Ian Dewhirst

No Jerry, it was the other way around, namely, Cortez Greer was reviewed in Levine's column in Black Music which alerted me to it, then, a few weeks later, it turns up on Soul Bowl's list for £1. A shame because the record had no time to build at all - a bit like those Selecta bootlegs which came out too early on Lou Courtney, Jessica James etc, etc Ian D

Really? So presumably all those copies that Soul Bowl knocked out were boots then? Weird. I always thought that John had simply found a decent quantity of them. I remember thinking at the time that they looked pretty new........ Ian D

Nope, deffo not a plumber from Swadlicote but Halle Berry's ex-husband, reputed sex addict and recording act from L.A. who has been around for about 15 years or so. But close. Ian D

I do kinda remember some dodgy copies with what looked to be unconvincing labels. Can anyone confirm? This is one of those records which requires thick vinyl to soak up those killer harmonies and screams LOL.... Ian D

Yep, unlikely as it seems, there'sprobably a few young Godzillas out there right now feverishly devouring this thread and filling in their notebooks looking to start thinning down that vinyl mountain over here! I guess most of these will be comparitive cheapies these days........ Ian D

Sure Godzilla but one man's underplayed oldie could be another man's unheard song full-stop. Also I'm assuming that there could be a large contingent of younger people or new to the scene people who may not have heard some of these ever. There's songs on this thread which I've never heard out in 40 odd years. Also, a lot of it depends on when people were on the scene, when they were off the scene, when they came back on etc, etc. Feel free to straighten the balance by all means. I'm sure there'd be a load of goodies that were'nt found 'til the early 80's but those are 30 years old now, so hence will be new to many ears who maybe weren'r around at the time........ Ian D

10-1 that's exactly what it is. Stanstead Airport has never been known as a Northern Soul stronghold LOL..... Ian D

No I don't think it was booted was it? Can anyone confirm? Ian D

Ah, OK. First time round was in the mid 70's for me Chalky. I wasn't around that much in Northern clubs the 80's and early 90's like a lot of people so there's bound to be a few knowledge gaps here and there. Was it huge everywhere then? Ian D

Killer record Malc! Levine wrote about this one in his Black Music column. What killed it stone dead was that it appeared on a Soul Bowl list for £1 not long after, so it's another one of those that was simply too available. I suspect if had been a one-off it would have been a biggie at the time...... Ian D

Yep, it first appeared on a Soussan list and no one knew whether it was real or not until a couple of originals came through. Initially we thought some of those Roll copies may have been advance bootlegs but they turned out to be the real thing! By then it was too late and people had moved on....... Ian D

OK let's have a couple of killer album tracks from two Detroit veterans from back in the day that should have been biggies but which are picking up a bit of attention finally..... "I Can Take The World On" - Popcorn Wylie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5yUWWl9vYI "I'll Fly To Your Open Arms" - Jack Ashford https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glTM-32LbYw Ian D

And how could this have failed first time around? Vintage Detroit, catchy hook, great vocal but simply not enough copies back in the day. Probably down to rarity I guess....... "I'm Catching On" - Betty Lloyd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjgyeDL5f90 Ian D

Another vintage Chicago record from a vintage act which used to be rare as hell (and I presume it still is). Maybe not as commercial as some of the others but all the right credentials........ "You Make My Heart Sing" - The Eldorados Ian D

Can't believe this one never took off big. Woulda worked nicely with something like "Take Me Back" - Lee Fields possibly? Perfect record for time like this! "The Economy" - Lee Mitchell Ian D

No, it's on PYE. It's a much much better re-working of a song he did on President called "Crying All Night". I've never seen a demo before so I snagged it. Great record! Ian D

Yep another poppy like stormer. Talking of which, I found a beautiful UK promo of Watson T. Browne's "What Can I Say" t'other week. Can't find it on either You Tube or Refosoul but that used to be a Torch secret sound. Do you know it Mark? It's right up your street......... Ian D

It took yonks for "I Go To Pieces" - Gerri Grainger to take off 'cos I had the first copy (thanks Brad) and I couldn't really break it, so hats off to Russ for that one. He programmed it in the right slot otherwise I don't know if it would have made it otherwise. That "Taking It Away" by Free was in Richard's box forever but it never caught fire along with this..... "You're A Puzzle" - The Jive Five https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YUPRhWm7do And this...... "Livin' The Nightlife" - The Charts The Debbie Fleming record was pretty much all Mecca and Cleethorpes action - it didn't really take off @ Wigan I seem to remember. And that Family Child record was easily available at the time. In fact I left a UK Polydor copy in a shop the other week 'cos it never really appealed to me! Ian D

Not to my knowledge Kev. A couple of plays here and there at the smaller soul nights but they never gravitated to the big time. Also many of 'em suffered from the 'cheap as chips' syndrome - quite a few of the above were Bradford market goodies or fairly easily available which was always the kiss of death back then. In fact I used to carry the Debbie Taylor in my box for a while but never played it. That was doomed by availability again along with loads of others like the Hoagy Lands as well...... "Don't Nobody Mess With My Baby" - Debbie Taylor "Why Didn't You Let Me Know" - Hoagy Lands I bought both of the above on the same day for 10p each from either Leeds or Bradford market hence the reason why I'm posting 'em now. Wish it were like that nowdays! Ian D

Yep, killer record. I've revived it on the radio show over the last couple of years too and it always sounds great. There's two pressings of it too 'cos the one I used to have was just a plain yellow label with black print. A bit like this one in fact. Another one from the same era which could have slotted in nicely with some of the Mel Britts, Anderson Brothers etc, etc "I'll Always Love You" - Quinn Harris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOtmYUlFWPE Ian D

Now if you still want to spin a Dee Dee Warwicke track but without those tiresome Mamas & Papas comparisons, you could do a lot worse than this...... Was always surprised that this never took off in the 70's. Pretty faultless to these ears..... "Don't You Ever Give Up On Me" - Dee Dee Warwicke https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz8krUvYUAs Ian D

Mmm. Maybe that Decisions has shot up to £15 now then? Ian D

Talking of the Tempos, how did this not make it? It's got everything great tune, soulful vocal, great hook, swirlng strings and punchy horns. Could it be that it was on the 'B' side to the bootleg of "Countdown (Here I Come)" I wonder.......? "Sad Sad Memories" - The Tempos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zwtp7TzdfI Ian D

Here's one that turned up circa '75 but kinda got lost in the whole Northern/Modern controversy at the time. But boy, what fantastic vocals from David Simmons on this early Philly item. Sounds much better now than I remember back in the day, so maybe it's time will come again..... "Human" - Neo Experience Ian D

LOL, you're right. I don't know many they pressed but I bet the majority of 'em are over here. I think Sam played this for a while didn't he? And whilst we're on KILLER Southern tracks which should have made it bigger, how about this one..... "'Til I Get It Right" - Willie Hobbs Can be picked up for £30 these days. Don't think I've heard it out for well over 30 years...... Ian D