Music fan and Northern Soul and Motown scene regular sells his collection for £35,000

Tony McGhee has collated over 25,000 Northern Soul and Motown records 1/5 Enlarge Play Slideshow

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

A Northern Soul and Motown fanatic has sold his collection of 25,000 records for £35,000.
Tony McGhee, 57, fell in love with Northern Soul at the age of eight when he bought his first record ‘Let’s Twist Again’. Since then he has accumulated an estimated 40,000 vinyls which includes singles, EPs, LPs and demos from the Northern Soul, Motown and Disco genres.
Tony, who was a regular on the Northern Soul scene in Manchester and Wigan, decided to sell his records after he suffered a stroke and the collection became difficult for him to manage. Tony said: “My dad took me to the record shop and I bought ‘Let’s Twist Again’ and I got hooked on collecting records.
“I remember the Twisted Wheel in Manchester was one of the venues where Northern Soul took off, and I used to go to the Wigan Casino to hear bands play.
“I’ve got a real passion for music and record collecting. The most I’ve ever spent on a record is £350 and I’ve trekked through blizzard conditions in the past to go to a record sale.”
Tony’s wife, Diane, said: “Tony was collecting records when we first met, and our love of soul music is something we’ve always had in common.
“These records kept creeping into my house, but when I realised the size of his collection I thought this is an obsession, not just your average hobby.
“Record collecting has been his total consuming passion, but after his stroke he’s not able to enjoy them any more, so it would be nice if we can pass them on for someone else to enjoy.
“Tony can continue his love of music with MP3 downloaded songs and let his love of Soul music carry on.”
Tony, who now lives in Stoke, added: “I just hope they go to good homes because they’ve been very well looked after.
“I’ve had to sell them because since my stroke the collection has become too much for me to handle.
“I’m absolutely gutted to see the records go, it’s like losing both arms. I’m going along to the auction to wave goodbye to them. I’ve kept back a small selection of records that have special sentimental value to me, but the majority of them will be sold.”