Ian Dewhirst

Hi Mike, I did read it and I'm checking it out this week mate! New one on me and I may have to do some digging..... Ian D

I dare not add 'em up Julian. Looks like maybe £100K or so...? Ian D

Just gotta get time to write the sucker..... This Northern Soul resurgence is keeping me too busy in the day job..... Ian D

Well, the most I ever remember paying for a record back then was £40 which was for the Tomangoes. Most of the records on that list were bought from 10p to probably £5 or £10 quid. Prices were beginning to rise and I was finding it increasingly more expensive to even buy 'unknowns'. I was doing Wigan, Sams, Cleethorpes and the Central most weeks plus all-dayers every Sunday and other spots dotted around, so I was fairly high-profile so that always added a premium if I wanted a record badly enough. I bought Al De Lory as an unknown in Peterborough and that cost me £12 which I thought was expensive at the time. I remember selling Lada Edmund Jr for £90.00, I think, to a guy who'd never even heard the record and who drove up from Milton Keynes and insisted in looking at it alone in my kitchen. Plain weird..... Ian D

If only, Ivor, if only........... Ian D

Sounds about right. I lived a very-full life in the second-half of 1976. New York, L.A., Frisco, and Philly were all done in a certain amount of style. I was out most nights checking the clubs and I spent most of my time in Beverly Hills trying to pull Diana Ross lol. Plus hanging out with Soussan and Ike Turner required back-up 'cos I never knew where I might end-up. I got stranded in San Diego, East L.A., San Franciso and Redondo Beach to think of a few places and different situations. I always had enough back-up to crawl back to my Hollywood pad though........ I had nights-out over there that cost me at least a Billy Woods or Del-Larks! Ian D

Hey have you ever tried using a manual typewriter from the early 70s? Plus I couldn't type either. I was self-taught so the amount of f*ck-ups to even get it to that stuff was huge. If you look at the first page of records, there was even a bit of physical cut and pasting going on. I'm not sure if Tippex had even been invented back then........ Ian D

You know what Chalky? I never even thought of that. It could be that it was the first ever Northern Soul auction list, now I think about it. I can't remember any that pre-date 1975. Most lists up to then were fixed-price. Oh my God. What did I start....? Ian D

No, not really. I mean obviously everybody would like to keep their collections intact forever but that particular collection got me to the U.S. for 6 months, got me into the music biz at a pretty good level, got me a million-selling record and introduced me to so many great people who I'll never forget. It also got me into the Motown library and numerous U.S. record collections and allowed me to travel all over the U.S. at the age of 21. Plus I managed to get most of those records back for mere cents plus thousands more in my subsequent collection, so arguably it was the best decision I ever made. Ian D

My aptitude for promotional bullshit knew no bounds, even back in '75....... Ian D

I think I raised about £2,500 from memory but that was quite a lot of money back then (the average wage was probably £50 a week then). I haven't had the heart to add 'em up at today's prices! Ian D

My thanks go to the good Glen Walker-Foster for digging these out of his archive and giving them to me at a recent gig in Lytham St-Annes. I haven't seen this list since the mid 70s but, boy, did I have some incredible records back then....... Ian D

A perfect example of a record being bootlegged before there was any demand. Nobody I knew had even heard it when it appeared on the bootleg. A huge waste of a great record. Reminds me of Jimmy Raye's "Philly Dog" a bit... Ian D

Yep. One of the greatest records of all-time, although I never thought I'd see it posted on this forum lol... Ian D

And thanks to Steve Edgar for reminding me of the awesome acappella that exists on this track..... Tears - Frankie Knuckles Presents Satoshi Tomiie feat Robert Owens - Acappella Version Ian D

Haunting is a good description. It's one of the most interesting arrangements I've ever heard. The structure of the record is totally unique. It could never be Marmite 'cos it's not played out enough and not universally loved either for the same reason. Anyone who can't see the brilliance of this is probably on the wrong scene. It's one of the few records that have never left my collection and never will. Ian D

Well, the vocalist is Robert Owens, the greatest vocalist of the House era in my opinion and easily on a par with my other favorites from over the eras. Because it's Robert Owens and because he also made the greatest House record of all-time, I'd hazard a guess that this could be what it reminds you of:- Tears - Frankie Knuckles Presents Satoshi Tomiie feat Robert Owens Ian D

How bizarre. That was the master supplied by Concord (owners of Stax). I haven't had time to check it yet but it'll be on full-blast tomorrow. Bit of a mystery though, Why on earth would it be a re-record? It was an album track and not even popular till 40 years after it was recorded. Still nothing like a mystery ay? Glad you approve of the rest of it! Ian D

See, we're already arguing about the proposed sequencing....... Ian D

You reckon you can get several thousand contributors to agree on a track-listing....? Ian D

Whaaaaat? We didn't license anything from Mr Levine. I'll need to check that master again but I'm pretty sure that was a kosher master from the copyright owners - Concord, the owners of Fantasy/Stax in this case. We went to insane lengths to get the correct masters on this and, up to now, everyone has complimented us on the quality of the mastering. This is just plain weird. I'll check it tomorrow. I have to say that a handful of the masters supplied by the owners were slightly different mixes to the known recordings and, in most cases, superior. The weirdest master we received was the first track on the box set - Darrell Banks "Open The Door To Your Heart" which turned out to be a previously unknown instrumental version (which is spectacular in it's simplicity and impact). So there are bonuses too! Will come back to the Barbara Lewis master tomorrow when I sober up OK? Ian D

Just a progress report but also I just noticed that the Amazon price has dropped to £71.68 which probably explains it's boost up the rankings after 3 weeks out there! Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 719 in Music (See Top 100 in Music) #10 in Music > R&B and Soul > Motown #21 in Music > R&B and Soul > Soul #23 in Music > Pop > Pop R&B Ian D

My over-the-topness as per usual Dean. But Top 5 UK album is still pretty impressive ay? Ian D

There ya go. Take ya pick...... https://rateyourmusic.com/list/goldwax317/1971__the_top_100_soul_randb_singles/ Ian D

45 years ago for sure. I can't think of any other music that has demonstrated such resilience over that kind of time span though which is interesting in itself. Amazing really. Ian D