Ian Dewhirst

That's a rare record. Sold mine to Tim Brown in the 80s and I've never seen it since. Ian D

Yep. We probably got stung more than anyone when you add it up. However, I'm sure S.S. got screwed by Soultrain. That whole thing was just a circle of sharks wasn't it? Ian D

Had you ever heard it out before it was booted Neil? I was wondering where it was ever played? Ian D

Yep, both fascinating in their own ways. I LOVE the fact that Kenny Gamble had no idea who B.K. Marcus was lol....... Ian D

Yep, both fascinating in their own ways. I LOVE the fact that Kenny Gamble had no idea who B.K. Marcus was lol....... Ian D

Not at this point Quinvy. It's sold as a complete package and is selling well so no point in tinkering at the moment. The interviews are a pretty integral part of the whole thing..... Ian D

Not at this point Quinvy. It's sold as a complete package and is selling well so no point in tinkering at the moment. The interviews are a pretty integral part of the whole thing..... Ian D

Join the club! Ian D

Join the club! Ian D

Stop moaning. You got it 7 weeks ahead didntcha...? Ian D

Stop moaning. You got it 7 weeks ahead didntcha...? Ian D

Now THAT is a bargain! This has never stopped selling since it was issued 7 weeks ago. Looks like it's in for the long haul! Good spot Steve! Ian D

Now THAT is a bargain! This has never stopped selling since it was issued 7 weeks ago. Looks like it's in for the long haul! Good spot Steve! Ian D

Probably an in joke since "The Joker" was co-written by the mysterious Benny Curtis......... Ian D

Actually I think Soussan messed it up for a lot of UK visitors, especially in Texas. I went in a couple of places and got thrown out as soon as I opened my mouth. One guy was full of hatred for any Brit who dared wander into his shop and I later got told that Soussan had left a trail of destruction and bad feeling in Texas especially. I had the same thing in L.A. but I didn't get thrown out of any shops there..... Ian D

I keep my records strictly alphabetized. He wouldn't have lasted 2 seconds at my gaff.... Ian D

He got banned from Major Bill's Warehouse in Texas (apparently it took 'em weeks to clean up and re-file) and likewise from Rare Records in Glendale as I went in there a couple of times to get some titles for him. I never got it myself. I'd have thought it would be in anyone's interest to keep in with these guys. Very very strange...... Ian D

I think he left a mess. He was never that respectful about stuff being in order or strictly alphabetized for some reason, so he got banned from a lot of places. I went to a couple of places with him and was frankly embarrassed at how he treated people and their stock. If he wasn't hitting anything he'd get annoyed and start chucking records everywhere. He once chucked a Primettes acetate across a room which I had to rescue. And woe betide any store that had too many Bar-Kays or James Brown 'funk garbage' records because he'd trash 'em in a second..... Ian D

You're missing something. "Uptown Festival" was re-produced medley of the Motown hits, so we didn't need to licence anything, we merely re-recorded parts of Motown tunes and fixed 'em into a medley and put new singers on top. Actually just about everyone at Motown liked it but Suzanne could see potential ructions from some of the acts - probably Diana Ross in particular, so they passed for that reason apparently. Ar least Soussan got something out of em - a Frank Wilson original! Ian D

The first night I got to L.A., I was immediately dragged out by Soussan and taken to a club called the Candy Box. I was wearing baggy trousers and kickers, felt totally out of place and was jet-lagged. The first person we bumped into was Don Cornelius and him and Soussan hugged and then I got introduced. Simon did move in those circles and knew most of the West Coast labels and musicians. I met up with him the next day and we bumped into Solomon Burke in a lift! Soussan recognised everyone and had as good a memory for faces as he did record labels and once he recognised someone, he could talk 'em to death on their history. I think he already had a bad reputation among the local dealers, many of whom wouldn't deal with him but he always got on well with musicians and music people. With Shalamar, I almost had a deal with Motown with Tom DePeiro championing "Uptown Festival" but Susanne DePasse thought it would piss some of the acts off hearing their hits recycled, so she quite rightly passed on the track. I introduced Soussan to Tom DePeiro which led to him getting access to the library and his hands on Frank Wilson. After Motown passed, Don Cornelius stepped in and took "Uptown Festival" as a favour to Soussan, Neil Rushton and myself I guess. I don't think anybody thought it would sell a million except me lol. Don then folded Soul Train and set up Solar with the proceeds. There was a lot of money sloshing around the L.A. music biz at that time and those were the circles that Soussan was moving within. He already knew everyone that was involved in the Shalamar recording including Jack Ashford, James Jamerson, Eddie 'Bongo' Brown, Don Hockett, Ike Turner and so on. He seemed to know everyone. Ian D

It's expanded it's original remit is the way I'd put it. And quite right too. It's managed to organically evolve because of the changing styles. I didn't even realise that instrumentals didn't get played anymore until someone told me that they didn't. That was a shock because instrumentals were a massive part of the Northern scene back then plus they broke up the night really nicely too. Many instrumentals were bigger than the vocal sides. I think it's weird that doesn't happen anymore. But I'm not gonna complain too much. It's a miracle that the scene has survived so long and it's probably done that by evolving with the wider tastes of the subsequent decades. Ian D

Very eloquently put Gareth. And very true. It's been a while since I've heard the likes of Larry Santos, Shane Martin, Spiral Staircase, Billy Joe Young, Billy Jo Royal and any other Billy Joes from back then....... Ian D

He found it. He listened to a LOT of stuff and liked certain records for certain things. He was a huge fan of instrumentals (as we all were back then) and he knew that there'd be Northern Gold in some of those obscure albums he was going through. Like this:- https://www.discogs.com/Total-Eclipse-Symphony-For-Soul/master/727946 He didn't need to do anything in this case except give it a cover-up name.... Ian D

Actually that's one I'd rather forget. Ian D

A huge amount of records came from his original collection including some of the bigger discoveries of the 80s. I remember one trip over to Blackpool where I got "Look At Me Now" - Terry Callier and Wendell Watts and Pat Brady got Herb Ward "Strange Change" amongst others..........all of which would have been considered to be too slow a few years previously. Ian D