released on Social Records in 1963, it's a heady mix of fact and religious doctrine.





A Canadian folk sampler from Irving/Alamo Records, but I've never heard of any of the artists
and sadly there are no undiscovered Neil Youngs or Joni Mitchells amongst the 12 listed here.








I had never come across this before, but was familiar with Alan Hawkshaw's Library music
from the early 70's and this was a white label test pressing with info sheets enclosed too.








Listening through this LP I'm still not sure what the connection between doctors and rugby is,
and the f#*%$& thing has beeps and farting noises over all the f%@#&* swearwords too!








Lemmy pops up on several tracks of this UK Decca album from 1959, oh no hang on...








This was mixed in with a pile of dance 12"s and was released on BBC Records in 1971
originally for use in schools but now more likely to be dropped into mixes and DJ sets.







I have other Coronation St. related vinyl so I was never going to leave Rita Fairclough's LP in the 50p box



Someone had to rescue this old steam engines EP

Mixed joy in Milton Keynes today with nice a stash of Funk & Soul 7"s at 25p each
and the LP below which caught me by surprise considering what it could have been!



This has very similar artwork to a super rare album (below) by the band Locomotive titled We Are Everything You Are



However it turns out to be an Italian compilation which was released around the same time, shame...



Still, there were better things were sitting in a charity shop box!

Some fun 45s there.

Was driving around on a crazy warm for February and stopped off at a local shop to grab some music to sit on the porch drinking a beer and listening:

First, from the dollar bin 5 Sugar Hill 12" singles:
Spoonie Gee & the Sequence - Monster Jam
Dynamic Seven - Shame Shame Shame
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - New York New York
The Mean Machine - Disco Dream
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - Birthday

Then, also grabbed these LPs:
Luther Ingram - I've Been Here All The Time
Rolando Alphonso - Best of Rolando Alphonso
Percy Sledge - Warm & Tender Soul
Junior Wells - You're Tuff Enough
and anther 12", Kraftwerk - Musique Non Stop

And, I couldn't resist a quick return trip for:

Byron Lee & the Dragonaires - Jamaican Ska
Jr. Walker & the All Stars - Roadrunner
T. Bone Walker - Singing the Blues
Joe Tex - I've Got To Do A Little Bit Better

some of my LP's to 12" to 10" to 7" finds this week



A double album of Percy planting advice, brought to you courtesy of Sutton Seeds








Lovely Folky find with a pretty A&M inner sleeve I had not seen before







BBC kids TV LP from 1975








I was chuffed to find this 10" EP in the 50p bin








A curious TV themes 7" I hadn't heard of before from '74







I have a Morse code album somewhere but this is the first time I'd found a single



Weird 4 track EP by a right old weirdo, title track is He's A Wally I don't doubt it

I wanna go drinking with Mad Man Johnny Clark.

And, not strictly vinyl, but something to play 'em on. This originally came in a couple big boxes of parts as broken down and incomplete units, but many hours later, it is now spinning nicely and sounds quite good...

Record fair today had a lot of odd/weird/novelty records. Always fun to peruse through them. I didn't pull the trigger though and opted to just get some LPs I know I'll like. Sorry no picture because I'm feeling lazy:

Ry Cooder - Bop TIll You Drop LP
High School Sweethearts - Heels'N'Wheels LP
Holly & The Italians - The Right To Be Italian LP
Knight School - Revenger LP
The Limeliters - Slightly Fabulous LP
Nick Lowe - Labor Of Lust LP
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back LP
The Ventures - The Horse LP

Busy weekend of vinyl shopping and listening. First, stopped at a local Record Store for these:
The Stooges - Rhino reissue
The Modern Jazz Quartet - 2 LP collection of all their Prestige releases
Sonny Rollins - The Bridge
Lorde - Pure Heroin

And then on Sunday the every other month record Show near me was going on so for a total of about 40 bucks came away with all of these:
The Modern Jazz Quartet and the Oscar Peterson Trio At the Opera House
BB King - The Great BB King
Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders - The Game of Love
Marianne Faithful's Greatest Hits
Joe Tex - U Gotcha
Nancy Sinatra - Boots
Red Garland - Alone with the Blues
U-Roy - Rasta Ambassador
The Fabulous Impressions
TSOL - Thoughts of Yesterday
Plastic Bertrand - Ça Plane Pour Moi
Pretty in Pink Soundtrack
Richard "Groove" Holmes - Misty
The Never Ending Impressions

various 7 x 7"s + 1 x 78 + 2 x flexi finds from the past week


Canadian promo of the Bowie tune from Diamond Dogs





Dan Demo





Hard Welsh rockin' A label promo





Lovely tune from '69









US promo with the same track on both sides, now





A quite mellow Yoko tune from '72 in a pretty non-mellow US sleeve










Much nicer French picture sleeve from '75






The debut 78 by Sonny Terry with the flip side by Tommy Reilly,
it turns out the weasel originally went Bop! before it went Pop! who knew?









It's always nice to come across a flexi-disc I have not seen before and this
one has the added bonus of a fitness workout by Carry On star Fenella Fielding.







I wasn't previously aware of the Johnny Harris/Ready Brek connection before finding this flexi.

I also picked up some BBC 7's



This is what happens when members of Showaddywaddy & Radio 1 DJs get together








Theme from the 1980 thriller, no I had never heard of it either









Another theme I was unfamiliar with, this is from the 1979 TV series








Theme from the 1978 Olympics








I couldn't find any Youtube on this one but it is the same Everly Brothers song done in a Country stylee

I came across a stash of donated Peter Cook & Dudley Moore vinyl in a charity
shop warehouse in Milton Keynes at the weekend along with other jazzy bits n bobs.




This album cover looked curious if a little bland, but flipping it over it turns out to be a one sided promo LP
for a picture framing company plugged by Pete & Dud! Featuring 'a light hearted appraisal of Britain's
top group in the picture moulding business' with a live set from The Dudley Moore Trio at The Stables in Milton Keynes.





It also came with an insert.







An early Pete & Dud album produced by pre-fabs George Martin in 1961.






Another record I picked up on the strength of the sleeve (and the fact that it was 50p)
was this old Jazz album with Charlie Parker and friends.







In the same box was this early 70's smooth jazz thang produced by Sergio Mendes.




A bit of a more Latin vibe from Tony Hatch in '69 on this one.




I've a tatty copy of this which I used to have in my show box, but this will be an upgrade as it's nice & shiny clean.




Another album I couldn't leave in the box as there must be no-one within a 50 miles radius
who would even give this a second glance (for godsake I hope so)