Ian Levine, Motorcity, Centre City, Blackpool Mecca, And Swons

[Guest soulmaguk]

I make records that appeal to me.

I don't give a toss what others think. If I was chasing a hit I wouldn't do what I do. I listen back to "Love Is My Sanctuary" and "You Threw A Lucky Punch" and I get immense satisfaction of knowing I created something that deserves to stand the test of time, something I love every bit as much as the records of my youth, something made for me.

That's all that matters. If others like them then it's fantastic.

If they don't, well it's irrelevant as I made them for myself. Having said that, I do have a lot of dedicated fans who appreciate the music I make. I have never fooled myself into thinking that many people on Soul Source are among them, but I am proud and defiant of what I do, and no amount of criticism will ever change me.

The funniest thing was earlier in the year when I released my "Yesterday And Tomorrow" album and I read stuff on here saying the tracks were synthetic, which was hysterical when I took all the original orchestra off the original versions.

Some people are determined to hate my music just because it's me - which is why I made The Four Vandals back in 1999 and Venicia Wilson back in 2000. After the runaway success of Sidney Barnes, I now feel somewhat vindicated.

Hi Ian,

I have never met you, I dont think, I'm not sure, I started to read this thread at about page 26, and was enthralled. I am now reading from page 1 and have just reached page 4 (I'm a slow reader) but It all goes in, and will carry on till the end.

I want to ask a question about Sid Barnes, 'How did you first receive Sid', what I mean is 'I think I am looking for some recognition for the first contact with Sid when he E-mailed me one Saturday morning in December 2000 from his home in Chicago, he was trawlling the net and found my web-site Soulmaguk which I started up in 97/98. He gave me his phone number and I spoke to him personally, anyway, here is his first or maybe second contact to the soulmaguk:-

dear friend,

thanks for your interest and help in my project. it is

very imporant that i do an interview with a english music mag. as soon

as possible. i sure would like to offer you the first . ive got a ton of

great stories through years of experience in the soul market. think

about it and let me know i am more than ready. its an honor to be welcomed by you and your music news outlet

talk with you soon...sid barnes

It soon dawned on me that I should get help, I phoned Terry Davis about it, and he kindly gave me Richard Searling's number and the rest was history, he's a lovely bloke and was completely blown away by his UK Northern Soul fans.

Thanks Ian for making Solid Ground, we all know he has made some stunning soul 45s and now he is the star he wanted to be.

Warmest Regards

John Mitchell

[Guest James Trouble]

After being reported this comment and follow on posts was removed

as the moderators found it broke the

soul source house rules

[Ritchieandrew]

Good Morning Ian,

As its Monday I thought posting a couple of Images would be nice.

These are of you at the Ritz in 1975.

[Guest TONY ROUNCE]

They ALL got something out of it, money, exposure, performances, and a chance to be heard again.

If they ended up not making quite as much as they expected, I still can't imagine why they would say anything bad about me. After all, nobody else came along to queue up to record them, since, and more than half have passed away now.

I hope Tony Rounce will confirm, after the shabby and disgraceful way that Ace/Kent were mistreated by Phillip Mitchell, that there are usually two sides to a story, and the artist's side isn't always the correct one.

...I'm only too happy to agree with Ian here. I've sat in rooms with some artists, who don't know that I work for Ace/Kent, and heard them lie outright to me about not getting paid anything by the companies who reissue their material, when our royalties department has a drawer full of cancelled cheques that prove otherwise.

Phillip Mitchell badmouthed Ace/Kent in Manifesto, saying that he's never received any money from us, when the truth of the matter is that he has not signed and sent back any of several contracts that have been sent to him, that will enable him to get any money that is accruing for him. Ace is, in fact, holding royalties for Mitchell, pending his signature on a piece of paper - but he seems not to want to enter into a contract that will release the current and future royalties to him. It's not a lot of money, as we only own three tracks on him, but we do want to give it to him and it's down to him to follow the correct legal procedure to get it.

The publishing royalties on all the Phillip Mitchell compositions that we have released, by all sorts of artist, do get paid - regularly as clockwork - to the various companies that control his copyright in the UK and he sees that money, you can be sure of that!

For the record, Ace/Kent endeavours to pay royalties to all the artists whose back repertoire is owned by us. Among the artists who receive regular royalty payments from us are Millie Jackson, Joe Simon, the Fatback Band, Clay Hammond, Mary Love, B.B. King, Jimmy McCracklin, Arthur Adams, Spencer Wiggins, Little Willie Littlefield, Gigi and the Charmaines and the estates of James Carr, Johnny Guitar Watson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Lowell Fulson and Louis Williams of the Ovations, to name just a few. Many of these artists actually signed off on their old contracts, waiving their rights to any future royalties against a release from whatever label they were recording for at the time and it was Ace/Kent who tracked them down and offered to pay them royalties against future sales. Few of them will make their fortune on these royalties, but it's nice to do something - even though our only obligation to do so is a moral one - for these and other very talented people.

(BTW and on this subject, we have a tidy little sum put by for Felice Taylor, if anyone knows where she is and can put her in touch...)

As Ian says, there are two sides to every story. Artists love to moan about how they got ripped off, but consider the case of one of the biggest bellyachers of all, the late Bo Diddley. Bo bitched for years about how Chess paid him nothing - yet he stayed with the label from 1955 until its demise in the early 70s, so things couldn't have been that bad. All of his copyrights were published by Arc Music, who would have had to account to him on a regular basis, no matter how small the royalty statement might have seemed to him. Bo dressed well, drove nice cars and had many exotic guitars during his career - monies for all of which would probably have been advanced by Chess against current and future record sales and this would have been pointed out to him by one of the Chess brothers, as they stumped up for whatever material goods took Bo's fancy. Then there's the question of unrecouped outlay for session time, but if I go there in depth I'll never have time to do any work today (and I need to). I'll just say briefly that Bo spent a lot of time in the studios on the late 50s and early 60s, and there was probably a clause in his contract - its a pretty standard clause - to say that session costs would be charged back, and that payment for sessions would come out of royalties earned. If he didn't it would have made him almost unique for the time. And if his session charges outweighed his royalties due during any given period, then there would be no royalties to come, simple as that

It may be more charming to believe the artist's side in every case, but it isn't always right to do so.

[Guest]

Haha LOL. With the best will in the world, Charlie Records aren't exactly renowned for their accounting procedures anyway are they?

Unless I'm mistaken, Universal have given up the ghost of even chasing 'em on the Chess catalogue haven't they? I'm not even sure what country they're operating from at present............

Ian D

Panama

[Guest]

Thanks Ian for making Solid Ground, we all know he has made some stunning soul 45s and now he is the star he wanted to be.

I'd love to do something else with him.

I gather he thinks Solid Ground sold far more than it did.

Artists tend to think, when they discover they have a hit in the Northern Soul circles, that they have sold a quarter of a million records.

[Guest]

Good Morning Ian,

As its Monday I thought posting a couple of Images would be nice.

These are of you at the Ritz in 1975.

The second picture is Wigan, me and Carol Bastock doing the Mecca handjive. Definitely, in 1976. But yes the first one is the Ritz.

[Guest]

Phillip Mitchell badmouthed Ace/Kent in Manifesto, saying that he's never received any money from us, when the truth of the matter is that he has not signed and sent back any of several contracts that have been sent to him, that will enable him to get any money that is accruing for him. Ace is, in fact, holding royalties for Mitchell, pending his signature on a piece of paper - but he seems not to want to enter into a contract that will release the current and future royalties to him. It's not a lot of money, as we only own three tracks on him, but we do want to give it to him and it's down to him to follow the correct legal procedure to get it.

He did this exact same thing to me.

He returned his contract and I assumed he'd signed it, only to discover years later that he hadn't. Getting over 130 contracts signed meant you couldn't always check each and every one. He willingly filmed a video and re-recorded "Free For All", and he both received, and then once he'd filmed, he sent back, the camera and tapes through our courier. Then once it was released the trouble started. He has apparently made a career of doing this, and consequently, much as it pains me, I'd rather slice my wrists than include him on the new DVD box set. His loss.

[Guest]

Then there's the question of unrecouped outlay for session time, but if I go there in depth I'll never have time to do any work today

there was probably a clause in his contract - its a pretty standard clause - to say that session costs would be charged back, and that payment for sessions would come out of royalties earned. If he didn't it would have made him almost unique for the time. And if his session charges outweighed his royalties due during any given period, then there would be no royalties to come, simple as that

It may be more charming to believe the artist's side in every case, but it isn't always right to do so.

It is a fact that unless an artist has a fair sized hit, the royalties usually don't exceed the recording costs.

We all do our best, but it's better to have a record released than not at all. Nowadays most artists accept that, and the days of big advances are long gone. That's what crippled the majors. When I started in the music business there were sixteen majors, now there are four. They all went bust paying out more than they took in.

Often artists say they were ripped off, when the reality is they were not due a penny. Nowadays they see songs on iTunes and think they're being ripped off when often they have maybe had three downloads at 79p each, and still have three thousand pounds of expensive recording costs unrecouped.

It was worse in the old days, when we used live strings and huge brass sections.

My Evelyn Thomas album on Casablanca cost fifty thousand quid to make.

Ebony's album originally recorded for Sony took £150,000 of their money to make, and people complain when we don't use live orchestras on every track.

And then others come on here being inane and childish disrupting this thread.

I'm glad there are some nice people on here, or I wouldn't be for sure.

But at the end of the day, it's not easy to make any money in the music business, especially if you make soul music.

I hope Carl Dixon's musicians and singers in Detroit aren't expecting to get rich quick.

Edited September 1, 2008 by Ian Levine

[Ian Dewhirst]

...I'm only too happy to agree with Ian here. I've sat in rooms with some artists, who don't know that I work for Ace/Kent, and heard them lie outright to me about not getting paid anything by the companies who reissue their material, when our royalties department has a drawer full of cancelled cheques that prove otherwise.

Phillip Mitchell badmouthed Ace/Kent in Manifesto, saying that he's never received any money from us, when the truth of the matter is that he has not signed and sent back any of several contracts that have been sent to him, that will enable him to get any money that is accruing for him. Ace is, in fact, holding royalties for Mitchell, pending his signature on a piece of paper - but he seems not to want to enter into a contract that will release the current and future royalties to him. It's not a lot of money, as we only own three tracks on him, but we do want to give it to him and it's down to him to follow the correct legal procedure to get it.

The publishing royalties on all the Phillip Mitchell compositions that we have released, by all sorts of artist, do get paid - regularly as clockwork - to the various companies that control his copyright in the UK and he sees that money, you can be sure of that!

For the record, Ace/Kent endeavours to pay royalties to all the artists whose back repertoire is owned by us. Among the artists who receive regular royalty payments from us are Millie Jackson, Joe Simon, the Fatback Band, Clay Hammond, Mary Love, B.B. King, Jimmy McCracklin, Arthur Adams, Spencer Wiggins, Little Willie Littlefield, Gigi and the Charmaines and the estates of James Carr, Johnny Guitar Watson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Hadda Brooks, Etta James, Lowell Fulson and Louis Williams of the Ovations, to name just a few. Many of these artists actually signed off on their old contracts, waiving their rights to any future royalties against a release from whatever label they were recording for at the time and it was Ace/Kent who tracked them down and offered to pay them royalties against future sales. Few of them will make their fortune on these royalties, but it's nice to do something - even though our only obligation to do so is a moral one - for these and other very talented people.

(BTW and on this subject, we have a tidy little sum put by for Felice Taylor, if anyone knows where she is and can put her in touch...)

As Ian says, there are two sides to every story. Artists love to moan about how they got ripped off, but consider the case of one of the biggest bellyachers of all, the late Bo Diddley. Bo bitched for years about how Chess paid him nothing - yet he stayed with the label from 1955 until its demise in the early 70s, so things couldn't have been that bad. All of his copyrights were published by Arc Music, who would have had to account to him on a regular basis, no matter how small the royalty statement might have seemed to him. Bo dressed well, drove nice cars and had many exotic guitars during his career - monies for all of which would probably have been advanced by Chess against current and future record sales and this would have been pointed out to him by one of the Chess brothers, as they stumped up for whatever material goods took Bo's fancy. Then there's the question of unrecouped outlay for session time, but if I go there in depth I'll never have time to do any work today (and I need to). I'll just say briefly that Bo spent a lot of time in the studios on the late 50s and early 60s, and there was probably a clause in his contract - its a pretty standard clause - to say that session costs would be charged back, and that payment for sessions would come out of royalties earned. If he didn't it would have made him almost unique for the time. And if his session charges outweighed his royalties due during any given period, then there would be no royalties to come, simple as that

It may be more charming to believe the artist's side in every case, but it isn't always right to do so.

I concurr with everything Tony and Ian have said above on some of the artists who badmouth companies. Whilst it's fair to say that most record company contracts were crap anyway, many of us in the re-issue game often get stuck with artists whose careers we are attempting to boost/resurrect only to be virtually held to ransom sometimes because the artist signed a lousy contract 20 odd years ago.

I spent 3 years of my life comprehensively re-issuing the best part of the Salsoul catalogue with virtually no help from many of the acts! If you do a licence deal with a U.S. company, then the U.S. company is obliged to pay on the royalties, providing the artist is recouped. And that's usually where the bone of contention lies, as very few artists ever recoup in my experience.

It's a thankless task for a fan of the music, as you spend half your life arguing with your heroes about the fact that you've already paid a huge advance to the owner of the repertoire and have to recoup that advance before you can start making payments wily-nily.

Myself and my then partner paid $150,000 for the priviledge of re-releasing a U.S. labels 70's & 80's repertoire in the UK for 3 years. We did over 90 releases, all lovingly put together with passion, pride and the maximum respect for the original artists. End result: We only just recouped the advance after the end of the licensing period and both of us ended-up working for free for 3 years! Which is why I'm broke these days.

Yet throughout this period we regularly got held-up/high-jacked and black-mailed by some of the artists. We once had 2 days worth of Press and prime-time TV set up for a well-known Soul Diva, who then refused to do any of the stuff unless we paid her a £1000 per diem per day. All this happened whilst I was juggling bills and wondering where my next paycheck would come from.....all during a point where I wasn't even earning £1000 a year........

For sure there's a million stories about artists getting ripped-off but take note that there are only a small handful of those great independent companies from the 60's, 70's and 80's still operating. Most of 'em went bust or went out of business, 'cos it's expensive running a record company as I know too well..........

Ian D

[Koolkat]

The second picture is Wigan, me and Carol Bastock doing the Mecca handjive. Definitely, in 1976. But yes the first one is the Ritz.

You got good use out of that shirt and sweater Ian. Same outfit 12 months apart.

[Prophonics 2029]

That other picture is not Wigan the seats on the right are wrong although it looks like me dancing behind you.

[Guest]

That other picture is not Wigan the seats on the right are wrong although it looks like me dancing behind you.

I agree, I would say almost definately The Ritz.

[sister dawn]

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[Guest]

I spent 3 years of my life comprehensively re-issuing the best part of the Salsoul catalogue with virtually no help from many of the acts! If you do a licence deal with a U.S. company, then the U.S. company is obliged to pay on the royalties, providing the artist is recouped. And that's usually where the bone of contention lies, as very few artists ever recoup in my experience.

Very very very very very few.

The music business, even though we do it cos we love it, is still supposed to be run as a business, not a charity.

If an artist gets exposure, then they can make money off live appearances. But if they have only had a Northern Soul cult record, they are most unlikely to have ever recouped the initial recording costs, and usually, as in the case of people like Phillip Mitchell, or Frances Nero, or Bobby Taylor, are utterly totally oblivious of this fact, and remain unrealistic, and often shout their mouths off, often causing permanent and irreparable harm to others who have behaved reasonably and fairly, and they are determined to live in their own version of reality, where all record companies and producers are thieves, and the poor artist always gets ripped off. I single out Rob Moss as being the worst culprit I have ever come across for perpetrating some of these falsehoods, and in doing so spreading confusion and mistrust.

[Prophonics 2029]

Back to The Mecca

Who much was it to get in.

DJ rota.

What was the first record played

What was the last record played

How often was it on every week every month?

[Guest]

Back to The Mecca

Who much was it to get in.

DJ rota.

What was the first record played

What was the last record played

How often was it on every week every month?

From memory it was 50p, You had to dress with a shirt and Tie if you were Male. Last record of the evening was "California Montage" Young - Holt Unlimited, It Was on every week on Saturday nights, Occasionally Sundays if an All-Dayer was on. The Highland room was on the Top floor, Reached by two escalators. The main Room was the Bali hi which was on the first floor this was the bigger of the two.

DJ rota was Ian and Colin, Just alternating.

Andy.

Edited September 1, 2008 by Andy Simpson

[sister dawn]

IAN LEVINE CURRICULUM VITAE NAME: Ian Geoffrey Levine

BORN: June 22, 1953 in Blackpool

PARENTS: Began in business with a dress shop in the 1950’s, then a chain of shops in the1960’s, then bought the Lemon Tree casino and nightclub in Blackpool in the 1970’s. ‘They made an awful lot of money and moved to Miami.’ Father died in 1996. Mother runs the finances for Ian’s companies.

EDUCATION: Arnold Grammar School for boys, in Blackpool. Seven O’ Levels, three A’ Levels. Played rugby at school. Then dropped out Manchester University in 1971, ‘I had no interest’

CAREER:

IAN LEVINE'S 43 UK HITS PRODUCED TO DATE, WHICH, WHEN YOU ADD IN ALL THE

REMIXES AS WELL, MAKES OVER EIGHTY HITS IN THE U.K.

N.B. "So Many Men So Little Time" sold over two million copies worldwide,

without ever registering as a chart hit in the UK.

1. 1975 - REACHING FOR THE BEST - THE EXCITERS - (20th Century)

2. 1976 - WEAK SPOT - EVELYN THOMAS - (20th Century)

3. 1976 - YOUR MAGIC PUT A SPELL ON ME - L.J. JOHNSON - (Phonogram)

4. 1976 - DOOMSDAY - EVELYN THOMAS - (20th Century)

5. 1983 - HE'S A SAINT, HE'S A SINNER - MIQUEL BROWN - (Record Shack)

6. 1984 - HIGH ENERGY - EVELYN THOMAS - (Record Shack)

7. 1984 - MASQUERADE - EVELYN THOMAS - (Record Shack)

8. 1985 - FAN THE FLAME - BARBARA PENNINGTON - (Record Shack)

9. 1985 - CLOSE TO PERFECTION - MIQUEL BROWN - (Record Shack)

10. 1985 - ON A CROWDED STREET - BARBARA PENNINGTON - (Record Shack)

11. 1991 - FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWING ME - FRANCES NERO - (Motorcity/Debut)

12. 1992 - I'M DOING FINE NOW - THE PASADENAS - (Columbia)

13. 1992 - I FOUND HEAVEN - TAKE THAT - (RCA)

14. 1992 - THEN CAME YOU - JUNIOR - (MCA)

15. 1992 - 24 HOURS A DAY - NOMAD - (RUMOUR)

16. 1992 - A MILLION LOVE SONGS - TAKE THAT - (RCA)

17. 1992 - ALL OVER THE WORLD - JUNIOR - (MCA)

18. 1992 - MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION - THE PASADENAS - (Columbia)

19. 1992 - HOLD BACK THE NIGHT - K.W.S. - (Network)

20. 1992 - COULD IT BE MAGIC - TAKE THAT - (RCA)

21. 1993 - YOU'RE MY EVERYTHING - EASTSIDE BEAT - (London)

22. 1993 - DON'T TALK ABOUT LOVE - BAD BOYS INC. - (A&M)

23. 1993 - WHENEVER YOU NEED SOMEONE - BAD BOYS INC. - (A&M)

24. 1993 - WALKING ON AIR - BAD BOYS INC. - (A&M)

25. 1994 - WATCH THE MIRACLE START - PAULINE HENRY - (Columbia)

26. 1994 - MORE TO THIS WORLD - BAD BOYS INC. - (A&M)

27. 1994 - CAUGHT UP IN MY HEART - OPTIMYSTIC - (WEA)

28. 1994 - TAKE ME AWAY - BAD BOYS INC. - (A&M)

29. 1994 - ZOOM - SCOTT BRADLEY - (Network)

30. 1994 - LOVE HERE I COME - BAD BOYS INC. -(A&M)

31. 1994 - NOTHING BUT LOVE - OPTIMYSTIC - (WEA)

32. 1995 - BEST THING IN THE WORLD - OPTIMYSTIC - (WEA)

33. 1995 - LIFTING ME HIGHER - GEMS FOR GEM - (Box 21)

34. 1995 - EVEN THOUGH YOU BROKE MY HEART - GEMINI - (EMI)

35. 1996 - CHANGE YOUR MIND - UPSIDE DOWN - (World)

36. 1996 - STEAL YOUR LOVE AWAY - GEMINI - (EMI)

37. 1996 - EVERYTIME I FALL IN LOVE - UPSIDE DOWN - (World)

38. 1996 - NEVER FOUND A LOVE LIKE THIS BEFORE - UPSIDE DOWN - (World)

39. 1996 - DO THAT TO ME - THE LISA MARIE EXPERIENCE - (EMI)

40. 1996 - IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW - UPSIDE DOWN - (World)

41. 2002 - ONE LOVE / GET READY - BLUE - (Innocent)

42. 2004 - DO THE CAN CAN - THE SKANDI GIRLS - (Intelligent)

43. 2006 - SET ME FREE - LORENZ - (Superstar Music)

SOME MAJOR WORLDWIDE HITS REMIXED BY IAN LEVINE ON TOP OF HIS OWN PRODUCTIONS

1983 HAZELL DEAN - SEARCHING (The first ever major UK pop remix

to include additional production)

1983 AGENTS AREN'T AEROPLANES - THE UPSTROKE

1984 RAMMING SPEED - WHEN YOU WALK IN THE ROOM

1985 HAZELL DEAN - E.S.P.

1985 HAZELL DEAN - WALK IN MY SHOES

1985 CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD - LOVERBOY

1985 VILLAGE PEOPLE - NEW YORK CITY

1985 BRONSKI BEAT - HIT THAT PERFECT BEAT

1985 PET SHOP BOYS - PANINARO

1986 TIFFANY - I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW

1986 KIM WILDE - YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON

1986 PET SHOP BOYS - IT'S A SIN

1986 BANANARAMA - VENUS

1986 BUCKS FIZZ - NEW BEGINNING

1986 BANANARAMA - MORE THAN PHYSICAL

1986 BRONSKI BEAT - C'MON C'MON

1986 SISTER SLEDGE - HERE TO STAY

1986 HELENA SPRINGS - PAPER MONEY

1987 KLYMAXX - MAN SIZE LOVE

1987 SPLASH - QU'EST CE QUE C'EST

1987 KIKI DEE - ANOTHER DAY COMES ANOTHER DAY GOES

1987 DOLLAR - HAVEN'T WE SAID GOODBYE BEFORE

1987 DIVINE - YOU THINK YOU'RE A MAN (Medley)

1989 TWIGGY - WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW

1991 THE THREE DEGREES - DIRTY OLD MAN

1993 DINA CARROLL - EXPRESS

1994 INNER CITY - SHARE MY LIFE

1994 E.Y.C. - THE WAY YOU WORK IT

1994 ROZALLA - THIS TIME I FOUND LOVE

1995 SIN WITH SEBASTIAN - SHUT UP AND SLEEP WITH ME

1995 ERASURE - I LOVE SATURDAY

1998 BILLIE - SHE WANTS YOU

1999 MARVIN AND TAMARA - NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST

2000 SUPERSISTER - SHOPPING

2007 RIGHT SAID FRED - I'M TOO SEXY

2007 UNKLEJAM - WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR

2007 UNKLEJAM - STEREO

1971: Worked for his parents by day and DJ-ed at Blackpool Mecca by night, turning it into the pinnacle of the Northern Soul scene. Before his 18th Birthday he had become the most prominent of all the Northern Soul DJs. After being poached by The Torch in Stoke on Trent in 1972, he returned to the Mecca in 1973 for its glory years as the top Northern Soul venue, and continued there until 1979.

1971: Spent a week in Miami with the Jackson Five, and befriended Michael Jackson, then aged 11.

1973: Radio One’s John Peel came to Blackpool to record a one hour special on Northern Soul with Ian Levine, by then the most famous club DJ in the country.

1974: Compiled ‘Solid Soul Sensations’ LP for Pye Records. ‘It got to number 11 in the charts - that was my start in the record business.’ Levine received his first silver disc.

1974: Levine gets his own full page every issue in Black Music Magazine, a monthly glossy soul music magazine on sale everywhere.

1975: Levine was the star guest DJ on the opening night of the famous Wigan Casino.

1975: The very first recordings were made in New York in February 1975. Levine’s first studio session produced ‘Reaching For The Best’ by US girl group The Exciters, which climbed to 31 on the UK chart. It was the first record he had both written and produced.

1975: In July, Levine went to Chicago and teamed up with Danny Raye Leake to produce the first three acts which he signed to his own production company, Evelyn Thomas, L.J. Johnson & Barbara Pennington.

1976: In February, two Ian Levine produced acts, Evelyn Thomas and L.J. Johnson appeared on ’Top Of The Pops’ in the same week. Ian had also written both songs.

1977-1979: Head of club promotions at United Artists, under Martin Davis who was head of the company.

1977: Produced Barbara Pennington ‘Twenty Four Hours A Day’ which topped the US Disco charts in Billboard for 5 weeks.

1978: Starred in Granada TV special called 'Granada Reports Disco' filmed in Manchester. His first ever TV appearance.

1978: James Wells ’My Claim To Fame’ topped the US Disco charts in Billboard for 6 weeks and became the fourth biggest disco record of the year.

1978: DJ-ed at Angels in Burnley on Sunday nights, the first new big US style disco in the country. He became the first ever UK born DJ to mix records together US style. People queued around the block to get in on a Saturday night, emulating New York’s legendary Studio 54.

1979: Levine became the first resident DJ at Heaven, London’s top nightclub, opening on 6th December 1979. He ran the music in the club for ten solid years under David Inches.

1980-85: As a side line, Levine became the Dr Who Script Consultant, checking every script for a period of five years for accuracy for the BBC, attending all the studio recording sessions.

1981: Wrote BBC TV theme for ’K9 and Company,’ a one-off BBC TV spin-off from Dr Who, broadcast on BBC1 in December 1981.

1983: Levine was the leading expert and auctioneer for Dr Who’s anniversary and raised £100,000.00 for the BBC at a charity auction at Longleat to celebrate Dr Who’s twentieth birthday. Seventy thousand people

turned up. He got his own Dalek as a reward. He also wrote the entire Radio Times `Special Edition for Dr Who’s 20th Anniversary which sold several million copies.

1983-1985: Teamed up with importer Record Shack to launch their own label and release a string of major hi-energy singles, including two million selling ’So Many Men So Little Time’ by Miquel Brown and the seven million selling Evelyn Thomas’ ’High Energy.’ Levine then becomes head of A&R for Record Shack.

1984: With the success of Record Shack, Levine teamed up with his friend J.P. Iliesco who owned Trident Studios, to sign Eartha Kitt and then Break Machine to Record Shack, which, added to Levine’s own productions, caused the label to sell twelve million units in two years.

1984: Starred in ’Earsay’ in a High Energy Special on Channel 4, narrated by Gary Crowley. Levine also wrote and produced the title song.

1984: Ian Levine, together with his friend Eric Saward, then script editor of Doctor Who, wrote a complete Doctor Who story, 'Attack of the Cybermen’, transmitted in 1985. They had to write it under a pseudonym,

Paula Moore, a former girlfriend of Saward, because of internal BBC politics, preventing Levine’s name from appearing on the screen credits.

1985: Levine left Record Shack. ’We got in an argument over Seventh Avenue. I got thumped in the face and that was it.’

1985: Became Staff Journalist for Morgan Khan’s ’Street Sounds’ magazine, which sold hundreds of thousands of copies in every newsagent in the country.

1985: The Face Magazine do a major seven page feature on Levine and the High Energy music he pioneered. This extends to the front cover.

1986: Levine became the top remixer of other peoples records in the UK. Remix clients included Pet Shop Boys, Bronski Beat, Bananarama, Kim Wilde and Bucks Fizz.

1986: Nightmare Records was formed, Levine's first own label after leaving Record Shack. It was distributed by PRT and then Pacific. There were three more subsidiary labels, Saturday, Reflection and Blue Moon.

1987: Levine is flown to Japan as a star DJ with Pete Waterman of Stock-Aitken-Waterman fame. His face appears on the entire front cover of Music Labo, the Japanese version of Billboard.

1988: Finally bought his own recording studio which used to be called 'Paradise,’ and is still running today as ’Tropicana Studios,’ the home of over thirty major hits.

1989: Motorcity begins. A reunion of 60 Motown stars in Detroit attracted massive media attention and over forty US TV appearances on News shows and Chat shows. Levine was on the front page of every Detroit newspaper and on US national TV, on all four networks. Motorcity Records was launched as a record label, initially distributed by PRT and later Pacific, then Charly and finally Total/BMG.

1989: Levine organises a huge concert tour with ’Flying Music’ of the original Tamla Motown artists. The final concert was filmed and shown several times on ITV.

1990: The Sunday Times do a colour supplement special on Ian Levine’s Motown reunion. This included sending a photographer over specially to Detroit.

1990: ‘The Rhythm Divine,’ a major one hour TV special starring Ian Levine and all about the history of dance music, aired on TV. It was to be repeated a further three times.

1990: Licensing deal for the ’Motorcity’ catalogue signed with Charly, which almost resulted in a huge court case. ‘The worst deal of my career.’ Twelve years later, Levine made it up with the rather colourful Jean-Luc Young, and even edited his concert video footage which had sat in the can for 12 years.

1990: Channel 4 make a one hour TV programme, ’The Second Time Around’ exclusively about Ian Levine and his Motorcity reunion project, and featuring The Supremes, Mary Wells, Syreeta and Edwin Starr. This programme went on to be shown three times.

1991: Motorcity split from Charly to go through Total/BMG. 800 songs by 108 acts recorded to date, all legendary acts of the Tamla-Motown era.

1991: The Joan Rivers show in the US did a Motown Special organised by Levine.

1991: Music Week Magazine run a major two page feature on Levine’s career to date, which formed the initial base of this very C.V.

1991: Ray Gordy Singleton, former wife of Motown founder Berry Gordy, wrote a US best selling book called ’Berry, Me and Motown,’ the real gossip about Motown Records and its history. The entire last chapter of the book was about Ian Levine and his Motorcity reunion.

1992: Levine is handed a group called ’Take That’ by Korda Marshall at RCA, who was about to drop them. Levine produces five songs, three of which become major hits and break the group. Levine favours Robbie Williams as the lead singer and Robbie goes on to become the most successful solo male singer of the next ten years, once he’d left ’Take That’. Robbie Williams tells the press that he owes it all to Ian Levine for singing lead.

1992: Levine has 9 major hits in 1 year, including the Pasadenas and Take That, more than any other UK producer that year. The 'Take That And Party’ album by Take That sells two million copies in the UK.

1992: Levine did all the research for the BBC for a Doctor Who documentary called ’Resistance Is Useless’, and was fully credited at the end of the programme which aired in January.

1993: Won the Brits’ Single Of The Year for Take That’s ’Could It Be Magic.’ After a very public split with Take That, Levine formed Bad Boys Inc. a group which he originated and conceptualised, who went on to have 6 major UK hits.

1993: Levine starred in a BBC TV special about Dr Who and about locating all the missing episodes that had turned up over the years.

1993: Levine becomes managed by Oliver Smallman and Dennis Ingoldsby, the most successful managers in the country , known as ’First Avenue.’

1993: Levine did all the research for the BBC for another Dr Who documentary to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary called ’Thirty Years In The Tardis’ and was again fully credited at the end of the programme which aired in November.

1994: Sky TV do a one hour special on Levine with Terry Christian. Levine appears with all four of his Samoyed dogs.

1994: Paramount Pictures commission Ian Levine to produce a special promotional remix of the STAR TREK themes, both original and the Next Generation, to tie in with the release of the movie ‘STAR TREK GENERATIONS’. Ian Levine’s version is played at the film premiere to introduce the movie.

1994: Levine produces a complete hit album on blue-eyed soul legend Paul Young, comprising entirely of classic soul songs. Lamont Dozier and Billy Griffin (both of Motown fame) collaborate on this, and sing on the backing vocals, and a sell out concert at Hammersmith Odeon is built around the whole project.

1995: Levine co-produced a TV spin off of Dr Who called 'Downtime’ and wrote and recorded all the incidental music for it.

1996: Major hit BBC documentary seen by 16 million viewers ’A Band Is Born’, about the creation of a boy band, ’Upside Down,’ and with Levine in a major role. Upside Down have 4 top 30 hits (including a number 11) during the year. The show was the forerunner of the later much more successful Pop Idol phenomenon.

1996: Levine traced over 660 members of his own family on his Mother’s side, and then organised the enormous Cooklin reunion, on July 21st in London, the biggest family reunion of all time, which led to a news piece of one and a half minutes on the BBC TV Evening News, and a huge article in the Jewish Chronicle which included a picture of Levine on the front cover and a further one and a half pages inside.

1996: Take That Greatest Hits containing 3 tracks produced by Ian Levine sells over four million copies.

1996: Ian Levine lands a one and a half year contract with a huge French Magazine company, Atlas, to produce 600 cover versions of the major hits of the 1960’s and 1970’s, all in his own recording studio. These are launched with a million and a half units in France.

1997: Ian Levine discovers an amazing singer called Steve Brookstein who, seven years later, goes on to win Simon Cowell's phenomenally successful TV reality show called "The X-Factor"

1998: Ian Levine completed a two year project , a documentary film about his own family, the Cooklin family, lasting four hours.

1998: Ian Levine mixes a track ’She Wants You’ for newcomer Billie, which enters the charts at number 3.

1998: Bill Brewster writes a book called ’Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ about the history of dance music. There is a whole chapter about Ian Levine. Brewster also writes a major article for Virgin Airlines’ in-flight

magazine, listing Levine in the top ten most influential DJs of all time.

1999: Ian Levine produced and directed the documentary film, ’The Strange World of Northern Soul’, an anthology of the underground music cult, taking him back to his roots. This is a video box set, containing over 12 hours of footage with booklet and CD, and incorporating a staggering 131 performances by the legendary American soul acts who have, in most cases, never been filmed before. The whole event is premiered in Blackburn at the King George’s Hall in front of 1300 people.

2000: Levine is the star DJ at the ’Togetherness’ weekenders in Fleetwood, echoing the glory days of the 1970s, and DJing to two thousand people and a packed dancefloor, like the old days.

2000: Levine brokers the deal between his cousin, Daniel Glatman, and Hugh Goldsmith at Innocent, for the group Blue to be created. Levine persuades Goldsmith to fund the project. Daniel Glatman casts and names the group, and then, over the next two years, two number one albums and four number one singles are the result.

2000: Levine organises the reunion of his entire school class from the 1960s, at Arnold School in Blackpool. All 30 members of class 3A are found and brought together to experience lessons, P.T. in the gym, a rugby match, and an assembly with their original teachers, all in original style school uniform. This is all filmed and shown by the BBC.

2000: Ian Levine and Clive Scott produce the title song for the ITV show ’Gypsy Girl’, starring Gemma Gregory, who also sings the song, also entitled ’Gypsy Girl’.

2001: Twenty seven years after writing for Black Music Magazine, Levine gets his own column again in best selling glossy soul magazine ’Togetherness’ every issue, called ’Rarest Of The Rare’. What goes around comes around!!!!

2001: Chris Nathaniel brings the artist Ebony Alleyne to Levine, and Levine and Clive Scott spend a whole year creating her debut album, with a huge fifty piece orchestra and totally all live musicians. Levine describes it as ‘The finest moment of my career’. Sadly Sony dropped the project before a record ever came out.

2002: Pete Waterman, the UK’s most successful record producer ever, credits Ian Levine very generously in his best selling book, naming Levine as the main influence for the whole PWL boom of the 1980s.

2002: Levine opens and stars at the Rocket, the first major regular Northern Soul massive style all nighter since Wigan Casino closed twenty one years earlier. 1500 people flock to the opening night on January 29th 2002, including Steve Brookstein who had secretly recorded a song as The Four Vandals, which became the biggest Northern Soul record of the last twenty years . After a rather public disagreement with the promoters, Levine returns to run it himself along with his lifelong friend Kev Roberts.

2002: After three years of negotiation, Levine finally lands a deal with Wienerworld for his labour of love, ’The Strange World Of Northern Soul’ to come out on DVD as a six disc box set, running at over twenty four hours long. The project is full of extras, including the whole Motorcity story, the ’Togetherness’ weekenders, and an in-depth behind the scenes look at ’The Making Of The Strange World Of Northern Soul’. After six long years, the DVD set finally hits the stores at the end of May 2003.

2002: Levine's production of Blue on the old Temptations classic "Get Ready", is performed at the Queens Golden Jubilee, and is seen worldwide by two hundred million viewers.

2003: ITV make a new eight part series about Soul Music, and the fourth episode is all about Northern Soul and heavily features Levine and the opening night of the Rocket.

2003: Levine prepares his new DVD project, "The High Energy Story", featuring fifty classic high energy performances mainly of the eighties hits.

2003: Levine produces new pop band D-Side, signed to Warner Brothers, and goes into the studio again to cut some more tracks with multi-million selling 'Blue'.

2003: Another video production, specially commissioned by Kev Roberts' company, KRL, "Northern Soul's Greatest Hits", goes straight to DVD and sells out immediately.

2004: Prestigious New York style magazine, Tokion, do a huge feature on Levine's career, which is on sale at every newsstand in the USA.

2004: Levine, together with Clive Scott, writes the theme music for a major ITV extravaganza called "Discomania", and also produce three backing tracks for Donna Summer to sing live on the same show.

2004: The "Discomania" album, from the TV show, charts at number seven in the album pop charts.

2004: Record Collector magazine do a huge four page feature on Levine's career and there is a picture of Levine on the front cover.

2004: Levine compiles a double CD for the Ministry Of Sound, called "The Ultimate Northern Soul Album". This is the highest charting Northern Soul compilation album of all-time, debuting at number seven in the pop album charts, and staying in the top ten for four weeks. All 51 tracks were chosen by Levine, including eighteen of his own productions, and he also wrote the sleevenotes.

2004: Levine appears on the Channel 4 TV show about Take That, called "The True Story Of Take That". He also films a BBC documentary about the history of boy bands.

2004: Levine appears on the outrageous BBC TV program "Simon Cowell's Millions", telling some very amusing anecdotes.

2004: After the success of "Discomania", Levine and Scott are commissioned to write and produce the theme music to a major "Celebrity Awards Show" on ITV for September 2004.

2004: A thirty year project nears completion. Levine had collected DC comics since he was a kid (Superman, Batman, Justice League Of America etc etc), and now in 2004, he reaches the amazing goal of having every issue ever published over the complete seventy year period, all except for one elusive last comic, which continues to elude him.

2004: The TV work keeps on coming. Levine and Scott are now commissioned by ITV to do the themes to both Christmanmania and Abbamania. That makes four major ITV themes in the space of five months.

2004: Levine's cousin Daniel Glatman, manager of Blue, starts his own record label, and Levine and Scott create the first release for this, which charts top 40 at Christmas - the outrageous ‘Do The Can Can’ by the Skandi Girls.

2004: Steve Brookstein wins the X-Factor TV show talent contest with eight and a half million votes cast. Levine already has fourteen tracks previously recorded with him.

2005: Levine goes back in the studio with Steve Brookstein during the week he's at number one in the charts. He also records Rowetta, who came fourth in the same TV contest.

2005: The Steve Brookstein album, containing an Ian Levine track, debuts at number one in the album charts for the week ending Sunday 15th May 2005.

2005: While busy completing and mixing the entire Rowetta album for Gut records, one of the songs "Crying My Heart Out", is added to the soundtrack album for the upcoming Brad Pitt movie, "Mr and Mrs Smith".

2005: Italian artist Lorenz is produced by Ian Levine and is launched with a thirty foot billboard on the M4 overpass by the North Circular Road.

2005: Rowetta's album, after taking nine months to complete, is launched in a wave of publicity by Gut Records, released to tie in with the launch of the new series of The X-Factor.

2005: In July, after over thirty years, Levine completes his DC collection.

2005: After the success of 2004's "Discomania", Levine and Scott do the theme tune once again for Discomania II, plus record all the music for legendary Gloria Gaynor.

2005: Levine is commissioned by the BBC to make a behind the scenes documentary for the DVD box set "Doctor Who - The Beginning", containing the first three Doctor Who stories from 1963/1964. Straight on the heels of this, he is then given an even higher profile one to do for "Genesis Of The Daleks".

2005: Out of the blue, the Take That tracks are all reissued, and become an enormous hit all over again, including three Ian Levine tracks, and spend the five weeks up to Christmas in the top 5 of the Album Charts.

2006: Levine teams up with major record promoter Nick Fleming to launch a new Take That style boy group all aged between 16 and 17, including Nick's own son.

2006 : Lorenz lands a major new soft drink advert, which he stars in, launched around June, using one of Levine's songs and productions, "Right Back"

2006 : Channel 4/E4 major TV show, "Boys Will Be Girls" is an outrageous fly on the wall documentary about a boy band who have to pass themselves off as girls. Levine is one of the judges, and sees through the scam immediately, being very damning on camera.

2006 : New bestselling book comes out about Take That, written by Martin Roach, with a whole chapter about Ian Levine.

2006 : Lorenz wins a top 40 hit with "Set Me Free", combined with a nationwide Asda campaign, organised by his manager Laurel Goodman, giving Ian Levine his official 43rd UK chart hit produced by him.

2006 : Levine films a major interview for the new BBC series about Soul Music called "Soul Britannia"

2006 : Levine, together with Tim Byrne and Sony/BMG's Jo Headland, create a new soul supergroup for Sony, based on the concept of a soul version of Il Divo, and the whole project is tied in with GMTV.

2006 : Steve Brookstein releases his new album including a song called "Don't Change" which he co-wrote with Ian Levine

2006 : Levine records twenty one tracks on Israeli superstar Sharona Pick, in classic Levine Hi-NRG style, funded by accountant Albert Fox. Sharona's father, Tzvika Pick, is also a huge star in Israel, and wrote and produced the Eurovison Song Contest winner, Dana International.

2006 : Levine does a deal with old coleague Michael Infanti of OneMusicCorp for exclusive rights to his entire catalogues for digital download rights.

2006 : A true labour of love. Goldsoul release the brand new "Solid Ground" album of 23 tracks including twelve new songs on X-Factor finalists Steve Brookstein (as The Four Vandals), Brenda Edwards, and Hildia Campbell (of Voices With Soul), plus Noel McKoy, with a voice like a cross between Bobby Womack and David Ruffin. Plus brand new productions of some old vocals done originally for Motorcity, including Billy Preston, Freda Payne, and Edwin Starr. The title track, "Standing On Solid Ground" by Sidney Barnes, becomes THE biggest track on the entire Northern Soul scene.

2007 : The Ian Levine Myspace page is created to bring Levine's music to a growing internet audience.

2007 : Soul Britannia airs to huge critical acclaim, and Levine is featured in part one, and heavily featured in part two. The program examines the influence of soul music on Britain's culture and on such major artists as

Elton John, Tom Jones, Eric Burdon, Van Morrison, and Mick Hucknall.

2007 : Levine sets up a brand new record label, Centre City Records, in conjunction with Passion Music to release a series of Northern Soul, and Motown type albums of new material.

2007 : Levine sets up a team of talent to both colourise the Doctor Who episodes which were made in colour but only exist in black and white, and to develop animation for the soundtracks of the missing episodes. Levine's Doctor Who internet forum tops over two thousand members.

2007 : Levine and Clive Scott get to remix Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy" for Gut Records, to tie in with a major TV ad campaign, using the song.

2007 : Levine prepares his major new project for Centre City Records. "Northern Soul 2007" - a brand new compilation of 24 brand new tracks, but a CD with a difference. It will contain a giveaway DVD of all the same 24 songs being performed by the artists, so people can either listen to it or watch it - a new concept for Northern Soul. Levine said he was tired of old Northern Soul fans going out to clubs in their zimmer frames, and wanted to attract a new young fresh audience and make the music accessible for them.

2007 : Levine and Scott remix Daniel Glatman's new group Unklejam, "What Am I Fighting For", for Virgin, through Lincoln Elias, the man for whom Levine produced The Pasadenas. There's a sticker on the CD single saying "Mixed by Ian Levine and Clive Scott". It charts first week at number 16.

2007 : Levine and Scott remix the follow up single by Unklejam, called "Stereo".

2007 : One of the tracks from the Northern Soul 2007, by X-Factor finalists, Voices With Soul, gets raved about on YouTube with the video posted up there, at first getting several thousand views, then getting picked up by PopJustice, and then by the American gossip site Perez Hilton, resulting in, almost overnight, the video getting almost fifty thousand hits.

2007 : Wienerworld release The Edwin Starr Story, a music documentary produced by Levine, with sixteen performances and lots of interview footage.

2007 : Centre City Records move to Vital Distribution. The second release is "Disco 2008", released on December 3rd 2007, with tracks by Steve Brookstein, Sheila Ferguson, Hazell Dean, Tina Charles, The Flirtations, and loads of others.

2007 : Centre City Records move to Vital Distribution. The second release is "Disco 2008", released on December 3rd 2007, with tracks by Steve Brookstein, Sheila Ferguson, Hazell Dean, Tina Charles, The Flirtations, and loads of others.

2007 : Manifesto Magazine cover Levine's entire career with an eleven page article spread over two issues.

2007 : Wienerworld release a three disc DVD set "Don't Forget The Motorcity", containing 100 videos all produced by Levine.

2007 : Levine's YouTube page approaches one million video views.

2007 : "Disco 2008" is launched in style at the Ion Bar in West London, with

four hundred people filling the club to capacity, and sixteen artists

performing their tracks from it.

2008 : On New Years Day, Ian Levine’s YouTube Channel of his video

productions reaches a certified one million hits. By early March that number

rises to 1.5 Million.

2008 : Centre City Records launches its website, www.ianlevine.co.uk which is set up to sell the new albums directly to the fans and the public, and to act as a focal point for Ian Levine’s productions. The website is run by Ian’s long-term number one fan, Soren Jensen, from Denmark.

2008 : "Yesterday And Tomorrow" is finished and released. The press biog reads as follows... YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW - THE IAN LEVINE SONG BOOK - 1975-2008. This fabulous new album and DVD contains thirty of the classics written in the 1970s and 1980s by Soul and Disco producer Ian Levine. But

these are not the original versions. These are brand spanking new interpretaions of the classics, by Ian Levine’s current roster of artists on Centre City Records.

2008 : "Yesterday And Tomorrow" is launched in style at the "142 Lounge" in West Ealing, with nearly five hundred people filling the club to capacity, and eighteen artists performing their tracks from it to rapturous applause.

2008: Centre City artist Tahira Jumah performs "Reaching For The Best" on

the satellite channel, Black Entertainment Network. She and Ian formulate a

plan for a weekly television show which can be used to, showcase the

hundreds of soul video masters owned by Ian Levine.

2008 : "Yesterday And Tomorrow" is launched in style at the "142 Lounge" in West Ealing, with nearly five hundred people filling the club to capacity, and eighteen artists performing their tracks from it to rapturous applause.

2008: Centre City artist Tahira Jumah performs "Reaching For The Best" on

the satellite channel, Black Entertainment Network. She and Ian formulate a

plan for a weekly television show which can be used to, showcase the

hundreds of soul video masters owned by Ian Levine.

2008 : "Yesterday And Tomorrow" is launched in style at the "142 Lounge" in West Ealing, with nearly five hundred people filling the club to capacity, and eighteen artists performing their tracks from it to rapturous applause.

2008: Centre City artist Tahira Jumah performs "Reaching For The Best" on

the satellite channel, Black Entertainment Network. She and Ian formulate a

plan for a weekly television show which can be used to, showcase the

hundreds of soul video masters owned by Ian Levine

2008 : Take That - The Musical, called "Never Forget", opens at the Savoy

Theatre for a long West End run, containing Levine's song "I Found Heaven",

plus arrangements of two other Levine productions, of "A Million Love

Songs", and "Could It Be Magic".

2008 : On May 14th, Ian Levine's YouTube videos reach the milestone total of

two million hits. At this point there are 339 videos up on there, all of

which are Ian Levine productions, every single one of them, and the combined

total of views goes over the two million mark for the first time.

2008 : "Northern Soul 2008" launched on June 30th. This is the fourth album

and DVD release on Centre City, with 24 brand new tracks plus four extra

bonus tracks. A special showcase night is also planned on Monday 30th June

in London.

August 2008 Ian Levine returns to soul source the Uk's leading soul website and uses it as a promotional tool.

Ian your a business man through and through, nothing more and nothing less. Now this is the Levine CV, its all there in black and white so no need to keep asking questions, and bumping this ruddy thread up every five minutes. Soul Music is nothing more than a business venture by yourself to make money as it was in the past and no doubt shall be in the future.

[Guest thenogger]

Well IAN, because I have a different point of view I am what you said about me. If I saw you eyeball to eyeball I would tell you the same to your face as I'm telling you now. You are not right everytime you open your mouth, it all boils down to one thing IAN. YOU DON'T LIKE THE CRITITISM, you never have and you never ever will. I have known you since BLACKPOOL MECCA days with COLIN CURTIS, ANDY HANLEY,TONY JEBB, KEITH MINSHULL. Now I wont reply to any s**t you want to say about me, but I won't stoop as low as you.

REGARDS IAN.

thenogger (MR. IRONSIDE) Stoke - on - Trent.

[Guest]

It's a thankless task for a fan of the music, as you spend half your life arguing with your heroes about the fact that you've already paid a huge advance to the owner of the repertoire and have to recoup that advance before you can start making payments wily-nily.

Myself and my then partner paid $150,000 for the priviledge of re-releasing a U.S. labels 70's & 80's repertoire in the UK for 3 years. We did over 90 releases, all lovingly put together with passion, pride and the maximum respect for the original artists. End result: We only just recouped the advance after the end of the licensing period and both of us ended-up working for free for 3 years! Which is why I'm broke these days.

Yet throughout this period we regularly got held-up/high-jacked and black-mailed by some of the artists. We once had 2 days worth of Press and prime-time TV set up for a well-known Soul Diva, who then refused to do any of the stuff unless we paid her a £1000 per diem per day. All this happened whilst I was juggling bills and wondering where my next paycheck would come from.....all during a point where I wasn't even earning £1000 a year........

For sure there's a million stories about artists getting ripped-off but take note that there are only a small handful of those great independent companies from the 60's, 70's and 80's still operating. Most of 'em went bust or went out of business, 'cos it's expensive running a record company as I know too well..........

Ian D

The truest words I have ever read in my life.

I hope that people read this, and see the reality of putting records out.

[Guest James Trouble]

Ian, I was out in Essex last night, ended up in a bar with a blue screen karaoke machine, these two girls got up and started singing "Aint No Mountain High Enough", pretty dodgy electronic backing track and wacky crazy visuals put behind them and beamed onto a big screen for all to see.

It was a good crack, funny.

But it reminded me of these videos you have been posting up on here, and just about as relevant to today's northern soul scene.

[Guest]

IAN LEVINE CURRICULUM VITAE

I don't really get why you posted this up, nor where you pulled it from. It's not up to date, so I have no idea where or why.

[Guest]

Back to The Mecca

Who much was it to get in.

DJ rota.

What was the first record played

What was the last record played

How often was it on every week every month?

Every Saturday. 7.30 till 2.00. The last record is easy - "California Montage" - our closing record from 1971 right through to 1979, the Mecca anthem. There was no first record because we started before the public came in through the doors.

From mid 1971 it was Les Cokell and Tony Jebb.

From November 1971 it was me and Les alternating the first spot. First spot was 7.30 till 11.00. Tony played 11.00 till 2.00

From Summer 1972 it was me and Les Cokell, one hour on, one hour off.

November 1972 soul nights closed.

Reopened April 1973 with Colin Curtis and Keith Minshull.

From July 1973 I replaced Keith, and Colin and I worked there till he left in March 1979 and I left in July 1979. Always one hour on, one hour off, with Colin doing the last hour, especially when I went to Wigan every week.

[Benji]

Ian, I was out in Essex last night, ended up in a bar with a blue screen karaoke machine, these two girls got up and started singing "Aint No Mountain High Enough", pretty dodgy electronic backing track and wacky crazy visuals put behind them and beamed onto a big screen for all to see.

It was a good crack, funny.

But it reminded me of these videos you have been posting up on here, and just about as relevant to today's northern soul scene.

your posts really bore me to death, don't you have anything more productive to do? like getting a life...

[Guest]

August 2008 Ian Levine returns to soul source the Uk's leading soul website and uses it as a promotional tool.

Ian your a business man through and through, nothing more and nothing less. Now this is the Levine CV, its all there in black and white so no need to keep asking questions, and bumping this ruddy thread up every five minutes. Soul Music is nothing more than a business venture by yourself to make money as it was in the past and no doubt shall be in the future.

You are a truly sad case, and this obnoxious posting is beneath contempt, as you conveniently forgot all I have done out of love for the music, and have somehow grubbed and fished around, and located my personal CV, which is my career breakdown, to be used for business purposes across the board, and put it up somewhere where it has no relevance whatsoever, where I'm discussing the music I always loved.

I should feel nothing but contempt but instead I pity you.

[Guest]

Well IAN, because I have a different point of view I am what you said about me. If I saw you eyeball to eyeball I would tell you the same to your face as I'm telling you now. You are not right everytime you open your mouth, it all boils down to one thing IAN. YOU DON'T LIKE THE CRITITISM, you never have and you never ever will. I have known you since BLACKPOOL MECCA days with COLIN CURTIS, ANDY HANLEY,TONY JEBB, KEITH MINSHULL. Now I wont reply to any s**t you want to say about me, but I won't stoop as low as you.

REGARDS IAN.

thenogger (MR. IRONSIDE) Stoke - on - Trent.

"You are ignoring this user".

[Guest James Trouble]

your posts really bore me to death, don't you have anything more productive to do? like getting a life...

I know, it was pretty sad going to a karaoke bar, but it was funny.

[Guest]

Ian, I was out in Essex last night, ended up in a bar with a blue screen karaoke machine, these two girls got up and started singing "Aint No Mountain High Enough", pretty dodgy electronic backing track and wacky crazy visuals put behind them and beamed onto a big screen for all to see.

It was a good crack, funny.

But it reminded me of these videos you have been posting up on here, and just about as relevant to today's northern soul scene.

"You are ignoring this user".

[Mike]

sick of repeating myself

if have got any concerns, issues or anything to do with site then POST in feedback forum not this or any thread

have asked a couple of times for members to stop the wind ups, games, personal abuse etc

but am still wasting time dealing with such posts

this thread is the same as any other thread and deliberate attempts etc to damage it will be treated the same as per any other thread

have tried asking

if want to carry on then will try something else

temp closing this for 15mins

[Mike]

sick of repeating myself

if have got any concerns, issues or anything to do with site then POST in feedback forum not this or any thread

have asked a couple of times for members to stop the wind ups, games, personal abuse etc

but am still wasting time dealing with such posts

this thread is the same as any other thread and deliberate attempts etc to damage it will be treated the same as per any other thread

have tried asking

if want to carry on then will try something else

temp closing this for 15mins

re-opened

[Prophonics 2029]

Every Saturday. 7.30 till 2.00. The last record is easy - "California Montage" - our closing record from 1971 right through to 1979, the Mecca anthem. There was no first record because we started before the public came in through the doors.

From mid 1971 it was Les Cokell and Tony Jebb.

From November 1971 it was me and Les alternating the first spot. First spot was 7.30 till 11.00. Tony played 11.00 till 2.00

From Summer 1972 it was me and Les Cokell, one hour on, one hour off.

November 1972 soul nights closed.

Reopened April 1973 with Colin Curtis and Keith Minshull.

From July 1973 I replaced Keith, and Colin and I worked there till he left in March 1979 and I left in July 1979. Always one hour on, one hour off, with Colin doing the last hour, especially when I went to Wigan every week.

Many thanks for the reply.

[Phild]

Ian, I was out in Essex last night, ended up in a bar with a blue screen karaoke machine, these two girls got up and started singing "Aint No Mountain High Enough", pretty dodgy electronic backing track and wacky crazy visuals put behind them and beamed onto a big screen for all to see.

It was a good crack, funny.

But it reminded me of these videos you have been posting up on here, and just about as relevant to today's northern soul scene.

I presume that you are busy with your camera (or crew) making a much better collection of video's and recordings of artistes yourself are you?

The number of posts that you've made baiting Ian on this thread is truly amazing.

You seem to wish to psychoanalyse him. Why? Maybe you should ask yourself that question.

Phil

[michael-j]

I don't really get why you posted this up, nor where you pulled it from. It's not up to date, so I have no idea where or why.

err, it's the CV linked from the bio on your MySpace page, and comes up in a Google search...

[sister dawn]

https://ianlevine.jetshop.se/default.aspx

Er whose pages are these I wonder???. So you denying you wrote that then? And please Ian dont waste your pity on me, it would be wasted.

[Guest James Trouble]

I presume that you are busy with your camera (or crew) making a much better collection of video's and recordings of artistes yourself are you?

The number of posts that you've made baiting Ian on this thread is truly amazing.

You seem to wish to psychoanalyse him. Why? Maybe you should ask yourself that question.

Phil

Why would I want to make karaoke videos and post them on youtube?

My opinion, and that is what forums are about, is that the production on the tracks is fitting for a pop record in the 80s, but bears no relevance to anything this forum is about IMHO other than having the old singers singing on them. So to call them "Northern Soul 2008" is a joke, surely, as they would never ever be played in a northern soul club, or any club for that matter?

The videos are frankly funny in places, and plainly not cool at all.

That's not baiting, that's my opinion. If he put up a good track, I would say it's good.

I could understand me being warned about shredding Ian's character, but my recent posts have been a satirical slant on the videos Ian has been posting on this forum, they are on topic and within forum rules. I've even been playing with the thought of deleting my membership if opinions are not allowed to be given on these videos.

Ian, what do you think of the Kings Go Forth?

Edited September 1, 2008 by James Trouble

[Billy Freemantle]

Ian, I was out in Essex last night, ended up in a bar with a blue screen karaoke machine, these two girls got up and started singing "Aint No Mountain High Enough", pretty dodgy electronic backing track and wacky crazy visuals put behind them and beamed onto a big screen for all to see.

It was a good crack, funny.

But it reminded me of these videos you have been posting up on here, and just about as relevant to today's northern soul scene.

Why do you presume to be the arbiter of what is and what isn't 'today's northern soul scene'? If you wish, lay out your ideas clearly and stop making the same tedious smart- arse comments that don't show you to be clever at all; simply someone who seems to be envious of someone who has a place in the history of this music that you do not. Perhaps you will have one, one day. But at the moment all you're doing is making yourself look sillier and sillier - far more stupid then any girls doing a bit of kareoke could be.

[Guest James Trouble]

Why do you presume to be the arbiter of what is and what isn't 'today's northern soul scene'? If you wish, lay out your ideas clearly and stop making the same tedious smart- arse comments that don't show you to be clever at all; simply someone who seems to be envious of someone who has a place in the history of this music that you do not. Perhaps you will have one, one day. But at the moment all you're doing is making yourself look sillier and sillier - far more stupid then any girls doing a bit of kareoke could be.

Me, an arbiter? The only arbiter are those out dancing every weekend in the clubs.

Dude, you can call a pig an elephant, but it's not. Even if you do paint it grey and tie a hose pip to it's snout.

Anyway, I've given my opinion on these productions. No point adding anything else...

Edited September 1, 2008 by James Trouble

[Epic]

From memory it was 50p, You had to dress with a shirt and Tie if you were Male. Last record of the evening was "California Montage" Young - Holt Unlimited, It Was on every week on Saturday nights, Occasionally Sundays if an All-Dayer was on. The Highland room was on the Top floor, Reached by two escalators. The main Room was the Bali hi which was on the first floor this was the bigger of the two.

DJ rota was Ian and Colin, Just alternating.

Andy.

The Bali Hai was a seperate bar room off the main ballroom downstairs.

The Highland Room was having some work done on it around 77 I think & they put a temporary dancefloor in there & that was where the Highland Room regulars went - 2 or 3 times this happened if my memory is correct.

[Phild]

Why would I want to make karaoke videos and post them on youtube?

My opinion, and that is what forums are about, is that the production on the tracks is fitting for a pop record in the 80s, but bears no relevance to anything this forum is about IMHO other than having the old singers singing on them. So to call them "Northern Soul 2008" is a joke, surely, as they would never ever be played in a northern soul club, or any club for that matter?

The videos are frankly funny in places, and plainly not cool at all.

That's not baiting, that's my opinion. If he put up a good track, I would say it's good.

I could understand me being warned about shredding Ian's character, but my recent posts have been a satirical slant on the videos Ian has been posting on this forum, they are on topic and within forum rules. I've even been playing with the thought of deleting my membership if opinions are not allowed to be given on these videos.

Ian, what do you think of the Kings Go Forth?

But James. this forum is about Northern Soul, and Northern Soul is an extremely "broad church" and one man's Northern Soul is another mans R&B, and one man's white pop trash is another mans Northern Soul etc etc ad nauseam. Ian's tracks and video's clearly deserve to fall under the descriptive heading of "Northern Soul". They don't fall under the heading of rare, elitist northern soul I agree. But then again a large number of the tracks that are most synonymous with Northern Soul to the general public aren't either - Out On the Floor, You're Ready Now, Ghost In My House etc.

I personally (as I've said many times) absolutely love many of Ian's tracks. Equally I dislike some of them. But that's just a question of personal taste.

Your criticism of the videos, is nothing more than a continuation of your ongoing onslaught against Ian. I think by just responding to the video part of my question you're avoiding the real nub of my question which is Why? I'm interested to know. perhaps we should know more about your formative years?

Phil

[Guest]

The Bali Hai was a seperate bar room off the main ballroom downstairs.

The Highland Room was having some work done on it around 77 I think & they put a temporary dancefloor in there & that was where the Highland Room regulars went - 2 or 3 times this happened if my memory is correct.

Yeah you are right!

I emigrated to Australia in 78 I do recall being in there one night I think 77.

Andy.

[Prophonics 2029]

Me, an arbiter? The only arbiter are those out dancing every weekend in the clubs.

Dude, you can call a pig an elephant, but it's not. Even if you do paint it grey and tie a hose pip to it's snout.

Anyway, I've given my opinion on these productions. No point adding anything else...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_elephant

I have seen one of these.

[Steve G]

wasn't it the Soul And Blues Union ????

I got that copy when I bought some of your records . It's called "restless".

[Peter99]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_elephant

I have seen one of these.

[Steve G]

Hi Paul,

Patti Jo was living in Nashville last I heard. She has several tracks on a multi-artist CD that came out around the turn of this century, and there was a small pic of her on its booklet front. Was definitely the same Patti Jo, she talked about working with Curtis Mayfield in the short bio in the booklet....

Best as always,

TONY

I have an article somewhere on her - shopping inChicago, in the studio, having her hair done etc. It was in Black Film & music Stars or something. I will try and find it.

[Billy Freemantle]

Me, an arbiter? The only arbiter are those out dancing every weekend in the clubs.

Dude, you can call a pig an elephant, but it's not. Even if you do paint it grey and tie a hose pip to it's snout.

Anyway, I've given my opinion on these productions. No point adding anything else...

Try and be aware of what you actually say. You said: 'But [the karaoke] reminded me of these videos you have been posting up on here, and just about as relevant to today's northern soul scene.'

Now unless you thought the karaoke relevant to today's soul scene, that means that you thought them irrelevant, and by extension that Ian's videos are also not relevant.

Once again who says so? Is it you or is it the scores of Soul Source members who've enjoyed them? It's obviously you in your estimation. So, once again, you are setting yourself up as the supreme authority on what constitutes northern soul today and what doesn't.

You now continue in this vein and set yourself up as the arbiter of who should decide what's relevant in Northern Soul and what isn't and decide that 'the only arbiter are those out dancing every weekend in the clubs.'(sic) Well thank you for deciding that on everyone else's behalf.

Edited September 1, 2008 by Billy Freemantle

[sister dawn]

But James. this forum is about Northern Soul, and Northern Soul is an extremely "broad church" and one man's Northern Soul is another mans R&B, and one man's white pop trash is another mans Northern Soul etc etc ad nauseam. Ian's tracks and video's clearly deserve to fall under the descriptive heading of "Northern Soul". They don't fall under the heading of rare, elitist northern soul I agree. But then again a large number of the tracks that are most synonymous with Northern Soul to the general public aren't either - Out On the Floor, You're Ready Now, Ghost In My House etc.

I personally (as I've said many times) absolutely love many of Ian's tracks. Equally I dislike some of them. But that's just a question of personal taste.

Your criticism of the videos, is nothing more than a continuation of your ongoing onslaught against Ian. I think by just responding to the video part of my question you're avoiding the real nub of my question which is Why? I'm interested to know. perhaps we should know more about your formative years?

Phil

With respect it is nothing more than commercial soul, soul for the party people out there to buy off the shelves of tescos whilst doing the weekly shop,it is not in anyway discriptive with the term northern, nor does it sound like anything that is produced in the past or present day posted elsewhere on this forum, it alone is the sound that is that of a Levine production only.

And

James was absolutely right to comment on the quality of the videos produced, as like a few others in the past I parted with my 50 quid for a copy of swons on vhs, to be left disappointed and saddened at what I was actually watching. I am sure that if the dodgy background had perhaps been replaced with something less tardy and again that dodgy backbeat removed, and been more sympathetic to those great artists performing it would have been so much more better.

[Paul-s]

After being reported this comment and follow on posts was removed

as the moderators found it broke the

soul source house rules

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/forum-house-rules

[Phild]

With respect it is nothing more than commercial soul, soul for the party people out there to buy off the shelves of tescos whilst doing the weekly shop,it is not in anyway discriptive with the term northern, nor does it sound like anything that is produced in the past or present day posted elsewhere on this forum, it alone is the sound that is that of a Levine production only.

And

James was absolutely right to comment on the quality of the videos produced, as like a few others in the past I parted with my 50 quid for a copy of swons on vhs, to be left disappointed and saddened at what I was actually watching. I am sure that if the dodgy background had perhaps been replaced with something less tardy and again that dodgy backbeat removed, and been more sympathetic to those great artists performing it would have been so much more better.

Also with respect. It may not be synonymous with the term Northern Soul to you, who are without doubt one of the cognoscenti.

It is however synonymous with Northern Soul to the general public who recognise a certain "sound" as being a Northern Soul sound. Ian has captured that "sound". Like it or not.

In terms of the quality of the videos. The SWONS artist clips were not filmed in studio conditions and the backgrounds were often unsuitable. To deal with that the video effects that you so dislike were added. They are not to everyone's taste, and could have been better in many cases. But they are probasbly better than Jo Armsteads kitchen etc.

Phil

[Billy Freemantle]

Mother runs his companies after they made "an awful lot of money". Dropped out of university cos " I had no interest"......

The cv reads like that of a spoilt child. So, all in all, all, a very accurate c.v. then! Almost like he needed a distraction from the boredom of being so wealthy!

It seems to me that so much of this anti- Ian Levine stuff is born out of envy. OK so he didn't grow up in a council house and eat chips and beans every day. But so what?

[sister dawn]

Also with respect. It may not be synonymous with the term Northern Soul to you, who are without doubt one of the cognoscenti.

It is however synonymous with Northern Soul to the general public who recognise a certain "sound" as being a Northern Soul sound. Ian has captured that "sound". Like it or not.

In terms of the quality of the videos. The SWONS artist clips were not filmed in studio conditions and the backgrounds were often unsuitable. To deal with that the video effects that you so dislike were added. They are not to everyone's taste, and could have been better in many cases. But they are probasbly better than Jo Armsteads kitchen etc.

Phil

Cognoscenti. If that makes me a connoisseur then I am proud to be that

Edited September 1, 2008 by Sister Dawn