Ian Dewhirst

And Ian Levine points out: "Maxine Nightingale was a whole year later, and Steven Jameson successfully sued Pierre Tubbs for about three quarters of the publishing". Blimey, I'll feeling less and less sorry for Nosmo! "Right Back Where We Started From" was a No.2 hit in the U.S. and featured in the Paul Newman film "Slap Shot" and would have made a mint....... Mmm. Nosmo King did OK out of Northern Soul it seems......... Cheers Ian. Ian D

God you're right Epic! A full year later in fact..... OK, that blows that theory out of the water then. So did Nosmo King in fact DESIGN the record for the Northern Soul scene then? Was it the first tailor-made? Ian D

Good point. It was a 'claimed' record as the original Nosmo King came and went on original release without a ripple. I think Dave Macaleer may have had something to do with it and maybe passed it to Levine and Russ - one of 'em effectively covered it as the Javells I think...... I think Jack Bollington from Derby was onto it quick as I seem to remember buying the original off him...... I don't think it was tailor-made per se. Probably used the template from Maxine Nightingdale as I alluded to earlier..... Ian D

And believe it or not, I never even got the connection until about 3 weeks after I got the record! I just thought that Nosmo was an interesting name....... Same thing happened when the "Batman" film came out - I never saw the bat in the logo - I just saw an open mouth with a few teeth in it...... Think I may have problems....... Confused from Carshalton

I was under the impression that you were exempt for some reason Simon? Any guy who can squeeze Uday Hussein into a thread deserves credit....... But the searing question is, how on earth did some guy called Nosmo King come up with such a blinding production? I just played it for the first time in 30 odd years and it's all there - great intro piano riff, pounding brass, swirling strings, pumping bassline, great singalong background vocals and a 4-4 stomping Northern beat. Only thing that let's it down is Nosmo's lead vocals LOL........... Ian D

Blimey. If his particular brand of comedy extended to coming up with a name like 'Nosmo King' I shudder to think what his live act is like! But how did he get the production so spot on 'cos the track was actually produced by him as well........? Reckon he may have heard "Right Back Where We Started From"...........? Ian D

I'll tell yer what though - "Goodbye Nothing To Say" was absolute magic as a new play and one of the biggest monsters at the time. Sounded brilliant over a huge system. I had a Nosmo King copy within two days of first hearing it. It was then covered as The Javells and then re-released as The Javells featuring Nosmo King before hitting No.26 in the charts in late '74. But I always thought Nosmo King got a raw deal. First of all he gets landed with a crap name and then booted off his own record! Very humiliating. He's probably in a retirement home right now pondering where it all went wrong......... But who was he? A mate of Micky Moonshine's no doubt.........? Ian D

Due to the overwhelming popularity of Micky Moonshine on SS, I thought it was high time we got to the bottom of another Northern Soul mystery vocalist..... Who is Nosmo King? I think we should be told. Coming soon: a detailed retrospective on the careers of Guy Darrell, Solomon King, Vince Edwards and Jack Hammer..... Ian D

Hah! Hoisted by his own petard! Well spotted Pete! Although you couldn't miss "Oh Lori" at the time 'cos it was played incessantly on the radio when Radio One had 15,000,000 listeners! Ian D

I think they may have all gone now John. I'll double check in the morning and let you know if I have one left, OK? No more enquiries folks....looks like they've all sold. Ian D

I reckon Mighty Joe Drake's got 'em all beat! Ian D

Don't need to mate 'cos you just did LOL! What's your commission by the way........? Naturally it's a KILLER book and trainspotter's delight otherwise I wouldn't be flogging the last of a dwindling stock on here! Whoops, there goes another. Thanks Tony! Only the last 2 or 3 left now and then that's it. Speak or forever lament to heaven........ Ian D

It is isn't it Toad. It's expensive but before this came out I had to use the discography in Sharon Davis's Motown Book from the 90's I think and I wore that out at the time, so this one is now a fixture on my shelves and DEAD handy for reference...... Essential for matrix freaks LOL... Ian D

Mmm. There seems to be a thirst for good Northern Soul reading material as the nights close in, so here's a hot-off-the-press new price guide and some other golden goodies I dug up......... Just In:- "The New & Improved Essential Northern Price Guide Edition 2" - Tim Brown & Martin Koppel (brand new just published - also includes a Bootleg Guide & over 25K records) - £30.00 (includes P&P). And: "The In Crowd" - Mike Ritson & Stuart Russell £20.00 + P&P "Casino" - Dave Shaw £10.00 + P&P "Guitars, Bars & Motown Superstars" - Dennis Coffey £15.00 + P&P Anyone who wants 'em should PM me. A good time to stock up on books methinks...... Ian D

5 sold in the last 24 hours! Only a handful left, so just letting everyone know as I won't have any more of these anytime soon! Best, Ian D

Is this the Jay-Boy one? If it is it'll outdo Ray Merrell at this rate...... Gonna raid a couple of places right now if it is....... Ian D

I stand corrected! Always got Pip Williams and Richard Hewson mixed up as they were around at the same time. There was a period in the early 70's where I'd automaticaly buy almost anything with either of their names on it........ Ian D

Yep, he was a fantastic arranger. I think he did Jigsaw's "Sky High" if my memory serves me properly and was really active in the early 70's. He did lots of UK proto disco stuff at around the same time as "Name It You Got It" (funny that this is also the top thread in the Record section). And did you ever hear Pip's arrangement on Mud's Disco track "Shake It Down"? Phenomenal. Even made Les sound good! Ian D

"Off The Record" Motown By Master Number 1959-1989 Volume 1: Singles Stumbled into a few copies of this holy grail of Motown listings in a book warehouse. This is Reginald D. Bartlette's long out-of-print hardback book list of EVERY U.S. and Canadian Motown and related labels masters from 1959-1989 which included Rayber, Motown, Ridge, Mel-O-Dy, Tamla, Miracle, Black Forum, Workshop Jazz, V.I.P., Rare Earth, Thelma, Anna, Rich, Wondirection, Mowest, Gordy, Hitsville, Divinity, Soul, Blaze, Chisa, CTI, Golden World, Ric-Tic, Wingate, Prodigal, Maltese, Ju-Par, Impact, Inferno, Penny etc, etc, etc. Every serious collector needs to have one these on the shelves! Invaluable information including lots of scans plus every scrap of info you could possibly require on Matrix numbers and number sequences, b sides etc, etc. If you haven't already got one of these then now really is the time as this is long out-of-print and will be as hard to track down as the records eventually, mark my words. All copies are sealed and brand new. I've just sold a couple immediately and have about 5 left. £60 each if anyone's interested. PM me if you want one... Best, Ian D

I spoke to someone the other day who knows Pip quite well. I think he's working as a lecturer at some Music College somewhere near where he lives..... Ian D

How about "Country Road" for a start LOL! Always hated it first time around (I don't think I ever actually played it) but now it's become a rallying cry for militant Northerners! Ian D

Hey Stevie, don't be lowering the tone with cucumber mate...... Water cress sarnies and tea in fine bone china cups only on this thread..... Maybe we need James Trouble back on here to liven things up after his lively weekend in Essex LOL.... Ian D

Yer welcome Alex. Your passion and energy were inspiring mate! I've mentioned you to a couple of big promoters so hopefully you'll be getting a few calls............handy that you have your own rig too. I'll catch ya next time I'm up! Ian D

KB's copy was the original one which Simon nicked from the Motown library which went to Les McCutcheon then Johnathan Woodliffe. Not sure where it went after Johnathan. I'm pretty sure Tim got Martin's copy........... Ian D

I could have sworn it was Laura Greene who did "Memories & Souvenirs".............? Am I wrong? Ian D