Ian Dewhirst

Y'know , sometimes something happens that's just perfect. If ever Northern Soul was going to appeal to an international audience and turn more people on to this music, I always thought it would need to be branded a bit more snappily. Well, we just reached that moment. I was busy on the Babe Ruth thread in the 'Look In Your Box' section, when suddenly the TV started blasting the Human Beinz "Nobody But Me" from out of nowhere and I looked up and watched some brilliantly filmed sport footage to a hundred mph Northern classic that kept me mesmerized for the next 60 seconds. Yes folks, welcome to the brand new international Nike ad: Nike Throwdown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAe9SpuxtYI Not bad ay? To think it all started some 43 years ago at a little club in Manchester. From little acorns etc, etc. Great stuff! Ian D

This whole UK re-recording thing has kinda thrown me. I've nothing to compare it to other than "Elusive", which I've got both on U.K. and U.S. promos, but sadly, nothing else by 'em. I actually met Steve Rowland, the producer, at a Lonnie Liston-Smith gig at the Orange in the 90's and had a great conversation with him. He produced one of my favourite pop records, "Central Park Arrest" by Thunderthighs, a sort of very accomplished, wall-of-soundy, Phil Spector pastiche by a UK studio group. It was like the Ronettes on acid. Great record. In fact, here it is:- "Central Park Arrest" - Thunderthighs UK Phillips 1974 Wow! How about that ay? What a f*ckin' REKID! I wish I'd realised at the time that he'd produced "Elusive"! That wouldv'e been an extra 20 minutes conversation LOL......... I'll try and track him down and ask him what the deal was. Also, I'll ask my colleague, Val, 'cos he's pretty good on this stuff too and this will be right up his street LOL.... Ian D

Yep, that's right. My brain can't be that defective then although the c/u title would be more likely to be "Trying To Find You" surely?. Ruth Brown is bang on the money though......... Ian D

Yep, agreed. But who's Black Wolf...? And did he ever make it to plastic or local fame? Ian D

Maybe you can get 'em to kick in for a new dancefloor whilst they're at it? Ian D

My thoughts exactly. Aging eyesight and those f*ckin' 60 watt energy efficient light bulbs don't make reading those stupid fonts very easy do they? I'll pass it on to Mike but I think he's probably aware. I pulled him on the no creditation for the Kent Washburn article (which was John Smith by the way), so he's suitably humbled already. This'll make his week LOL.... Ian D

Who's Black Wolf? Anyone....? Ian D

Excellent stuff. I love it when stuff like this happens because it makes people realise the quality of old music that they wouldn't ever get to hear under normal circumstances. It was a similar thing when Boots raided that Soul Jazz album for the previously generally unknown "Here Come The Girls" - Ernie K. Doe and probably pumped up Soul Jazz's sales nicely. So good for them. Same for Numero. They go to a massive amount of effort to dig up this stuff so it's nice when something like this happens. Well done to all! Ian D

Canned Heat surely Kev? Most of those 2-22 releases are ridiculously difficult to find. My mate (Sid from Cleckheaton) actually had a complete run back in the 70's but I haven't seen him for 35 years so I dunno if they're still intact......... Ian D

Nope, just U.S. Ian D

Sure did. Don Haywoode from the Velours actually lived in Leeds when the Fantastics got established in the UK and he confirmed the connection. I used to go out with his daughter Emma so I'd see him quite often........ Ian D

Frank Beverly & The Butlers - Maze Rotary Connection- Minnie Ripperton The Poppies-Dorothy Moore Ian D

Currently going through the entire One Way/Al Hudson albums from the late 70's to mid 90's. There's gold in there somewhere! Ian D

Landa was pre Philly International (and even pre Arctic I think). It was released in the UK due to Northern Soul demand - Route routinely issued quite a few in-demand Northern tunes at the time including Sheila Anthony, Elsie Strong and Mistura among others. Actually, whilst we're on this subject, does anyone know whether the Teddy from Teddy & The Fingerpoppers of "Soul Groove" fame on Artic is actually Teddy Pendergrass? He used to be a drummer so it's feasible isn't it? Ian D

The only shack in town is Stevie G's shed. Tickets going fast. Might have to put the last few up for auction............... Ian D

Wow. Unbelievable. I've actually received PM's from people who would be happy to pay a fortune for a night in Butch's living room or Steve's shed. I've already kinda sold about 6 tickets.............. I think the events could even go bi-monthly............... Ian D

Mmmm. That's pretty interesting. So are some rare Soul DJ's ironically keeping their appearances rare to maintain interest or mystique and therefore could be playing to the same audience much of the time or preaching to the converted? And presumably there's others who click up the miles most weekends and are probably decent crowd-pleasers in many regions and that's why they're never short of bookings? A little bit of both attitudes could be the perfect balance maybe? Ian D

You see. There's another one who doesn't gig anywhere near enough. What is it with these guys? No bloody work ethic. It'd be easier just to go round to Steve's shed rather than trying to actually catch him at a gig! Maybe that's the future? Since Butch and Stevie G don't seem so keen on driving hundreds of miles and playing multiple venues every week, then let the punters come to them. Brilliant idea Ian! "You are cordially invited for an evening of special listening pleasure in Butch's living room. From the comfort of his armchair Butch will play from his very, very exclusive triple A rated personal favourites box which will include several 'never previously played out' gems, his 'home-only one-offs' and 'the secret living room sound of the month". Just 2 x £500 tickets left folks, so don't delay! or "Exclusive! We are down to the final 2 x V.I.P. tickets left for the November date for "Steve G's Secret Shed". This heavily sold-out monthly event includes Steve showing his label runs and his extensive alphabetical and colour-coded filing system from the comfort of his own shed". A mere snip @ £750. Do these guys have agents? Ian D

Yep, ridiculous innit? He deserves a Northern Soul medal of honour for first class commitment. I thought he was old in 1973 LOL. .... In fact, the first time I ever saw Sam was at that very gig at Whitchurch Civic Hall in 1973 or thereabouts when I asked someone who the old bloke was that kept shuffling around the stage. I actually thought Soul Sam was like, Whitchurch Civic Hall's caretaker or something........... Love him dearly for his passion, commitment and enthusiasm. Ian D PS If I had one copy of something, he'd still get it first

Well, Sam still seems to be the hardest working jock on the scene. I bet he's still cranking out a couple of gigs a week isn't he? 40 years in the top flight isn't to be sniffed at is it? Ian D

Yep, first time I heard it was when John played it off the LP at Cleethorpes. I seem to remember U.S. 7" copies coming over quite soon after that which spread the record everywhere very quickly. I even dimly seem to remember that it may have been covered up as "Trying To Find You" since the name Babe Ruth didn't sound too sexy next to the regular stuff. Babe Ruth had another popular underground track in the U.S. clubs with "The Mexican". which was first championed on the early Hip-Hop scene by Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash and was even bootlegged for 'the Breaks' crowd. The Bombers did a Disco cover version on West End records which is the better-known version these days. Apparently they're still performing - they even played a tour of Canada last year:- Babe Ruth Ian D

Hiya Paul, Well maybe it shows how political the scene has become? It's kinda easier to swerve the issue rather than confront it? I guess I'm trying to figure out how much thirst there is for new sounds via the mass audience these days? I mean, can any DJ play a 'height of the night' set to a 'mainstream' audience with purely super rare or new spins without resorting to oldies these days? Ian D

Yep, interesting for sure and that's one of the reasons I posed the question. As you say, there's an incredible amount of interest in the subject just gauging the amount of views to this thread, yet hardly any replies for some reason. OK, admittedly I posed a lot of questions and it's a complex subject. Probably understandable that nobody wants to nail their colours to the mast. But to me this a what a forum should be about. I'm in the enviable position of being able to say what I want because I've been around since the year dot, I'm old enough to have an impervious criticism shield and I'm not enmeshed in any scene politics. Objectively what I see right now, is almost another potential split in the scene, where the mass (circa 90%) audience is for oldies (probably 'cos it's easier, more convenient for most and hits the perfect demographic for the age group) and the serious die-hards (circa 10%) who want to hear the new rare tunes and fresh plays. So, do the twain ever meet? Are the traditional grass routes reliable HUGE audience of mainly over 50's who love their oldies capable of appreciating a vintage Butch set? Is Butch working hard enough? Is he doing 2-3 gigs a week to prime receptive audiences? Is he hitting enough people with his tunes? Should more promoters be booking DJ's who play current stuff rather then oldies? And, if so, will their audiences appreciate it? How do great new Northern Soul tunes spread to the mass audience these days? I dunno. That's the point of the thread........... Ian D

Following on from the 'Where Are All The New Discoveries" thread it occurred to me that things are much more difficult these days in terms of 'breaking' a new tune. In the 1970s we had a 100,000 strong highly focussed, passionate and youthful crowd on the scene and big new tunes could break in a couple of weeks all across the country. A decent bootleg could sell 20,000 copies and a UK release of an in-demand item could even hit the UK charts and sell over 100,000. But times have changed and the scene has naturally evolved. So who's responsible for establishing the 'big' new tunes these days? This generally narrows down to who are the DJ's who are actively 'breaking' new tunes on the scene as it exists these days? And how do they manage to do it? Do they play at a major gig every week? Do they 'cross-over' to larger crowds at bigger events? Are they deejaying with like-minded DJ's and an encouraging promoter with a good crowd? Or is the scene made out of a 10% elite who see the top DJ's regularly and know who's playing the good stuff and a 90% audience who just want to hear oldies? Plus 10 zillion private collectors with decent collections who just want to play their favorites to their mates? It must be tough. Right now Butch seems to be No.1 and seems to command universal respect from all quarters, so how do his plays impact on the rest of the scene? Does a great Butch play mean that most DJ's will then beat a stampede to get hold of that tune? Can a Butch play accelerate a record's value 1000% in 3 months? What level of demand these days makes a record worth re-issuing? Questions, questions...... In short, how do you break a new Northern Soul tune these days and get it popular with the total audience that's out there? Can it still be done? Ian D

Well yes the weekend did kinda kill me this week LOL. Still great to see so many friends last Saturday night/Sunday morning in Islington and Dalston so happy birthdays to Chris Barnett and Andy Link. Killer night, sore head the next day - exactly the way it should be LOL. And many thanks to all who tuned for the live show on Sunday - it's always great to have a friendly crowd to cure the hangover! Finally thanks to everyone who showed up down at East Village on Sunday afternoon/evening. That is turning into a great friendly little gig with great music and a lovely crowd! Hats off to all and big shouts to Al, Andrew, Dave and the rest of the Six Million Steps collective. Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show LIVE with Ian Dewhirst and Alan Champ between 2.00-4.00pm on Sunday 6th February 2011 on everyone's favourite Soul station www.starpointradio.com. Featuring...... 1st Hour Patti LaBelle - New Day - Darryl James Full Vocal Mix Soularis - Change The World - Neil Thompson 7" Edit Donnie Ray - Who's Rockin' You Alicia Myers - I Want To Thank You - Alkino Rework Curtis Mayfield - Love Me Love Me Now - Touchsoul Re-Edit Billy Paul - Let The Dollar Circulate - ScatchNSniff Re-Edit The O'Jays - Let Love Flow The Nobles - Jealousy Delight - Is It Too Late Corey Glover - Little Girl Al Hudson & The Soul Partners - Trying To Prove My Love 2nd Hour The Marvelettes - Only Your Love Can Save Me The Idle Few - People That's Why Lee David - Temptation's Calling My Name Edwin Starr - Treat Her Right Otis Williams - I Got To Have You Spyder Turner - I've Been Waiting Rose Royce - Love Is In The Air Johnny Taylor - Shoot For The Stars Earth, Wind & Fire - I'll Write A Song For You Tommy McGhee - Now That I Have You Bobby Caldwell & Earth, Wind & Fire - Fantasy/What You Won't Do For Love - Dan Mela Crazy Mix Barry White - It's Only Love Doing It's Thing - Leon DeeJay Extended Mix Original Mastercuts Show 6/02/2011 Al is hosting next week and I'll catch you all on Sunday 20th February! Laters, Ian D