60s RARE NORTHERN SOUL/MOD VALA REEGAN FIREMAN/THE PAST

	£		123
	$		163

As many of you will be aware, the already overweight fat cats that run eBay have decided to introduce a free posting policy for many items - including records. They have cited over-priced postal charges as the reason for this move, but they really want an excuse to grab yet more money from the unfortunate seller. I would dearly love to continue providing my 99p start policy, but cannot honestly afford to sell items for such a low price any more. As a result, my 99p items have had to stop, and only eBay is to blame. If this policy isn't changed soon, I will probably cease selling completely, and I know of other sellers who will be forced to do the same.

I saved a few blank templates during an earlier promotion day, which is how I am still able to offer a very reasonable postal rate. I'm going to list a few of my rarer items, picked at random from my shelves. I would have reached them eventually in my alphabetical trawl - they are just appearing early.

All of them will start at a tenth of the current book value.

I've made the decision to sell some of my very large collection of 7", 12" and LPs.

ALL THE ITEMS I AM SELLING COME FROM NEARLY FORTY YEARS OF COLLECTING.

I AM NOT A DEALER.

There will be some real gems, so make sure you keep your eyes open.

SOME OF MY LISTINGS CARRY 'BORROWED' SOUND CLIPS BENEATH THE TITLE.

I AREN'T QUITE ADVANCED ENOUGH YET TO PROVIDE MY OWN!

From now on, most of my items will start at just 99p, unless they are valued at £30 or more.

60s RARE NORTHERN SOUL/R&B/MOD

TWO CLASSY DANCERS

VALA REEGAN & THE VALARONS

"FIREMAN"

HEAR HERE! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soYUeoX61JY

b/w

"LIVING IN THE PAST"

(US: Atco 45-6412, 1966; D.J. Copy)

Vinyl

Record conditon:  Very good -

(plays Very good + to Excellent + (A); first half plays Very good, second half plays Excellent to Excellent +++ (B))

Labels condition: Very good ++

Welcome to #569 in Kev Roberts' Northern Soul Top 500 - #69 in the 'Bubbling Under' section, that is. When you consider that the same selection of also-rans contains other femme lovelies from Gwen Owens, Linda Jones, Dee Edwards, and Martha Starr, it's not such a disappointing place to be. Unlike the four artists I've just mentioned, Vala never recorded again. So it's a pleasant bonus to find that "Fireman" was released three times. The man behind the record was New York jack-of-all-trades, Bob Crewe. He did for big city 60s soul and pop what the town of Crewe did for the railways. Perhaps his best-known work was in association with Bob Gaudio, and particulary their phenomenal success with The Four Seasons. In 1965, he founded the DynoVox label (soon changed to DynoVoice), and it's New Voice offshoot. He was responsible for kicking off the success of The Toys and Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, as well as some delicious Northern dancers by The Invitations, Jessica James & The Outlaws, Duff Thurmond, Laine Hill, and the awesome Kenny Wells. Crewe was also the man who put his name to these two sides, even though Herb Bernstein did all the hard graft in the studio, as he was doing at roughly the same time with another little-known soul singer, Elbie Parker.

The single on offer here first appeared on a miniscule label called Bob Crewe Productions, and was then picked up by Atco. It was also given a contemporary British release on the early red Atlantic label, despite the fact that it hadn't been remotely successful at home. This ensured early rare soul exposure, although never to the point of overkill. "Fireman" has since gone on to rival Art Freeman's "Slipping Around" for price in the UK Atlantic soul stakes. It's a stunning uptempo beater, with a call-and-response intro, a superb lead, perfect harmonies, and lots of catchy breaks. Don't know it? Let youtube tickle your feet. "Living In The Past" is a more mid-tempo dancer, that has picked up a fair-sized reputation in it's own right, and has reappeared on one of the  Connoisseurs 45s, a few years back.

This one is currently priced by Manship at £250 for a minter.

A. One of the first Northern sides I heard; still love it to bits; total class; listen in full via the youtube link above.

B. Gorgeous mid-tempo Northern; neat backing harmonies; also has popcorn appeal.

The vinyl has a medium number of marked scuffs and "spiders webs", most of which are just superficial. However, there is a feelable stylus drag line on either side, running for a short distance near the beginning. This causes a bit of faint ticking during the first few seconds of "Fireman". The rest of the 'Plug Side' plays much better, with the occasional click towards the end. "Living In The Past" plays with more frequent ticking and clicking near the beginning. The second half plays much better, even approaching near mint by the end.

Both labels have some light dirt marks, faint friction wear, and medium ring-wear. All the text is easily legible.

I've provided a dual scan to see both labels.

The edges are completely chip-free.

It comes in my own personalized white card cover.

This record has been played on both sides to verify condition, but there's a full money-back guarantee on all my sales, and I'll refund anyone who isn't totally captivated.

New postal rates:

One 7" single: £1.80; 30p per 7" afterwards.

One 12" single/LP: £2.80; 50p per 12"/LP afterwards.