LOZZA'S LOOT: Hitting the right note at car boots

And here is another: you can find musical car booty treasure at the car boot.

It will entail rummaging through 100s of LPs.

You will have to flick through a large selection of easy listening such as James Last, the Carpenters, Andy Williams, Perry Como and the greatest hits of Jim Reeves (is there anything else?), plus a shed load of classical music and tunes from shows or films.

You will see a musical madness of mayhem which people are only too pleased to shift by the tonne, but it makes no sense in buying these if you are looking for the gold records.

The trouble is, many are exactly what they say on the tin in terms of the names of well-known singers, like Elvis Presley or groups like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.

For these you will have to know their back catalogues; what is rare, what are the LPs with the rare matrix’s etc and if they are stereo or mono.

What you need to be is clued up.

If you are a budding record collector you need to do a little research. Get the facts, know what is rare, what covers are rare and what makes them rare.

It will take time to learn but that is half the fun and a lot of the joy.

You will find some LPs among a whole stack of vinyl fit only to be dipped in acid.

But what you might see is real record sellers who will have better quality records - but this will set you back a bit more than 50 pence each. However, even if they cost £10 each or three for £20, they could be worth it...

Lozza’s top tips are:

• Check the condition inside and out.
• Look at the condition of the outer sleeve.
• Does it has a rip or a tear?
• Has the price sticker been left on?
• Has been removed recently and is there a mark on the LP sleeve?
• Is it written on?
• What about the inside cover?
• Does it match the record?
• Is it the same record label as the record ie EMI with an EMI record.
• Is it the original record sleeve holder?
• Are there any scratches?
• Does it have any factory sample stickers not for sale on the label on the centre of the record?
• And when was the record you found released?
• Is it original or a re-release?

Keep your eyes peeled for anything interesting...

Every small detail should be checked as it is not worth buying something (even in a shop) which you think is top notch only be left disappointed later on.

You want to try and find a smash hit, not something out of the bargain basement bin.