Ian Dewhirst

At the risk of continuing a debate that raging elsewhere vis a vis money required, how much money would you need to invest in a decent box of OVO oldies these days? £5K? £10K? What I'm getting at, is any oldies venue with an OVO policy is effectively saying that whoever DJ's there will have to have invested x amount in their OVO box which surely implies that anyone who can't afford to buy originals for one reason or another (muliple divorces, redundancy, gold digging wife, new kitchen, business gone bust, university fees for kids etc, etc) is automatically disqualified. Which would obviously favour the richer DJ's rather than the downtrodden DJ who's down on his or her luck. So surely ownership of a decent OVO collection is more a question of who has the luxury of being able to keep £10-20K worth of vinyl through thick and thin right? Or is it question of most vinyl head cases would happily live in a shed rather than lose their collection? Ian D

I liked some of 'em, namely the ones I thought were the best of the bunch like Frankie Crocker, James Fountain, Prince George, The Temprees etc. Most of the ones I liked had some form of vocal on as opposed to being just instrumental though......... Must admit that I hated stuff like R.B. Freeman, Snoopy Dean, Alpaca Phase 11, so I was as choosy with funky Northern as I was with everything else LOL..... Ian D

You could try dropping an e-mail to this guy, DJ Julio, who was the king of Roller Disco jocks:- https://web.mac.com/r...o/DJ_Julio.html If he doesn't know I'll be surprised..... Ian D

Mmmm. Northern Soul funky formation dancing. Now that could spark a new trend....... Ian D

LOL, very good! Ian D

Well considering that both of Cee-Lo's parents were ordained ministers and he started singing in church from an early age, I would suggest that he probably knows more about a vocal style which reflects deep spiritual feeling than most. In my opinion of course. Ian D

Blimey. Didn't know that Mart. Mind you, I wasn't buying too many gay Disco albums in '79.......... Same producers as El Coco....... Ian D

It was Kev. It was great for about 2 weeks before the pop jocks got on it and it hit the charts LOL. Actually the Mecca championed Tavares long before they had the slew of hits by playing things like "My Ship" and "It Only Takes A Minute". They made some fine records after the hits as well. Fantastic vocal group when you get beyond their more commercial offerings.......... Ian D

You're opinion Geeselad. I've been into Soul Music for 46 years and I think he can sing fantastically, his voice is great and his intonation and phrasing is tremendous. He has a whole brace of major awards and his album has sold millions around the world. Maybe that's why he's so hated? To each their own I guess..... Ian D

Agreed. Much rawer productions for a start. I think the funkier stuff that was played from the 70's was better produced but would be totally out of place these days for sure. In fact, would it be fair to say, that rawer, less polished productions are really what people want now? Ian D

Nah, not the Carstairs so much - I remember that being popular at the Mecca from the off plus they had the pedigree of being a known act via the Okeh release. Definitely things like "Shake N' Bump" - Snoopy Dean, "The Ladies Choice" - Boby Franklin and "Music Maker" - King Sporty which pushed quite a few people to the limit at the time. Plenty of people would stand around with their arms crossed saying things like, "if I want to hear bloody funk, I'll go to a funk club"! The more things change, the more they stay the same....... Ian D

Actually I wasn't really referring to records like Mel Britt and Lou Pride which were older releases which were eventually found a few years later (but still stayed relatively rare), but rather to brand new U.S. releases like N.F. Porter, Millie Jackson and First Choice which came in on import and which were played alongside the rarer stuff. What I'm saying is that certain brand new releases were every bit as popular as the rarer stuff. In fact, Record Corner which brought most of the new releases to the UK would actually make the 'Northern Soul' distinction in their lists when they sent them out at the time. I remember buying Limme & Family Cooking's "You Can Do Magic" from 'em on import which would have been perfect but that had the audacity to become a pop hit dammit...... I totally agree that the DJ Genesis tune is just wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels and that Northern Soul has become a meaningless term these days though, so we do agree on something! Ian D

Two great records there by the way, but both were actually commercial failures. Atlantic Starr didn't chart at all and Jeffrey Osbourne didn't even get in the Top 50. Unlike the bloody awful Lipps Inc record! Who on earth played that? No Soul, pure Disco and a No.2 Pop record. Yes, they should have been lynched LOL... Ian D

What???? You mean the vocalist isn't even black? Heaven forbid........... Ian D

For sure. As long as I can remember the scene has always played newly released contemporary Soul alongside harder rarities from the late 60's forwards - records like "Keep On Keeping On" - N.F. Porter, "My Man Is A Sweet Man" - Millie Jackson and "This Is The House (Where Love Died)" - First Choice being three good examples from the early days all of which were huge records across the scene. They were generally played on import and then if any of 'em looked like becoming commercial hits they were dropped pretty quickly to make way for newer/rarer stuff. Shouldn't that be Grandaddy Steve? Ian D

Good point. All artists have one thing in common, namely that they all set out to sell records. There isn't an artist in the world who wants a flop. Of course the main criteria should be quality first and foremost. Obviously Cee-Lo is better suited to the contemporary Modern scene rather than the Northern scene - I'd be as surprised as anyone if Cee-Lo was played at a Northern session, but what makes tunes like, say, Kings Go Forth or some of the Dap-Tone stuff any different? Is it because they're deliberately retro-sounding or something? Ian D

"Cool Off' - Detroit Executives "The Mighty Lover" - The Ideals Ian D

You've got to try and work out the quote thing Soul Over Easy 'cos it's making your points difficult to read mate. If you wanna reply to something, then just hit the quote button and it'll do it all for you. Let's put it this way - if a hopeless technophobe like myself can do it, then I'm sure you can. Ian D

LOL, if you and me didn't argue there'd be something wrong. You've got to bear in mind that my tastes skewer towards the more commercial end of the spectrum anyway. Plus I maybe like around 2% of ANY new releases unless it's an exceptional year, the other 98% are not generally for me. That's just personal taste. Also I tend to like what I call 'complete' records, i.e., those that have great production values, great arrangements, great songs and hopefully great singers, so I tend to look at the whole package rather than just the voice. So if someone has an awe-inspiring voice but is let down by a mediocre song or production then that won't cut it for me. The reality is that there simply aren't that many records that manage to tick all the boxes for me, so I'm really difficult to please. Right, let me play that Jack Splash long version of "I Want You" to rev me up for the radio show! Ian D

I don't think they're right for Soul events either. Essentially they're both Pop acts with great voices and both were in multi-racial bands that were aimed at pop markets as you say. Mind you, Billy Ocean's "I Remember" was a hit at the recent Baltic Soul Weekender, so some people like him.......... Ian D

I don't think you'd wanna hear his Goodie Mob stuff which is more Atlanta Rap. His recent stuff is the best he's done to my ears. Ian D

I drink like a fish but it has a tendency to make me like everyone LOL......... I'm much more dangerous when I'm sober..... Ian D

I don't judge on sales from a personal viewpoint at all Jocko. I merely recognise the reasons why some artists manage to reach a wide audience and other artists don't. That's not to say that any artist who fails to sell records is wrong but I don't think that artists who do manage to reach a huge audience should be chastised for their popularity. It doesn't make 'em bad artists because they sold millions instead of zilch. I would think that most artists set out to reach the widest possible audiience but most of 'em fail for various reasons. My appreciation of Cee-Lo is because, on the international stage, he has made a cracking album that has touched a worldwide audience and managed to sell millions in the process. F*cking GREAT I say! Thank God the masses are responding to a Soulful voice again. Cee-Lo's success may just make a large percentage of people start digging deeper and find more stuff which I don't see as a bad thing. Just to clear up a general misconception, the music business doesn't dictate what the public want, it's the other way around mate. The music business would never miss an opportunity to sell more records if it possibly could. As stupid as they are, they never miss an opportunity to sell more records if they can. Hope yer well by the way! Ian D

Misses what point? Surely everyone's appreciation of music is a personal thing isn't it? Just because I happen to really rate Cee-Lo Green as one of my favourite current vocalists for many different reasons, really shouldn't make an ounce of difference to anyone else should it? To each their own etc, etc. Different acts touch people in different ways. I just happen to dig Cee-Lo OK? It doesn't make my appreciation of Darrell Banks or Marvin Gaye any less. Ian D

They're both great voices who have both sold millions of records around the world primarily via the pop market. What's difficult to understand about that? I'm in this business Jocko. I understand these things. I don't really get the point you're trying to make. Liking Cee-Lo and Billy Ocean for their 'pop' recordings doesn't devalue my love of Soul music. I have broad tastes. You need to chill out mate. Ian D