Ian Dewhirst

So maybe we're barking up the wrong tree entirely then Steve? How about promoters maybe booking 2 or 3 knowledgeable key deejays only that will play 2 hour spots apiece and bring some variation to the proceedings by having the freedom to programme their music organically without having to cram the everyday crowd-pleasers into a one hour spot? A sort of coinnesseurs soul night if you like. I can tell from your prior postings that you could easily play 2-3 hours easily and probably find a willing audience that would appreciate your depth of knowledge and hear a lot of stuff that they wouldn't normally hear anywhere else. That's what I'd happily pay my money to hear. So maybe what's needed is a promoter who will put their balls on the line and give the dedicated DJ's enough time to play a sensible set? Going back to the 70's when there were fewer DJ's, I can remember routinely playing 2 hour sets @ the Central and Samanthas and I had 2 spots @ Cleethorpes of an hour apiece which allowed me a lot of latitude in what I played. Wigan was always an hour max. But I can remember Richard Searling playing virtually all night @ Va-Va's and breaking loads of new tunes! We all broke a lot of records back then. I'm not sure if the one hour slot allows enough leeway for a DJ to play a structured set. Food for thought ay? Ian D

"You either get it or you don't, those who don't carry on in your own plastic world" Camus 1974. Could be taken in two ways Jocko. Plastic meaning vinyl presumably? And, yes, Gin is a pretty good solution to the idiosyncrasities of modern day life. Personally I tend to chuck whatever I can at myself to shield me from reality - right now it's flagons of beer LOL..... I came back on the train tonight and took a good look at the contents of the train carriages. All good solid everyday working people bludgeoned into dealing with reality by the convenience of their I-Pods, which kinda shuts off the world really and turns everyone into zombies. So, I've changed tack entirely now. F*%k progress if it makes you divorce yourself from reality and make you a robot. There's a lot to be said for a priceless piece of music that you can hold in your hand and marvel at the sheer beauty of what it took to make that piece of physical product. How's that for a turn-around? Just like many of us I'm torn between the old and the new. Challenging times folks. No one said it would be easy. Ian D

Haha LOL! Don't tell me they STILL play Iron Maiden off the original LP's? What kind of fidelity can you get from that? By the way, do ya need a "Run To The Hills" pic disc? Ian D

That wasn't the Gap Band dance Simon, it was a sit-down PROTEST! Ian D

What, even if it's on original vinyl? You guys are just so difficult to please............ Ian D

Nowt wrong with Picasso mate. And I don't complain when "Psychedelic Soul" comes on do you? Ian D

It does still matter on this scene Jayne I agree. All I'm pointing out is that things are changing generally. I had the same conversations 10 years ago with vinyl fanatics on other scenes and they all had to switch eventually or be left behind. The format actually isn't that important to 95% of the punters on most scenes. What's important is what actually comes out of the speakers. The Northern scene is different but I think the reasons for having an OVO policy is not necessarily about the music, it's more about the politics of the scene surely? I can guarantee you that the artists themselves have no worries about what format their music is played on. They just want their music to be played to an adoring audience full stop. Ian D

Doesn't sound like it on here Simon with all the complaints about the same old records being rotated, lazy DJ's and lack of imagination. More is more Simon. Ian D

Some painters can't work with a large palette whereas other painters need almost unlimited choices within their palette in order to produce great works of art! Would you like to buy some clogs off me? Ian D

But what about all those great unknowns or rarely played which never quite make it into your box Steve? Are you honestly saying that there haven't been gigs where you've kicked yourself because it may have been the ideal circumstance to play an unknown or something you've never played before but you didn't have it with you? The other alternative would be to bring a custom-designed van which could hold a couple of thousand records and have 'runners' who could nip out and get whatever records you wanted from the alphabetised shelves in the van. Choice is a marvellous thing. Ian D

You may be bottom of the food chain Bazza but at least you're not a dreaded 'Z' list DJ! Ian D

No I'm not LOL. Modern was used to describe the newer releases from the early 70's by most sellers at the time i.e. guy pulls out a copy of Anderson Brothers/Marvin Holmes/The Temprees etc, etc and asks "what's this like mate" and seller says "it's a modern stormer". So there nyaaaaaah! Ian D

Cheeky bugger LOL! So let's get it right Simon. Presumably you limit yourself to what you are physically capable of carrying? So maybe a couple of hundred tunes which you have to pre-select before you set off for a venue? And people keep complaining about the same tunes being rotated all the time.....doh! Why limit yourself when you can have a choice of thousands and add some badly needed variety to the scene? I bet you still use an outdoor loo and wear clogs dontcha? Ian D

Surely it's all down to individual taste isn't it Matt? A format is a format. If I was still deejaying on the Northern scene these days I'd use a variety of formats - vinyl, cd and wav files and I wouldn't need to play ANYTHING EVER which anyone else plays 'cos I'd have a HUGE choice with me - circa several thousand Northern at least without counting the biggies. It makes for a more organic selection process IMO. I was always hampered by the fact that I could only take what I could carry before. Now I can take my whole collection everywhere which gives me choice and variety and the ability to play totally organically. There's was nothing more frustrating then playing out and suddenly realising that I could have played a PERFECT record or slid in a real left-field killer if I'd had it with me. Now I don't have that problem anymore and that to me is progress. But, you know, to each their own. It suits me just fine and works like a dream at the gigs I play these days but I think attitudes are pretty entrenched on the Northern scene and people see it as a threat or something that will upset the delicate balance or status quo. I remember having the same conversation with some of the top DJ's in the world about 10 years ago and I almost got laughed out of the room when I suggested that they might not be using 12"'s in a few years time. The last time I was in Ibiza a couple of years back NONE of 'em were using vinyl LOL and a couple of 'em were gracious enough to remember the original conversation......... Ian D

Blimey, V.I.P.'s turned into the ultimate rarity label hasn't it? Ian D

I'm stunned! Not bad for a record which used to be £1 on Soul Bowl LOL..... And it even looks likes a boot! Ian D

It's only indie rock 7" vinyl that's selling in 500-1000 copy runs unfortunately. For most record companies it's just not viable anymore. As an example, when I started the Salsoul reissues in 2003, we were routinely doing 2-3K of the more popular releases - First Choice, Instant Funk, Joe Bataan, Loleatta Holloway etc, etc. By 2006 we were struggling to sell even 500 units (including export) on some hot new mixes or in-demand re-issues. You'd be hard-pressed to find many companies releasing vinyl outside of indie rock these days (apart from small pressing runs on good Soul/Northern soul gear which generally only amount to a few hundred). Also don't believe all the stats you read - just because there is a slight upward blip on 7" indie rock titles has to measured against the declines of the last 25 years! Both Independent Pressing (Chris King's old company - boy did he get out at the right time LOL) and Simply Vinyl (the UK's largest vinyl reissue company) crashed this year. The UK biggest vinyl dealer - Hard To Find Records in Birmingham is now offering 6p a unit for overstock 12" vinyl - aproximately 54p less than it cost to make! I think there's a message there somehow. Ian D

Things change Chalky. I went to a Summer weekend do in Somerset a couple of years ago and was amazed to see a guy dressed up in a dinner suit playing a wind up victorola player with original 78's in the corner of a marquee with a couple of people watching him. It was very pleasant and a refreshing change and somehow very civilized on a Sunday evening in August. So I went up and had a natter with him. He was obviously an eccentric but totally believed in what he was doing and said that almost all of his bookings were for the quaint novelty value of having him there rather than the actual music he played (which was 30's/40's stuff). He said that he'd always been interested in 'old' things and loved the aesthetic qualities and ethos of utlizing the victorola and 78's and that his main problem was keeping the several victorolas he had in good working order. He said he got most of his 78's free 'cos people chucked 'em out 'cos they couldn't play 'em anymore! It was kinda sad and touching and definitely a throwback to a bygone era. And then I moved down to the main marquee where 500 people were dancing to a regular DJ and realised that you can't hold back change no matter how romantic it may be. I'm optmistic. I don't think a mere format change will be enough to kill a scene. There'll probably be even more good stuff unearthed which has never come out before because of the previous expense of releasing it in a physical format. Kent seem to be unearthing stuff along with a lot of other people, so all that will happen is that the scene will mutate along with peoples attitudes hopefully. Not an easy change though LOL..... Ian D

There's lies the rub.......... Are there even 20 unknown killers still out there? Ian D

No fear mate. I don't wanna get lynched just yet thankyou very much, but it's packed full of 20k killer tunes and ready to go-go baby as soon as the world catches up LOL! Ian D

No.....please.....mercy.....threaten me with anything but whatever you do but DON'T TELL MARY!!! And I've been smelling the sweet aroma of my record room for the last 3 days thankyou very much...cough....sneeze....splutter..... And other people don't have my taste in music thank God! Now where's that FANTASTIC unreleased Dynamics track..........? Ian D

Apparently Brighton has a healthy little scene, parts of Europe and that James Trouble gig in London was OK t'other week wasn't it? Prestatyn was OK too but a distinct lack of youngsters apart from a couple of local Prestatyn girls who 'go to everything that happens @ the holiday camp' LOL.... Ian D

And if you think things are bad on this scene, then look at the implications for the wider music biz. From today's Times:- https://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/ne...icle4144585.ece The digital age is affecting everybody! Ian D

30 years ago I'd have lynched myself LOL. Records redundant? Forget it mate and screw you would've been my attitude back then! But it's a bit like fiddling whilst Rome burns or sticking a finger in a dyke a hoping the water won't burst through etc, etc. I'm closer to the changes which are going on 'cos I've been making a living in the music biz for the last 35 years and there is absolutely no doubt that a revolution has happened for better or worse with the result that physical formats are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. There is no doubt that vinyl is dead as a format - the stats don't lie and pressing plants aren't closing for no reason. So there's no point is pussyfooting around really. You can either embrace the changes and try and be positive about it or bury your head in the sand and hope it'll all go away, which it won't. My prediction is that the collector's scene will obviously continue in much the same way that serious collectors of any scene continue whether it's Doo-Wop, Rock N' Roll or Psych etc, etc. But it will be a rarified circle of people and probably a very exclusive club for those who can afford to indulge themselves. My concern is really for the future health of a brilliant scene which has existed for the last 40 years. It seems that the scene is not really attracting any new generations of youth apart from some odd pockets around the country that don't seem to carry the same baggage as the rest of the scene. Part of the baggage is undoubtably the hardened attitudes towards certain areas of the scene which I guess is what this thread is all about. The youth of today don't particularly CARE about what format a tune is delivered on. They just want to hear great music coming out of the speakers. If that music is determined by whether someone has a grand or two spare to buy an expensive original or whether a record is actually a lousy record but incredibly rare, then the scene will eventually disappear up it's own arse and implode. Easy for me to say as I don't make a living from the scene and these days I'm merely an observer who can look at things with a degree of objectivity. Plus, as many people keep pointing out, this is a consistantly repeating theme with these threads creeping up every few weeks on here, so obviously many people are considering these issues all the time. So don't shoot the messenger LOL! Maybe it's time to review things. It should always be about the music first and foremost and sometimes it seems that this has been forgotten. OK, where's that ticket to Coventry......... Ian D

2 weeks wages back then Simon. But hey we're highjacking this thread........ Ian D