This record has just sold on John Manship's auction site this week for
£10,020! It is very distinctive with a funky ska/reggae rhythm. It's a bit of a
'marmite' record where you either love it or hate it! I happen to like it as
it is raw and honest and different.
Click image to expand
It was released on Mars La Tour, a label owned by Carl Queen in Marrietta,
GA who set also up the Atteirram (town name reversed) label in 1971. There's
no date listed for this release but from the other cat. no.s it would
probably be around 1971/72.
There are only around 15 releases listed for the label, although there are
gaps in the numbers which may suggest that there are others yet to be
discovered. It wasn't solely a soul label, there were folk, country, pop and
rock releases and even a gopel album. One of the releases by
RickeyAndrews, has a similar feel to Arthur Willis and was reissued by Trammp in
2016.
It's an impossibly rare record and the group's only known release. John
Manship stated in 2019 that he had only ever had one copy go through his
hands in 50 years and that one sold to Soul Sam. I guess that this is the
third (or possibly the same one three times?).
There are only two originals listed on Popsike, one sold in 2016 for
£6,285, the other listing is 'confused' as it had a starting price of $8,000 and
states it sold for
$1,000 on the same day as start date - I suspect it may have been withdrawn?
To highlight the demand for the record even bootlegs are selling for 3
figures - one as much as £210 ... crazy!
| Rating: | 8.4 |
| Genre/Style: | Northern Soul |
| Format: | Single |
| Media: | 7" |
| Label: | Mars La Tour |
| Cat No: | MLT 2051A |
| Year: | 1972 |
| Value: | £10,020 |
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4 comments:
I can tell you categorically that copy sold on Manships auction is not the copy soul Sam owned also that copy you mention was previously auctioned by him , it’s the second time he has auctioned the same record , sams copy was sold on at leat 3 times over and I now own that copy
Thanks for leaving a comment. The statement about the copy wasn't referring to that specific copy, it was a statement made by Manship himself on a YT clip saying that he had only ever previously had one go through his hands in 50 years and he said that one he sold to Sam.
"A Holy Grail we have only ever had once before in the last 50 years. That copy went into the enthusiastic arms of Soul Sam for an eye-watering sum for the time."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5NOENwYlpA
This, as you say, is another copy, not Sam's that he recently auctioned. I only found 2 on Popsike and one of them looks like it may have been withdrawn as the 'selling' price was less than the start price!
https://www.popsike.com/NORTHERN-SOUL-HOLY-GRAIL-Arthur-Willis-Soulful-Dynamics-MARS-TOUR/182391660424.html
I have this record in my possession. I grew up with Arthur kids in Griffin GA on Wall Alley. I would like to know how much this record is worth
If you're serious about selling your copy then then I would suggest that the best approach would be to sell through a respected dealer such as John Manship (https://www.raresoulman.co.uk/) who will get you the best price (for a commission). Prices/value fluctuate all the time owing to current demand and can sometimes go down when a record is out of favour but as this is such a rare record I would imagine that it will hold it's value which is around the $10,000 mark going by Popsike listings and the sale referred to in the post, depending upon condition of course.
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