Ian Dewhirst

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

Hi Geoff, Long time no speak. Hope you are well and all is good. Available to everyone from Boxing Day! HMV have committed to include them within the Boxing Day sale and they will all be in the 2 for £10 sections at the front of the stores. However, this time there's no exclusive and the whole of series 3 will be available everywhere and to everyone. Indies should order through Proper but get in quick as we'll have to up their main order based on the volume of pre-orders we're receiving from the indies. All looking good mate! HMV are in the process of 'diversifying their offering' which means that in-store space for music will no doubt reduce and space for technology, games, magazines, i-pads, dildoes etc, etc will increase. I think they'll be trying to re-brand themselves as a 'lifestyle entertainment destination, or something along those lines. What will now happen now, is that the grand majority of people who still buy CD's, will probably get the mainstream and chart stuff from HMV and/or the supermarkets and what we call the 'deep catalogue' people will need to go to well-stocked indie stores (who will carry a huge range of back catalogue) to get their fix. It could the beginning of a rebirth for dedicated indie stores since there will be no competition from anywhere else (apart from online which is another question entirely). I see potential for every town having an indie record/cd/book type store maybe with a coffee bar and even listening booths 'cos there won't be many other places where music lovers can congregate and keep up with what's new. Mmm. That'd be like an old time record shop then.............. Ian D

Cheers Dave. Everyone should watch out for when I post up the FANTASTIC Kenny Gamble interview with Richard Searling and Ralph Tee. Richard brought original copies of all the early (ie pre Philly International) Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff associated records from the 60's including a whole heap of immaculate UK copies of the Sapphires, Doris Troy, Sheila Ferguson, Formations etc, etc many of which Kenny was seeing for the first time in his life and some of which he couldn't even remember! He listened to Doris Troy's "I'll Do Anything" and said it was like a Motown copy but couldn't remember recording it at all! We're in editing phase at the moment, so the clips should go up in the first week of January touch wood for the launch of the Philly 40 campaign. Will post up here as soon as it's ready! Best, Ian D

No trouble Garv. All that info was typed up long beforehand so it was a cut and paste job! More details to follow shortly...... Ian D

The PERFECT customer Biggray1. May your excellent choice become the very vanguard of exquisite taste and serve as a sterling example to Soul fans everywhere! Good call mate! Compliments of the season to you sir! Ian D

That's the plan Heath. By the way, if you're Heath Denton I owe you a few for mastering services don't I? Ian D

The first of the Philadelphia International 40th Anniversary releases (the 'Philly 40' campaign) will be out in the new year on 16/01/12. Unfortunately we couldn't get clearance on "Show You The Way To Go" and "Living Together" - The Jacksons 'cos we couldn't get clearance from the Jackson's estate because they're currently involved in all that court stuff, so we'll save 'em for Vol 2 which will probably come out later in the year. All personally approved by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff! I'll whack a seperate thread up with the visuals and details but here's a sneak preview of the track-listing: CD 1 Uptempo Good Time Philly 1) Satisfaction Guaranteed Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes 7.22 Morning Star 2) Only The Strong Survive Billy Paul 8.19 J*Ski 3) Save A Place The Trammps 6.37 J*Ski 4) Free Love Jean Carn 7.04 Victor Rosado 5) Do It Anyway You Wanna People's Choice 6.35 Keep Schtum 6) Life On Mars Dexter Wansel 5.35 DJ Mila 7) Mysteries Of The World MFSB 6.00 J*Ski 8) Ain't No Stopping Us Now McFadden & Whitehead 7.30 Noodleman 9) Dance Turned Into Romance The Jones Girls 6.55 DJ Friction 10) Be For Real Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes 7.43 Tim McAllister 11) Message In Our Music The O'Jays 9.16 Jimmy The Twin Total 78.56 CD2 Mellow Slinky Philly 1) If You Wanna Go Back Jean Carn 6.46 Morning Star 2) Darlin' Darlin' Baby The O'Jays 8.08 Deep&Disco Rework 3) You're Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else The Jones Girls 8.36 Henry Greenwood 4) Strategy Archie Bell & The Drells 6.05 Touchsoul 5) Let The Dollar Circulate Billy Paul 6.41 scratchandsniff 6) Easy Money Dee Dee Sharp Gamble 6.56 Todd Terje 7) Was That All It Was Jean Carn 7.59 Morning Star 8) Nights Over Egypt The Jones Girls 6.59 Womack & TOT 9) Don't Let Love Get You Down Archie Bell & The Drells 8.00 Ed Zone 10) Wake Up Everybody Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes 9.31 Apt One Total 76.00 How's that for service Garv? Ian D

It's all down to those all-important HMV and Amazon pre-orders these days Dave. They're what cover the costs of the series in this day and age. By the time the indies and exports come in, then theoretically we should be ahead. Because HMV's sales are virtually always cash cows at this time of year, I deliberately priced the series so it would fit in their 2 for £10 racks around sale time. That's what happened with Series' 1 & 2 and they sold through OK (although I wish they'd rack 'em near the Specialist/Soul/RnB sections this time). But times have changed mate. If you can pre-sell 1K of anything in the UK these days, then you're doing well. There's only so many places to sell to with a series like this 'cos the supermarkets aren't interested in 'specialist' or deep catalogue. Because of the nature of the series (and especially the price), they tend to sell well over time, so most of 'em will do 3-5K in the UK and and another 4-5K on export over the 3 year term touch wood. This is like having a normal release do 5K which I'll take any day of the week LOL. It's tough out there and the vultures are hovering. If I can get another 30 out in the next 15 months, then that'll be 60 of 'em out there as a nice thankyou to everyone who's supported the series. By the time we're finished it'll be a cute and very cost effective way of having a decent CD collection as backup for the OVO! You're not missing anything though. If you thought Sound & Media was a slog, that was like a holiday compared to now! Best move you could have made emigrating. Trust you to go to a place that's jam packed with great records ay? Ian D

Actually it kills me to say it, but Hampsey is by far the most together out of the lot of us. Quite freaky actually but there again that's what happens when you spend your life listening to wrist-slashers! Ian D