Ian Dewhirst

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

Yep. Don't really disagree with any of that Byrney. I can remember Guy going out of his way to check both the obvious and less obvious. He was trawling what I would call big beat ballads but ones that sounded great loud. He was deffo trawling a different trench and proud of it. Ian D

Well that pool really hadn't been trawled Byrney. We were looking for a specific sound within a pretty specific set of parameters in the mid 70s. There was no demand for many of the future biggies back then. They'd have too slow, too messy or not Northern enough. You actually couldn't give 'em away at the time. A lot of the stuff that broke in the 80s was just laying around in collections until Stafford brought in a new era. Guy and Keb were plundering 70s collections looking for unexploited gems and I guess the time was right for the sound to change, so it worked out OK 'cos it evolved the scene at the right time. I think Guy got Johnny Bartel off me which I always loved but it was just too slow and moody for the mid 70s...... Ian D

Also I've got to add this as another typical Simon Soussan record. There was a consensus at the time amongst the collectors in the bar @ Wigan, that this could have been Soussan himself on vocals. French accent and Soussan's exact pronunciation. Plus the instrumental backing is just pure million-mile-an-hour Los Angeles Northern Soul. So we all genuinely thought that Soussan had pilfered a Miles Grayson backing track and overlaid his vocal. Turned out to be a real record though, even with that title and group name. But, hey, if Soussan ever did a vocal, then this is EXACTLY how it would sound...... "Dirty Hearts" - Benny Curtis And The Littler Dirty Hearts Ian D

LOL, you don't like Northern Instrumentals then. I think it's an age thing actually. I grew up with all those fantastic big brassy UK productions when I was a kid, so I'm a sucker for that sound. That's why I prefer Dusty's version of "Bring Him Back" then Sissie Houston's. Dusty's is a much better production in my view. Which is heresy lol....... "Bring Him Back" - Dusty Springfield Ian D

Do you like "Afternoon Of The Rhino" Steve? Ian D

Really? I think it's an incredible instrumental! I LOVE the arrangement too. But I totally love this kind of stuff anyway. Immense productions are my thing man. I'd listen that anytime. Great track! Different strokes and all that I guess. I admit, it isn't that subtle and a soulful vocal is sadly amiss lol....... Ian D

Perfect Simon Soussan record in every way. But can you imagine hearing this for the first time ever??????? It may as well have had his name on it...... The Joker - The Milestones and Little Leroy Ian D

I have to give him credit for this though. Locating a Lovin' Spoonful instrumental track on an obscure album and re-christening it as the Golden World Strings takes some bottle........ "Supertime" - The Golden World Strings Ian D

It's a good point and one that I've heard previously leveled @ Ian Levine, i.e. if ANY of us knowledgeable guys back then could have gone to Miami on holiday 4 times a year, then surely WE'D have found the same records? My argument has always been, well, sure, we'd have found a lot of records without a doubt, but Ian Levine was always ballsy and passionate enough to hammer his choices home as a DJ and his choices were always top-range for most of us. So knowledge, good taste, plenty of dosh, good luck, the ability to 'big-up' your discoveries, impress your peers and get 'em to an audience are all factors too. You could argue that Soussan's enthusiasm, great ears (and he unquestionably has great ears) and his ability to hype up and promote his discoveries played a large part at the time. Likewise yourself throughout the last 30+ years. I think most stuff would have been unearthed by someone or other eventually 'cos post '75 there were more and more of us at it. Ian D

He would have heard the Los Bravos record in France for sure. That's what hooked him on 4-4 beat big productions. It was a good record for me too as an 11 year old in blighty in 1966. It was all Motown after that....... Ian D

I'm pretty sure it was this record which kicked him off..... Los Bravos "Black Is Black" Ian D

And here's the Alton McClain & Destiny record we think he wants the MP3 of....... Alton McClain & Destiny "Ninety Nine & A Half Won't Do" Ian D

I always cite stuff like Lou Courtney, Didi Noel and Richie Adams as records that I hadn't even heard played when they were bootlegged. "Serenade" by The Sounds Of Lane???? What the hell was that....? Ian D