Ian Dewhirst

You're a lifer Dave. You can play the long game. It's never over if you stay the course. Someone will probably give you the bloody record for Xmas! Ian D

Absolutely. We just expanded the booklet to 60 pages and we have some BRILLIANT interviews with Kenny Gamble coming up with Richard Searling, Ralph Tee, Robbie Vincent, Andy Peebles and Trevor Nelson which we feel will cover most angles so we'll have some transcripts of those interviews in the booklet for sure. I think it's fair to say that Kenny had a ball in the UK and probably, for the first time in his life, had the opportunity to examine his career from a fan's perspective instead of his own work-driven perspective. It sounds crazy to us, but Kenny had absolutely no idea how much he is revered in our circles and it genuinly touched him deeply. As he said, he spent the best part of 30 years in recording studios and running a hugely successful business, so he never had time to smell the roses. He might have received a call telling him that "Backstabbers" was a hit in Europe but 30 seconds later he was back to producing another million-seller completely unaware that Philadelphia International was supplying the soundtrack to new global generation that would endure for the next 40 years. Watching Kenny Gamble finally getting to meet his core audience some 40 years later has been the highpoint of this millenium for me. And probably for Kenny too LOL. So things are rolling along beautifully with P.I.R. right now. The box set will obviously be a 'must own' and will sit beautifully on anyone's shelves. And then....who knows? Things are beginning to roll. Moulton just unearthed a hitherto unknown 70's recording of The Trammps "Trammp's Disco Theme" with an unheard alternative vocal to "Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart" which is awe-inspiring. However he also says the reality of remixing these tunes is emotionally draining and I completely understand what he means. Proper records! All good Scunnyjack. Emotionally draining but a good way to end the year! Ian D

Apparently Sam himself vetoed it according to what I've heard. A lot depends on what was in the original contract. My theory on this is that in the 60's and 70's especially, Warners, Elektra and Atlantic (WEA) were positioning themselves as an alternative to the more corporate Columbia/Epic, Capital, RCA label groups and because of their stance of being an 'artist-friendly' company, their contracts at the time built in a higher level of control to the artists. Quite often, the artist was given to right to approve all releases which meant that before Warners, Elektra or Atlantic could release anything, the artist or their management would have to sign-off the release. This worked beautifully at the time and the WEA labels quickly gained the reputation of being the most artist-friendly label group on the block and their phenomenal growth over the 70's especially was pretty much as a direct result of that image. However, things get more complicated further down the line, i.e. decades AFTER the original contract was signed. What seemed a great idea at the time, lost it's shine 20 or 30 years later when the company had to stick to the original terms of it's contract. So when Atlantic decided that "The Show Must Go On" was due a CD release, their business affairs people would have contacted Sam or his management and requested permission to re-release the album. Sam would have probably said, "OK. Well give me some money then" and Atlantic would probably say, "Well, you're still unrecouped from the advance we paid you in 1973 but if we re-release on CD then there's a chance we may finally recoup" and then Sam would have laughed and said "Show me the money or no release". Etc, etc, etc. Effectively stalemate. I've been licensing tracks from Warners for the last 20+ years and I've been amazed at some of the tracks which they turned down, many of which had never sold anything in the first place. So I didn't get it at all. Then I worked for Warners in the late 90's and spent lots of time studying up on their contracts and, sure enough, many of the contracts did in fact require an artist's sign-off before the release could be licensed or re-issued. Obviously, 90% of the artists that were signed were unrecouped, but they'd almost invariably want money to sign off on something, so it always made for a tense renogiation. By all accounts, Sam is not a pushover. Some say he's from the Chuck Berry school of negotiation - Chuck famously demanded his money in cash in a suitcase from every gig he ever played before he went on stage. So it's my guess that Sam played hardball with Atlantic and they just figured it would be easier to ditch the release and risk the fallout from the global Soul fraternity. There's really no other logical reason for the album to not be available to today's audiences. It's a masterpiece. If it had have ever been available, Kent would have got it by now surely. So it's obviously in legal limbo. If anyone's in touch with Sam please let him know that I'd be delighted to put it out (and I'm probably at the end of a 30 year queue LOL). I could cut a deal with both Sam and Atlantic and keep 'em both happy. This really is like the holy grail for the expanded CD format and it's kinda criminal that it's not available to today's audiences. OK, that's one of my new years resolutions sorted then! Ian D

The Anthony White P.I.R. album is one of those licensing anomalies. It kinda fell between the cracks when P.I.R. divorced from Columbia/Epic (now Sony) in 1976 and it's never been successfully reconciled. It would appear that some of the tracks fell into the pre 1976 Columbia/Epic controlled P.I.R. controlled repertoire and the rest of the tracks are directly owned by P.I.R. We're actually using 2 or 3 more Anthony White tracks on the forthcoming Philadelphia International 40th Anniversary 10 x CD Box Set, but re-issuing the original album is a bit of licensing headache because, frankly, no one really understands what the full story actually is. When Richard Searling showed Kenny Gamble the original Anthony White album, Kenny studied it for ages but couldn't recall it. However that album came out at a period of transition for P.I.R. and Kenny and Leon were busy trying to extricate themselves from Columbia/Epic whilst trying to maintain the momentum of the company. Something had to give and I guess that's why the Anthony White album got lost in the shuffle, so I feel a bit sorry for Anthony White. Despite releasing a brilliant album he got caught up in wider politics and never really recovered his career I found that album in 1976 and couldn't believe that such a great record could somehow slip through the net. And we're still talking about it some 35 years later, so maybe all is not lost! We're slowly making progress into unlocking the Philly International vaults. A major boost in that quest was Kenny Gamble's recent visit to the UK where he finally experienced first-hand the level of passion that we have for his work. He was absolutely stunned by the degree of passion we have over here and he made that absolutely clear following his visit. We're one step closer. Watch this space! Ian D

Or maybe even this..... Turbojazz feat George Benson "Go Broadway" https://soundcloud.com/turbojazz/george-benson-go-broadway-turbojazz-rmx Ian D

OK, any of you Artistics fans fancy putting a definitive CD together? I'm actually looking for the world's No.1 Artistics fan right now. Are you up for it Matt? And can you write sleevenotes? Ian D

Blimey. You're against legitimate releases then? Confused from Carshalton....... Ian D

This week we have the usual blend of some snappy Soulful House, some fabulous remixes, some killer re-edits, several great versions of the same songs and a whole heap of superior Soul music as per usual! Many thanks for the usual GREAT Sunday afternoon ORIGINAL MASTERCUTS crowd in the Starpoint chatroom and hats off to all our international listeners who were out in force this Sunday! Compliments of the season to all! Hope you all enjoyed it this week! Download link after playlist. Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show LIVE with Ian Dewhirst between 2.00-4.00pm on Sunday 4th December 2011 on everyone's favourite Soul station www.starpointradio.com. Download link below! Featuring...... 1st Hour Nicci - When You're Free - Blaze Vocal Mix Mathew Bandy feat Josh Milan - Wish - Original Mix Leon Ware - On The Beach - Atjazz Remix Frankie Knuckles feat Jamie Principle - I'll Take You There - Dimitri From Paris Remix Sandy Barber - Don't You Worry Baby (The Best Is Yet To Come) - John Morales Remix Lee Garrett - You're My Everything - Jimmy The Twin Re-Edit The Jacksons - Strength Of One Man - Womack Re-Edit Gloria Scott - What Am I Gonna Do - Walter Mengon Re-Edit 2nd Hour Etta James - At Last Stevie Wonder - At Last The Temprees - At Last Freddie Hughes - We Gotta Keep On The Casanova Two - We've Got To Keep On Ila Vann - Can't Help Loving That Man Bobby Patterson - My Baby's Coming Back To Me The Four Tops - Do What You Gotta Do Judy Clay & William Bell - Private Number Sly & The Family Stone - If You Want Me To Stay Paulette Reaves - Let Me Wrap You In My Arms Edwin Starr - There You Go Barry White - It's Only Love Doing It's Thing - Leon Deejay Re-Edit Al Green - I'm Still In Love With You The Chi-Lites - Stoned Out Of My Mind - Scratchnsniff Re-Rub https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2011-12-04-Starpoint.mp3 We'll be having a bit of a party on the 18/12/11 with the Chertsey collective of Spit & Spot joining the show for some pre Xmas/New Years Eve executive therapy plus Al will be down as well so it'll be a packed studio! Thanks for listening and catch you on the 18th! Ian D

OK, finished copies just arrived and they all look and sound great! Phew, I only just hit the deadlines and it half killed me but it looks like it was worth it so thanks for everyone's support! All 10 are now in the Amazon Top 10K rankings which might not sound like much but at this time of year is quite a feat for 10 'lil budget albums. I might just have a drink to celebrate now LOL..... Ian D

Look at that! A miracle in the season of goodwill. 'Tis truly a magical time.......... Ian D

The interesting thing about the Backbeats series, is that the differential between the top-selling ones and the least selling ones actually isn't that great at all luckily. With this new bunch, it's pretty much all Soul across the 60's-80's so they're slightly easier to target plus that's the general direction that the series seems to be going in anyway. We managed to avoid doing any Disco, Jazz, Hip-Hop, House or Garage in this lot although there's been a bit of righteous indignation from none-Soul quarters.......... Ian D

What were you doing to cause such excitement then I wonder? You seem perfectly reasonable to me. Many thanks for the tips - I'll get on 'em! Ian D

Good! That's what I want to talk to you about! Will buzz ya later! Ian

Well, I've been laid up for a week or so with the annual really bad chest infection which I get every year from the end of November to the beginning of December. Par for the course really. I think it's nature's way of telling me that I'm not 21 anymore and I really must start to take it easy. Well, no chance of that LOL. With 10 brand new Backbeats albums coming out on 26/12/11 (Boxing Day in the UK) and the Philadelphia International 40th Anniversary campaign launching in January with 'Philadelphia International: The Re-Edits' there's just no time to be ill. Plus I had to break-in a new laptop and somehow hope that everything transferred OK. For me such things are a major headache. So far, so good. It looks like I've managed to crank out this show via the new machine. Which is just as well as it's a killer! Took me 48 hours to work this one out Folks. Naturally it's un-missable........ Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show LIVE with Ian Dewhirst between 2.00-4.00pm on Sunday 4th December 2011 on everyone's favourite Soul station www.starpointradio.com. Featuring...... Nicci * Mathew Bandy feat Josh Milan * Leon Ware * Frankie Knuckles feat Jamie Principle * Sandy Barber * Lee Garrett * The Jacksons * Gloria Scott * Etta James * Stevie Wonder * The Temprees * Freddie Hughes * The Casanova Two * Ila Vann * Bobby Patterson * The Four Tops * Edwin Starr * Judy Clay & William Bell * Sly & The Family Stone * Paulette Reaves * Barry White * Al Green * The Chi-Lites See you in the Starpoint chatroom on the Starpoint homepage @ 2.00pm sharp! Thanks for listening! Ian D

Still early days and we're still wading through different ideas but initially...... The Five Stairsteps Leroy Hutson The Impressions Ann Peebles Lee Dorsey Otis Clay Syl Johnson Willie Mitchell Chairmen Of The Board Holland & Dozier Laura Lee Freda Payne Bobby Womack Gene Chandler Tyrone Davis Sydney Joe Qualls Curtis Mayfield Barbara Lynn Bobby Patterson First Choice The Delfonics Ann Sexton Young Holt Unlimited Barbara Acklin Linda Jones Jackie Wilson The Artistics Jean Plum Average White Band The Chi-Lites Honey Cone Quiet Elegance African Music Machine Erma Franklin Otis Leavill Walter Jackson Tommie Young The Montclairs Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes The O'Jays Let's put it this way, that's the shortlist LOL......... Ian D

I'm pretty sure that Fish and Soul Brother will have 'em up there. Actually they'll probably do well with 'em since it could be the first opportunity for people to buy 'em. I'll give 'em a call and get 'em prepped. Good thinking Russ! Ian D

Actually that's a good point Nik. Can you suggest any Mod forums that may be interested in 'Mod Life Crisis', 'Lost In Time' and some of the others? You could PM if you do....... Cheers, Ian D

Also not to be confused with the UK band of the same name......... Ian D

This is why I for one would like to simplify the process. Don't get me wrong, I went through a period in my younger years when I used to stay awake at night worrying about a scratch on a record or cue hiss on styrene pressings but those days are long gone. These days my time is compromised, so stuff like this makes me lose the will to live. I wouldn't force a trashed record on anyone. I want people to enjoy the record as much as I have. So 'Shit', 'OK' and 'Great' are good enough for me. Also, I need to listen to a record to make sure it's OK, which immediately disqualifies it from being mint. Which genius came up with that? Ian D

True. I think the Discogs definition of Mint as in 'never been played' has lodged with me for some reason. I've rescued some records from cellars which have 100% never been played. On the other hand, they may have been damp, covered in dust, cobwebs and rat piss. So I take your point Bob. Ian D

Phew. Result! If it takes a couple of Backbeats CD's to keep her at bay, then cheap at the price. Good job I never met her. Christ, she'd have been even more costly than that Brazilian ball of fire who wanted a boob job back in '87...... Brilliant advice! Thanks a bunch lass. Saved me a whole heap of stress. That's Theresa's a piece of work isn't she.......? Ian D

The grading side is very difficult, especially with rare Northern. For a start, I would never expect to find a mint copy of any record that's 40 + years old anymore. So, as a result, I would personally almost ignore the M catergory and console myself that any record which is that old and which actually still plays as it should without any obvious problems, is a result. So my definition of M is waaay lower then many other buyers. I know John Manship has tons of M records but there's not may people ever likely to hit a load like he did with unblemished records which had been properly stored. So people should get realistic about expecting M to be as good as new from some 40+ years ago. Plus, let's not forget that records were designed to be played. So if you buy a M copy does that mean that you'll never ever play it? I currently have a whole heap of rare 12"'s and other stuff on Discogs. Many of the records listed were bought new and never ever played because I used seperate copies for all deejaying as I know that they're the ones which will get trashed no matter how carefully you've tried to look after them. So, the grand majority of the records on my shelves are mint, in that they've hardly ever been played since I bought 'em. So I sold a few in the last week or so. All were mint, but after 20-30 years on my shelves, they're kinda dusty. One decent clean and they'll all come up as mint. The only problem is, that I don't have time to clean 'em. So I had one guy come back to me and complain that the record wasn't mint. I said it was, because I knew 100% catergorically that the record has never ever been played. However, many of the records are dusty, so should part of a dealer's responsibility be to clean the records up as well? Unfortunately that won't work for me since I don't have either the time or inclination to clean 'em up. So now I've added a disclaimer to my Discogs page which informs people that the records offered for sale and advertised as being M, are actually M but probably need cleaning. Is that fair enough or should I be doing more? I was actually thinking of following Pete's advice and never advertising a record as M on the basis that it's just easier to avoid that pitfall. But there's another part of me that thinks some people's expectations are just way too high and that trying to measure a 40 or 50 year old record against such expectations is simply naive. Ian D

Another contender for a Backbeats comp methinks. By the way Steve I need to talk to you. Can you PM me ya number again mate? Best, Ian D

These should work with the Hull crowd Daryl! I was thinking of you lot when I put 'Soul A La Mode' together. Merry Xmas to all by the way! Ian D

Well, that's what they were designed for Theresa. I must admit that Surrey housewives weren't the key target group. Most of the Surrey housewives around here seem to have a penchant for singing "I'm Every Woman" or "I Will Survive" at any given opportunity, but mostly when they go out en mass...... But otherwise, absolutely! All Backbeats albums are suitable for family buses on school runs or supermarket trips. They're designed to make normal life just a little more liveable What's the deal here Theresa? You get treated better than the majority of my personal concubine and favourite geishas, yet I'm not even sure if we've ever met LOL. OK, you can choose 2 on the basis of advance promotion via the Price Family Bus OK? If you like 'em, then you're bound to yap about 'em aren'tcha? Yep, I know the type LOL. Sean's the only compiler who regularly moans because the sleeve notes aren't long enough! I'm gonna let him go nuts on the Backbeats Artists series next year LOL.... Cheers m'dear. Here's to some exhilerating bus journeys in the near future! Ian D X