Ian Dewhirst

Big Stan was a giant amongst men and a key character when I came onto the scene in the early 1970s. A regular at Leeds Central and the Intercon in Wakefield and a major scene-ster at the time. Some of the older lads from Leeds, Huddersfield and Wakefield will be to elaborate more 'cos I only really saw Stan at the clubs and I was usually dee-jaying at the time and Stan could be....unpredictable lol. RIP Stan. You're not forgotten mate. Ian D

I think this one's stayed undervalued as it used to be on Soulbowl's list for £1.00 which indicates that John had quantity back then. It was certainly around in quantity in the mid 70s but I guess most of those have filtrated into collections by now..... Ian D

Deuces Wild "Keep On" April Silva "Under My Thumb" Lord Thunder "Thunder" The Sherries "Put Your Arms Around Me" Wooden Nickels "Nobody But You" Ian D

Found in a Sheffield junk shop for 25p and given to Pat Brady 'cos he was with me when I found it. We were having a discussion whilst travelling out of Sheffield city centre and he was telling me how difficult it was to find great Northern unknowns back then and I was arguing that they were still out there waiting to be found. I saw a second-hand record shop, screeched to a halt and told Pat we'd find one right there. 5 minutes later I pulled out Wilbur Walter Jr. Job done LOL! Ian D

Nah. I thought Richard had the only copy at that point? I'm sure if Pep or Max had it, we'd have heard about it before surely? I knew most of what Pep had up to '75'cos he had a few I really wanted......... That's an awesome Richard set innit? Ian D

I agree. I wasn't referring to the 'underplayed newies' scene but rather the regular oldies scene. The point I was trying to make is that OVO on the regular oldies scene is an expensive proposition for an oldies hotbox, if you see what I mean. Ian D

Sure and more power to 'em but I don't think I'd cherish being a youngster getting into it today. I guess they won't be doing OVO oldies gigs anytime soon unless they have a few grand to spare? That might be a good thing actually. They'll probably be finding the future Top 500 on their own terms maybe..? Ian D

Mmm. I wonder how many decent spots you'd get offered with 200 cheapies in your box? It's pretty much all about the amount of disposable income one has to spend on records. Looking at current prices, to get a box full of decent originals probably wouldn't be far short of £20K and probably nearer £50K. Nice work if you can afford it. Ian D

The way of nailing the argument is to maybe dig out the Echoes or Blues & Soul's and check when the ads for the reissue started. I probably got the record in 1974, had 12-18 months on it, so I would imagine sometime in 1975 would be the year it was re-issued. I was in the U.S. 6 months later so that would make sense to me. Also, the licensing for Red Coach was probably very confused at that time. They were probably busy extricating themselves from Chess distribution, then self-distributing for a while before switching to Red-Lite. Given the circumstances they were going through, 18-24 months doesn't seem a long time before they got around to re-pressing the record for the UK market. Ian D

We've had this discussion before Kegsy. I had the second copy and got a good 18-24 months play out of it before the pink ones arrived. Ian D

Yep, that makes sense. I'm sure it was on a couple of the later trips over to Leeds, that Pete became less interested in the 70s stuff and started discussing 'proper 60s Northern'. His knowledge was off the scale...... Ian D

The mix doesn't come over very well on a big system unfortunately, so when it's amplified it sounds like an overpowering noise. Great record but a floor-clearer back in the day...... Ian D

Hope you're well and all is good. Actually it wasn't as cut and dried as that Dave. Many of the late 60s/early 70s generation were surrounded by great music on many levels. I started off liking Motown and then Soul in general. We were hearing records like Felice Taylor's "I Feel Love Coming On" (the first record I bought with pocket money), The Bandwagon's "Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache" and "S.O.S." on daytime radio Radio One. These subsequently led to Northern Soul for more of the same but rarer. But that didn't stop me loving James Brown's "Live At The Apollo Vol 2" or Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On". I kept up with contemporary releases in the 70s because there was some interesting stuff coming out. Some of the biggest records at the Torch were new releases - N.F. Porter's "Keep On Keeping On", Otis Smith's "Let Her Go" and Millie Jackson's "My Man, A Sweet Man", all 70s releases and were huge, so there were no cries of derision when they came on. I think Pete's feelings crept in probably in the early 80s by which point the factions for traditional 60s Northern vs 70s and 80s were probably much greater then previous eras. I got to know Pete a lot better in the late 70s and early 80s, when he'd come over to Leeds mid-week and raid my collection. I'd previously remembered Pete as a slobbering wreck who you couldn't hold a conversation with at a nighter, even though I tried on numerous occasions. I knew he knew his stuff but he was never in a position to articulate it at events. It made sense for him to come over on a Tuesday when he could talk. He was a Northern Soul evangelist and lived the life to the hilt. I'll give him a dedication on a forthcoming release:- "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt 1910 Rest In Perpetual Torment Pete! Ian D

I bought it for 10p in 1974 from Jumbo Records in Leeds cheap 10p box. I only ever knew "Pass The Word" and actually carried it in my main box for a while but sadly never played it. I heard it recently at Va Va Voom and it sounded brilliant........ Ian D

Musical democracy in action! Ian D

Just a nice footnote to an incredible couple of months since the Northern Soul soundtrack was released. I'm double-checking the numbers tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure that "Northern Soul" the soundtrack is now the biggest-selling release in Harmless's 20 year history after just 8 weeks. Ian D

You're a lucky guy Daryl. Your wife has impeccable taste and knows how to hit the spot with you LOL! Ian D

Finished copies are up and what a beautiful sight to behold! I'm very happy with this. Also, lovely to see this being reviewed in the Metro today! Ian D

Gotcha. Although I wouldn't have thought there were enough copies of "I'm Gone" on OVO for it to be a hammered oldie......? Maybe there's more than I thought but at £8K a pop it's an expensive oldie ay? Ian D

Believe me, the records will get trashed if you play 'em on multiple different decks over 2 years, even if you take extreme care. Even more so if they're styrene! Ian

If I had originals of the Tomangoes, Lou Pride and Eddie Parker I certainly wouldn't be playing 'em week in, week out. They'll get trashed quickly and that's £12K down the drain. I was witness to a dealer quotation on a DJs collection a few years back and there was a 60% difference in the dealers valuation and what the DJ thought they were worth. It all boiled down to condition. The depreciation on the originals is huge the more they get played. It must be a sobering thought to pay £8K for an Eddie Parker and 2 years down the line find it's only worth £3K 'cos it's trashed. Good luck to anyone playing expensive OVO. Deffo a rich man's sport. Ian D

Calling a UK Top 10 hit from 1968 a 'secret sound' is probably pushing the term a tad too far. Ian D

The same was true back in '75, when I purchased what I believe was the 2nd copy in the U.K., which I paid £40 for and which everybody thought was crazy at the time. It was and is a killer record which never really dates. Also, I think it's pretty rare. I've never found a copy in the U.S. despite having connections in New York and people connected with Frankie Crocker. It's just such a great record to own and compared to other stuff, I think it's still pretty rare. Also, one of those records which once people get, they tend to keep. Not surprised at the price really. I'll take one @ £200 anytime Pete. Ian D

Out of curiosity, where? Ian D

Nope. I love it though. Many of the same musicians as the Mike Post Coalition. Ian D