Biggest Reggae Collectors?

[admin]

I was talking to a non-reggae mate earlier and he asked about record collecting and wanted to know who the biggest collectors of reggae were in the world.

I could only tell him of those that I knew of in the UK such as Jah Reel, Steve Barrow, Mark Lamarr, Chris Lane, Roger Dalke and the late Studio 1 Pete.

Of course in the US there's Roger Steffens and Tommy Skataro in Japan too.

Other than that I'm clutching at straws.

On the soul scene people know who the main players are, but it seems in the reggae world many of the main players remain anonymous especially the Japanese collectors.

With regards to the Japanese, I was going to say that you don't see those guys on forums because of the language barrier but then again just on this board alone we have people from most countries in Europe plus people from the Middle East, South America and a few from mainland Asia (Singapore, Thailand) and English isn't their first language.

I know there's a guy on BAF in Tokyo but I think he's a Brit. Plus Tommy Skataro, who I think is an American chap right?

It would be nice to get an insight into how the music became so big down there.

Anyway, back to the biggest collectors - anyone know of more?

Respect

Gordy

[chrisb]

Gordy

Mark Lamarr ? thought he was a rockabilly collector primarily who only recently developed a taste for reggae........ I know of very knowledgeable people who've been through boxes at fairs etc immediately after him and unearthed many killers he's obviously missed or just doesn't know.

Maybe the mans recent buying power could mean quantity not quality if you catch my drift.

Bless

[lankou2]

Olivier Albot in France has a massive collection.
Druweed in Japan is also another one.
The connection JA/ Japan is quite obvious when you hear certain ska instrumentals : they borrowed that minor chord asian vibe and even melodies ! Just think of Ringo, a Japanese film sountrack, or that song My Japanese Girl by Lloyd Clarke. I suppose there was also that cultural confusion from the J'cans Chinee = Chinese/Japanese, who cares ? The distance made the rest.
As for Japanese bands being influenced by old school JA vibes, well, they followed the same way in the other direction, well, i think LLapischhh (sp?) and The Ska Flames started it all in the mid-80's. Gaz Mayall also played an important role there with his DJ sets and his band The Trojans. The japanese language also suits rocksteady very cutely, imho, especially for female singers.THis was more or less the foundations for a strong scene which tends to rely less on the Jamaicans nowadays : after the economical crisis of some years back, the Japanese scene became more self-centered and less JA artists are hired on a regular basis (especially in the dancehall scene, where every up to date artists and even "hasbeens" or veterans used to do the rounds there up to the late 90's. The local scene still enjoys a high degree of popularity : sounds, Dj's (hard to export), quite a charming lovers' scene and needless to say, a very good old school, where there is new blood coming up regularly, though major acts sometimes disband ( The Determinatiosn come to mind). Whatever the foreign style they enjoy, the Japanese often go very deeply into it, it may also be a trait of their identity : who you admire a master, you have to get as close to his art or craft as you can, as an hommage, not to appropriate his merits (the concept of "wannabe" is not really appliable). This - besides the language bareer ( not so many people speak english !) - may explain why so few Japanese are recognised beyond their borders : those i have met were humble - or even timid - in a pretty amazing way.
I have a good number of Japanese records at home and i must say that if those people were from the anglo-saxon world, they'd be much more famous. Some can give many a run for their money ! THis is one of the reasons why i'll never refuse to play CD's if i am invited for a dance : Because i'll be too glad to play lethal Japanese tunes ( among others not part of the "usual" JA music sources) (not to forget the fact that there are many exclusive tunes on Japanese pressings !)

[zapatoo]

I understand Phil Jupitus has a big one, Gordy...

[lankou2]

Robert Schoenfeld (RIP) used to have a hefty collection. I know a guy from Massachussetts who has a BIG collection too, same for the selector of the french sound King Dragon selector , certainly one of the most versatile collection i 've ever seen, from ska to hardcore dancehall. Ja music collector rarely go for all the various genres, really, he's one of them.

[admin]

Great answers as always Rey, many thanks!

Would be nice to read an article in English about the Japanese revive scene.

Respect

Gordy

[lankou2]

Actually, i missed out on a great opportunity to get to know a major mover of that revive scene at Xmas 2005. This guy from The Ska Flames was in Paris, and we were supposed to link up and i gave him my cell number. Little did i know that a little devil that i also consider as my son decided to put my cellie into the microwave. A strange smell quickly alerted me, nothing exploding, just melt down : needless to say that the chip was lost too. I ended up managing to call him but, one day too late : he had already reached the airport. It seems that he works in London once in a while (advertising ?). I have no idea whether he believed me or not, but he never contacted me again : difficult to know, their outlooks on life are quite often different from ours !
I chatted with the guys of TSPO several times, as they had a little cute translator who spoke perfect french. They only speak a little english, basic and functional : they are very humble and are very grateful that they are appreciated in the western world, which enables them to tour once in a while here. Funny, because in their country they have reached cult status nad were signed on the biggest majors. Some other reggae artists could take a few leaves off their book, imho (joke).

[Freddy C]

No "big collector" suggestions here - just some thoughts.

How do you define a collector? From the outset I'll assume your talking vinyl format only.

Colecting is many things to many people. There are so many issues that come with it. People like Penny were there early which gives them an advantage over others who have only started say, within the last 20 years. My guess is that Penny has never spent silly money on any record but would still have a far deeper collection than most that do.

Do you have to have a lot of rarities or is a large collection sufficient? Again if you've been there for decades, with your ear close to the ground (or bass bin) you may have hundreds or even thousands of discs that are now expensive. If you have to buy them at three figure sums of eBay etc. you will probably have far less.

You could have 20000 JA records and the next man with only 2000 might have a more respected selection. Maybe you just stick purely to one era but have the best collection from within that time frame.

I think location is a significant factor. I know if I'd moved 20 years ago that my collection today would be very different.

People's financial circumstances can change and their collecting will have stop at some finite point. It doesn't really affect the merit of what they already have.

More recent big spenders such as some of the aforemantioned Japanese buyers on eBay, I hesitate to take too seriously without knowing more. Too many guys just bidding on the most expensive records and never the affordable goodies. Are they all serious collectors or are some just affluent speculators or even simply showing off to each other about what they have? Who knows?

With any scene, there are always those who jump aboard when they see significant sums of money involved. That is false. Would you sell your collection if you didn't have to? Purely for finacial gain? I guess the mark of a true collector is their passion for the music - sometimes the available finances and shelf space dictate unwanted limitations, though.

What quantity of records can be considered a large collection? Many people on here have substantial collections but they would not figure in the largest collection stakes. If you collect reggae I think that you have to concentrate on that genre alone because it is such a broad and challenging field. I buy about half a dozen different genres of music and because of this, despite having four figure quantities of both reggae albums (LP & CD) and 7'', I only really skim the surface of each musical genre I collect .

Gordon, I can see that you have a passion for the music even if you have the issues of money and space and of course, your collection would not please a purist. It's a bit of a hybrid - apart from a hefty selection of original vinyl you have represses, CDs, cassettes, CD-Rs, mp3s - but you have them because of a passion for the music and that is ultimately what it's really all about - listening and enjoying.

[kalcidis]

What good way to celebrate your 2,500 posts with. Well put.

[Freddy C]

Thanks JK. I admire your more slimline 502 post rating.

I type too must off topic foolery.

[Mr Swing Easy]

the sound men are the biggest (by volume) - saxon's library is in the region of 70,000 items & they are still buying up collections for sale. in terms of collections i have personal knowledge of, penny reel's dwarfs them all by both quality and quantity.

mse

[zapatoo]

As freddy mentioned (at some length) "How do you define a collector?"

Is it a D.J./soundman who needs the tunes to keep up with or ahead of the game?

Is it someone who buys the music to listen to at home?

Is it someone who buys the music in order to display a rare label in a frame on the wall or whetever?

What about folk who buy and sell records, creaming off their favourites to keep for themselves?

Is it any or all of the above? ...or none of them? ...or something else?

[southcoastninjah]

I seem to remember hearing,athough it was way back that King Sounds,who recorded in the late seventies early eighties as King Sounds and the israelites had a magnificent collection thus giving him his name.

[admin]

Good answers but I was just after who's got the biggest meaning actual tunes (repress or original doesn't matter).

Some northern soul collectors have three or four large rooms piled to the ceiling with tunes. We're talking around 100,000 here.

Respect

Gordy

[admin]

Going back to Freddy's post, he hits the nail on the head about genres. If I didn't like soul, funk, jazz, doo wop, r&b, gospel and old school hip hop too - what would my JA music collection be like? Or if I wasn't into JA music what would my soul collection be like and so on?

And the point about having to give up buying originals hits home too. I bought a ton of tunes in the late 80s/early 90s for between 50p and a fiver each that go for £10 to £50 now and maybe 10 or so tunes that are more expensive than that still going on EBay prices. (Most expensive tune I have is probably "Dick Tracy" by The Skatalites on black & yellow JA Studio 1 first design, seen that go for about 150 quid but mine's only around VG-.

It's not a competition anyway, I guess my mate (and me too) was just curious.

Respect

Gordy





Respect

Gordy

[Benj52]

Saw Penny on Sat at Tighten Up, I think he was even dancing at one point... must have recognised something from his collection

He was in good form.

[steverice]

my pal martin has got a huge collection...the famous "collectors" are not neccesarily the biggest..there is also a guy called rob down here who has one of the highest calibre reggae ska and r'n'b collections


gaz mayall will also feature in terms of size

but record collections are like knobs aren't they...
it's not so much how big they are it's how you go to work with 'em

[zapatoo]

admin said:

Or if I wasn't into JA music what would my soul collection be like...

As far as I recall, it would have nothing after 1975.

;D

[Dadi Digi]

Excellent analysis and points to boot Freddie.

On the general question though I hear Ernie B has an extensive personal collection.

[sangq]

~I collect Jamaican music as well as others & I'm six foot four & weight ruffly 420 pounds.

[Jeff T. Alfred]

what is gordon

[Mick Sleeper]

Dave Katz mentioned Winston Blake (owner of the Merritone Sound System in JA) had the largest collection he'd ever seen, with Steve Barrow's being a close second.

[admin]

6 foot 4 and 295 pounds.

Respect

Gordy

[kalcidis]

In an interview done with Steve Barrow by the great Swedish online-magazine Fat Bankroll they state that he has approximately 19.000 7" singles, 6.000 12" discos, 4000 LP's and 2.000 CD's.

Därefter visar Blood & Fire-direktörn upp sin imponerande skivsamling med cirka 19.000 sjuor, 6.000 tolvor, 4.000 LP:s och 2.000 CD:s.

fatbankroll.nu/showarticle.php3?id=1000716751

Quite an impressive collection.

[BMC]

Aad Brakus of the Jamaican Gold label has an extensive reggae collection too, though focusses mainly on LPs and not singles. His collection has been used for a reggae cover-art exposition at Europe's largest record fair in Utrecht, the Netherlands a few years ago.

[Lars]

kalcidis said:

In an interview done with Steve Barrow by the great Swedish online-magazine Fat Bankroll they state that he has approximately 19.000 7" singles, 6.000 12" discos, 4000 LP's and 2.000 CD's.Quite an impressive collection.

Still,

the reason he gave me on why they didn´t include Mighty Diamond´s "Deeper Roots" in Rough Guide was simply that neither he nor his co-writer owned a copy...


One of the wonderful things about Jamaican music and collecting!

[rasadam]

My annual question is what happens to it when you're gone? it would be nice to have a reggae museum /archive to donate collections to when people die. i know my family would toss it all in the rubbish bin if i died tomorrow because it means ziltch to them. all these years of collecting these flyers articles mags zines books lps inches cds and it would all head to the landfill. make sure you will your collection to someone young who has a clue about it,. a

[Lars]

rasadam said:

make sure you will your collection to someone young who has a clue about it,. a

Also be sure to include a truckload of
Cartridges, Needles and replacement turntables.


Just in case...

[Freddy C]

rasadam said:

My annual question is what happens to it when you're gone? it would be nice to have a reggae museum /archive to donate collections to when people die. i know my family would toss it all in the rubbish bin if i died tomorrow because it means ziltch to them. all these years of collecting these flyers articles mags zines books lps inches cds and it would all head to the landfill. make sure you will your collection to someone young who has a clue about it,. a

Hopefully a museum with working sound systems and selectors so that you could visit a variety of themed rooms and hear the archive. No point in just label gazing.

[admin]

I agree Rasadam. My father and brother also would have no idea what to do with my collection. My dad would keep my 50s R&B CDs though.

I have no idea what Studio 1 Pete's widow is planning to do with his collection but it should go into some sort of sound archive project IMO as I'd hate to see it ripped apart by the EBay vultures.

Respect

Gordy