Ian Dewhirst

LOL, thanks Mike. The Mighty 7 track was a side project from Gee Bello (Light Of The World) and has become something of a collectors item on the Boogie scene in France at the moment. He's actually my old flatmate, so nice to see some action on this tune 'cos it disappeared without trace when it originally came out. See ya Sunday, if you're up in time. Ian D

Classic! Right up there with Saddam Husseins son! Ian D

LOL, that's funny Roger! I often wondered where Russ got his image from. I thought it was Jason King but now the secrets out......... Ian D

But there lies the rub MB. If you mega publicise the record in the local town and get the front page, then the whole town will know something major is up, everybody and their 90 year old grandfather will be up in the lofts or down in the basements DIGGING, DIGGING, DIGGING like frenzied bastards and you'll have a couple of thousand lunatics turnin up with beat-up copies of "I Can't Help Myself" or "Baby Love" demanding millions of bucks and thinking they've won the lottery LOL.... Whereas my strategy would be the sneaky bastard approach i.e. a discreet box ad in the classifieds at the back of the paper asking if anyone has any records from the ARP plant in their lofts and specifically any by one Frank Wilson or, at a pinch, Patrice Holloway or some of the other obscure ones. Will pay CA$H. You know that sort of thing. It's something to do with me being a tight Northerner and my horrendous upbringing where beans on toast was the main meal of the week LOL... Great publicity stunt though and inspired thinking. How about a discreet box ad first and if that brings nothing substantial THEN go for the front splash with a scan of FW? It'd be the biggest news in Owasso since Tommy Jr fell out of a tree in '63! Good thinking MB. It'd definitely get the front page of the local rag and then the wires would pick it up and the next thing you know we'll have Manship on CNN....... Ian D

A classified ad in the back of the local paper along the lines of: "Do YOU Have Some Motown Records In Your Loft or Garage?" might be worth a shot? Or better still "We're Looking To Contact Any Ex-Employees of ARP For A Forthcoming Documentary......" It'd be cheaper than the winning bid that's for sure LOL.... Ian D

LOL, you'd have thought he could have used a 60's Motown sleeve or even a U.S. one at that wouldn'tcha........? Ian D

FANTASTIC detective work! Ya never know do you? I'd be inclined to fish around just for the hell of it. Were the records ALL junked or did some employees of the plant get the wink and are there a load of 60's Motown promos in a loft in Owosso? These are the things dreams are made of. Nothing ventured, nothing gained dude........ Ian D

Hi Brett, I'm researching it as we speak mate. I'm speaking to the Guinness Book Of Records people in the morning so I should have some definitive info tomorrow. And I wouldn't believe me if I were you! Sometimes I have trouble believing myself! Ian D

I think that's Jon Coupland's copy from Spalding, Lincolnshire innit? Ian D

Well, it's worth a pint just for the jousting mate! Basically it could be a double reverse-psychology ploy pointing to a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma providing a conundum, thus creating a paradox if you see what I mean......... Pints on me Andy..... Ian D

My regard for the Ginger one has improved immensely! I thought the gig was up when I tried to insure your bet and cut a decent profit but couldn't persuade anyone to take me up on it LOL.... Said record dealer can't confirm or deny any of the rumours at this point on the basis of: 1) A confidentiality clause with the owner. and 2) "Frank - you're the LAST bloody person who needs to know!" quote. I don't know why he'd say that. I always thought I came across as the strong silent shy retiring type............ Ian D

Yep, that well-known hoarder of impossibly rare records from Spalding, Lincolnshire, Jon Coupland, who managed to outwit every record hound on earth for 32 years and bag the missing third copy of "Do I Love You" LOL....probably a personal mate of Berry's no doubt....... 'Frank Wilson Frenzy' we call in round these parts! We'll see more of this in the coming weeks I'm sure. Ian D

I've heard so many different stories, red herrings and blind alleys that I'm actually back-tracking slightly now. In the course of the last few days I've had to speak to a number of people who are absolutely more knowledgeable about the history of the record and the various processes which ths particular record went through. I'm now convinced that only 6 promo copies were originally manufactured. Of those 6, I think 3 went to Detroit and the other 3 were retained @ ARP. Of the 3 which went to Detroit I believe that 1 copy went to the main archive library (which eventually got relocated to Los Angeles and was subsequently 'borrowed' by Simon Soussan), 1 went to Berry Gordy's personal archive and the other 1 is either unaccounted for or gone. Of the 3 which were retained by ARP, I believe that 2 of them were destroyed along with the thousands of other multiple archive Motown pressings when ARP got the OK to clear the space from Motown as long as they kept a single copy of everything (not as unusual as it sounds as the American's never seemed to value anything that was mass-produced in those days, so dumping or destroying stock was standard practise). That single copy @ ARP was subsequently obtained by Ron Murphy. So 4 copies left out of the original 6. 1 'borrowed' by Simon Soussan from the Motown archive library which went from Soussan-Les McCutcheon-Johnathan Woodliffe-KevRoberts, now owned by Tim Brown. Verified. 1 obtained by Ron Murphy from ARP which went from Murphy-Martin Koppel-Tim Brown, now owned by Kenny Burrell. Verified. 1 owned by Berry Gordy in his personal archive. Unverified. 1 unaccounted for. Unverified. My feelings are that the unverified unaccounted copy is probably long gone. I just can't see that it could be laying in anyone's collection without being known about. What's the point in owning a Frank Wilson if no one knows you have it? And after 32 years I think the info would have come out one way or another seeing as every record hound in the world has been trying to track one down since the late 70's...... So that leaves 2 verified copies and 1 unverified. The unverified one is Berry Gordy's so that won't be going anywhere fast. Which boils it down to Tim and Kenny's copies......... Unless, John has managed to unearth the 'lost' copy which originally went to Motown but is unaccounted for..... So anyone's guess really...... All bets are off..... 6 weeks to go.... Ian D

My fave from that album is "No One Can Love You Like I Do". Still think that's a beaut.......... Ian D

huh huh

Hi Paul, The wonderful world of the internet! Welcome to Soul Source - it's the perfect audience for you I guarantee. I love the material you produced with Jimmy Briscoe & The Beavers in the 1970's. Is Jimmy still around and do you have any uptempo stuff by him in the can from back then? Ian D

Well, 'better' is a subjective term speedlimit. As good as the Mello Souls is, Frank Wilson has 32 years of history behind it and a much wider audience. It's also one of the Motown 'holy grails' and has crossed-over from the Northern scene to a wide international audience. Also there are several high-end dedicated collectors who want the record because of it's general history and rarity whereas Mello Souls hasn't quite reached that rarified level of exposure yet. Give the Mello Souls another 30 years and see if any more than 3 copies turn up and then you could be talking! Ian D

Burnley Cricket Club every Tuesday night in the early 70's was a gas! Happy days and I always used to grab a Chinese in Tod on the way back to Huddersfield! Ian D

Preserve it. You can't have it both ways unfortunately. All the collectors and DJ's want MINT records and if a record has even slight wear it reduces it's value and if it's been played regularly it can half in value, so how can a record maintain it's value and audio clarity if it gets hammered to death? I cried when a record deck ruined my beautiful Morris Chestnut in 1974! I doubt if it's even audible now unless the present owner likes hearing it through a sea of hiss and crackle. There's plenty of other options these days, so why devalue what's left of the decent copies? I think the chances of the 3rd copy going to a regular DJ are minimal to be honest - it will probably go to a serious high-end specialist collector, a well-healed fan, a commercial operation or someone who wants to invest in the history of the record. Ian D

Phew, does no one buy albums anymore LOL? I've just slashed 20-30% across all titles so grab 'em before they get listed elsewhere....... All artist albums worth owning @ nice prices! Plus FREE POSTAGE on any order over £20.00 - which equates to aproximately a 20% discount! Angelo Bond "Bondage" US ABC Promo ABCD 889 VG+ (writing on cover but vinyl perfect) £8.00 Lou Courtney "I'm In Need Of Love" UK Soul Brother LP SBCS 2 M £6.00 Lamont Dozier "Right There" UK Warner Bros BS 2929 M £8.00 Lamont Dozier "Lamont" US M&M MM 104AE M £8.00 The Dramatics "Best Of The Dramatics" UK Stax STX 1047 M- £10.00 The Dramatics "The Dramatic Jackpot" US ABC ABCD 867 M £8.00 The Dramatics "Drama V" US ABC ABCL 5150 VG+ £8.00 The Four Tops "Greatest Hits" UK Tamla Motown STML 11061 G £4.00 Aretha Franklin "Ten Years Of Gold" US Atlantic SD 18204 M £6.00 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell "Greatest Hits" European Tamla Motown WL72103 M £5.00 Al Green "Greatest Hits" UK London SHU 8481 M £6.00 Al Green "Call Me" UK London SHU 8457 M £8.00 Al Green "Al" UK Beechwood Music Promo AGREELP 1 M £4.00 Donny Hathaway "The Best Of Donny Hathaway" UK Atlantic K50525 M £10.00 Loleatta Holloway "Loleatta" UK Salsoul SZS 5513 £10.00 Honey Cone "Soulful Tapestry" US Hot Wax HA 707 VG+ (tear on gatefold border but otherwise OK) £10.00 The Isley Brothers "Super Hits" UK Tamla Motown STMA 8024 M (with brilliant Motown 45 Sleeve) £8.00 Millie Jackson "Caught Up" UK Polydor 2391 147 VG+ £5.00 Millie Jackson "Still Caught Up" UK Polydor 2391 183 VG+ £5.00 Millie Jackson "Free & In Love" UK Polydor 2391 215 VG (slight kink in sleeve but otherwise OK) £8.00 Janice "Janice" US Fantasy MPF 4523 M £6.00 Eddie Kendricks "At His Best" UK Tamla Motown Promo STML 12080 M £8.00 Gladys Knight & The Pips "Everybod Needs Love" UK Tamla Motown STMS 5039 M- £12.00 Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - "Don't Leave Me This Way" UK CBS Embassy Promo SCBS 31600 M £6.00 The Miracles "City Of Angels" UK Tamla Motown STML 12010 M- £6.00 Moment Of Truth "Moment Of Truth" US Salsoul SZS 5509 M £12.00 The O'Jays "Full Of Soul" US Sunset SUS 5222 M- (contains "Hold On", "Working On Your Case" etc) £8.00 The O'Jays "In Philadelphia" UK Epic SEPC 65469 VG+ (contains "One Night Affair", "Looky Looky", "Deeper" etc - plain white sleeve) £8.00 The O'Jays "Collectors Items: Greatest Hits" UK Philadelphia International SPIR 86058 M £4.00 Freda Payne "Deeper & Deeper" UK HDH HDH LP 005 M £5.00 Ann Peebles "I Can't Stand The Rain" UK London SHU 8468 M £8.00 David Ruffin "At His Best" UK Tamla Motown Stickered Promo STML 12079 M £8.00 Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson "The Bottle" UK Audio Fidelity AFEMP 1017 M (Heavyweight Vinyl) £15.00 Joe Simon "Love Vibrations" US Spring SP -1-6720 VG+ £4.00 Skull Snaps "Skull Snaps" US GSF GSF-S-1011 G (contains "I'm Your Pimp", "My Hang Up Is You" & "Didn't I Do That To You" - cover split @ seams) £50.00 Sly & The Family Stone "Dance To The Music" US Epic E 30334 M (contains orig version of "I'll Never Fall In Love Again") £8.00 Edwin Starr "Soul Master" UK Tamla Motown TML 11094 VG (all the Ric Tic Goodies & "My Weakness Is You") £8.00 The Supremes "A' Go-Go" European Tamla Motown WL 72072 M £4.00 Johnny Taylor - "Chronicle 1968-1972" UK Stax STM 7001 (contains all the Don Davis hits) M £8.00 The Temptations "Anthology" (2LP) UK Tamla Motown Stickered Promo TMSP 6003 M £8.00 The Temptations "All The Million Sellers" US Motown M5-212V1 M £4.00 Jr Walker & The All-Stars "Hot Shot" US Soul S6-745S1 (produced by Brian Holland for HDH productions!) £8.00 Jackie Wilson "Greatest Hits" UK Brunswick BRLS 3004 M £8.00 Bobby Womack "Bobby Womack's Greatest Hits" US United Artists UA-LA346G M £6.00 Bobby Womack "Greatest Hits" US Liberty LN 10171 M £6.00 Bobby Womack "Somebody Special" UK Liberty Stickered Promo EG26 0250 1 M £6.00 Bobby Womack "The Poet" UK Motown STML 12168 M £8.00 Bobby Womack "The Poet 2" US Beverly Glen BG 10003 M £8.00 Betty Wright "Danger High Voltage" US Alston A 4400 G (cover spine split and record worn but plays OK hence the price) £6.00 Betty Wright " I Love The Way You Love" US Alson A 77002 M (contains "If You Love Me") £10.00 UK & NORTHERN IRELAND LPs £3.00 and £1.00 each thereafter. EUROPE LPs £4.00 and £1.50 thereafter UNITED STATES & REST OF WORLD LPs £5.50 and £2.50 thereafter. All records will be shipped in a well-packaged professional standard cardboard record mailer PM me for orders. Best, Ian D

a few here Spike..... https://www.amazon.com/Hi-Masters-Willie-Mi...l/dp/B00000AEPU Ian D

No, can't say I have but isn't GSF such a great label? I've always liked most stuff on GSF - a real New York indie with attitude I think. Always loved the Wendell Watts too. Got it off Levine in the late 70's - such atmosphere on the record! Ian D

Would that be Eric "The Budgie Man" I wonder.......? No 'fraid not A.R.B. I don't get back there so much these days I'm afraid..... Ian D

I could have sworn I heard Ginger play Burning Bush @ Cleethorpes in '76............. I'm pretty sure Russ was first on Eddie Foster/Frank Wilson though...... Ian D

Nonetheless it's good to see you out and about! Ian D