37:
A mixed bag of obscurities
This is a Charity Shop Excursion almost a week after the event, My primary focus has been elsewhere having had a lot to do setting-up my ‘sister’ Blubrry podcast + website that will eventually become my main place of residence.
I’m running out of space here and don’t want to go onto the next website plan with WordPress which will be far too much for what I want ‘Yellow Paper Suns’ to be – which is essentially a resting place for my archived record reviews.
My new project can be found here
Please check it out and subscribe to my podcast mixes, available on most of the best platforms.
OK, back to my records excursion. First stop last Saturday morning was Sunderland but if I’d known that Sunderland AFC were playing at home to Norwich I probably wouldn’t have bothered. It was an early kick-off too which meant lots of supporters milling around the city centre eating Greggs pasties.
I scored some obscurities for 50 pence each and a hard-to-find pressing of Alex Harvey & his Soul Band, a recent Polydor release covering their beat-period 1964/65.
On Monday I had a look in the Washington branch of the British Heart Foundation and low and behold, someone had recently donated their unwanted records. Very good timing because the records I bought would not have hung around for long on the shelf.
The LP “WFIL Pop Oldies Explosion Volume 3” is probably very common in USA but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it. Quite a garish psychedelic cover drew me in – most of the tracks I’ve heard before but there are some unknowns for here: The Casinos, Deon Jackson, Jimmy Jones, Billy Stewart, Jackie Ross and Jay Wiggins. Probably soul pop performers.
Coming home today:
Chet Atkins – “Picks On The Beatles” (RCA NL 12002) LP 1977 50p
The Peach Thief – “Original Soundtrack” (Ember NR 5030) LP 1966 50p
Alex Harvey & his Soul Band – “Shout!” (Polydor 537 298-4) LP 2017 £12
Hugo Montenegro & his Orchestra – “Music From ‘A Fistful Of Dollars & ‘For A Few Dollars More’ & ‘The Good, The Bad And The Ugly’ (RCA Victor RD 7994) LP 1968 £2
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 25” (Hallmark SHM 795) LP 1972 £2
WFIL Pop Oldies Explosion “Volume 3” (Lost Nite LP-131) LP 1967 £2
36:
Byrds and Lovin’ Spoonful original pressings
Although I’ve been actively looking for cheap record trash in charity shops it’s been almost a month since I last found anything worthwhile.
Today’s finds were completely by chance and sometimes it works that way. Joy of joys, a new charity shop has opened this morning in the Galleries shopping centre, Washington.
It’s an animal charity too which makes it even more worthy of my donated money in exchange for their sale items. Oak Tree Animals’ Charity is not one I’m familiar with but it appears that they have several shops on the North West area of England. It’s their first one to set up in the Sunderland area.
Fortunately for me they had a small stack of LPs which on first inspection appear to have come from the same collection. Most of them were late sixties, early seventies rock. . . . Crosby, Stills And Nash, Supertramp, Dire Straits, Elton John etc. Mostly not my scene apart from a few gems that I snapped up for £7.
I already had a repress of The Byrds “Greatest Hits” but this copy is an original CBS stereo with the thick glossy cover. And for £5 it was always coming back home with me.
I don’t recall ever seeing the Kama Sutra “The Very Best Of” The Lovin’ Spoonful but I’m sure they’re out there in the wild and not that obscure and rare. Still though, a pleasant find for £2.
Coming home today:
The Byrds – “Greatest Hits” (CBS 63107) LP 1967 £5
The Lovin’ Spoonful – “The Very Best Of” (Kama Sutra KSBS 2013) LP 1975 £2
This morning was sunny and warm, I had more-or-less decided the night before that I’d walk to Concord, Washington – and raid their couple of charity shops.
Last time I was in Concord the lass serving in St Benedicts Hospice told me that they had some records ‘in the back’ that had just been donated, but needed to be checked and priced.
With that in mind I ventured inside only to find that there was only half a dozen new items in the record racks and all of them, except the Johnny Cash 2LP set which I bought, were badly water damaged.
That was no big deal because the ‘new’ wrecked
records were easy listening albums. There was a Wombles LP
though . . . ha ha ha.
I did find four CDs worth a punt and at 25p
each they’re a bargain to be fair!
Next stop was The Children’s Society and their records are priced at £2 each but they’re always in excellent condition. I took a chance on a few of them, who knows what I’ve bought? Anita Harris probably sounds like something your old Gran enjoy and dance around the kitchen to in her best slippers.
coming home today:
Sounds Exciting! – “Various” (Decca) LP 1973 £2
Smash Hits ’73 – “Various” (MFP) LP 1973 £2
Anita Harris – “Anita Harris” (Marble Arch) LP 1967 £2
Johnny Cash – “The World Of Johnny Cash” (CBS) 2LP 1970 £3
Bob Dylan – “The Best Of” (Columbia) CD 1997 25p
Sub Pop – “Infecting the Galaxy One Planet at a Time” (Sub pop) CD 2003 25p
Cat Stevens – “Wild World” (Success) CD 198? 25p
Blondie – “Eat To The Beat” (Chrysalis) CD 1987 25p
Saturday morning means
one thing! It’s time to have a scan around the local charity shops
for new donated stock. Since I packed my job in last year and took
early retirement at 56 years old I’ve had to concentrate on living
within my means.
After years of splashing the cash here, there
and everywhere on expensive rare records and obscurities I’m making
do (for the most part) plucking the apples from the lower
branches of the trees, meaning cheapo charity shop trash.
This morning was worth it for the couple of albums I found in Scope. Two original pressings, in decent shape, and all for a fiver.
I’m making an effort to build my Johnny Cash LP archive at the moment. They’re not that hard to find in charity shops but mostly as budget label re-issues. So it was a treat to find “At San Quentin” on CBS.
I took a chance on the Jerry Lee Lewis album “Country Style” – doubt that I’ve heard any of these cuts here but I’m sure there will be at least one nugget on this set.
coming home today:
Jerry Lee Lewis – “Country Style” (Mercury) LP 1969 £2
Johnny Cash – “At San Quentin” (CBS) LP 1969 £3
33:
It was a very hot day but that didn’t stop me from taking on the six mile round-trip on foot to Concord and back home. I was pleased that I made the effort because both of the charity shops had some new stock in their record boxes.
My first stop was St Benedicts Hospice which has proved it’s worth to me over the past couple of visits. They had less CDs that they normally have. I suspect that the bulk were just not moving any where fast so someone made the decision to land-fill them!
They still had a small shelf-full of about two hundred or so CDs and I found two worthy of bringing home. The Shadows “String Of Hits” and a Mojo magazine freebie, which I already have but I felt sorry for it this morning. This one has been sitting on the very same shelf for at least six months. I have always flicked passed it before, but not today!
Someone must have donated their Johnny Cash LP collection because all of the titles weren’t here two weeks ago. I had to pay-up for the original CBS ‘Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison’ but remember my money is going to charity. It’s OK, everyone wins in the end!
The next shop on my trail was The Children’s Society, and I couldn’t believe my luck. Yet another budget label compilation containing a cover of “Kung Fu Fighting” – this made my day . . . . HONESTLY!
coming home today:
The Stranglers – “Decades Apart” (EMI) 2CD set 2010 £2
Mojo Presents: I Can See For Miles (Mojo) CD 2009 50p
The Shadows – “String Of Hits” (MFP) CD 1991 50p
Solid Gold Top Hits Of The Years – “Various” (Windmill) LP 1975 £2
The New Seekers – “In Perfect Harmony” (Polydor) LP 1973 £2
Ennio Morricone – “A Fistful Of Dollars” / “For A Few Dollars More” (Camden) LP 1968 £2
The Big City Orchestra – “Western Film Greats” (Fanfare) LP 1976 £2
Johnny Cash – “Bitter Tears” (CBS) LP 1964 £6
Johnny Cash – “The Johnny Cash Show” (CBS) LP 1970 £2
Johnny Cash – “At Folsom Prison” (CBS) LP 1968 £8
It’s Morecambe & Wise (BBC Records) LP 1970 £1
The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle (Universal) CD 2012 £1
This morning was overcast, a welcome relief from yesterday’s full sun at 25C. I can barely operate when the temperature hits that figure. Stay in the shade and sip your lemonade.
Anyway, it was going to be a visit to Seaham this morning to raid their charity shops for the first ever time. The bus from Washington to Houghton was bang on time which meant that I had a free ten minutes to scour at least one Houghton shop before my connection to Seaham.
The box of vinyl records in the Children’s Society had been topped-up since my last visit a couple of weeks ago and I hastily grabbed The Herman’s Hermits debut LP, an original pressing on Columbia, for a couple of quid.
The cover is a bit battered but the record itself is in fairly decent shape and after a wash and clean should play fine. At least that’s what I’m hoping.
The previous owner had scribbled his name and
address on the back of the sleeve and I’ll disclose his details
here for prosperity:
Graham Forster
14, Barrack Row
Shiney
Row
Houghton-le-Spring
County Durham
Next stop for me today was Seaham, a small town located a few miles down the coast from Sunderland. The shopping centre is as close to the sea as one could possibly get and I was chuffed to witness a pod of dolphins in the distance.
There are at least five charity shops in Seaham and I found a couple of items to make my visit worthwhile.
I flicked through around a dozen singles lying on the top of a table in a shop called “Stray Aid” and was astonished to find a copy of The Blues Project “No Time Like The Right Time.”
What on earth was a record of this calibre doing in a charity shop? The record wasn’t even released in Britain! And why had it been overlooked? After a Spin-Clean and a loving caress with vinyl record cleaner the record plays through with a few pops here and there. Nothing too bad at all though.
coming home today:
Herman’s Hermits – “Herman’s Hermits” (Columbia) LP 1965 £2
Blues Project – “No Time Like The Right Time” / “Steve’s Song” (Verve Folkways) 7″ 1966 50 pence
Rhythm & Blues Legends – “Various” (Disky) 3CD Box 1994 £4
Blues Legends – “The Classic Collection Of Midnight Hours Blues” (Point Entertainment) CD 2000 £1
31:
I was up early and out to the local shopping centre for groceries this morning but on the way checked-into a couple of charity shops. The pickings were slim and I only found a home for the CD compilation “Good Morning Vietnam.”
I already have all or at least most of the tracks in my archives of course but it was only a quid and it will be interesting to hear how these numbers play together as a movie mix.
After a quick cup of coffee I was treading the pavements once again, this time on the way to Birtley, about half an hour away on foot.
Birtley is on the way to Gateshead and is a small town with shops and pubs on both sides of the main road. Two charity shops too! What will I find?
I came home with a couple of items from the mid seventies. Not a big haul but sometimes less is more, especially when you’re buying budget label records.
coming home today:
Good Morning Vietnam – “Various” (Disky) CD 1996 £1
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 43” (Hallmark) LP 1975 £2
The Malcolm Lockyer Orchestra – “Top TV Themes” (Contour) LP 1975 £2
I had another successful day hunting for unwanted budget label vinyl records in the charity shop wastelands of South Shields and Sunderland. As long as people are going to donate these long-forgotten ’70s albums I’ll be there, at the ready, to hand over my quid.
I had an urge to visit the junk & charity shops of South Shields this morning. It’s been a long time since I rubbed shoulders with the sand-dancers. What would I find? Would my visit have been worthwhile?
After a fleeting visit to the beach and the smell of the sea air, picking up the odd shell here and there, it was off back down the road to the shopping centre.
The town has obviously suffered in recent times, shops and pubs were boarded up, probably forever. A few odd-balls roamed the streets, sea-gulls flapped and squawked for Greggs pasties. This is the South Shields I remember well!
I didn’t find much to be honest but was pleased with an original “Sandie Shaw Supplement” LP for £1. It’s the first time I’ve seen this in the wild. Getting back home though and checking the inside cover was a big disappointment. The record had been swapped for an LP titled “Golden Country & Western Successes.”
Next stop was Sunderland and the usual haunts although a new charity shop had opened recently in the middle of the city. I wasn’t expecting much from the Y.M.C.A. charity shop but was happy with two ’60s singles for twenty five pence each.
coming home today:
Sandie Shaw – “The Sandie Shaw Supplement” – (Pye) LP cover only £1
P.P. Arnold – “Greatest Hits” (Immediate) LP 1977 £1
Gary Puckett & the Union Gap – “Greatest Hits” (CBS) LP 1970 £1
Jack Parnell & his Orchestra – “Great Film Scores Of The ’70s” (Sounds Superb) LP 1974 £1
12 Top Hits – “Various” (MFP) LP 1969 £2
Top Of The Pops – “The Best Of ’75” (Hallmark) LP 1975 £1
Roy Wood – “The Definite Album” (BR Music) CD 1989 £1
The Undertones – “The Undertones” (Salvo) CD 2009 £2
Fleetwood Mac – “Need Your Love So Bad” / “Albatross” (CBS) single 1973 25p
The Dave Clark Five – “Concentration Baby” / “Everybody Knows” (Columbia) single 1967 25p
29:
I had another successful day hunting for
unwanted budget label vinyl records in the charity shop wastelands of
Gateshead and Newcastle. As long as people are going to donate these
long-forgotten ’70s albums I’ll be there, at the ready, to hand
over my quid.
Gateshead treasure troves included St Oswald’s Hospice and Changing Lives. I noticed in one of the shops there were a dozen or so Osmonds records sitting idle in the racks. Once upon a time, in the far off distant early ’70s, they were selling like hot cakes.
Next stop was a jaunt over the Tyne Bridge into Newcastle which has become a happy hunting ground for me lately.
I scored a handful of records in the British Heart Foundation and Sense. I was especially pleased with the tattered and torn “Greatest Hits” by The Glitter Band, which had ‘Karen Funnell’ scribbled on the front cover.
coming home today:
The Glitter Band – “Greatest Hits” (Bell) LP 1975 £1
Heart Hits – “Various” (MFP) LP 1968 £1
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 63” (Hallmark) LP 1977 £1
Sandie Shaw – “The Sandie Shaw Supplement” (Marble Arch) LP 1968 £4
12 Chart Buster Hits – “Volume 12” (Pye) LP 1974 £1
16 Chart Hits – “Volume 1” (Contour) LP 1972 £1
12 Tops – “Volume 23” (Stereo Gold Award) LP 1974 £1
12 Tops – “Volume 9” (Stereo Gold Award) LP 1973 £1
Today will go down as a successful hunt for treasure and trash inside the local charity shops in Chester-le-Street, although my search started off disappointing and empty handed.
It wasn’t until the last three shops were explored that I found anything worthwhile or decided to take a punt on.
I did notice that the CD trash bins were filled with Brit Pop albums, especially Paul Weller and Supergrass. It now appears that items from the mid-nineties are no longer valid in people’s lives anymore.
coming home today:
Nick Drake – “Bryter Layter” (Island) CD 200? £2
Neil Diamond – “The Best Of” (MCA) CD 1996 £2
Stereo Action Orchestra – “Stereo Spectacular” (RCA Camden) LP 1971 £1
Revived 45’s – “Volume 2” (Hallmark) LP 1971 £1
Smash Hits ’72 – “Various” (MFP) 1972 LP £2
Carlini’s World Of Strings – “Million Seller Hits of ’69” (Stereo Gold Award) 1970 LP £3
Twiggy – “A Life In Photographs” hardback book £2.50
27:
It’s the back-end of the June and I’ve got a few bob left over from this month’s financial income. I decided to get the bus to Houghton town centre and walk up to Copt Hill to check out the nine huge wind-turbines – spinning, whirling ’round.
It was still only just past eight in the morning, the birds were singing, snails were everywhere after last night’s heavy rain and the scent of the Summer was in the air. I had a deluge of thoughts. This is what living and retirement is all about!
I walked back down the hill and into Houghton once more, passing the site of my Comprehensive school back in the late seventies and early eighties. Sadly the school and out-buildings were pulled down several years ago to make way for a housing estate.
The grassy banks were still there though, the one’s that we all used to sit on during the summer when we were school kids. I can still remember “Baggy Trousers” by Madness belting out from someone’s radio. The buildings and sports field may no longer be there but my memories are still quite vivid.
It was then a short walk into the own centre to have a poke around the four charity shops. I scored some LPs and CDs in The Children’s Society which I’ll list below along with some items I found in some Washington charity shops on Monday.
coming home today:
Heartbeat – “Best Of from the TV Show” (EMI) 3CD set 2009 £3
Fleetwood Mac – “The Blues Years” (Castle Communications) CD 1993 £1
Free – “Best Of – All Right Now” (Island) CD 1991 £1
Walker Brothers – “Gala” (Philips) CD 1986 £1
Hank Marvin / The Shadows – “Best Of” (Polygram TV) CD 1994 25p
T.Rex – “The Very Best Of” (Music Club) CD 1991 25p
Cruisin’ Greats – “Various – Disc Two” (Tring) CD ?? 25p
I Grew Up In The 60s – “Various” (EMI) 3 CD set 2012 £2
Billy Fury – “Billy Fury” (Musicbank) CD 2000 25p
Simon and Garfunkel – “The Definitive” (Columbia) CD 1991 £1
Bobby Vee – “The Very Best Of” (Sunset) LP 1973 £2
New Seekers – “Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma” (Contour) LP 1973 £2
Golden Hour – Various 2 LP sampler” (Golden Hour) LP 1972 £3
Another Monday morning and the start of a new week which means one thing – get out and about to some local charity shops for those weekend donations! Last Monday I ventured on foot the three miles to Concord and it was the same destination today.
St Benedicts Hospice have had a sort and clean up since I was last in the shop. Instead of being piled on the floor someone has had the brainwave to file them all on shelving with the covers facing the picker. Meaning they’re much easier to view and deliberate.
I came away with three items that weren’t there last week, so that’s a bonus right there.
Next stop, and only a few doors down is The Children’s Society. I remembered last week that they had several Chet Atkins albums for £2 each. I don’t know anything about Chet but he plucks away at his guitar so I’m sure there will be something on his albums that I can enjoy. Same with an Eddy Arnold LP. He looks like a ’60s square but who knows what’s on the album? Certainly not me!
coming home today:
Chet Atkins – “Alone” (RCA Victor)
1973 £2
Chet Atkins – “Guitar Picker” (RCA
Camden) 1971 £2
Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed – “Me
and Jerry” (RCA Victor) 1971 £2
Chet Atkins –
“And His Guitar” (RCA Camden) 1961 £2
Chet Atkins –
“Lover’s Guitar” (RCA Victor) 1969 £2
Chet
Atkins – “Down Home” (RCA Camden) 1962 £2
Eddy
Arnold – “I’m Throwing Rice” (RCA Camden) 1969 £2
Joe
Cocker – “With A Little Help From My Friends” (MFP)
1971 £1
Bobby Vee – “The Very Best Of” (United
Artists) 1975 £1
The World Of Hits – “Various”
(Decca) 1969 £1
25:
Last Monday I ventured into Concord, a small town on the outskirts of the centre of Washington, commonly called “The Galleries”. I hit quite lucky in a couple of the charity shops and indeed even left behind a few item that I would normally have bought!
With this in mind I decided to raid these shops again hoping that the records were still unsold and forlorn next to the classical records. Fortunately they were. Nothing rare but I wanted them!
St Benedicts Hospice in Concord had several new items and plenty more CDs for sale, so I dug deep and pulled out a few plums. I was very pleased to find a 3 CD set of Bobby Vee‘s singles, I’ve been looking at this one on eBay recently and the cheapest I could find was £15. I paid 20 pence for the donated copy!
A few doors down the row of shops is The Children’s Society. Last week I enjoyed some success here, especially the John Schroeder Orchestra LP “Dolly Catcher”.
This time around I found both volumes of the BBC release “Sound Effects” – the record The Jam were inspired by in 1980 for their album “Sound Affects”.
coming home today:
Experienced! – “Various” (Mojo)
2006 20p CD
This Is Merseybeat – “Various”
(Hallmark) 1996 20p CD
A Monstrous Psychedelic Babble –
“Various” (Mojo) 2010 20p CD
Life Companion – “15
Tracks That Shaped Keith Richards” (Mojo) 2015 20p CD
Bobby
Vee – “The Singles Collection” (Liberty) 2006 20p
CD
Sound Effects – “No 1” (BBC) 1969 £2
Sound
Effects – “No 2” (BBC) 1970 £2
Anita Harris –
“Just Loving You” (CBS) 1967 £2
Mamas & the
Papas – “Best Of” (Sounds Superb) 1974 £1
24:
It has been five weeks since my last Charity Shop excursion but I had a few quid in my pocket this morning so decided to visit four of the local junk dens, three of which turned out to be worth my while.
St Benedicts Hospice in Concord must have had a big donation of records since I was last in because they had a full shelf filled with unwanted items including a “Best Of” Bee Gees and a weird lookin’ LP titled ‘Sounds Astounding’, both were £1 each.
A quick glance at the CD selection revealed a two set compilation of Ennio Morricone “A Fistful Of Sounds.” Untamed Spaghetti Western themes for £1, can’t go wrong with that!
A few doors down the row of shops is The Children’s Society, I’ve never had any luck in here before but maybe this time?
I located two boxes of records, most of which were classical but they did have some items I was prepared to pay the £2 asking price for.
“The Dolly Catcher” by The John Schroeder Orchestra, which is probably square instrumentals but I loved the cover. The Walker Brothers on Contour and an original Harpers Bizarre from 1967. Interesting find that one.
I had to dodge some heavy rain to walk back to the Galleries and I was pleased that I went there instead of calling it quits and going home.
Another ‘Top Of The Pops” volume and a Francoise Hardy LP went in my bag for £2 each. Really pleased to find “In English” on Marble Arch.
coming home today:
Francoise Hardy – “In English” (Marble
Arch MAL 1163) 1969 £2
Top Of The Pops – “Various”
(Hallmark SHM 775) 1971 £2
Harpers Bizarre –
“Anything Goes” (Warner Bros 1716) 1967 £1
The Bee
Gees – “Best Of” (Polydor 184 297) 1969 £1
A
London Audio-Workshop – “Sounds Astounding” (Stereo Galaxy
G.819) 1974 £2
John Schroeder Orchestra – “The
Dolly Catcher” (Piccadilly NPL 38036) 1967 £2
The
Walker Brothers – “Make It Easy On Yourself” (Contour CN
2017) 1976 £2
Ennio Morricone – “A Fistful Of
Sounds” (Camden Deluxe) 1999 £1
23:
It’s been around six weeks since my last Charity Shop excursion looking for cheap, donated and neglected records that have perhaps found their last resting place in a box of junk next to manky old boots and picture frames.
This time around I decided to look for compact disc too. There are plenty out there on racks, but it’s a case of flicking through hundreds to find something that would interest me.
Today also coincided with ‘Record Store Day 2022’, so I also chanced my arm in ‘Hot Rats’, an independent record shop in Sunderland.
My first port of call on Thursday was ‘The Tulip Tree’ in Birtley, a charity shop linked with Brysons Animal Shelter in Gateshead.
They had several boxes full of albums, most of them middle of the road types of tat, classical LPs, at least three copies of Fame, and some cheapo budget ‘remake’ records – the kind of scene I’m looking out for these days.
There were also stacks of singles, some of them without a cover and scratched to buggery. But they were only 50p each, so I bought a few, including a Gary Glitter!
Now, aherm . . . dodgy old Gary doesn’t usually get a look in at charity Shops nowadays, it appears that any Glitter donations are quickly despatched to the local furnace.
Sunderland proved to be a happy hunting ground with two cheap Stranglers CDs, six singles for £3 and a few albums at 50p each.
Hot Rats records were participating in RSD and I
picked up The Damned “Strawberries” for £29. Imagine
my surprise when I discovered that copies were selling on eBay a few
hours later for £50+
Sadly though, they didn’t
have a copy of ‘Foolish Seasons’ by Dana Gillespie. I will
probably have to grin and bare whatever price they’re at now!
Coming home
today:
Chartbusters Now – ‘Various’ (Marble Arch
MALS 1373) 1970 £2
Troggs – ‘Trogglodynamite’
(Page One POLS 001) 1967 £15
The Exciting Racing Sounds Of
Grand Prix (Music For Pleasure MFP 1205) 1967 £2
Julie
Felix – ‘Going To The Zoo’ (Fontana SFL 13117) 1969 £2
TV
Times of Top TV Themes – ‘Various’ (Sounds Superb SPR
90035) 1974 £1.50
Top Of The Pops – ‘Volume 35’
(Hallmark SHM 845) 1973 £2
Johnny Cash – ‘The
Great Johnny Cash’ (Hallmark CHM 696) 1970 50p
Del
Shannon – ‘Live In England’ (Fame FA 3020)
1973 50p
Damned – ‘Strawberries’ (BMG) Record
Store Day 2022 £29
Stranglers – ‘Collection’
(Disky) CD 1998 £1.50
Stranglers – ‘The Collection’
(EMI Gold) CD 1997 £1.50
Alan Price Set – ‘The
House That Jack Built’ (Decca F.12641) 1967 50p
Gary
Glitter – ‘I Love You Love Me Love’ (Bell 1337)
1973 50p
Hugo Montenegro – ‘The Good, The Bad And
The Ugly’ (RCA Victor 1727) 50p
Nilsson –
‘Without You’ (RCA Victor 2165) 1972 50p
Bay City
Rollers – ‘I Only Wanna Be With You’ (Bell 1493)
1976 33p
Bay City Rollers – ‘Give A Little Love’
1975 (Bell 1425) 33p
Gary Glitter – ‘Doing
All Right With The Boys’ (Bell 1429) 1975 33p
22:
It’s been exactly one month since my last Charity Shop excursion; looking for cheap, donated or neglected records that have perhaps found their last resting place in a box of junk next to manky old boots and picture frames.
This time around I decided to look for compact disc too. There are plenty out there on racks, but it’s a case of flicking through hundreds to find something that would interest me.
My first port of call was Low Fell, I struck lucky several weeks ago here in one particular charity shop but sadly this time around the scraps were classical LPS or The Seekers. I decided to move on to Gateshead.
Gateshead is basically a one-horse town. Poor people rub shoulders with poor people. There are more charity shops here than ‘normal’ trading shops. The latter have either moved on or closed.
I managed to find several worthy items, all at reasonable prices. CDs were fifty pence to a £1 each in most of the shops I looked in. I even come away with a boxed Bodum cafetiere for £4. It still had the scoop and was unused.
Next excursion was walking across the High Level Bridge into Newcastle. The place was buzzing with football supporters, the Mags had a match with Brighton. The charity shops were also packed, there are plenty to visit. I had my excavation work cut out!
COMING HOME TODAY:
The Everly Brothers – “Stories We Could Tell” (Camden CDS 1142) 1972 £2.50
Roy Orbison – “Greatest Hits” (Monument MNT 64663) RE 1962 £2.50
Unforgettable Hits – “Various” (Deacon DEA 1056) 1971 £1
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 16” (Hallmark SHM 735) 1971 £1
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 28” (Hallmark SHM 810) 1972 50p
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 42” (Hallmark SHM 885) 1974 50p
Top of The Pops – “Volume 37” (Hallmark SHM 860) 1974 £3
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 47” (Hallmark SHM 915) 1975 £2
12 Tops – “Volume 4” (Stereo Gold Award MER 100) 1972 50p
12 Tops – “Volume 11” (Stereo Gold Award MER 107) 1973 50p
Chartbusters – “New Series Volume 2” (Marble Arch MALS 1389) 1971 50p
16 Chart Hits “Volume 7” (Contour 2870 327) 1973 50p
Million Seller Hits – “Various” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5203) 1971 £3
Donovan – “Universal Soldier” (Marble Arch MAL 718) 1967 £1
Buddy Holly – “The Nashville Sessions” (MCA Coral CDL 8038) 1975 £2
Searchers – “Sweets For My Sweet” (Pye NPL 18086) 1963 £2
CD CHARITY SHOP ADDITIONS:
Bo Diddley – “Jungle Music” (Blues Collection Magazine BLU NC 005) 1993 £1
Jimmy Reed – “You Don’t Have To Go” (Blues Collection Magazine BLU NC 018) 1994 £1
Sonny Boy Williamson – “Nine Below Zero” (Blues Collection Magazine BLU MC 010) 1993 £1
John Lee Hooker – “Best Of” (Music Club MCCD 020) 1996 £2
Everly Brothers – “Devoted To You” (Fast Forward FFCD 845) 1996 £1
Top Of The Pops -“1967” (BBC / EMI) 2007 £1
Mod And Beyond – “Various” (Crimson) 2002 50p
Ready Steady Go! – “The Sixties Sound Of Motown” (Polygram) 1998 50p
I paid a visit to Chester-le-Street this morning, which is fast becoming my happy hunting ground for unwanted records. But because I’ve been raiding the same charity shops for the past couple of months I’ve already picked-off most of the items that appeal to my curiosity.
There hadn’t been much in the way of replenished stock since I last hit these shops three weeks ago! Never mind though, I was still able to fill my bag with records for just over a tenner. Many of the singles I bought are already in my archives but I decided that because they were only fifty pence each, I’d rescue some of them.
The condition of the singles vary from VG to VG- but I’m sure once I’ve cleaned them thoroughly I can upgrade the sound to EX. You will have to wait to hear what I can do with these (and some others) I’ve bought recently – I’ve decided to create a “Transmission” mix for my ‘Spreaker’ account.
The albums are all in decent shape and were only £1 each except for the Moody Blues ‘Out Of This World’, which was £3. It will be interesting to hear their better known numbers in stereo.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Leslie First & Combo – “Sexy Hammond – Volume 2” (Boulevard 4037) 1971
Ricky Nelson – “20 Greatest Hits” (Yesterdays Gold YDG 15710) 1987
Eartha Kitt – “Not So Old-Fashioned” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50075) 1973
Mama Cass – “Mama’s Big Ones” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50252) 1976
Moody Blues – “Out Of This World” (K-tel NE 1051) 1979
Bachelors – “The Sound Of Silence” (Decca F.12351) March 1966
Byrds – “All I Really Want To Do” (CBS 201796) August 1965
Nancy Sinatra – “These Boots Are Made For Walkin'” (Reprise R 20432) January 1966
Sounds Incorporated – “Time For You” (Columbia DB 7545) April 1965
Jet Harris & Tony Meehan – “Scarlet O’Hara” (Decca F.11644) April 1963
Royal Guardsmen – “Snoopy Vs, The Red Dragon” (Stateside SS 574) January 1967
P.J. Proby – “Together” (Decca F.11967) August 1964
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into 2022.
20:
I was up and out early today to fiendishly ram-raid the local Asda but before I did that it passed my mind to check out the British Heart Foundation in the Galleries shopping centre.
They had a few records stocked neatly on a shelf earlier this week but I decided not to buy them because they were already in my archive, but then had second thoughts and became determined to pick them up if they were still unsold.
All of the records were still unloved with no-where to go, so after paying the tiller-man the small but perfectly rounded vinyl stash was in my bag. The singles are very dirty and are desperate for a clean but at £1 each it was worth the outlay.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Geoff Love and his Orchestra – “Big Western Movie Themes No. 2” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5204) 1971
Cream – “I Feel Free” (Reaction 591011) December 1966
Small Faces – “My Mind’s Eye” (Decca F.12500) November 1966
Harpers Bizarre – “59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” (Warner Bros Records WB 5890) March 1967
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into 2022.
19:
It was my childhood friend Kenny Wardhaugh’s funeral today at 1:30pm in Sunderland. Sadly, because of my severe social anxiety and avoidance tactics I decided to just get away from it all and be on my own, inside the protective bubble I’ve created over the past twenty years.
I wanted to attend, but as usual I couldn’t get my mind from sensing that overwhelming fear of such a social gathering. My unwanted phobia got the better of me as usual. It always does.
Safe travels Kenny, I hope one day we’ll meet up again on the other side to chat about football, subbuteo, sledging and bird nesting.
Getting away from it all meant buying myself a day ticket to bus it around the Gateshead and Newcastle area. For the first time I made my way to Low Fell with my impetus based solely on rescuing charity shop records.
There are currently three charity shops in Low Fell but regrettably only Emmaus stocked vinyl albums. There was perhaps a few hundred crammed into a couple of boxes. The main shelf was over-stocked and it was difficult to flick my way through them, especially with my terrible carpal tunnel wrecked fingers.
Hidden secret
One of the records I
bought from Emmaus was “The World Of Progressive Music” on
Decca and I was quite surprised to find such an underground album in
a charity shop that hadn’t been ‘picked-over’ before by other
collectors.
Imagine my disappointment when I got home and
looked inside the cover and staring at me was a copy of “Orchestral
Moments From Favourite Operas” on the Music For Pleasure
label!
Next stop was Gateshead town centre and despite the place being full of charity shops there was nothing on offer for me today. I’m hopeful things will change in the future and I’ll definitely travel there again, probably in the Summer months.
I walked over the bridge into Newcastle and struck lucky in a couple of shops. The PDSA were selling their unwanted records at half price for fifty pence each. I decided to take a chance on three, one of which an original by The Peddlers. The cover was wrecked but the record itself looked fine.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Glen Campbell – “Plays Twelve-String” (World Records Ltd SMF 287) 19??
Glen Campbell – “Record 6” (World Records Ltd SM 286) 19??
Glen Campbell – “Record 5” (World Records Ltd SM 285) 19??
Glen Campbell – “Wichita Lineman” (Music For Pleasure SPR 90060) 1975
Glen Campbell – “Two Sides Of” (Starline SRS 5142) 1973
Burt Bacharach – “Reach Out” (A&M AMLS 908) 1967
Peddlers – “Freewheelers” (CBS 63183) 1967
Shadows – “Dance With The Shadows” (Music For Pleasure DL 1092) 1973
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 20” (Hallmark SHM 745) July 1971
Herman’s Hermits – “The Most Of – Vol 2” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50008) 1972
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into 2022.
18:
I had two excursions this weekend on the hunt for donated albums. Vinyl LPs that, instead of ending up in someone’s bin, make their way to a charity shop for one last chance of love, care and attention.
It seems that poor old Gene Pitney has had his day in the sun. No one appears to be that interested in his music anymore. Apart from one or two of his 45s I’ve got no idea what his early sixties records sound like. But I’m about to find out because I bought three Pitney’s and found another one mistakenly hidden away in one of the covers.
I hit lucky at an animal rescue associated charity shop called The Tulip Tree Ltd, which is basically an old school junk shop with bits and pieces strewn all over the floor space of the interior. They had so much house clearance items that they were also invading the pavement at the front of the shop. This is where a box of records were on show.
SO IT’S A CASE OF BUY THREE GENE PITNEY RECORDS AND GET ONE FREE.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Geoff Love and his Orchestra – “Big Suspense Movie themes” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50035) 1972
Bee Gees – “Gotta Get A Message To You” (Contour 2870 404) 1974
Bee Gees – “Greats” (Polydor 2855 001) 1971
Gene Pitney – “Big Sixteen” (Stateside SL 10118) 1964
Gene Pitney – “More Big Sixteen – Vol 2” (Stateside SL 10132) 1964
Gene Pitney – “Greatest Hits Series – Vol 1” (Hallmark SHM 842) 1974
Gene Pitney – “The Gene Pitney Collection” (Pickwick PDA 004) 1984
The World Of Hits – “Volume 2” (Decca PA 35) 1969
Al Caiola – “TV Western Themes” (Sunset SLS 50360) 1976
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into 2022.
17:
My first charity shop dig for records proved to be very productive with some more ‘Top of The Pops’ budget albums coming home with me for the final resting place. It pays to regularly check your particular shops because this collection of ’70s junk’ wasn’t there the day before!
I’ve come to realise that budget label compilations were unlimited back in their heyday of the early to mid seventies. There is no way I’ll ever collect them all as the well appears to be as deep as the North Sea.
But as long as I find them and in some small way resurrect them into the modern digital world I will experience a semblance of euphoria.
COMING HOME TODAY
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 29” (Hallmark SHM 815) February 1973
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 4” (Hallmark CHM 625) March 1969
Million Copy Sellers Made Famous By Tom Jones (Boulevard 4059) 1971
12 Tops – “Volume 9” (Stereo Gold Award MER 105) 1973
The World Of Soul Power – “Various” (Deram SPA 124) April 1971
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into 2022.
16:
Quite often I manage to buy records when I’m actually going to the shops to buy groceries – in this instance leeks, parsnips, brussel sprouts, carrots, onions and a meat cleaver for the Christmas period. I decided to have a look in the British Heart Foundation charity shop on the off-chance that they may have had a donation of records during the past couple of weeks.
I bought three albums for three quid, that’s less than a box of cat food these days! The sticker was marked 17/12 so they had probably been out on the shelf for sale for five days. I wonder what budget label relics I had missed. The early bird catches the worm and all that.
COMING HOME TODAY
Puttin’ On The Style – “20 Golden Hit Songs Of The 50s (MFP 50073) 1973
World Top 12 – “Volume 42” (FLAG 042) March 1973
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into next year
15:
Here I go again with another charity shop hunt in the local town of Chester-le-Street. The place has been a happy hunting ground for me recently so what will I find today? It’s been four weeks since my last visit so I’m hoping some donations have been given to some of the shops.
My aim was to come away with at least ten albums but I settled for seven in the end. There were a couple more Gene Pitney records with possibilities but I gave those a swerve for now. The £3 asking price for each LP put me off, I’ve become a no-job cheapskate, even though one of them was an original 1964 Stateside label release. Perhaps next time.
The British Heart Foundation proved to be fruitful with a 1965 Pitney original for £2 and there’s no way I could leave the record adorned with the navy-knickered-tight-white-vest-hugging, slim brunette girl emblazoned all over it. Only a bin lid – sorted.
The only other shop with anything worthwhile was my usual good haunt, ‘Books & Bread For Kenya’. I came away with five albums for five quid, so that’s a bag full of cheap Geordie Stotties jetting their way to Kenya – with love from me.
As is customary, I have washed every record using my Spin Clean, then sprayed them all with Shimmer vinyl Record Cleaner. Each and every record has been improved by at least one grade and I’d happily grade them all in EX condition.
COMING HOME TODAY
Frank Sheen – “Tribute To Johnny Cash” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5264) 1972
Buddy Holly – “Sung By Terry Farlan” (Boulevard 4173) 1975 re-issue (original 1969)
Sixties Flashback – “Various” (Polystar EYETV 3) 1980
20 Golden Hit Songs Of The 60s – “Various” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50193) 1975
Gene Pitney – “Sings The Great Songs Of Our Time” (Stateside SL 10156) December 1965
Stereoaction Orchestra – “Hits Of The Beatles” (RCA International INTS 1162) 1970
Denny Wright and the Hustlers – “Non Stop Pepsi Party” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50098) 1974
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into next year.
14:
Here I go again with another charity shop splurge in my home town of Houghton-le-Spring on Friday and in Sunderland this morning. All in all, a worthwhile excursion to the bargain bins of the North East and where, it seems, an accumulation of budget label LP releases find their resting place.
Houghton is a small town, not far from Durham City. Over the years several of the main shops have closed their doors forever only to be replaced by low-rent charity shops full of junk and unwanted bric-a-brac. There are four charity shops operating in Houghton town centre these days!
Sometimes within these shops are hidden crates of records, usually full of stuff by Max Bygraves, Richard Clayderman and Vince Hill. Occasionally there will be Everly Brothers, Beach Boys and Manfred Mann. Common items – but items I’m willing to spend a quid or two on. This is what my “Charity Shop Excursions” are all about.
As is customary, I have washed every record using my Spin Clean, then sprayed them all with Shimmer vinyl Record Cleaner. Each and every record has been improved by at least one grade and I’d happily grade them all in EX condition.
COMING HOME TODAY
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 49” (Hallmark SHM 925) December 1975
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 84” (Hallmark SHM 3060) January 1981
The Beach Boys – “Best Of” (Capitol T 20856) November 1966
Hot Hits – “Volume 18” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50060) May 1973
The Everly Brothers – “The Very Best Of” (Warner Bros K 46008) 1971
Manfred Mann – “The Greatest” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5269) May 1972
Strings For Pleasure – “Play Simon & Garfunkel” (Music For Pleasure MFP 1403) 1970
The Cinema Sound Stage Orchestra – “Favourite Western Themes” (Stereo Gold Award MER 353) 1972
Smash Hits – “Various” (Music For Pleasure MFP 1194) August 1967
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into next year.
13:
Here I go again on another charity shop splurge but this time around though most of these records were bought from an old-school second hand shop. I had a walk over to Concord again on Saturday morning and paid a visit to “Second Impressions”.
I raked around their shop a week or so ago and came away with some good items, all in great condition – even better, they were all just 50 pence each. I left some behind that were of some interest so this time ’round I just bought them. Who knows what these will sound like? Johnny Cash religious album from 1959? What have I done?
The most expensive record was The Supremes knock-off, recorded by studio musicians. Titled “Supremes Style”, it cost me a whopping £2 from The Children’s Society, situated in Birtley. I’m fully expecting this to sound way better than the actual Supremes. It’s worth the money for the cover alone. Three afro-headed soul chicks draped in tight-fitting funkadelic gear, lounging on a way-out looking American car. All caught on camera using a fish-eye lens.
As is customary, I have washed every record using my Spin Clean, then sprayed them all with Shimmer vinyl Record Cleaner. Each and every record has been improved by at least one grade and I’d happily grade them all in EX condition.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Smash Hits – “Supremes Style” (Music For Plessure MFP 5184) 1971
16 Chart Hits – “Volume 6” (Contour 2870 326) May 1973
Johnny Cash – “Hymns By Johnny Cash” (Hallmark SHM 739) November 1971
The Shadows – “Another String Of Hot Hits” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5630) 1980
Lulu – “The Most Of” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5215) August 1971
Saturday Scene – “From the TV Show” (Philips 9299 270) November 1974
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into next year.
12:
Well, my visits to off-the-beaten-track charity shops and junk stores around my local area is dominating my posts at the moment. Of course, I’ve bought items from these types of places in the past but it has tended to be books and magazines. I’ve rarely even bothered looking at the boxes and racks of records.
My situation changed in the summer when I quit more job and took early retirement. I no longer feel the need or have the funds to go out and spend my hard-earned cash on expensive albums or importing obscure 45s from around the globe.
My sights are now firmly fixed on searching for cheap records, performers and groups that I have no prior knowledge of what they sound like. As long as they’re only a couple of quid I’m prepared to take the album home with me, research the item and write about it on my blog.
This week I’ve bought my first ever Bob Dylan LP. His “Nashville Skyline” long-player on the original UK CBS label from 1969 seemed a decent deal at £5. Why not give it a listen I said to myself!
The Del Shannon and Roy Orbison LPs were £2 each from Scope and the British Heart foundation, charity shops situated in Washington Galleries. They had been in the racks for a few weeks, unwanted, unloved, perhaps even unsellable. Are there any Del or Roy fans around nowadays?
I had a walk over to Concord this morning, a small shopping area on the outskirts of the town centre, only a few mile away. Imagine my surprise when I discovered “Second Impressions” – an old school family run business which buys and sells pre-loved household furniture, electricals and other goods such as CDs and records.
I was straight in there and flicked through three boxes full of LPs. There were numerous Elvis and Barry Manilow records. The usual second hand fodder, mostly 1970s chart favourites. but thankfully I came away with a handful of swag for £7. I’m pleased with them all, especially the Gene Vincent and Duane Eddy pieces. Most of the records I bought were ‘tagged’ S. Samson.
As is customary, I have washed every record using my Spin Clean, then sprayed them all with Shimmer vinyl Record Cleaner. Each and every record has been improved by at least one grade and I’d happily grade them all in EX condition.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Bob Dylan – “Nashville Skyline” (CBS 63601) May 1969
The Tremeloes – “Reach Out For” (Embassy EMB 31031) 1973
Duane Eddy – “Have ‘Twangy’ Guitar Will Travel” (London Records HA-W 2160) 1958
The Searchers – “Sugar And Spice” (Marble Arch MAL 704) 1967
Gene Vincent – “Born To Be A Rolling Stone” (Masters MA 11101183) 1983
The Shadows – “Walkin’ With The Shadows” (Music For Pleasure MFP 1388) July 1970
12 Tops – “Today’s Top Hits” (Stereo Gold Award MER 104) January 1973
Roy Orbison – “Greatest Hits” (Telstar STAR 2330) October 1988
Del Shannon – “The Best Of” (Contour 2870 323) July 1973
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates. The amount of records I’m buying at these charity shops means that my reviews will extend well into next year.
11:
Here we go again – Off to Sunderland this morning folks! My aim was to scour every charity shop I could find and there are many, especially in Blandford Street. I made sure that I looked in every record rack and flicked through the lot!
I was happy to part with £6 for all of these records listed below, the budget label “Hot Hits” and “Top Of The Pops” were only 50 pence each. Honestly, I felt guilty giving the bloke a bin lid for these two, especially when the money was going to their charity, which I think was for the homeless.
I’ve seen many Jose Feliciano albums over the years but never bothered investigating his releases, but now that I’ve retired from work early, every penny counts and I’m sensibly living within my means. Gone are the days of spending £400 every month on records or sending $300 or more to USA for an obscure garage punk 45. I’m also really beginning to begrudge spending money on any postage and packing.
In fact I recently spent £6 on delivery of a couple of albums from here in Britain. What’s that all about? I’ve spent that today on six albums by simply putting in the foot work and not being so blinkered in my purchases. I’ve got no idea what Bobby Goldsboro sounds like but if there’s at least one song on there that I can appreciate, it’s worth my £1 out-lay.
As is customary, I have washed every record using my Spin Clean, then sprayed them all with Shimmer vinyl Record Cleaner. Each and every record has been improved by at least one grade and I’d happily grade them all in EX condition.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Jose Feliciano – “Fantastic Feliciano” (RCA International INTS 1058) 1970
Jose Feliciano – “Souled” (RCA Victor RD 8008) 1969
Bobby Goldsboro – “Hello Summertime” (United Artists UAS 29691) September 1974
Tom Jones – “From The Heart” (Decca SKL 4814) September 1966
Glen Campbell – “Greatest Hits” (Capitol ST 21885) November 1971
Top Of The Pops – “Volume 19” (Hallmark SHM 750) September 1971
Hot Hits – “Volume 4” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5192) February 1971
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates.
10:
Here we go again – When I was scouring the charity shops in Chester-le-Street for records I regretted not picking up a few more items that I noticed in one of the outlets. So, as collectors often do, I returned to the scene of the crime the very next day and bought more “Hot Hits”!
I found the majority of these records in ‘Books & Bread For Kenya‘, all of them were priced at £1 each and I may add all of them were in superb condition. A few of the covers were less that perfect but the vinyl itself (the most important thing) was in mint minus. They appeared to be unplayed. Possible dead stock from somewhere?
The ‘Not The 9 O’Clock News” LP was £5 from Scope, perhaps I paid too much for this one, but it’s an original pressing on BBC Records from 1980. The Kinks collection is from 1971, despite the garish psychedelic cover! Someone in Golden Hour’s graphic design department must have still been a Dandy from the Chelsea-Set, dropping his acid at the weekend and drawing his visions Monday to Friday.
COMING HOME TODAY:
The Kinks – “Golden Hour Of The Kinks” (Golden Hour GH-501) October 1971
Not The 9 O’Clock News – TV Show highlights (BBC Records REB 400) October 1980
Sounds Like Hits – “Volume 5” (Fontana SFL 13124) February 1969
Sounds Like Hits – “Volume 6” (Fontana SFL 13149) April 1969
Hot Hits – “Volume 11” (Music For Pleasure MFP 5270) May 1972
Hot Hits – “Volume 13” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50041) August 1972
Hot Hits – “Volume 14” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50044) September 1972
Hot Hits – “Volume 15” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50050) December 1972
Hot Hits – “Volume 16” (Music For Pleasure MFP 50056) January 1973
Soaraway Party Pops – “24 Non-Stop Party Hits” (N.O.W. Sun 2) 1973
The Glitter Band – “Hey!” (Bell BELLS 241) August 1974
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates.
09:
Here we go again – This morning was a pleasant bright one, cloud free, no wind and there was a certain late Autumn chill in the air. I decided to combine a brisk walk to Chester-le-Street (roughly four miles away) with a hunt in their charity shops for records.
While I was in town I also paid a visit to Sound And Vision but I’ll talk about that in another post. For now, I’ll go through my finds today and how much they cost me.
My search proved to be quite a good one, three of the five charity shops had something worth my while and at ridiculously low prices. There is not much of a risk when buying cheap records from these places anyway because, after all, my donation is going to a charity.
Oh, and I decided that it was such a nice day that I’d also walk the four miles back home. So, a round trip on foot amounting to a minimum of eight miles. Great day for records and exercise.
Back home I checked the condition of the records and cleaned them using my Spin-Clean Record Washer and I’m happy to report that everything is in at least EX condition. Some of the sleeves are a bit tatty but I can live with that.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Jose Feliciano – ‘Feliciano!’ (RCA Victor SF 7946) August 1968
Top of The Pops – ‘Various – Volume 23’ (Hallmark SHM 785) April 1972
Top Of The Poppers – ‘Play Simon & Garfunkel’ (Hallmark SHM 783) 1972
Hits ’67 – ‘Various’ (Music For Pleasure MFP 1089) 1967
Big Western Movie Themes – ‘Geoff Love & his Orchestra’ (Music For Pleasure MFP 1328) 1969
Surfin’ U.S.A. – ’15 Great Hits’ (Pickwick SHM 974) March 1979
Spectrum – ‘The Light Is Dark Enough’ (RCA International INTS 1118) 1970
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates.
08:
Here we go again – today, in both Washington Galleries charity shops I noticed that their boxes of records had been replenished with new items, nothing rare or earth shattering. But I love a bargain, and I love cheap records. These things were all over the place for next to nothing in the seventies and eighties, but I wasn’t interested or had zero intention of ever trying them out when I was a full-on garage punk outsider.
Nowadays though, any ‘coolnesss’ I once had has evaporated and died. I’m no longer a ‘record snob’. £2 an album! C’mon, the money is going to a charity and I get some cheap albums. As long as there’s at least one decent cut, the deal is a good one.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Top Of The Pops – ‘Various – Volume 8’ (Hallmark CHM 660) November 1969
Top Of The Pops – ‘Various – Volume 15’ (Hallmark SHM 725) January 1971
Top Of The Pops – ‘Various – Volume 26’ (Hallmark SHM 800) September 1972
Top Of The Pops – ‘Various – Volume 62’ (Hallmark SHM 996) October 1977
You Can All Join In – ‘Various’ (Island IWP-2) 1969
The Shadows – ‘Greatest Hits’ (Columbia SCX 1522) re-issue 1974
Wings – ‘Band On The Run’ (Apple Records PAS 10007) December 1973
Rock Rock Rock – ‘Various’ (Music For Pleasure MFP 1273) 1968
I’m going to make a post on each album and select the most appealing cut. Keep checking in for those updates.
07:
Here we go again! – My Saturday morning job recently has become a trip to the local Post Office to post eBay sales from the day before. This morning was no exception and while in the town centre I really didn’t have any option BUT to have a sneaky look inside the British Heart Foundation charity shop.
There was some scruffy loser hogging the box of records and CDs. I’ve seen him in here before, usually early doors. He flicks through the stock for twenty minutes or more, in normal circumstances I’d be there in the box too but with the Covid situation at the moment I don’t want to sidle up and rub shoulders with anyone.
I had to wait my turn which was frustrating because he’s got no interest in records, only the CDs and DVDs. Oh well, I couldn’t be arsed to hang around looking like a spare part so I had a walk to the Bank and withdrew some dosh.
I’m now back in the shop, and the scruff has fucked off so I had my chance to flick through the records. I decided to buy ‘Happy Head’ by The Mighty Lemon Drops for a fiver and spent a tenner on The Jesus & Mary Chain. Both records looked immaculate, hardly played. There was a few stickers on the covers but that’s no big deal, it just adds to the history of the records.
The yellow stickers were from Pet Sounds in Newcastle which was one of my regular haunts back in the 80s. It was a well respected record shop which stocked a fine selection of ’60s garage punk and psych which was what I was only interested in back then!
COMING HOME TODAY:
The Jesus & Mary Chain – ‘Barbed Wire Kisses’ (Blanco Y Negro BYN 15) 1988
The Mighty Lemon Drops – ‘Happy Head’ (Blue Guitar AZLP 1) 1986
06:
Here we go again! – Another trip to my local ‘British Heart Foundation’ charity shop resulted in a couple of additions to my archive. I know the Altered Images sound of quirky jangly pop, they had a commercial and watered down ‘Postcard Records’ brashness about them when they decided that they wanted to be pop stars.
There is nothing wrong with that of course, but for me, back in the early eighties, all I wanted was to be into bands that were so obscure they were probably unknowns outside of their own street. So buying radio-friendly records by Altered Images was never gonna happen when I could be throwing my money at records by Hurrah!, The Go Betweens and Felt.
But fast forward almost forty years and I’m now willing to spend money on charming little pop groups like Altered Images. I’m no longer trying to out-do the college outsiders or friends down the pub into thinking I’m super cool cos I have the latest record by The Church or Barracudas.
I know a little about the House Of Love, they played a few gigs with my mates’ garage band The Mourning After, or at least they played the same venue in Sheffield. This would have been 1988 – 1989 era. A long time ago.
But I wasn’t that interested in their dark and broody noise back then and I had never thought about the House Of Love until earlier this week when I saw their first album for £10 in the charity shop. So I left it on the shelf, came home and plundered YouTube for their videos. Were they worthy of my attention?
I now think that their third single “Christine” is possibly the coolest Velvet’s / Mary Chain avalanche of noisy shoegaze reverb I’ve heard for many a year. When I realised that the number was on their album it was a no-brainer to race to the shop and buy it immediately.
It’s an original pressing on the Creation label. Not much of a package, black label and without an inner sleeve. Very minimilistic, very underground and it’s that kind of obscurity I admire and dig the most in a group. Just their unsmiling big faces on the front and back of the cover is enough to keep the trendies away from your record.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Altered Images – ‘Pinky Blue’ (Epic EPC 85665) 1982
House Of Love – ‘House Of Love’ (Creation CRE LP34) 1988
Here we go again! – This morning, I was back in my local shopping centre in Washington making my regular visit to the Post Office. Another item sold on eBay overnight. Keeping the sales going and the money rolling in, that’s what it’s all about folks!
Anyway, I checked out the British Heart Foundation once again for records. It didn’t appear that they had moved any more yesterday, The Vapors, Altered Images, House Of Love and the Mighty Lemon Drops were still in the racks. However, a Jesus & Mary Chain had appeared from nowhere!
I couldn’t resist The Smiths ‘Hatful Of Hollow’ on Rough Trade. I left this in the shop yesterday because I assumed it was just a collection of their early singles, A & B sides. I have all those anyway. But I did some research and realised that the numbers were re-recordings from various Radio One sessions for John Peel and David Jensen shows.
I don’t know the Japan album at all but have read that their early music was inspired by early ’70s rock ‘n’ roll groups like New York Dolls and Alice Cooper and not the synth pop gear that I thought they had only created. At £8 the album was worth a gamble.
I had a chat with the assistant who informed me that the Charity have a guy who researches the donated records and prices them accordingly. That made sense because the albums were priced at eBay levels for the most part, especially The Smiths record which I paid £20 for.
At least I know that my money was going towards a good and worthy cause and according to the notation at the bottom of my receipt: “Thank you so much for visiting us today. You’re a real life saver.”
COMING HOME TODAY:
The Smiths – ‘Hatful Of Hollow’ (Rough Trade 76) 1984
Japan – ‘Adolescent Sex’ (Fame FA 4131081) 1978
04:
Here we go again! – I was in the local town centre this morning visiting the Post Office to send a few CDs to their new owners, having sold a Blues Project and a Rubble overnight. Selling duplicate compact discs is proving to be a decent little side-earner to top up my monthly work pension.
I couldn’t resist having another look inside the British Heart Foundation, just to check on the records I left behind yesterday. Most of them were still unsold, I noticed that the Siouxsie & the Banshees album was nowhere to be seen.
Some I never mentioned yesterday were two Japan LPs, a Mighty Lemon Drops and Altered Images second album with their big hit ‘I Could Be Happy’. The cover looked rather cheeky, pink and blue. I can’t remember the price the shop wanted for it. Perhaps a fiver. Maybe I’ll give that one a go next time.
This morning I paid up for ‘Porcupine’ by Echo & the Bunnymen, at £8 and a handful of singles. Among them The Primitives, The Jesus & Mary Chain and an old one from Kim Wilde. You know at £2 each, they’re worth bringing home. I’m sure they’ll all be sparkling with newness once I’ve given them a spit and polish with some Shimmer ‘Vinyl Record Cleaner’.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Echo & the Bunnymen – ‘Porcupine’ (Korova KODE-6) 1983
Primitives – ‘Crash’ (RCA PB41761) 1988
Kim Wilde – ‘Water On Glass’ (RAK 334) 1981
Jesus & Mary Chain – ‘Darklands’ (Blanco Y Negro NEG 29) 1987
Jesus & Mary Chain – ‘Happy When It Rain’ (Blanco Y Negro NEG 25) 1987
03:
Here we go again! This morning I was shopping for groceries in my local town centre and decided to check out the window of one of the charity shops. What would the British Heart Foundation have today? Anything interesting for me?
Last week they had both albums by The Specials priced up at £15. They were original copies on the 2-Tone label. I was a little hesitant to buy them at that price so decided to pass on those, which I obviously regretted as soon as I got home.
So with that in mind I ventured back to the shop in the hope that they still had at least the debut album still in the window for sale. Sadly, both Specials albums were gone. But in their place was ‘New Clear Days’ by The Vapors and a Smiths record.
My interest was stirred. Could there be more new vinyl inside? I entered the shop and made my way to the back wall where the rack of records, CDs and books were usually stacked. And sure enough, someone must have donated a load of late ’70s and ’80s oddball albums / indie gear.
On offer for sale were items by Siouxsie & the Banshees, The House Of Love, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and All About Eve, The Church and The Only Ones cassettes. The latter were marked up at £1 each. A bargain price for anyone still playing tapes. I no longer have a cassette deck that works!
Both Secret Affair albums were for sale at £5 each and I couldn’t go home without those. I have all of their singles but never got around to buying ‘Glory Boys’ or ‘Behind Closed Doors’. It’s all about being in the right place and the right time.
Of course I’ll be going back to the British Heart Foundation tomorrow in the hope that there will be even more records in the racks. Perhaps some old mod / punk has decided to give their collection away!
COMING HOME TODAY:
Secret Affair – ‘Glory Boys’ (I-Spy Records 1) 1979
Secret Affair – ‘Behind Closed Doors’ (I-Spy Records 2) 1980
02:
After my score of charity shop records earlier this week and because the vinyl I took a chance on was in decent shape; they all cleaned up really well and play-back was excellent, I decided to go back to Scope and raid the box one last time.
I was surprised that the box of cheap (£2 each) records had been replenished and there was more. Lot’s of ’80s soul albums and even more cheapo budget label items from the mid ’70s. I took one look at the covers and decided that I couldn’t pass on some of them at such a reasonable price. Who knows what these sound like?
The Beach Boys LP for a couple of quid was coming home with me that’s for sure and so was the ‘Hammond Organ Dance Party’. The image alone sold it. C’mon, just look at the guy dancin’ with his bird. He looks like a young Jack Reagan from TV Cop series The Sweeney. I bet they don’t know about this one down the nick.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Big Jim “H” – Hammond Organ Dance Party (Stereo Gold Award MER 344) 1971
Break-Through: An Introduction To Studio 2 Stereo (Music For Pleasure MFP 1334) 1968
Beach Boys – Greatest Hits (Capitol ST-21628) 1969
World Star Festival – In Aid Of The World’s Refugees: Various (UNM 3) 1969
Pick Of The Pops – Volume 5 (Deacon GDEA 1039) 1971
Here’s a new thing I’ve decided to do here on ‘Yellow Paper Suns’ – how many of you out there walk into charity shops in Britain and buy records and CDs? There must be collectors who insist on trying these places out in the hope of finding an undiscovered gem.
I’ve looked in charity shops for a few years, there are two in my town, but apart from a few books and two Shadows singles from the mid-sixties, I’ve never found much of interest.
So in my ‘Charity Shop Excursions’ updates
I’ll inform you all what sparked my interest and more importantly,
made me fumble for change in my pockets and pay for cheap unwanted
records. I’m gonna heighten my concentration and become far more
inquisitive. No longer just looking for ’70s punk or wild
psychedelia from the ’60s.
I may even feel ‘sorry’
for some of the records lying in wait on the racks hoping that, like
stray cats languishing in an animal rescue centre, some kind soul
will take ’em home and take good care of them.
This morning was the start of my pursuit of neglected vinyl. What would I find? How choosy would I be? How much would these records cost? I would soon find out the answers and have decided to take a chance on things that I wouldn’t usually go anywhere near. This will be an interesting experience, I can assure you of that!
Scope is a pleasant enough shop, always clean, tidy and well lit. I bought those Shadows singles here that I mentioned earlier. They don’t have that much music on offer, they never do. One box of records was hidden in the back corner of the shop. Everything was £2. The usual type of records on offer. The one’s given to your Grandma at Christmas or for a birthday present. Easy listening and not much else.
But I was determined to buy at least three records to start my ‘Charity Shop Excursions’ and so my nimble fingers fell upon a Tom Jones album from 1967 and a couple of TV Theme instrumental collections from the early 1970s.
I paid the assistant £6 and made my way out of Scope with a smile on my face, thinking to myself, I bet she thinks I’m a proper square buying this easy listening stuff. Sometimes in life you’ve just gotta kick away the shackles from your comfort zone.
COMING HOME TODAY:
Tom Jones – “Green, Green Grass Of Home” (Decca SKL 4855) 1967
Geoff Love & His Orchestra – “Play Your Top TV Themes” (MFP 5272) 1972
Geoff Love & His Orchestra – “Play Your Favourite TV Themes” (MFP 50091) 1973
I can’t even say that these are guilty pleasures
because I’ve never heard them before. But I’ll give them a good
clean while I’m listening to The Clash’s debut album, then spin
them on my Technics turntable. When I’m done I’ll select one cut
from each and create a YouTube video.
Keep coming back for
those updates!
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