Ian Dewhirst

OK, the new 10 Backbeats albums are now all up on HMV's site at a mouth-watering £4.49 each including free delivery! How's that for value? https://hmv.com/hmvweb/directQuery.do?Ntt=backbeats&searchType=0&N=4293486146&Ne=12&adultFlag=false&rid=129EAD137100&Ntk=Products Happy Listening! Ian D

Lovely show today apart from the usual couple of usual human error cock-ups....but there again would it be an Original Mastercuts Show without cock-ups I ask myself........? Anyway, I have time to ponder this as I head for the sun for a week. Al will post the link to the show up shortly but in the meantime here's the playlist...... The Original Mastercuts Show with Ian Dewhirst on Sunday 18th July 2010 on everyone's favourite Soul station www.starpointradio.com. Featuring.......... 1st Hour Bah Samba - Portugese Love Album Version Gloria Scott That's The Way Love Is DJ Friction Mix Frankie Knuckles Vs Intense feat Jazmina Let's Get Happy In The Rain Luther Vandross Heaven Knows White Label Remix Incognito feat Tony Momrelle Put A Little Lovin' In Your Heart North End Can't Put No Price On Love Unreleased Exclusive Stevie Wonder All I Do U-Tern Disco Re-Edit Donald Byrd Love Has Come Around Combo Re-Edit Matt Bianco Half A Minute Joey Negro Remix 2nd Hour Archie Bell & The Drells My Balloon's Going Up The Ethics Standing In The Darkness J.J. Barnes Everybody Needs Somebody (And I Need You) Ecstasy, Passion & Pain I Wouldn't Give You Up Johnnie Taylor Hey Mr Melody Maker Spanky Wilson Can't See The Forest For The Trees Lamont Dozier Fish Ain't Biting Yvonne Fair Stay A Little Longer Donnell Pitman Your Love Is Dynamite Gwen McRae 90% Of Me Is You Badwater Bridge Let Me Love You Candi Staton Too Hurt To Cry Oleta Adams Never Knew Love Incognito feat Mario Biondi - Lowdown The Blackbyrds Walking In Rhythm Catch you in a couple of week's folks! Ian D

Yay Brian. That's good enough for me mate and pretty much exactly as I thought! So I guess we're saying that there would have been a smaller 'Soul' scene but not necessarily the huge 'Northern Soul' scene which sprung up in the 70's then? That kinda sounds fair enough to me as I'm pretty sure I'd have been on it whether or not Motown existed. Motown just made what had been a small scene much more popular by ushering in a production line of uptempo belters which had as much influence in the industrial North of England as it had in Industrial Detroit. In fact, it's funny that this subject came up 'cos I just got my hands on the 2 volumes of 'The Sue Story" which reflected the tastes of Guy Stephens, the original DJ at the Scene in London and which had a lot in common wth the original Wheel and without a shadow of a doubt that particular style of music simply wouldn't have appealed to me as much as Northern Soul. Too much Blues, 60's R'n'B and even Rock N' Roll for my tastes. Also, wasn't the reason that Roger Eagle left the Wheel because he actually saw the scene heading towards Northern Soul and he preferred a wider range of music as per what he usually played up to the later part of the 60's? So that's got me thinking whether age has a bearing on all this. We're all products of the eras that we're born in and I'm pretty convinced that the most musically influential time in someone's life is generally when they're adolescent and discovering the type of music they like for the first time. As part of the 'baby boom' generation (born in '55), there was a massive population burst of young folk who would all have started hearing Motown on the family radio from around '64-'68 and would have heard The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Mary Wells, Martha & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder as they were growing up and thus been 'programmed' with the Motown template. So by the time they started going out to Youth Clubs, School Discos, Fun Fairs and eventually Clubs in the late 60's/early 70's they were looking to hear more of that kind of stuff, especially if they were cool and hip like me. So what I think happened is that the success of the 60's Motown sound undoubtably helped fuel the explosion of Northern Soul in the late 60's and early 70's. By the time the Northern scene was at it's height in the UK, Motown had moved to Los Angeles, changed it's whole sound and stopped making Northern Soul. Good job they'd left us so much stuff from the 60's! Frank Wilson wasn't discovered until 1976 but we won't go down that route.......... Ian D

I know. I compiled it LOL. Ian D

Well not the best example as it really was an out and out Pop hit, but I consider records like the Isley Brothers "This Old Heart Of Mine" and "Tell Me It's Just A Rumour", Steve Wonder's "Uptight" and "Nothing's Too Good For My Baby", The Four Top's "Reach Out, I'll Be There" and "I Can't Help Myself", The Contour's "Just A Little Misunderstanding" and "Baby Hit And Run", Edwin Starr's "S.O.S." and "Headline News", The Elgins "Heaven Must Have Sent You" etc, etc to be prime examples of Northern Soul. The fact they had a whole slew of hits with uptempo material doesn't detract from them in my opinion. It's a credit that an independent Black operation from Detroit had the game totally locked down. We have a lot to thank them for IMO. Whoops. Gotta run for the radio show but I'll be back....... Ian D

Coming up LIVE directly after Tee in just over 1 hour folks! Hope ya can join me for an action packed show on www.starpointradio.com at 2.00pm sharp!Ian D

Nah, you're obviously on speed mate! "Dancing In The Street" is not slow. Compared to Williams and Watson "Too Late" or Sandi Sheldon "You're Gonna Make Me Love You" it could be considered more mid-tempo-ish but you can't possible classify "Dancing In The Street" as slow. It's a perfect example of a booming classic Detroit mid-tempo dance tune........it filled dancefloors across the world at the time..... Ian D

Well I'll disagree for a start Steve. Motown was created in 1959 with Marv Johnson's "You Got What It Takes" - an uptempo dance record. I think you're making the mistake of assuming that every Motown record was a hit. Well,they weren't, especially when the Wheel was playing 'em. In fact, I don't think any of the Wheel Motown monsters were hits when the Wheel was playing 'em. The Wheel essentially laid the foundations for the future popularity of Motown, which really exploded at the latter end of the 60's. That's one of the reasons why Motown Chartbusters Vol 3 was the first compilation album to make No.1 on the UK album charts because many of those tracks had built up demand over the previous few years essentially as a result of clubs like The Wheel and a host of other places playing 'em and building demand. And you and I must have different ears 'cos when you said, "if you look at the album posted earlier in the thread apart from possibly road runner,which of the tracks is uptempo dance music", I'd have said the following were all uptempo dance music:- 4. "This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)" - The Isley Brothers 5. "I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose" - Marv Johnson 7. "I'm in a Different World" - The Four Tops 8. "Dancing In The Street" - Martha & The Vandellas 9. "For Once In My Life" - Stevie Wonder 11. "Get Ready" - The Temptations 12. "Stop Her On Sight (S.O.S)" - Edwin Starr 13. "Love Child" - Diana Ross & The Supremes 14. "Behind a Painted Smile" - The Isley Brothers 15. "(I'm A) Road Runner" - Jr. Walker & The All Stars Well over half the album in fact. Are we listening to the same album.....? Ian D

Mmm. Don't quite get what you mean Proudlove. Motown was pumping out records from the early 60's, tons of which were huge at the Wheel throughout the whole of the 60's. Early examples being The Miracles "Shop Around" and "You Really Got A Hold On Me", The Marvelettes "Please Mr Postman" and Barrett Strong's "Money" from the early 60's through to the Contours' "Determination" and "First I Look At The Purse", Marv Johnson's "You've Got The Love I Love", The Marvelettes "Don't Mess With Bill", Barbara Randolph's "I Got A Feeling", The Spinners "I'll Always Love You" and "Sweet Thing", Earl Van Dyke's "All For You" and "6 by 6" and virtually every Jr Walker & The All-Stars release from the mid 60's. Motown was one of the lynchpin labels at the Wheel throughout it's entire history. And how many Motown tracks can I honestly say are uptempop dance music? Errr, most of 'em mate. That was the whole point of Motown. They were in the business of making uptempo dance music and doing it better than any other operation in the world. That's EXACTLY what "Dancing In The Street" was all about. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of any other label that could compare to Motown in terms of uptempo dance music. They were the world leaders of uptempo dance music LOL. You're not on drugs or something are ya Steve.......? Ian D

No, I think you're bang right. I was 15 in 1970 and just beginning to discover Northern Soul being too young to have gone to the Wheel but I used to pester the older lads about records and some of 'em took pity on me and played me stuff. "Heaven Must Have Sent You" by The Elgins is a perfect example of a super rare Motown record which became so popular via the Northern clubs that it eventually turned into a UK Top 20 hit when Tamla Motown eventually issued it . Some of the original Wheelies are on here. Brian "45" Phillips would be a good person to comment on Motown as he was an original Wheel DJ. I think he's still alive........... Ian D

Uh oh. Dunno if we pressed enough Phil. Just got 2 ridiculously good export orders in plus healthy re-orders on Gary The Master Blaster and Superlatives, so please make sure you send me 10 copies a.s.a.p. 'cos I'm getting asked for it by all sorts of people.......amazing that the Fout Tops can still excite the record buying public in 2010........ Ian D

Blimey, it's been almost a month since my last show. In that period I've survived a couple of extreme traumas, several catastrophic incidents, a near death experience and a hospital visit which resulted in me being drenched in piss.......someone else's unfortunately......... so pretty much a normal month by and large. Anyway, I'm in a good mood and ready to lash down some serious tuneage before I take off for a week in the sun and hopefully a period of sober reflection and not much rest....... If anyone happens to be over in Ibiza next week then there's several GREAT gigs happening, namely Aura on Tuesday night (Kylie Minogue was down for the last one and she danced her ass off all night to some serious stuff), Wax Da Jam Beach Party @ Kumharas on Wednesday and what will the gig of the century @ Sands Beach Bar on Saturday where Paul Schofield will be joining me for another historic night of bliss if the first one was anything to go by! Oh and then the all-night shindig down at the Es Vive hotel which will truck-on to da break of dawn......and then I'll come back and sleep for a week...... So try and join me tomorrow for another LIVE Original Mastercuts show which will feature several brand new KILLER re-edits, an exclusive first play on an unreleased Northend tune from the 80's and the usual mixture of Soul music throughout all the eras. The Original Mastercuts Show with Ian Dewhirst LIVE from the new space-age Starpoint studio on Sunday 18th July 2010 at 2.00-4.00pm UK time on everyone's favourite Soul station www.starpointradio.com. Featuring...... Bah Samba * Gloria Scott * Frankie Knuckles Vs Intense feat Jazmina * Luther Vandross * Incognito feat Tony Momrelle * North End * Stevie Wonder * Donald Byrd * Matt Bianco * Archie Bell & The Drells * The Ethics * J.J. Barnes * Ecstasy, Passion & Pain * Johnnie Taylor *Spanky Wilson * Popcorn Wylie * Yvonne Fair * Donnell Pitman * Gwen McRae * Badwater Bridge * Candi Staton * Lamont Dozier * Oleta Adams * The Blackbyrds * Incognito feat Mario Biondi Catch you LIVE @ 2.00 PM folks! Ian D

Yep, that makes sense to me Barney. Motown was THE major part of my personal soundtrack growing up in the North. Every school Disco, Youth Club and Fun Fair was belting out Motown in the late 60's. It was especially popular with the girls and the whole 'dance around the handbags' scenario was almost always accompanied by Motown tunes. The very first record collection I ever bought from a local DJ was probably 50% Motown and I can plainly remember going round to girls houses and they'd have every Supremes/Diana Ross/Four Tops/Temptations records on original black TMG's. It was almost impossible to avoid around my way, which was Leeds, Bradford, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Wakefield. Whenever I'd go out locally, the Motown stuff would be so popular that many of the 'B' sides were every bit as popular as the 'A' sides - "There's No Stopping Us Now" - The Supremes, "Third Finger Left Hand" - Martha & The Vandellas, "Wherever I Lay My Hat" - Marvin Gaye, "It's The Same Old Song" - the Four Tops were all huge records which would be guaranteed to fill the floor everytime. Also I'd be willing to bet that Motown Chartbusters Volume 3 was probably the biggest selling Motown album in it's UK history at that point. That was one album which was pretty much guaranteed to be in every house. It certainly had the best sleeve of any compilation ever....... 1. "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" - Marvin Gaye 2. "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" - Diana Ross & The Supremes And The Temptations 3. "My Cherie Amour" - Stevie Wonder 4. "This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)" - The Isley Brothers 5. "I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose" - Marv Johnson 6. "No Matter What Sign You Are" - Diana Ross & The Supremes 7. "I'm in a Different World" - The Four Tops 8. "Dancing In The Street" - Martha & The Vandellas 9. "For Once In My Life" - Stevie Wonder 10. "You're All I Need To Get By" - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell 11. "Get Ready" - The Temptations 12. "Stop Her On The Sight (S.O.S)" - Edwin Starr 13. "Love Child" - Diana Ross & The Supremes 14. "Behind a Painted Smile" - The Isley Brothers 15. "(I'm A) Road Runner" - Jr. Walker & The All Stars 16. "The Tracks Of My Tears" - The Miracles The track-listing wasn't bad either! Ian D

My guess is probably not. There may well have been a collectible rare Soul scene, but whether it would ever have been classed as 'Northern Soul' is open to conjecture. Motown provided the template for Northern Soul. It was the greatest 100% Black-owned commercial success story of the 1960's and the influence of the operation inspired tens of thousands of copycat recordings which provided the foundation for what we now class as Northern Soul. For every great Four Tops, Temptations, Supremes, Isley Brothers, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Marv Johnson, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Velvelettes, Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Spinners, Jr Walker & The All-Stars, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Jimmy Ruffin GREAT records, there would be 1000's upon 1000's of small label copyists and entrepreneurs who were trying to emulate the Motown template and get a taste of the magic themselves. And who could blame 'em? No other record company provided the level of inspiration that Berry Gordy's operation provided. Motown truly was the sound of young America and was revolutionary in terms of using full orchestras and string sections and mixing the tracks so that they sounded great on transistor radios. Their A&R, Artist Developement process and quality control was second to none. No other operation came even close. So, yes. 100% absolutely Motown was the template for Northern Soul. I mean, surely it's blaringly obvious isn't it...........? Ian D

The pleasure's all mine Malc. I actually heard "The Fruit Song" when I first went to L.A. in '76 and it was on constant rotation on Kute 102. I wish I'd know that Parliament had played on it 'cos I met them in the studio on the same trip - when they were recording "Flashlight" in fact. I met them through a guy called Jim Callan who was engineering for 'em at the time. Jim had a small label called Earhole Records which had a track called "Smoke Your Trouble's Away" by the Glass Family (a doper's anthem) and I ended up buying 500 copies from him and had to pick 'em up at the studio and that's where I met George and co. Jeanie Reynolds is one of the best records ever made! I'll be playing it @ a beach party in Ibiza on Wednesday night just as the sun goes down......that should get 'em steaming LOL...... Ian D

Me too John! It was actually mainly via the Soul Source and Essential Modern Soul forums via Sean's postings that led me to contact him for these albums. Also, I thought he did an excellent job with the Millie On The Dancefloor CD for Ace so it was really a no-brainer to ask him if he fancied having a crack at the Hi/Cream/Jewel/Paula/Ronn/Ace/Crazy Cajun catalogues. The boy done good! If 10,000 people buy these albums, then that will build a solid international audience and that can only be good for the Soul scene in general IMO.... Ian D

Good shout Geoff! At a £2.50 Dealer Price they're the best value compilations in the world! Ian D

Hey Mossy, Do you know the guy's name by any chance? Mastercuts is 20 years ago now so I'll need a bit more to go on. Also those Mastercuts LP's are all selling for bundles on e-bay these days (£150+ some of 'em), so if he has boxes of 'em he's sat on a small fortune! Ian D

Yep, from HMV online from tomorrow I think. Ian D

Hiya Geoff, Yep the first 10 are all available via Proper Distribution at a phenomenal Dealer Price. I didn't really publicise 'em that much at the time 'cos there was no marketing budget due to the low Dealer Price but in case ya missed 'em here are the track-listings. Only a few that are good Soul Source material but I'm sure you could use some of 'em so here they are:- Livin' The Nightlife - 80's New York Garage Classics Backbeats BACKB001 1 Young & Co - I Like (What You're Doing To Me) 2 Class Action - Weekend 3 Serious Intention - You Don't Know - Remix 4 Cultural Vibe - Ma Foom Bay - Love Chant Version 5 Paul Simpson Connection - Treat Her Sweeter 6 Adeva - In & Out Of My Life 7 Sleeque - One For The Money 8 Colonel Abrams - Music Is The Answer 9 Dinosaur L - Go Bang # 5 10 Cuba Gooding - Happiness Is Just Around The Bend 12 K.I.D. - Hupendi Muziki Wangu (You Don't Like My Music) The House That Jackin' Built - The Roots Of Chicago House Backbeats BACKB002 1 Marshall Jefferson - Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem) 2 Farley Jackmaster Funk - Love Can't Turn Around 3 Adonis feat 2 Puerto Ricans, A Black Man & A Dominican - Do It Properly 4 Frankie Knuckles - Your Love - You Got The Love Remix 5 Mr Fingers - Can You Feel It 6 Jaimie Principal - Waiting On My Angel 7 The Nightwriters - Let The Music (Use You) 8 Master C&J - Face It 9 Housemaster Boyz & The Rude Boy Of House - House Nation 10 Frankie Knuckles - Baby Wants To Ride 11 Ralphi Rosario feat Xavier Gold - You Used To Hold Me 12 Joe Smooth - Promised Land Philly Disco - 70's Dance Floor Anthems From The City Of Brotherly Love Backbeats BACKB003 1 Archie Bell & The Drells - Let's Groove 2 Dee Dee Sharp Gamble - Breaking & Entering 3 Teddy Pendergrass - Only You 4 Jean Carn - If You Wanna Go Back 5 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Don't Leave Me This Way 6 The O'Jays - I Love Music 7 M.F.S.B. - Summertime & I'm Feeling Mellow 8 Teddy Pendergrass - You Can't Hide From Yourself 9 People's Choice - Jam Jam Jam (All Night Long) 10 Jean Carn - Was That All It Was 11 Billy Paul - Bring The Family Back 12 McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stopping Us Now Boogie's Gonna Getcha - 80's New York Boogie Backbeats BACKB004 1 World Premier - Share The Night 2 The Affair feat Alyson Williams - Please Don't Break My Heart 3 Shot - Main Thing 4 Vicki D - This Beat Is Mine 5 Rhyze - Just How Sweet Is Your Love 6 Kreamsicle - Hold On 7 The Glen Adams Affair - Just A Groove 8 Lukk feat Felicia Collins - On The One 9 Mike Gee - Rapper's Revenge 10 Convertion - Let's Do It 11 Klassique - Somebody's Loving You 12 Komiko - Feel Alright Saturday House Fever - 90's Garage Anthems Backbeats BACKB005 1 Gary Vonquest - Victim Of Love 2 Extortion feat Dihan Brooks - How Do You See Me Now? 3 Cassio - Baby Love 4 Alexander Hope - Saturdays - Saturday Nite Mix 5 Keisha Jenkins - Goin' Through The Motions - Motion Mix 6 Toni Martin - Deeper - Blaze Mix 7 Alexander Hope - Let The Music Take You 8 Bobby Blackwell - Let Love Through 9 Leisha Moore - Damn, What A Feeling 10 Debbie Pender - Movin' On 11 Kathy Brown - Happy People - Original Blaze Mix 12 Darryl D'Bonneau - Let There Be A Way That Driving Beat - 60's & 70's Northern Soul Stompers Backbeats BACKB006 1 Jackie Wilson - The Who Who Song 2 Rose Batiste - Hit & Run 3 Bunny Sigler - Girl Don't Make Me Wait 4 Cindy Scott - I Love You Baby 5 J.J. Barnes - Our Love Is In The Pocket 6 The Just Brothers - Sliced Tomatoes 7 Len Barry - When You Call Me Baby 8 Johnny Caswell - You Don't Love Me Anymore 9 The Fascinations - At The Top Of The Stairs 10 Fred Hughes - Baby Boy 11 The Parliaments - Don't Be Sore At Me 12 The Delfonics - You'll Get Enough 13 Gloria Edwards - My Love Is Getting Stronger 14 Lavern Baker - Wrapped, Tied & Tangled 15 The Cooperettes - Shing-A-Ling 16 Adam's Apple's - Don't Take It Out On This World 17 Gene Chandler - Mr Big Shot 18 Darrell Banks - Somebody Somewhere Needs You 19 First Choice - This Is The House (Where Love Died) 20 Willie Mitchell - The Champion 21 The Demures - Raining Teardrops 22 Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon - Sweet Inspiration 23 Marvin Smith - Have More Time 24 Johnny Jones & The King Casuals - Purple Haze 25 Erma Franklin - I Get The Sweetest Feeling 26 Epitome Of Sound - You Don't Love Me 27 Johnny Howard - The Chase Is On 28 Eloise Laws - Love Factory 29 Mel Britt - She'll Come Running Back 30 Young Holt Unlimited - California Montage Gimme A Break - 70's Breakbeats & Future Samples Backbeats BACKB007 1 Average White Band - Schoolboy Crush 2 John Davis & The Monster Orchestra - I Can't Stop 3 The Chi-Lites - Are You My Woman (Tell Me So) 4 The Evasions - Wikka Wrap 5 Al Green - I'm Glad You're Mine 6 Honey Cone - Stick Up 7 Syl Johnson - Different Strokes 8 Little Royal & The Swingmasters - Razor Blade 9 Kid Dynamite - Uphill Piece Of Mind 10 Boobie Knight & The Universal Lady - Lovomaniacs (Sex) 11 Laura Lee - Crumbs Off The Table 12 Vaughn Mason & Crew - Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll 13 Parliament - Come In Out Of The Rain 14 Freda Payne - Unhooked Generation 15 Sound Experience - Devil With The Bust 16 Dexter Wansel - Theme From The Planets 17 The Jones Girls - At Peace With Woman 18 The Stylistics - Hurry Up This Way Again Back To My Place Baby - 70's & 80's Seductive Soul Backbeats BACKB008 1 Al Green - I'm Still In Love With You 2 Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand The Rain 3 The Chi-Lites - Have You Seen Her 4 Teddy Pendergrass - The Whole Town's Laughing At Me 5 The Average White Band - A Love Of Your Own 6 Paris - I Choose You 7 Windy City - I Still Love You 8 Manchild - Especially For You 9 The O'Jays - Brandy 10 Teddy Pendergrass - Close The Door 11 Walter Jackson - It's Cool 12 The Jones Girls - Eternally 13 Margie Alexander - Whatcha Trying To Do To Me 14 Dexter Wansel - The Sweetest Pain 15 Jean Carn - Don't Let It Go To Your Head 16 Dee Dee Sharp Gamble - Just As Long As I Know You're Mine 17 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good Windy City Soul - Smooth 70's Soul From Chicago Backbeats BACKB009 1 Windy City - Windy City Theme (Vocal) 2 Tyrone Davis - What Goes Up (Must Come Down) 3 Barbara Acklin - I'll Bake Me A Man 4 Mr T - Love Uprising 5 Ginji James - Honey Babe 6 The Promises - This Love Is Real 7 Mighty Doug Haines - I'll Be Right Here 8 Lyn Roman - Stop! I Don't Need No Sympathy 9 Sidney Joe Qualls - Run To Me 10 Barbara Acklin - I Did It 11 Major Lance - Sweeter As The Days Go By 12 Otis Leavill - I Love You 13 Windy City - Fool Or Your Man 14 Eddie McLoyd - Once You Fall In Love 15 Gene Chandler - Let Me Love To You 16 Tyrone Davis - Turning Point 17 Jackie Wilson - It Only Happens (When I Look At You) 18 The Chi-Lites - Stoned Out Of My Mind 19 The Dells - Your Song 20 The Impressions - All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You 21 Gene Chandler - Does She Have A Friend For Me 22 The Chi-Lites - You Don't Have To Go Soul Steppin' - 80's Soulful Steppers Backbeats BACKB010 1 The Dells - All About The Paper 2 The Impressions - Fan The Fire 3 Patti Labelle - When Am I Gonna Find True Love 4 John Davis & The Monster Orchestra - Bourgie Bourgie 5 Mike & Brenda Sutton - Anyway You Want My Love 6 Greg Henderson - Dreaming 7 Steve Shelto - Don't You Give Your Love Away 8 David McPherson - You Can't Stop 9 The Underground - Behind My Back 10 Scandal feat Lee Genesis - Love Either Goes Or Grows 11 Sound Troupe - Can You Really See Me 12 Dee Dee Sharp Gamble - Easy Money 13 Teddy Pendergrass - You And Me For Right Now 14 Walter Jackson - Touching In The Dark 2nd batch will be available everywhere from the 1st September. Best, Ian D

Yes, the bugger got there before most of us TC. I can't imagine what he must have found 'cos I cleaned up plenty every Saturday lunchtime from around '72 onwards when I used to work at John Laing down by the station. Used to spend my whole Saturday job wage at Bostocks and come back with 40 U.S. singles every Saturday and spend the rest of the weekend playing 'em. We got spoilt. I don't think there has ever been a better place for discovering U.S. unknowns for 5p each since then! Ian D

Glad ya like 'em Baz. I figured that if I could get clearance from the labels to do 'em at this price then it can only be good for spreading the music a bit further then the confines of looking for the 7" singles etc, so figured a 'sampler' type series at the right price would be the way to go. Also I didn't want to compete with Ace/Kent because frankly they do the best job imaginable catering to connoisseurs and the serious collector market so I've gone the route of competitive pricing in the hope I can snag a large audience who'll try 'em for a fiver a pop. Hopefully it seems to be working as the series has really taken off in a number of territories so here's hoping I can get more of 'em out there......... Ya finding anything in Houston? I was there in '88 and snagged some decent bits and pieces but nothing phenomenal. There was an awful lot of stuff 'in storage' over there at the time which was frustrating 'cos there always seems to be a timing problem in getting people to open their bloody storage lock-ups. One guy dicked me around for 3 days before I had to split but not before describing the stuff he said he had which he reckoned included muliples across the whole Don Robey catalogue! Maybe they're still there........? Best of luck! Ian D

That's 'cos I wanna get 50 of the buggers out there by next year, so since there's another 30 to go I've gotta save some stuff for the next ones Dante. This shit's not easy y'know.......... Ian D

Yes, folks, it almost half-killed me but the next 10 Backbeats albums are now released and in your local HMV for a fiver a pop. Recession-busting or what? I'm joined on this lot by the good Sean Hampsey and Dean Rudland also doing compiling honours, so here are the tracklistings and cover shots...... "Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah" – 70's New York Disco BACKB011 Compiled By Ian Dewhirst 1 Moment Of Truth Helplessly 2 First Choice The Player 3 Eddie Holman This Will Be A Night To Remember 4 Ultra High Frequency We're On The Right Track 5 Loleatta Holloway Hit & Run 6 Players Association I Like It 7 Lucy Hawkins Gotta Get Out Of Here 8 Ripple The Beat Goes On & On 9 Gary's Gang Keep On Dancin' 10 TJM Am I Dreaming 11 Jackie Moore This Time Baby "Love & Jealousy" – The Deeper Side Of Southern Soul BACKB012 Compiled By Sean Hampsey 1 Quiet Elegance Do You Love Me 2 Barbara Lynn This Is The Thanks I Get 3 Otis Clay I Die A Little Each Day 4 Syl Johnson Could I Be Falling In Love 5 George Jackson I'm Gonna Wait 6 Jean Plum You Ask Me 7 Al Green One Woman 8 Ronnie Lovejoy Until You Get Enough Of Me 9 Fontella Bass I'm Leaving The Choice To You 10 Bobby McClure To Get What You Got 11 The Patterson Twins Back In Love Again 12 Oscar Perry I'll Take Care Of You 13 Willie Walker I Love Her 14 Quiet Elegance Will You Be My Man In The Morning 15 Syl Johnson Anyway The Wind Blows 16 James Fry Tumbling Down 17 Ann Peebles Give Me Some Credit 18 Bobby Patterson Take Time To Know The Truth 19 O.V. Wright Let's Straighten It Out 20 The Masqueraders Wake Up Fool 21 Bobby Powell When You Move You Lose 22 Don Bryant I'll Go Crazy 23 Jean Plum Back To You 24 Otis Clay It Was Jealousy "Motor City Soul" – 70's Soul From Detroit BACKB013 Compiled By Ian Dewhirst 1 Chairmen Of The Board Everything's Tuesday 2 Freda Payne You Brought The Joy 3 The Barrino Brothers I Shall Not Be Moved 4 The Honey Cone While You're Out Looking For Sugar 5 The Silent Majority Colors Of My Love 6 Flaming Ember Westbound No.9 7 100 Proof Aged In Soul Somebody's Been Sleeping (In My Bed) 8 Freda Payne Bring The Boys Home 9 The 8th Day You've Got To Crawl (Before You Walk) 10 Holland & Dozier New Breed Kinda Woman 11 Laura Lee (If You Want To Try Love Again) Remember Me 12 The Politicians ft McKinley Jackson Love Machine 13 Flaming Ember I'm Not My Brother's Keeper 14 Brian Holland I'm So Glad 15 100 Proof Aged In Soul One Man's Leftovers (Is Another Man's Feast) 16 The Honey Cone One Monkey Don't Stop No Show 17 Tyrone Edwards Can't Get Enough Of You 18 The Hi-Lites That's Love 19 New York Port Authority I Guess I'm Gonna Cry 20 Scherrie Payne V.I.P. 21 The Honey Cone Want Ads 22 Melvin Davis You Made Me Over 23 Tyrone Edwards You Took Me From a World Outside 24 Eloise Laws Stay With Me 25 Holland & Dozier Why Can't We Be Lovers "Gimme That Beat" – 70's Sophisticated Funk BACKB014 Compiled By Dean Rudland 1 The Chi-Lites (For God's Sake) Give More Power To The People 2 Satisfaction Unlimited Somebody Else's Woman 3 African Music Machine Blackwater Gold 4 Chairmen Of The Board Finders Keepers 5 Laura Lee If I'm Good Enough To Love (I'm Good Enough To Marry) 6 Chairmen Of The Board Skin I'm In 7 The Politicians Free Your Mind 8 New York Port Authority I Got It 9 Average White Band Pick Up The Pieces 10 Ann Peebles It's Your Thing 11 Smith Connection I'm Buggin' On Your Phone 12 El Dorados Loose Booty Pt1 13 The Memphians Sliding In And Out 14 Jackie Wilson Love Uprising 15 Gregory James Edition Shaft 16 Willie Henderson Funky Chicken Pt 1 17 Honey Cone Don't Count Your Chickens (Before They Hatch) 18 Holland Dozier I'm Gonna Hijack Ya, Kidnap Ya, Take What I Want 19 Natural High Bump Your Lady (Pt1) 20 8th Day Cheeba 21 Parliament Breakdown 22 Red Holt Unlimited Do It Baby 23 Rynell Wynglass Bar B Q Ribs "Philly Freedom" – 70's Dance Floor Anthems From The City Of Brotherly Love BACKB015 Compiled By Ian Dewhirst 1 First Choice Armed & Extremely Dangerous 2 The Delfonics I Told You So 3 The Trammps Where Do We Go From Here 4 Archie Bell & The Drells I Could Dance All Night 5 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes Wake Up Everybody 6 The O'Jays This Time Baby 7 Lou Rawls You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine 8 Dee Dee Sharp Gamble Nobody Could Ever Take Your Place 9 Bunny Sigler Can't Believe That You Love Me 10 Billy Paul I Trust You 11 The Trammps Trusting Heart 12 Archie Bell & The Drells Where Will You Go When The Party's Over 13 First Choice Smarty Pants 14 Teddy Pendergrass The More I Get The More I Want 15 The Futures Party Time Man 16 Frantique Strut Your Funky Stuff 17 Lou Rawls See You When I Git There 18 The Philadelphia Int All-Stars Let's Clean Up The Ghetto 19 The Jones Girls You're Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else "Soul Time" – Soul Classics 24 Hours A Day BACKB016 Compiled By Ian Dewhirst 1 Bob & Earl Harlem Shuffle 2 Alvin Cash Twine Time 3 Willie Mitchell That Driving Beat 4 Barbara Lynn You Left The Water Running 5 Jackie Wilson Whispers (Getting' Louder) 6 The Capitols Cool Jerk 7 Jackie Lee The Duck 8 Erma Franklin Gotta Find Me A Lover 9 Gene Chandler Nothing Can Stop Me 10 Lee Charles Wrong Number 11 Billy Watkins The Ice Man 12 The Artistics I'm Gonna Miss You 13 Barbara Acklin Love Makes A Woman 14 Young Holt Unlimited Soulful Strut 15 The Lost Generation You're So Young, But You're So True 16 Otis Leavill Love Uprising 17 Barbara Acklin & Gene Chandler From The Teacher To The Preacher 18 Major Lance Sweeter As The Days Go By 19 Jackie Wilson I Get The Sweetest Feeling 20 Tyrone Davis Can I Change My Mind 21 Lavern Baker I'm The One To Do It 22 Walter Jackson Let Me Come Back 23 Average White Band Put It Where You Want It 24 Syl Johnson Back For A Taste Of Your Love 25 Al Green Take Me To The River 26 Quiet Elegance Mama Said 27 Tyrone Davis If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time 28 Deon Jackson Love Makes The World Go Round "The Big Apple Bites Back" – New York House And Remix Culture BACKB017 Compiled By Ian Dewhirst 1 Double Exposure Everyman - Joe Claussell Remix 2 First Choice Let No Man Put Asunder – Frankie Knuckles Remix 3 Inner Life Ain't No Mountain High Enough – Larry Levan Remix 4 First Choice Doctor Love - Kerri Chandler Remix 5 Skyy Call Me - Blaze DJ Vocal Remix 6 Candido Jingo - Mount Rushmore Remix 7 The Todd Terry Project Bango (To The Batmobile) 8 Black Riot A Day In The Life 9 Hardhouse Check This Out 10 Afrikali Out Of The Jungle - The Truth Mix 11 The Jungle Brothers I'll House You "Crate Diggin' Fever" – The Cult Of Rarity BACKB018 Compiled By Dean Rudland 1 The Futures Ain't No Time Fa Nothing 2 Jean Carn Don't Let It Go To Your Head 3 Laura Lee Crumbs Off The Table 4 Average White Band Work To Do 5 Al Green Love Ritual 6 African Music Machine Tropical 7 Maryan Farra and the Satin Soul Stoned Out Of My Mind 8 Jackie Wilson Shake A Leg 9 Alvin Cash Ali Shuffle 10 Tyrone Davis Something You Got 11 Barbara Acklin Just Ain't No Love 12 Honey Cone Sittin' On A Time Bomb 13 Archie Bell & The Drells Don't Let Love Get You Down 14 The Jones Girls You Can't Have My Love 15 MFSB Picnic In The Park 16 Ann Peebles Beware 17 Holland & Dozier Don't Leave Me (inst) 18 Bobby Marchan Push The Button 19 Tommie Young That's All A Part Of Loving Him 20 Strutt Front Row Romeo 21 Satisfaction Unlimited Seeing Through The Eyes Of A Blindman "I Get My Groove" – Crossover Soul From The Deep South BACKB019 Compiled By Sean Hampsey 1 Syl Johnson We Did It 2 Gloria Edwards Don't Mess With My Man 3 Fontella Bass Now That I've Found A Good Thing 4 Bobby McClure Was It Something I Said 5 Eddie Mcgee What Made You Change Your Mind? 6 Imported Moods What Have You Done With My Heart 7 The Montclairs I Need You More Than Ever 8 Oscar Perry Let Me Grow Old With You 9 Al Green I Tried To Tell Myself 10 Ronnie Lovejoy You Got To Know 11 The Patterson Twins Looking For A Lover 12 Little Johnny Taylor How Are You Fixed For Love 13 Bobby Patterson Everything Good To You (Don't Have To Be Good For You) 14 Jean Plum Here I Go Again 15 Ann Peebles I Didn't Take Your Man 16 Henry Shed Something's Drastically Wrong 17 Bobo Mr. Soul Hitch-Hike To Heartbreak Road 18 Pat Brown Love On Loan 19 Barbara Lynn Nice And Easy 20 Otis Clay Brand New Thing 21 Bobby Patterson I Get My Groove From You 22 Ted Taylor I Want To Be A Part Of You Girl 23 Phillip Mitchell Little Things 24 James Fry Still Around 25 Ann Peebles If This Is Heaven 26 Jean Plum Look At The Boy "Jazzy Vibes" – Soulful Jazz Licks From The 70's BACKB020 Compiled By Dean Rudland 1 Michael Pedicin Jr Sneaky Return 2 Norman Harris In Good Faith 3 Leon Huff Latin Spirit 4 Lou Rawls Trade Winds 5 Dexter Wansell Latin Love (Let Me Know) 6 MFSB Metamorphosis 7 Hysear Don Walker Killing Me Softly 8 Lionel Hampton Them Changes 9 Larry Willis Out On The Coast 10 Reuben Wilson Cisco Kid 11 Jimmy McGriff Red Beans 12 Mike Longo Like A Thief In The Night 13 Dexter Wansel What The World Is Coming To 14 Gamble & Huff Orchestra Is It Something I Said 15 Natural Essence Killing Time 16 Funk Incorporated Give Me Your Love Hope ya like 'em all! Pretty good value for a fiver I reckon........ Ian D

Yep, the first place I met Ady and then yourself when I used to travel down from Leeds record hunting. Great days! Ian D