Ian Dewhirst

I think it may have gone Bearsy. I'll check and PM ya back....... Ian D

I moved to the U.S. in '76 and never went back to the Casino after then, so anything after '76 is possible. So presumably that's been a rare record for over 30 years then? You'd think a few more copies would have surfaced wouldn't you.......? Ian D

It's a shame he's not married LOL. I reckon impending divorce settlements are the quickest way to liberate collections these days! And as long as I've known him I've never know him to be desperate to sell anything. Or buy anything for that matter. Out of curiosity, has anyone ever signed a pre-nuptial agreement which ring-fenced their records? Ian D

Was "She's Fire" played @ Wigan then? Searling cover-up maybe? Ian D

Now there's a record that's just too fast for aging legs surely........? I bet it's a floor-clearer isn't it? Ian D

Good point well made Nev. I thought the price was too high as well and said as much but you can't teach Tim how to suck eggs! He's turned down a lot of stuff for the sake of a few quid IMO, but that's the premium he puts on stuff from his collection. I've got exactly the same situation from someone other than Tim right now LOL. HE wants anonymity and he knows I'm trustworthy so no doubt we'll go through another song and dance whilst everyone tries to figure out who seller # 2 is! Congrats on getting the record @ the price you wanted mate. Last night I was involved in a huge deal for a record I wouldn't have paid £100 for but to each their own..... Ian D

Hi Kev, Nope it's not a cash-sharing community and it never was. I don't remember anyone accusing any record dealers of leaching off the scene when I was paying small fortunes for records in the 70's and nothing much has changed since then except the prices. 1) Damn right I'm standing my corner. I think it's a handy service and it's still open to anyone who wants to enquire about their wants. Everyone's treated exactly the same and there's no favouritism. 2) Agreed. I don't air my personal grievances over public forums anyway. I think it's bad form. 3) We all wanna buy cheap. Who doesn't want a bargain? But on some occasions you simply HAVE to have a record and if price is not so much of a consideration you go for it don't you? I don't remember anyone leaping to my defence when I paid £40 for the Tomangoes in '74 or thereabouts. It's the nature of the beast....... I didn't ask for any negativity on here. I got personally attacked and insulted for reasons which still aren't clear. I tried to do the guy a favour but, hey, lesson learnt LOL...... Ian D

Taste is a concept that's open to lot's of conjecture Steve. By the way, what's the story on that Lee Charles record? Was it an official release? Ian D

You're welcome David. Many thanks mate. This deal is typical of how things can work like clockwork if people understand the process. I've never met Dave to my knowledge, but he sent a list of the records he wanted and what he was prepared to pay for them, I got back to him and a deal was done. An easy process that nonetheless still took a few PM's, some argy-bargying with Tim, some running around and lots of postage. As David said the prices are not bargains but they're the prices which Tim wants for his collection pieces. I should point out that Tim has turned down probably 80% of requests because he either doesn't have 'em, they have a Deep Soul side, he wants to keep the item or he thinks they're worth more than the price offered. And a few bob is really closer to the truth than anyone realises as Tim is still getting to grips with decimalization! Those were beautiful copies as well weren't they? I checked 'em to make sure. Best, Ian D

As per usual you're really showing your ignorance here James. For a start, as anyone who knows Tim Brown well will tell you, he's the last guy to pay decent commissions on sales and he prides himself on being the tightest of the tight LOL. All that's happened is I had some philosophical discussions with Tim about why he would want to keep records that he either doesn't like or wouldn't ever play and wouldn't he be better off liberating 'em to someone else who could use them and was willing to pay Tim's price. As a result a load of rare records have been freed up. Tim sets the prices. Not me. My commission is tiny and believe you me it's hard-earned. He wanted to keep his own collection seperate from his usual Anglo American business and therefore wanted to target people who may really want particular records that otherwise would simply remain on his shelves forever. Using me to put the feelers out and contacting people has resulted in him parting with titles that he simply would never have particularly thought about selling. There's been quite a few surprises. The whole point of doing it this way was because he doesn't have a lot of time at the moment and therefore rather than getting hundreds of calls from numerous people, I'll call him and discuss who wants what and it's a relatively simple yes, no or maybe. You've really got the wrong end of the stick here and why you would want to accuse me of half the stuff you've mentioned is just beyond me. I don't get it. I'm pretty sure that everyone I've dealt with thus far is delighted to get their hands on these records and Tim's happy because he got the price he wanted. Nobody is pressured - Tim gives the price he wants and people either say ay or nay. What he chooses to pay in commission is up to him and nobody else's business anyway. It's NOT an auction. So it's not a question of 'bidding'. Which part of the process do you not understand? Tim sets the price and if you want the record you say yes and if you don't you say no. Tim's not negotiating on the prices he sets for his own collection hence I have no input on the prices he sets. Anyone can ask Tim and he'll say the same. What really kind of upsets me is that I genuinely pressured Tim on both the records you wanted and wasted a lot of time. The Precisions was a straight no but I kept badgering him. He'd rather keep the Gwen Owens anyway - there's not many copies around that don't jump which is why he set such a high premium on it and that was a 10 minute discussion in itself. You and I had a chain of perfectly reasonable messages between us, I went away for 36 hours and came back to a character assassination that was completely unwarranted. Terms like "deflationary action", "leaching resources out the scene" and "the fragile eco system of rare soul" suggest that maybe you misunderstand the mechanics of this process. Tim's been selling rare Northern for the last 30 years and I've traded records of all types most of my life, so nothing new or revoltionary is happening here. It's merely been a resource to free up some records which were wasted on Tim's shelves and most people are happy to have the opportunity to get their hands on their wants. It seems to me that you have a few issues mate. An anger-management course may be an idea. What's not a good idea is to deliberately try and antagonise people with personal remarks that are basically nasty. What possible upside can there be by going through life with that attitude? Ian D

Hiya Dranny, Well obviously I dislike playing his game which is outrage for the sake of it IMO, but he really had zero reason for trying to bury me. I was actually trying to help the twat 'cos I knew he wanted certain records. But then his blood pressure rose or something and he played straight to form and ended up pissing off people. That's his modus operandi. The clue is in the name. At least he does what it says on the tin. And let's face it, James 'Mildly Annoying' just doesn't have the same ring to it......... Plus he shot himself in the foot if he actually wanted those records. It doesn't really make sense to piss-off the seller if you can avoid it. What could the possible upside be? Ian D

Well, that was my thinking too Dave. I had to tread a very thin line here 'cos I actively encouraged Tim along this route because I thought he could potentially sell to some different customers outside of his normal channels. Plus there's a BIG difference between Anglo American stock and Tim's personal collection so he couldn't go the normal route on his own stuff as he'd feel there was no difference between his personal collection and his regular auction stuff. BIG difference. It had to be worth his while for him to even consider selling something from his own collection 'cos that's 'sacred' in his world. But even a top price won't alter his view if he'd rather keep a record or if has a Deep Soul 'B' side. They're off limits immediately. But that's what Tim's into so fair enough. It's what he's not particularly into that excites me. He has tons of great titles in there that he'll never willingly play by his own choice. So they're wasted on his shelves IMO. So my argument was along the lines of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' and that's happily turned out to be correct. Some very rare records have changed ownership over the last week and that would seriously never have happened without a load of titles being zinged at Tim from left-field including many that were 100% wasted on his shelves! Maybe now they'll be played for a start. Many people kinda guessed anyway. As you say, it's not been a classified secret that Tim whittles down occasionally and I've worked with him for years so it was fairly predictable that it could be him. However he asked that he be kept anonymous and I agreed, painful though it was at times. I'd have been perfectly happy to say I was selling on his behalf but he didn't want that and I respected his wishes. But these things lead to other things and hey presto, someone else comes out of the woodwork and says 'well I have this and this and this' etc and then records get liberated and put to fresh parties. I'm completely up-to-date on all orders to date, all records have been mailed Special Delivery to arrive on Monday morning, so let's get some more requests in before the facility is closed....... Hopefully, when people receive their records we'll start seeing some positivity on what I think is a pretty good service if you really want a record! As I said, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Off to bed now. It's been a stressful bloody week! Ian D

Jamesmmmmlet'sseenowmaybemyrealnamemaynotbehipenoughsoI'llchangemynametojamestroubleshakethesceneupabitandliveuptomynamebybeinganarroganttwatwithanoverartedopinionofhimself....... Naturally your figures are completely wrong as the situation is very fluid and changes day by day and even hour by hour. Some deals have been done and the records sent, some deals are pending, some are ongoing and some won't happen at all. Like yours for instance. I don't know what's spawned such hatred. You came to me, requested some wants and I went hell to leather to try and secure 'em for you. I wanted you to get those records believe it or not. You'd already sabataged yourself once with the seller and lo and behold you've just managed to do it again. I'd say you have issues which you need to iron out. For a start, what's with the 'Trouble' thing? Is it a sort of Austin "Danger" Powers gimmick or something? Or is it a mission statement maybe? You play the angry young dickhead role pretty well but you're trying waaaay too hard to be outrageous. Go back to Lesson # 4 and refine it a bit. Ian D

Hi Mike, Yep. Will do. Will be happy to close the thread off in the next week anyway. I guess everyone who I'm dealing with can PM me in future but I've decided that this isn't the main thrust of my life and I need to get on with other stuff anyway. There's currently quite a few pending deals and I'd like to close these before next Friday latest, so I'll nudge everyone for a yes or no in the few days if that's OK. I'm still responding to other PM's so I should be done at my end by close of play today touch wood. Many thanks to everyone who has responded and I hope your enjoy your records! Tim sends his regards to all and says it a shame that his cover was blown as he was looking at things in a whole new light and it gave him the opportunity to re-think about what he wanted to keep and what he didn't mind letting go, so he could deal with things in a more impersonal way and in an objective fashion. A shame as it was throwing up some great discussions. Any last minute requests should be sent a.s.a.p. Will post in Sales for anything else along these lines. And Steve - what's the story on that Lee Charles? Ian D

Well you've got a point there Ken but as I said before, it's not technically straight sales and the wants require an offer with 'em, so it doesn't necessarily fit in Sales & Wants that easily either. I'm perfectly happy if Mike wants to shift it. The question was actually designed so that hopefully someone would happily come on and say I'd pay ? for a copy of ? and that would then result in a zillion replies questioning the worth of something. If anything came from any of the requests then that would be a bonus in a way. Anyway, it'll only be on for another week and then I think I'll kill it and go private anyway. There's plenty of people want records so no harm in asking IMO......... Ian D

I wouldn't if I were you Gareth. His arse is in big demand apparently! Ian D

Tim didn't want that. That's why I said, right at the beginning, that the seller wanted to remain anonymous. This is my very first paragraph:- " I've recently bumped into the mother of all collections from someone who's been quietly beavering away collecting for the last 30 odd years and before anyone asks, no he's not on here or any other forums LOL. This was a guy who would never, ever sell anything previously so once he got something it always stayed in his collection period. When I say he has virtually everything I'm really not kidding. It's the best collection I've ever seen and I've seen quite a few. However, he's now changed his outlook somewhat and has said he'll let certain titles go 'for the right price'. He wants to remain anonymous but has invited me to come to him with specific offers on titles, so I'm throwing it open to anyone on S.S. who may be after a gem that's eluded 'em forever. Now is the chance". I tried to disguise his identity as discreetely as possible. I just don't see how anyone could misinterpret the above. I couldn't say much else without giving an indication of who it was could I? Plenty of people guessed anyway and my answer was the same to all of them, namely, "Tim's perfectly capable of selling his own records". Which he is. It seems that on this scene everybody wants to know everyone else's business but some people prefer to be more discreet and this is the case here. No one else seemed to mind apart from a couple of people that were no doubt cheesed-off that some rare records were being sold without their permission. Ian D

I stated that the seller wanted to remain anonymous Dave. Which part of that is so difficult for people to understand? It's actually nobody else's business if the seller wants to remain anonymous is it? Besides, I consider that anyone who has collected records for 30 + years and spends time listening to them whilst comfortably sitting down in a chair is an armchair collector. Many of us are aren't we? I guess it depends how you define 'armchair collector'. I know thousands of 'em. Sure, I was being oblique but as I explained to people who rang me pumping me for information all the time, THE SELLER WANTS TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS! How much clearer could I make it? That was his prerogative and I stuck to my end of the deal. I've just had to give the same guarantee to another guy so this is par for the course for a lot of people at the moment. People have their own reasons for remaining anonymous and this thread is the living proof. I personally don't mind either way. Anyone out there, anonymous or otherwise who fancies moving some records can contact me and if I can help I will. I'd LOVE to get back to someone and say, "Hey, I've found someone who wants to sell the record you're after". It's just happened in fact. It's a handy 'lil service with maybe a 5-10% hit rate but that's better than no hit rate at all. I'd be happy to get a record this way...... Ian D

Well, not my doing Ken. All anyone wanted to do here was try and see if we could fill people's wants in a discreet fashion at the sellers request , which has now been done with plenty of people who are pretty happy that they're now getting stuff they've been after for years. No arms have been twisted. I've sorted about 5 records for people this morning alone, so people are very appreciative. Of course, you always get some prats - something which both Tim and the other seller would prefer to avoid! None of the guys who have actually bought records or requested them are prats (apart from one ) but serious collectors who want to fill gaps in their collections. Strangely enough they're not moaning........... Ian D

In this situation when it's his own collection he didn't want the limelight Steve. He's trying to finish a book and has his hands full with other stuff as well, so this was simply a kind of experiment to sell some records without a big song and dance. Failed miserably on the limelight front but surprisingly successful on the sales front. Ian D

Depends how you look at it Dave. Tim wanted anonymity for his own reasons, not least the fact that he didn't want a zillion calls and a stampede of people bothering him for records he didn't ever intend to sell. But that's out the bag now so I guess it's a moot point. However, he did use to be around when I was a lad (I sold him Duke Browner for £12) and I'd say he's the definitive armchair collector as he likes nothing more than sitting in his armchair listening to Deep Soul. I couldn't reveal who it was because I'd been requested not to and I respected that. Besides, does it particularly matter who the seller is? A rare record is still a rare record whoever owns it surely? But the strange thing is I'm actually also brokering deals for someone else as well, so the bespoke wants list thing is kind of working out for a few people. I just fulfilled another 3 wants this morning from an entirely different collector, who, guess what:- wants to remain anonymous LOL. So now two collections to go at. People still want the records and this is helping 'em find 'em. Normally it'd take an auction to turn up some of these and have tons of people bidding against each other. This way someone offers a price and it's either a yes, no or counter-offer. Simples. Ian D

That's the spirit. What use are the records you don't play much which are sat on a shelf among 1000's of others? They may as well go to a good home and prefeably someone who can use the record more! I spent bloody years trying to prise records out of collections and it could be a frustrating process at times...... It'd be perfect for Discogs really but Disgogs doesn't really do rare Northern. Whereas S.S. is pretty much ideal . Can't think of a better audience really. Ian D

I don't mind Ken. It can go there. It is a different type of thing from a standard sales thing though - it's a kind of bespoke wants list and then possible sales typa thing so it's not an easy fit......... But I am listening to ya mate! Ian D

These are not Anglo American stock, they're his personal collection, so not for sale per se. He's not in a hurry to sell anything from his collection but would consider offers on some titles that he's not too precious about. But he doesn't come on here, so I pitched it to see if anything would come out of it. From his point of view it's not so bad if it comes through a third-party and it saves him spending all his time on the phone arguing about prices LOL. It keeps it impersonal to a degree (or at least it did LOL) and I suspect that's been an attraction. Plus it's not like I have carte-blanche on this! I have to persuade him and cajole him. The amount of stuff he's turned down because he likes the 'B' side is unbelievable! As it happens it's freed up a load of records which otherwise wouldn't have gone anywhere fast! Ian D

Yep, he does have his own list and he does have hundreds of regular buyers. But he doesn't necessarily reach everyone or other different markets. Because I have a lot of discussions with him (I've been wholesaling lots of Anglo-American stock titles for the last few years to mainstream accounts) I always argue that sometimes it's worth going different routes on things to test new avenues. If a sort of 'bespoke wants lists at top prices' option was available in the 70's I'd have leapt on it. It's another opportunity to get someone you might really desperately need and not want to wait 20 years to find. Perfectly reasonable IMO. Most records end up staying on his shelves anyway. But, hey, if someone really wants a record, is prepared to pay the right price and he's not that precious about it then he'll certainly think about it won't he? And he has! Plus don't forget he's getting collections and stuff from Martin all the time so anything could potentially pop up. It's handy if you know who wants what under those circumstances surely? I suspect you'd already know if those had surfaced anywhere Steve but there's plenty of guys who may not be as well plugged-in as your good self and those are the guys who might want a shot at some goodies. This way they have...... I'm happy when people get records they're after! Ian D