Ian Dewhirst

Blimey, the Kenny Smith's were a result. I had to pay a fortune for it! Also I remember one of the Leeds guys finding a Candi Staton "Now You've Got The Upper Hand" (when there was just the one) in Virgin, Leeds in a box of 10p imports! There were records everywhere back then. It makes you wonder just how many came from the one source dunnit? Ian D

When did the show go defunct Nelly? And why? I might have known it'd be you being Philly n' all! Ian D

Ha! I was hoping you'd come on Dave. How's the barn conversion going? You were dead lucky with the Sid Arthur find! I seem to remember it being one of Ian Clark's regular haunts back then. I'm pretty sure I drew a zero when I dropped in there but I seem to remember finding some good albums the same day - James Mason, Lesette Wilson etc, etc so not a total bust. Talking of which, is Clarky still around? Haven't heard much about him lately...... And finding 'em in the actual main racks is always a heart stopper! I found a George Kirby in Oklahoma filed under 'George Kirby'. How weird is that? Ian D

Maybe there was a curse on all the red copies of Joe Mathews LOL? Also, it's REALLY rare! It's not like it's an easy record and between the two of us we've lost two precious copies. How daft is that? Anyone NOT had a problem with their Joe Mathews issues? You know who to call........... Ian D

Hi Julian, Oh! It was YOU that got in there ya bugger. Must have been clean up time @ the Torch. Is that where you made your fortune? Talking of Kegsy, I was nattering to Pete Mitchell from Radio 2 last year who's doing a radio documentary story on Dean Parrish and I told him the Kegsy/Dean Parrish story and he was desperate to speak to Kegsy direct. I'm pretty sure I got Kegsy's details and passed 'em on but just wondered if Kegsy had talked to him and if his memories are as accurate as mine LOL.....? If you see him tell him to give me shout - I'd like to know if he got a call....... Also, didja find any one-offs or ultra-raries there? I know Twink got his Susan Barratt, United Four and Salvadores off you but I'm wondering what other goodies you had at that time? Look at that LOL! 35 years later and I'm still asking the same questions. Weird ay? Ian D

Yep, Swish was right. Kegsy plugged "I'm On My Way" for weeks. I sniffily refused to play it the first time he brought in down to the Central on the basis that I'd seen it a few times before (probably @ Bradford Market) and figured it wasn't that rare and when I played it in the headphones it sounded terrible - almost like a rock record in those shitty cans @ the Central. I can remember seeing Kegsy everywhere that weekend - the Central, Va-Va's, the Mecca and eventually, Wigan. He'd set off on the Friday night with about £2 and a copy of Dean Parrish and, as per usual, by the time he got to Wigan he had about £30, was having problems co-ordinating his mouth and was still lugging the Dean Parrish around with a bunch of others. I'd seen him blown out by just about every DJ that weekend - no one wanted to know. I think I even took the piss and said something like "still no luck with the Dean Parrish pop track eh Kegsy" and he said, "just wait!". And then Russ played it in the last hour @ Wigan. Shock horror, we all sat up and started to hear it properly for the first time over a big system. What a record! How did we all miss it? Kegsy had a spring in his step after that LOL.... Cue the usual stampede to Bradford Market on the Monday morning........ Next time you see Swish give him my regards and ask him where he found "Love Love Love" - William Bonney.......? Ian D

If only Koolkat! I had to virtually beg, then remortgage to get one of the first copies! But what a track! A pure old time stomper just when we needed one back then. Every time someone would accuse me of playing too much 'modern' Carstairs, Anderson Brothers, Montclairs etc, I'd put "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" on to shut 'em the f*&k up LOL! The missus managed to step on my original copy and snap one side of it when she was cleaning one day. The bitch is still in the cellar beginning forgiveness as we speak LOL..... Still, I sold it to Gary from Leeds for a couple of hundred in the 90's 'because of the history of the record'. Great record. Loved those white demos as well (mine was an issue)..... Ian D

Tons were discovered there Stubbsy. Coinicidentally, I just replied to the Christine Cooper thread in the Media forum 'cos it came into discussion:- "The "S.O.S."'s all seemed to come from Bostocks @ Bradford Market - you could buy it for 25p in the early 70's as there were loads of 'em. Other stuff, mainly from MGM/Verve and @ £1.00 each was Dottie Cambridge, Spyder Turner, The Charades, The Ambers, The Superiors, The Tymes, The Shalamars, The Triumphs, April Stevens, Alice Clark, Billy Woods, Little Eva, Clara Ward". I also found the first copies of Ronnie & Robyn "As Long As You Love Me (I'll Stay)" at the same time as "Sidra's Theme" was breaking and Lennie Curtis "Nothing Can Help You Now" down there in the general stock for 10p each. I first used to up there on my lunch break when I was working at John Laing - a clothes shop in Bradford, every Saturday. You could buy 20 U.S. imports for £1.00 and I used to buy 40 every week with my entire wage. I'd then get home and spend Saturday night and Sunday playing through 'em. Consequently I had tons of stuff just as I was really getting on the scene. Much of the stuff I got every weekend would often be traded for records I really wanted a couple of years later. Tons of other stuff came through there as well. I can remember when Levine played both Spiral Staircase "More Today Than Yesterday" and the Righteous Brothers Band "Rat Race" at the Mecca, I'd nervously look around towards the Bradford and Leeds lads, to see if anyone else had twigged that the records were at Bradford Market. Often there'd be several other vinyl hounds waiting for the market to open on a Monday morning! Kegsy found Dean Parrish "I'm On My Way" there too. The rest of us had dismissed it as being too pop with that horrible guitar at the beginning but Kegsy persevered with it for weeks before it finally broke and became No.1 everywhere. You could never really tell what would come out. I didn't get into the warehouse until the mid 70's, but boy, if I'd have got in there before I'd have cleaned up. I think John Anderson got in there and had a decent hit. But the thing with Bradford is that was there enough stuff on the stall to keep anyone going. Plus they also had branches in Leeds, Wakefield and Huddersfield too. They also had a load of Canadian Motown at one point with most titles you could think of. I'm sure others will have tales of great finds there - you had to be sharp on your toes back then but the same token, you could wander in on a pissing-down Winter Tuesday afternoon and maybe find a monster unknown on a label you'd never seen! All in all, a fantastic place to have on your doorstep. Probably more Torch sounds came from there than anywhere else at the time. The best place for records in England at the time bar none I reckon (although Global could probably be a close second)....... Ian D

The "S.O.S."'s all seemed to come from Bostocks @ Bradford Market - you could buy it for 25p in the early 70's as there were loads of 'em. Other stuff, mainly from MGM/Verve and @ £1.00 each was Dottie Cambridge, Spyder Turner, The Charades, The Ambers, The Superiors, The Tymes, The Shalamars, The Triumphs, April Stevens, Alice Clark, Billy Woods, Little Eva, Clara Ward. Torch era without a doubt. Ian D

No, it was purely the fact that I was young, innocent 21 year old at the time with a particularly baby-type face I presume LOL.... Ian D

Work's no excuse mate. Please re-adjust your work/leisure balance and get the stories down! No rush. I don't think this thread'll go away in a hurry. There's at least half-a-dozen monster hits and several hundred bust-outs still to come from what I hear LOL....... Ian D

Also, forgot to mention, we will be having Jeff Young on the show as a special guest next week. Very appropriate with Froggy passing away so expect a few remiscences along the line! It's the first time Jeff's ventured into a radio studio for years! Should be good, so join us for the session. Ian D

And he hasn't PM'd me yet, the bugger! I'm DYING to know this story. Also, one of the funniest ones is when Simon broke into the Reddington's Rare Records warehouse through the skylight but we really need Kev Roberts to tell that one. Funny as hell.......... Ian D

Yep, that could be his angle LOL He was one of those guys who kept going on about his religion. Everytime he left his apartment he'd kiss an obviously religious framed picture on the wall. Every conversation was littered with comments like "Neil Bogart. He's Jewish...blah, blah, blah", "Clive Davis. He's Jewish.....blah, blah, blah etc, etc". I didn't need to know 'cos I generally knew already. I haven't got anything against anyone's religion but some people just try and ram it down your neck all the time and it could get on your nerves after a while. Amazing really that someone could be so apparently religious but not think twice about ripping people off. Or maybe the whole orthodox Jew thing could have been a result of the trouble he got in which John Manship mentioned earlier in the thread! Ian D

and produced by Ian Levine no doubt! Ian D

It didn't help him much that's for sure, LOL. Plus he didn't give a toss either. There are a certain brand of people who tend go through life believing that are 'the chosen ones'. Simon was one of those. I've seen the type many times and now know to avoid them like the plague. I find it fascinating that according to Chris L, he's now become an orthodox Jew. I wonder if he'll now repent his sins and refund all the dosh he's ripped-off people over the years? You couldn't make it up could you? Ian D

OK, the usual line-up of irreverent chatter and lots of Soul from all eras on this week's Original Mastercuts show...... We're particularly happy with his week's show and had a phenomenal response whilst we were on air! It's a goody folks with lots of beautiful stuff and plenty of Soul!!! Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show with Ian Dewhirst & Alan Champ - Sunday 30th March 2008 on www.Starpointradio.com. To download the show simply hit the link below! Or for this and all archived shows please pay a visit to www.sixmillionsteps.com where you can get the last 4 weeks worth of all Six Million Steps produced shows. That's 16 hours of free music over the last 4 weeks alone! Plus, loads of new fully downloadable KILLER mixes in a variety of styles 1st Hour The Brothers Johnson - Stomp (Froggy Remix Exclusive) Was A Bee feat Mario Bondi - This Is What You Are Sterling Void - It's Alright Chuck Jackson - No Tricks Loleatta Holloway - Dreaming Lorraine Johnson - The More I Get, The More I Want Jesse Franklin - Don't Turn Your Back On Love Network - Cover Girl Zalmac - What's In It For Me Julius Brown - Never Too Late J.P. Rogers - All My Lovin' 2nd Hour The Ebony's - I'm So Glad I'm Me Clyde McPhatter - Please Give Me One More Chance Al Kent - The Way You've Been Acting Lately Edwin Starr - I Have Faith In You Wingate's Love-In Strings - Let's Have A Love-In - Inst Rick Sheppard - Can We Share It Curtis Anderson - The Hardest Part Stevie Wonder - Knocks Me Off My Feet The Sons Of Champlin - Here Is Where Your Love Belongs BeBe & CeCe Winans - Heaven Ray Parker Jr & Raydio - More Than One Way To Love A Woman Donny Hathaway with Roberta Flack - You Are My Heaven Roberta Flack - Don't Make Me Wait Too Long https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2008-03-30-Starpoint.mp3 Best, Ian D

LOL. Amazing. But what are these John Madara instrumentals he's on about? Has anyone ever heard 'em or, more to the point, is anyone now bothered? Also wouldn't mind seeing some scans of his old lists if anyone has any. There were some amazing titles on 'em. Brian Hobson's got all my old lists so I can't scan any myself right now.......... Ian D

Lust for life always helps Dawn! Add a spinkling of total intolerance for day-to-day dreary bullshit, a large appetite for round-the-clock, seat-of-the-pants excitement and a liberal dose of good genes and bob's yer uncle luv. Ian "Danger" D

Put me down for a list Pete! I collect CD's (as well as vinyl) because I like having pristine digital copies at all times plus it's handy for my work, so I'd love to have a look at 'em. I think CD's will become as collectible as vinyl in years to come. The quality is generally far superior to any music files you can download, you have the sleevenotes and booklet for reference and it beats having to wear out your original vinyl copies, which should be preserved for posterity! So let's see the list 'cos I collect 'em with a vengeance right now! Ian D

He only had the one anyway Tony and that was nicked from Motown's record library! Actually though, that leads me to a question, namely: Is there a statute of limitations on theft? The whole Frank Wilson episode happened because Neil Rushton and I co-financed a recording session and Simon and I then produced Shalamar's debut record "Uptown Festival" which was a Motown disco medley using eight of the Motown classics. In fact, the picture of Simon and Sabrina earlier in the thread was taken at Ike & Tina Turner's studio, Bolic Sound in East L.A. in '76 during the recording of "Uptown Festival". I just tried to attach a clip of the record but the file's too big! It's crap 'cos it's from the cheesy Disco era but there's some fine performances on there......maybe later when I find a smaller file. Incidentaly, a little footnote here: I had the idea of doing a disco medley of Motown songs after hearing the Ritchie Family's "The Best Disco In Town" @ Chez Nous in Bevery Hills. Simon wanted to do a Northern Soul medley and I pointed out that it would be commercial suicide 'cos no one outside of the Northern scene would know the tunes! Hence the reason it evolved into a Motown medley. So the the first people I approached were obviously Motown. I was waiting in Motown's reception trying to see someone in their A&R dept when Tom Depeiro from the Promotion dept saw me and asked if he could help - he was gay and he think he fancied me LOL. Anyway Tom loved the record and then played it to everyone else @ Motown who were generally all really enthusiastic. Suzanne De Passe @ Motown eventually turned it down as they didn't want to upset some of the artists whose original songs we'd used in the medley but who were still signed to the label - i.e. Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder etc, etc. So we ended up signing with Soultrain - we'd already met Don Cornelius @ a club called the Candy Box in Beverly Hills, so we knew him already. The record sold a million, was No.1 for 6 weeks on the Billboard dance chart and became a Top 20 Pop hit in the U.S. Whilst all this was going on I was actually back in the UK by that point as my 6 month tourist visa had run out - later this would cause legal problems for Neil and I as I wasn't technically allowed to work during my stay. All by the by really 'cos shortly after the Shalamar album Don Cornelius and Dick Griffey closed down Soultrain and started Solar Records and then re-constituted Shalamar with Gerald Brown, Jeffrey Daniels and Jodi Watley before replacing Gerald Brown with Howard Hewitt. But unbeknownst to me, Simon had kept in touch with Tom Depeiro and eventually somehow managed to talk himself into getting into the real holy grail - the Motown Record library. At some point he came across the Frank Wilson record, took one look at the credits and knowing it was the only copy he'd ever seen or heard of - he nicked it! Eventually, when he fell on hard times he sold it on to Les McCutcheon and then it ended up with Johnathan Woodliffe in Nottingham before eventually ending up in Kenny Burrell's collection for the princely sum of £15,000. So my question: In the unlikely event that someone @ Universal (now owner of Motown) decided that this was actually their property, would they be able to sue Kenny for the record back? And would he then have to sue whoever he bought it from and get his money back etc, etc....... This is a 32 year old story and I don't know if the 'chain of title' thing or statute of limitations works with records as it would with works of art. And let's face it, "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" is indeed a work of art and every bit as rare as some historical paintings. Plus, let's also not forget that if the Soul Fox hadn't have nicked it from Motown, we may never have heard it! Ian D

I know that better than most since my cherished (2nd) copy of The Carstairs came from the good Mr Rivers I seem to recollect, as has many a rare Northern gem! As I said in another thread, Record Corner's lists was a must in the early 70's and they were always first onto any new release which had a Northern feel and the list is endless. Wish I'd have been in that basement back then - must have been brilliant. Bloody hell. You still have an afterglow. Blimey the drugs must have been good or was it just the buzz of Stoke? Ian D

Hi Chris, I just re-read the thread and there's a significant line in it which reads:- "Graham is definitely saying he discovered everything on the list on trips to USA from 1970 to 1973, except for Soul Twins which he found first copy in Hammersmith and then 100's of copies (many scratched) later in Miami. Your place in history is assured mate! Ian D

So many good potential ones too. Luckily I have 'em all, so I'll post some more up along the line. I like the fact that they always had full orchestras on their records and their A&R was really good too. One of my favourite labels from that era........ Ian D

Just had to post this up on another forum but it's a nice catchy little Modern pounder. Sounds like it could be one to get the girlies on the floor...........? Great vocals too....... Ian D 13_Right_Now__I_Really_Feel_That_I_Can_Change_Your_Mind___Original_12__.mp3