Ian Dewhirst

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

Nah Matt, The perfect person to play him is here:- https://www.superseventies.com/10_78.gif Can see the credits now.... Franki Valli IS Simon Soussan in "Do It The French (Morroccan) Way....... Ian D

My kinda House Simon! Are ya gonna send it me then? Ian D

Wow, just played this on the show today and it's still breathtakingly magnificent. A superlative slice of stomping Northern with some unbelievable harmonies and wailing. Many thanks to Phillydaveg for hooking this out of retirement for me! Used to LOVE this from the album in the early 70's and then managed to get a Philly International 45 of it but wasn't around to play it out at the time. And I think it's RARE for a Philly International 45. Would love a white demo of it if anyone can oblige....... So has it ever been played out? I'm still filling in gaps from the 'lost' years LOL...... Ian D I_m_So_Glad_I_m_Me.MP3

And following on from the Soussan/Benny Curtis "Dirty Hearts" dillemma...... Have a listen - see attached. You can imagine everyone thinking that Simon was the vocalist! It sounds exactly like a Soussan produced tailor-made Northern stomper with him on vocals - even the phrasing is exactly how he talks LOL....... Ian D

It wasn't you that clobbered me was it Ernie? Good. At least that's verified then. It was also the first time that I'd ever seen a ruck happen @ the Mecca. It's a shame I had to be in the middle of it.......... Plus it took me years to get rid of that Shona Springfield record LOL..... Ian D

Great story Malc. Thats put a few more facts into his earlier years. And he was always evasive when it came to actually showing anyone his records! The more I think about this, the more it looks as though Soussan was really an opportunist. He probably wanted an excuse to leave Leeds and Northern Soul gave him the perfect opportunity. He was an arrogant prick anyway, so I imagine his No.1 intention was business related first and foremost with Northern Soul providing him with the opportunity to go the States. And I just remembered that his favorite record prior to coming to Leeds was Los Bravos "Black Is Black" which he says he first heard in his native Morrocco which actually makes perfect sense as Los Bravos were from Spain and "Black Is Black" was a massive hit throughout the world in 1966, so he almost definitely would have heard the song in Morrocco in his late teens/early 20's. He always used to say that "Black Is Black" was his favourite record and he got frustrated that he didn't hear more records like that until he discovered Northern Soul in Jumbos that day. So it's all beginning to fall into place now. One listen to Los Bravos and you can see EXACTLY where Soussan's influences came from - see file attached! Pure Northern in a Spanish kinda way LOL...... Plus does anyone on here remember when we all thought Soussan was the vocalist on Benny Curtis's "Dirty Hearts"? To this day I can remember Snowy from Doncaster introducing "Dirty Hearts" as being Simon Soussan.......... Ian D Los_Bravos___Black_Is_Black.mp3

Hi Rod, No it was me that had the priviledge of being smacked in the kisser with a 1 pint pebble-glass beer mug! Simon and Richard (Searling) arrived at the Mecca fairly late-on and I was at the bar on the right-hand side of the Highland Rooms with a box of records when Simon and Richard came over and Simon introduced himself and asked me if he could look through my box. Naturally, I said yes and he started going through my stuff and asked me if I'd be interested in any trades. Knowing this was Soussan and also knowing that he had some great spares I said yeah, so he started pulling stuff out.... ...and I couldn't believe it. He pulled out two or three oddball things - Shona Springfield "I Need A Rest", Denise Keeble "Before It Falls Apart" etc, etc - stuff which was actually around at the time but wasn't actually super rare. So naturally I was anxious to get a deal consumated and try and get my hands on a couple of Soussan's goodies. The only problem was that Simon was by now attracting a crowd - maybe about 20-30 people at first, then more.... And people were basically starting to create a crush plus there were murmurs from the crowd saying things like, "is it really Soussan", "that twat ripped me off for £30" and "wait til I get my hands on that French f*&k" etc, etc. All I wanted to do was get this deal done and then bugger off quick. But I couldn't because now Simon and myself were virtually being crushed against the bar and some prick was digging something into my back....... I can remember Richard saying something like, "eeerrr, Simon, I think we'd better go......" At that point I kind of lost my rag and pushed back from the bar, mainly to stop this twat digging into my back whilst I was trying to get a deal completed.... As a result of me pushing back there was a kind of 'mexican wave' of people falling backwards and I reckon that was the trigger which peaked an already volatile sitaution into overdrive. I turned around from the bar and said ". c'mon guys, let's have some room here................" And out of nowhere someone hit me full-on in the face with a pebble-glass beer mug. I was hit so hard that the handle snapped off the glass and continued round my face and sliced my ear lobe into the bargain. Surprisingly, although it hurt like a bitch and I knew I'd been really slugged, all I could think of was that some twat had disrupted a potential record deal and now I'd been hurt into the bargain. Meanwhile Soussan did a hasty exit. I went to the loo and surveyed the damage. One broken nose, two black eyes and a sliced ear lobe. Blood all over my nice shirt as well, bastard! I think I want to Blackpool Hospital, got patched up and still went on to Wigan 'til 8.00am. I used to be hard in those days......... Ian D

Hi Julian, I think the club was called either Nouveau or Madisons from memory. He was quite tight with the Persian community in Leeds at the time and several of them remember him well from that period. I think it's fair to say he ripped EVERYONE off once he got established on the record side of things! Ian D

Probably known to most SSers but....... I keep seeing these localised blogs springing up in the U.S. Good to know there's some serious collectors keeping tabs on their local scene...... https://www.ohiosoulrecordings.com/a.htm https://www.indiana45s.com/indiana45s_a.php Any others out there worth looking at? Ian D

LOL! I'd NEVER wear a tie like that Rog. In fact, I wouldn't wear a tie at all.......... Funny episode that one...... Ian D

Oi! I always knew the Bobby Taylor on Mowest was a goody! But my philosophy has always been that I'd rather have a record being used by someone who can really appreciate it rather then being stuck on my shelves gathering dust until I have another clear out. It was great that Blake picked that up and I was happy that he got it 'cos he's always been serious about his records. I think the bugger's sold it now though hasn't he? Anyone got a clip? It's a belter.... Crazy as it may sound, I quite often GIVE records to people who I know will really appreciate 'em if I think they deserve it! Usually it's artists - George Clinton got my Shirley J. Scott, Roy Handy and Tamala Lewis promos in the mid 90's 'cos he didn't have 'em. I've known him a long time - I was in the studio when they were recording "Flashlight" in the 70's. In fact, he gave me a typical L.A. bolivian welcome, so it's all his fault LOL.... I also gave Val Simpson a very rare Capital promo-only album at Birmingham last year which contained a dynamite live performance of "Found A Cure" which she'd never heard before (apart from when she sang it of course). And I ALMOST gave Gloria Jones a weird 12" promo of "Tainted Love" I have @ Prestatyn (it's got the "Tainted Love" instrumental on). But she refused and signed it for me it instead. I think a lot of karma is involved. Quite often records find me or I get access to a stash which hasn't been plundered, so I work on the basis of 'what goes around, come's around' and that's usually put me in good stead over the years. I've probably had 40 different collections. Also I like to revolve my listening habits so I generally have a pretty good choice and range of stuff kicking around over here. As you can see, I'm going through a bit of a Nothern renaissance at the moment which is great 'cos I'm listening to lots of stuff which I haven't heard for years...... And if I speak to any ex-collectors 'who've had their stuff in the loft for 30 years' I'll let ya know. Never seen another copy of that Bobby Taylor though. It's deffo a RARE Mowest. Who did Blake sell it to? Ian D

There's a TON of material Baz. This one could run and run...... There's probably not a single West Coast record dealer from the early 70's who doesn't have his own raft of Soussan stories. Even when I've been back to L.A. and chatted to some dealers at a record fairs, the Soussan stories start emerging - usually a rip-off LOL... I'm mean, he'd already pissed-off every dealer on the West Coast by '76. I always used to know if he'd hit a place when I find broken funk records in the racks. I'd say to the owner, "has a French-Morroccan guy called Simon or Michel (Michel was his real name and the one he used in L.A.) been here"? And the owner would generally say, "Oh THAT little Motherf*&ker! If I ever see that French f*&k again I'll kill him"! And that was 31 years ago! Ian D

Copyright that title quick mcleanmuir or I'll nick it LOL! And you're right. The adventure of it all was what got my veins pumping. I get bored incredibly quickly with most normal everyday routine stuff so I'm always on the lookout for some action and one of the things which fulfilled my needs was 'Crate-Digging In The U.S.A.' - sing along to Debbie Harry's "French Kissing In The U.S.A. if ya like LOL! © Ian Dewhirst 2008 So routine, boring everyday life really didn't suit me in those days and generally made me lethargic and lazy. But crate-digging had the opposite effect and energized and focused me in ways I liked. It's that feeling that the very next record could be the one.... It's probably similar to gambling or situated in the same part of the brain. Nothing like the adrenalin rush that you get when you find a totally unknown record which has all the right credentials. That's how I found Ronnie & Robyn on Sidra, Lennie Curtis on End and Wilbur Walton Jr on 123 all at different places, all at about 10p each and all within 20 miles of where I lived in Yorkshire at the time. I think there's some good stories here and it's good to get 'em down anyway. Must be good for the brain 'cos every story I remember often triggers another one I'd completely forgotten about. In fact Blake Halliwell mentioned one earlier in the thread which I can't remember - something about a pizza on a plane or something? Oh I just remembered! That one was from the 80's and not a Northern related fable......... But that's what I mean. It's actually pretty theraputic getting all down anyway 'cos otherwise I might forget a lot of it. However, the real credit to Soul Source for giving us the means to natter away. What a resource! Much better than TV LOL...... Ian D

Yep, I remember him well. Very shy and he think he had a stammer which obviously inhibited him but, boy, he knew his records and always had great spares, most likely from Global. He was also the first person I heard play Al Kent's "The Way You've Been Acting Lately" - a giant of a record by any standards. Wonder if he's still about? Ian D

Did you know him when he was in Leeds Julian? The only N.S. person I can remember who knew him from back then was Al ??????? from Halifax - the recreational rock climber who was always pretty zapped up but knew his British stuff especially well. Apparently he met Simon in Jumbos whilst listening to Jimmy James "A Man Like Me" on Stateside as a new release and Simon came up to the counter saying "excuse me, excuse me but what ees zees record? It elates me, it excites me, it unblocks my nostrils!" Simon repeated the above story to me in L.A. and said that Al ?????? introduced him to Northern Soul following that meeting and within months he was off to New York hunting for Northern............ And the 'unblock my nostrils' quip was pure Simon and he built it into his routine everytime we went crate-digging. A typical exchange would be when Simon would suddenly stop digging and pull out a record.... He'd then hold the record directly in front of his eyes and say "Hey, baby boy. Are you're nostrils blocked my friend? Well, you will breathe forever when you hear this baby boy. I have just found the ultimate sinus-deblocker"! And he'd usually be right. He had a photographic memory for label credits and could usually spot a 'good possibility' Northern unknown immediately, usually from a tiny credit buried away on the label. I have to give him that. Anyone got any scans of his lists handy? The sheer scale of some of them was daunting. Also I haven't mentioned it yet, but his personal collection was staggering when I was there. He didn't have quantity but, boy, he sure had some quality there. He kept the collection in his office at his Hollywood pad which was directly next to the pool and they were all housed in wooden, lockable cabinets right the way around the room. He reckoned that he also had over 100,000 records in storage but I never saw 'em. But the stuff in his office. Phew! Every so often I'd be in there and he'd say, "are you ready for a sinus-deblocker that will rip your nose to shreds baby boy"? And he'd put a record of staggering brilliance on. I'd say, "Jesus Christ. What the F*&k is THIS? And he'd say "a very, very rare record baby boy. I have zee only one and I must find another one before I unveil zees record to England". I'd then jump up to look at the label and he'd snatch it off the turntable..... And I'd say "C'mon Simon. You're nuts man. This is a huge record!" And he'd look at me, smile and say "sinus-deblockers don't grow on trees baby boy". Ian D

Probably the classic case of life catching with him in the end. I know he was on the skids 'cos Les McCutcheon had to pay for some stomach surgery he had in the mid 90's but predictably hasn't heard from him since....... Cheers Johnny! Ian D

Hey, c'mon! Does ANYONE remember that third-copy of the Invitations "Skiing In The Snow" story? It was the original 'cursed record' tale and would have been a best-seller for Steven King if he'd ever heard the story. This is the 10 cent Woolworths U.S. find when the Invitations was the most sought-after record in the world and the guy who found it was travelling up to Stoke when he totalled his car, all the occupants and the 3rd "Skiing In The Snow" went up in smoke too. Is this a myth, or did it really happen? Can anyone out there verify? Ian D

LOL. Great stuff Johnny but can you at least PM me with who he pissed off? It was probably the mob in one form or other....... Sounds like he cheesed off the wrong people.....again! Simon sailed close to the wind. I got his ass out of the jammer on a few occasions. He was also banned from just about everywhere - Reddington's Rare Records in Glendale being just one of many places he couldn't go along with Major Bill's warehouse in Texas and a heap of other warehouses up and down the West Coast. He had to send his wife Sabrina down to Reddingtons with lists of records to buy everytime new titles popped up in England. One of the reasons he kept getting banned was because of his legendary arrogance and impatience when going through thousands of records. There are stories of him flinging priceless Rock/Pop rarities across warehouses because 'they weren't Northern'. I seem to remember rescuing a Primettes Lu-Pine actetate which he'd thrown across a warehouse because he said it was '50's garbage'. It may have been 50's but it was an acetate I later sold to a serious Motown collector who considered it priceless. There's also a great Kev Roberts tale of when Simon broke into the Reddingtons Warehouse through a skylight in the roof - are you reading this Kev - we need this for the archives mate! I think that was the time when Kev had found around 30 copies of the Casualeers "Dance Dance Dance" BEFORE it was known and Simon took all of them claiming that he had to go through all of them 'in order to find the cleanest copy'. Naturally Kev never saw any of those copies again. Also his hatred of funk was legendary. If he hit a load of funk in a place, he'd start snapping copies of the records in half! I'd say 'oh c'mon Simon, you don't have to break the bloody records do ya"? And he just keep snapping 'em and say "it's repetetive garbage (pronounced REPET-TAT-TIVE GAR-BAAAARRRRGE) baby boy, they just get in the way"! One time he was in real snit - I think he'd had a bust up with Sabrina and he was really pissed-off. We were driving along Sunset Boulevard in his car and he switched the radio on and the Isley Brother's "Fight The Power" came on and he went "F*&king FUNK! I HATE "f*&king FUNK"! and he jabbed the car radio's pre-set buttons to another station and the Ohio Player's "Love Rollercoaster" came on - steam started coming out of his ears and he screamed " "F*&king FUNK! What ees wrong with zees people? F*&king FUNK Motherf*&kers! Why can't zey play some Northern instead of this motherf*&king FUNK all ze time"!!! He then furiously jabbed the pre-sets again only for the Brothers Johnson "Get The Funk Out Of My Face" to come blasting out of the speakers. He looked at me, "OK, that's it now"! He then just jerked the car to a complete hault right in the middle of Sunset Strip and started smashing the car radio with his fists. When his hand started bleeding, he got out of the car, took off one of his shoes and continued smashing the radio until parts of the radio were all over the floor of the car. He then physically tore the radio out of the car and threw what was left of it onto the road and then started stamping on it with his other shoe-clad foot. By this point there was a half-mile tailback on Sunset and the horns going off were almost deafening and the driver of the car behind us was just watching all this with her mouth wide open in shock...... I said "err, Simon, maybe we'd better go......" He just got back in the car, slammed it into gear and said "well, at least we won't have to listen to that REPET-TAT-TIVE GAR-BAAAARRRRGE anymore!" Ian D