Love and Temptations

The first LP I bought was the Temptations' 'Get Ready'. I was 13, and I bought it from a record stall at a youth club I went to in Manchester, the last summer before my parents moved to the far east and I went to boarding school. The DJ at the youth club was said to be moonlighting from the Twisted Wheel. It seems unlikely, but I do remember the brilliant soul records he played. Maybe he had aspirations.
The following year I went to see the Temptations at the CIS in Manchester - a huge venue owned by the Co-operative movement.It was an odd place to see a group - the Free Trade Hall would have been more usual. And I have never been sure if they were the real thing or one of those groups of talented impostors, sent out on the road in the hope that no-one would notice. Whoever they were, they were fantastic, with all the moves, harmonies and sharp suits. This must have been in 1968.
Many years later, 2007 to be precise, I did see Smokey Robinson at the Bridgewater Hall. One of the best live shows ever, and an experience in community singing when he did medleys of all the old hits.
The second LP I bought was Love's 'Forever Changes', especially ordered in for me by the record shop in Matlock, when I was at boarding school. In the late 70s I saw Arthur Lee at Leeds University. I know he continued to tour in later life, but I never felt I could take the risk of disappointment.