COME AND GET THESE MEMORIES

Dave Sallis celebrates the enduring appeal – and collectability – of the ‘500’ series of Motown 45s

Motown has enjoyed something of a renaissance in the last couple of years. Love them or hate them, tribute shows and musicals (and new Rod Stewart albums!) are everywhere. For example, my own town of Brighton was a barren region for aficionados of the music for years. Now you can throw a stick any weekend and hit a Motown/Northern soul night.

But Motown’s appeal works on different levels. For those with just a passing fancy, the bigger names on the label – The Supremes, The Four Tops, Jackson 5 – are enough to satisfy their cravings. For the more ardent followers, who can only listen so many times to Reach Out, I’ll Be There, Baby Love and I Want You Back, their needs are more acute. Nothing less will sate their desires than classic sides from Kim Weston, Edwin Starr, The Contours, The Spinners, The Marvelettes and other lesser luminaries of the company who got lost in the Motown machinery but still managed to issue some of the label’s most sought-after gems. It is a selection of these ‘neglected’ classics that we look at here.

Collecting rare Tamla Motown records is, arguably, for the first time in a number of years, in rude health. The market for the ‘hits’ is fairly dormant, the exclusive preserve for those willing to pay a premium for Mint copies of records that were generally played to death. For …

by Dave Sallis
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