Ian Dewhirst

Haha LOL. At least you didn't get a beer glass in your face like I did right in the middle of doing a swap deal with him @ the Mecca! Mind you, those two black eyes and a bust nose got me a few nice things thereafter on the basis that I 'saved his life'..... And more stories please! What did you sell, how much, how rare and to whom did you sell etc, etc...... Speak soon Julian..... Best, Ian D

Sorry Ady, I meant to say 'treacley'. My excuse but we weren't allowed to like soppy class back then round our way LOL. Anything less than 80mph was considered heresy........ Ian D

Apologies Ken. I did try and go the Refosoul route on these but I'm a technological buffoon who still can't manage to work it all out. I'm going to have another crack in the next day or so hopefully I'll get 'em up there unless some other good soul can oblige....... Best, Ian D

Yep, you're right. Graham was one of the (very) few people who actually made the trip to the U.S. back then. He told me a few great stories about his finds and I told him he should write a book! I'm certain that Julian and Brian '45' had their own U.S. based connections, which, in many cases, were from the same souce, so not surprising that the same records were turning up at the same time. Also I can remember the London contingent - Tony, Clarky, Ady, Dave Rivers etc would always be turning up with goodies from their own sources too, so it really was a magical period. Happy days mate, where every week would bring a whole raft of truly great records. We were very lucky and blessed to be there at the time. Hopefully I'll see you @ the gig and maybe get a carful of us over! Best, Ian D

Hey, Blue Max I presume? I can say one thing, and that is that the scene was slightly more regionalised back then, then it is now what with price guides, the internet, rare soul forums and multiples of people going to the U.S. etc, etc.... I was always hearing about records that Max and Pep had but seldom saw them play 'cos Wolverhampton/Birmingham was a long way from Leeds in the pre M62 days. I can remember going to the Birmingham Locarno and a few other Brummy area gigs in the early 70's and hearing a lot of sounds which weren't being played elsewhere. In fact that was the first place I ever heard "Afternoon Of The Rhino" and I'm pretty sure Pep had the Volcanoes, Don Varner (?) and many others long before they became popular further North. Mind you I can remember Twink picking up the United Four and Susan Barratt off Julian Bentley early on and I got one of the few early copies of "Thumb A Ride" off him, so a few rare records were floating around the UK at the time in different regions. It's great that we have the likes of Graham, Julian and Brian '45' Phillips on here 'cos they were all at the sharp end of record dealing in the early days. And I can read their stories all day long LOL....... I'm gonna try and make this gig! Ian D

Link not working for some reason - can you check De-To.......? Ian D

That wouldn't be Julian Bentley - perveyor of fine records back in the day would it? Ian Dewhirst

Wow. She's great. Plus sounds really authentic too. Also, I got put onto it by a major collector who rates it very highly. Don't blame him. I actually played it on the radio show yesterday (along with the Delfonics) with a full introduction on it, so if you wanna have a listen go to:- https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2008-03-16-Starpoint.mp3 It's just over halfway through:- 1st Hour Darlene McCoy - Unity Deniece Williams - Slip Away Kenix & Bobby Youngblood - There's Never Been (No One Like You) Stan Lucas - It's Not The Same Taste Of Honey - We've Got The Groove Fonzi Thornton - Beverly The Live Band - A Chance For Hope Ron & Candy - Lovely Weekend The Supremes - Bad Weather June Evans - If You Want My Loving Dottie Pearson - Bring It Over Baby Gloria Scott - What Am I Gonna Do 2nd Hour The Delfonics - You'll Get Enough Aldora Britton - Do It With Soul The Girls From U.N.C.L.E. - Agent For Love Bobby Hebb - Love Love Love Arnold Blair - Trying To Get Next To You Choice Four - Hook It Up Van McCoy - Soul Improvisations Pts 1 & 2 Jae Mason - Cloud Of Sunshine Sharon McMahon - Get Out Of My Life Charles McCormick - I Want You For Myself The Malemen - Baby Doll The Isley Brothers - Spill The Wine Omari - After Loving You Best, Ian D

Haha LOL. I'd take those discoveries anytime! Amazing hit rate. Regards to Graham - one of the earliest, if not THE earliest Northern Soul crate-digger. I met him @ Keb Darge's a couple of years ago and his stories are legendary - especially his first U.S. trip in 1970 or thereabouts. He isn't referenced as much as he should be IMO - his contribution to both the early Northern scene and Jazz-Funk was massive. Please give him my regards and tell him to give me a buzz next time he's down thisaway..... Best, Ian D

And I don't even have it! Plus not on any of my Delfonics comps either. Blast. Was never too keen on the syrupy slow stuff back then so looks like I'll have to invest £2 on a single LOL.... Ian D

Interesting debate this. There's always been brand new releases played on the scene alongside the older records and this practise went all the way back to the Torch and probably even the Wheel. Here are a few examples:- "My Man Is A Sweet Man" - Millie Jackson "Keep On Keeping On" - N.F. Porter "This Is The House Where Love Died" - First Choice "Scub Board" - The Trammps "Free For All" - Phillip Mitchell "S.T.O.P" - The Lorelei Etc, etc, etc. All of the above were brand new U.S. releases, were played at the key venues shortly after their release and all became huge records on the scene. Many of us used to subscribe to Record Corners lists in the early 70's because they would often get new U.S. Northern releases which were otherwise unavailable and many of them would become huge records in their own right. So arguably there's always been a place for contemporary new releases on the scene. It's been there since day one! Ian D

Yeah, but I only heard the song this week and then caught up with the story afterwards. I don't usually like these added vocals - I also listened to a few of the Soussan vocal dubs and they haven't aged well at all - but "Agent For Love" sounds great and pretty authentic to these ears. Also the lyrics have every cliche going - namechecking Agent Double-O Soul and borrowing heavily from Len Jewell's "Bettin' On Love" but I still love it LOL....whoever the vocalist is, she's great! Also it's funny how things repeat themselves isn't it e.g. Soussan listing a fictitious Bob Relf track called "Reaching For The Best" and then Levine nicking the title for the Exciters track? And yep, the Northern Soul scene is strange - probably the strangest scene on the planet LOL...... Ian D

I think it's one of those that fell between the gaps - there's loads of 'em out there. Unfortunate that it didn't get found 'til the 90's and that it never came out originally. But what a tune - I like it more than a lot of stuff in the Top 500 LOL...... Ian D

Yeah, it's 60's recording. I got about 20 CD's from Reid Whitelaw who administrates the Philly Groove catalogue and this was buried away in 'em. I think Goldmine did a custom pressing of it which is probably out of stock now. Some great stuff tucked away on those plus I've got all the instrumentals too, so good listening! I'm having great fun digging around this gear again 'cos you just never know what you're going to find. I'd play the Delfonics and Johnny Johnson out anytime 'cos neither have really been played before - y'know, mix 'em in with a few rarities and bob's yer uncle. Talking of which, did you ever hear this? Check file below - I'm sure Glen @ Joe Boy won't mind - I rang him yesterday raving about about this LOL.......... Best, Ian 06_Agent_for_love.mp3

I'm in the middle of a collection audit, so I'm re-visiting lots of previously forgotten stuff (like the Johnny Johnson from last week) so every time I bump into something of interest I like posting it. This is a perfect example. Where was this when we needed it!!! Prime-time Philadelphia perfection and I reckon they must have heard "If That's What You Wanted" - Frank Beverly 'cos the BV's at the beginning are very similar. But how come this didn't surface till the 90's? I reckon this would have been huge virtually everywhere if we'd had it in the 70's. Also a rare uptempo workout from the group known for their tear-jerking ballads and the soundtrack of "Jackie Brown" LOL.... I'd love to hear this out and played LOUD! Would sound spectacular. I have permission to post this from the owner....... Enjoy! Ian D 09_You_ll_Get_Enough.mp3

OK, Malc, I know you love the vocals but just listen to the instrumental version of AAED....... https://www.zshare.net/download/8980868bfb4ca9/ Plus a nice little unreleased First Choice gem "You Became A Woman" https://www.zshare.net/download/89815528984a39/ Note: I have permission to post these plus any other Philly Groove repertoire from Reid Whitelaw who now administers the catalogue (and is also the co-writer of Magic Night's "If You And I Had Never Met"). Enjoy.... Best, Ian D

Not to my knowledge. I spoke to Teddy a couple of years back and he laughed when I mentioned all the versions to him. He said "you British guys know more then any of the record companies I kept selling the track to!". When you consider how many times he sold it to different companies and the fact that Laura Greene was used on the Kentucky Fried Chicken ad, he must have ended up making a bundle from a record which never became a hit no matter how many versions were slung at the wall. That Subway Riders version was RARE! Ian D

Also issued on UK London......... Ian D

Beats the shit out of Croydon UK LOL...... I mean who wants warm weather, a vibrant economy, plenty of records and Irma Thomas, Barbara Lynn and Percy Sledge on their doorstep? Oh, hang on, what's this? Karaoke night at the local pub - I take it all back.......... Ian D

Yep. Good for all of 'em! Nout up with Liam or Duffy IMO. Duffy's done more in 4 weeks to entice more people into investigating the scene then anything else this year. And you could say Amy did the same thing last year. The general public LIKE the Northern Soul 'sound' when they get exposed to it at this level. There's already compilations being lined-up to further educate 'em as we speak...... Shock horror....Northern Soul is sexy again! Ian D

Yep, No.1 single for 4 consecutive weeks, the third biggest-selling record of the year so far with 215, 731 sales as of last week and the biggest airplay audience for several years - 91.01 million listeners over the last 4 weeks. Her album went in @ No.1 this week as well. I like it - I wish we had more records like this that have such an impact on the masses. Even if a small percentage of those listeners and buyers go on to listen to more authentic stuff it'll be a good thing. Ian D

No such luck. If only ........ I remember it now. Bloody awful - played it once and ran screaming down the road with blood pouring out of my ears........ Ian D

No, if you're a self-respecting DJ stick to what inspires you and will hopefully eventually inspire the audience. I very seldom bought records I didn't like in the first place. Occasionally, if things were a bit dry, I might pick up something in a swop deal and then occasionally regret it - the Jewells "We Got Togetherness" and August & Deneen "We Go Together" spring to mind - both solid Northern stompers but not really to my taste. But, by and large, I generally managed to avoid even having records I intensely disliked, so when asked for a request, I could genuinely say "sorry mate, haven't got it" or something along those lines. It worked like a dream back in the day..... Ian D

I could well have been Tony - it took me ages to find one. I just like backing up my vinyl with MP3 files wherever possible and just I couldn't find ANY cd with it on. I think I lucked into it on the web, although it's encoded and won't allow me to burn it down so I'm still using the vinyl LOL..... Bell as a label seems to have been ignored by re-issuers over the years, especially the UK stuff so I'm digging around a lot of these UK labels just out of interest really. Will probably use a Pearls track on a project that's just landed on my lap which obviously wants to piggyback on the Duffy/Amy bandwagon which'll probably make you wince LOL.... But 122 downloads in 3 days from S.S. alone is a good sign isn't it? If you find any demos, unreleased JJ goodies let me know...... Best, Ian D

And anything in-between Newies and Modern was called 'New Modern' or 'Modern Newies' - did I not mention that? Mainly for the Canadian releases like Today's People, Debbie Flemming etc which always got here 6 months after release............... Ian D