Ian Dewhirst

The chord changes sound more like a slowed-down version of "Love You Baby" - Eddie Parker to these ears! Also coincidentaly written by another Ashford - Jack in this case! Ian D

Mark Ronson, her producer, I believe is the one who specifically sought out the Dap-Kings to play on her album. He's very well-versed in 60's Soul and Motown and had a tremendous musical education via his parents who were artists themselves. For my money, one of the best all-round albums I've heard in years. "Tears Dry On Their Own" is my favourite track of the year by a long margin in any catergory. One of the greatest songs I've ever heard actually - if Aretha ever covers it, I'll die a happy man......... Ian D

Got some spare Stevie CD's over here @ £100 a pop if yer interested? Ian D

Quote of the year mate. From what I can see, most people have their heads buried in computers most of the day, then get home switch on their pc's and telly's and spend most of their waking lives looking into a screen.... Bit chilly out so I've been doing exactly that LOL..... Ian D

Hence the reason why it would nice to document it. Also, I suspect that a lot of people out there would like some 80's packages - especially if they weren't there at the time (like me). Let's not forget that the vast audience from the 70's had most of their 'missing years' in the 80's and 90's, so they've got some catching up to do to fill-in the jigsaw puzzle of that period......... I notice Dave didn't take me up on the offer of a shindig in his barn LOL..... Ian D

C'mon get yer cash out Gav ya tight git! Ian D

All music is free now! 96% of all music downloads are free - only the other 4% is actually paid for and most of that is via I-Tunes. The CD is more or less dead now and rare CD's (including all Northern releases) will be highly collectible in the future - a bit like records now. CD's are really top-quality audio-wise compared to downloads, so 'real' music collectors will keep with CD and, in some rare cases, Vinyl. But the vast majority of the music buying audience really isn't passionate about formats - they want the instant gratification of getting what they want when they want and 9 times out of 10, they'll be hearing music either on headphones or shitty laptop speakers, so quality isn't a the top of their agendas. They want an instant download immediately - f*** queuing in HMV or whiling away a pleasant few hours in a collectors shop - not enough time anymore for some reason...... The way I look at it, is most of us have been incredibly lucky to have lived through one of the great ages of popular music - 1955 saw the birth of rock n' roll and 50 years later we're seeing the death of popular music as we've traditionally known it IMHO.... For once I'm glad to be old LOL... All of the above makes Northern Soul that much more special. Merry Xmas All. Ian D

Wow! That makes my Northern CD collection worth more than my vinyl LOL! Ian D

All very well if you're an accountant or if you enjoy doing unnecessary calculations but really too complicated by far for most consumers - which is EXACTLY what they want. I find the company to be very anonymous and not helpful at all if something needs sorting out. Also it appears to be better to go via eBay.com for more return on the auction, so it makes you wonder where the incentive to go through ebay.co.uk is? Maybe a mathematical enthusiast out there can come up with exactly how much more profitable it would be to sell on .com rather than .co.uk LOL..... Still think loading stuff is a pain too........ Ian D

Hahaha LOL! That's exactly the problem Chalky. Too many nostalgic old vinyl lovers drinking Max's coffee and shooting the breeze but not necessarily paying the rent in these crazy times..... All the second-hand record shops are closing down here. Even the Vinyl Resting Place closed a couple of months back and Beanos (the former largest second-hand record shop in Europe) is now down to the ground-floor alone with no traffic even on a Saturday...... Berwick Street - once a second-hand record/cd collector's paradise has lost Cheapo Cheapos, Black Dog, CD City, Reckless, and many, many others whose names elude me. Mr CD, the most successful second-hand and knock-off CD store will shut in 3 days time forever. The end of an era. Thank God we had the opportunity to experience the sheer joy and education that going to record shops gave us. We've all been very lucky to live through an extraordinary era which revolutionized music and will be looked upon as being a 'golden' era for contemporary popular music. You're a lucky guy Max. Perfect timing. Please let me buy you a drink if we ever have the pleasure of meeting. You had your cake and ate it! Well done mate. Best, Ian D

I can see that just doing the track-listings will be complex LOL.. Bear in mind that these would be culled mainly from Sony-BMG owned repertoire which would mean Columbia, Epic, Date, Okeh and any other Columbia/Epic associated labels from the 60's and 70's, RCA, Arista, Bell, Amy, Mala and any other RCA associated labels from the 60's and 70's and Buddah/Kama Sutra. It's the only cost-effective way of doing these CD's as they won't have to licence-in any repertoire that way - these aren't "Now" albums and the sales will be commesurate with the market which will be small. Another consideration is that they would really need to dovetail nicely with the Wheel, Torch, Mecca and Wigan volumes which are selling very well on catalogue across most outlets (which necessarily include Woolies, Teco, Asda etc) - two of the first four charted in the compilation charts which is a feat for 'budget' albums (I think they're £4.99 in the shops)! So they will pretty much have to best-of's which define the different eras accordingly. But I dunno if there's enough ammo for these eras from the Sony-BMG catalogue alone. I'll leave Dave and any other compilers to advise on that. What these should aim to be, are lovely packages with sleeve notes, track info and details and pics which define Northern Soul's progress venue-wise after Wigan Casino up to the 90's I guess, by the people who were there at the time. I think next year will be the end of the CD format, so it'd be nice to get 'em out there before it all goes tits up........ Maybe we should have an Xmas warm-up in the Barn before it's converted LOL. How's that sound Dave? We'll trash it for nothing LOL...... Ian D

Well the barn's obviously gonna be a priority by the sound of it, so I reckon get a couple of track-listings together for Yate and Stafford so I can get 'em in for clearance and you can start the book once the barn's done. But be warned - I've had a book on the go for 10 years now LOL - they tend to take a long time....... Ian D

Yep! Can you imagine how good Rochelle Flemming sounds? I've got 'em all here so if you need any gimme a shout...... Ian D

My white promo of "Shout For Joy" is DK 1009. Ian D

Yep Simon, I've got a list of all the master recordings. PM me and I'll e-mail it over. I also have 12 albums worth of Philly Groove material plus all the instrumentals. Lots of interesting stuff on there! Ian D

Unbelievable thread! Brilliant. The level of knowledge is A.1. I worked for 'em in the 70's but it's ridiculous how many of the distributed U.S. labels got lost. I once had access to the U.S. London/Decca distributed library at Albert Embankment for about an hour. Naturally I concentrated on Northern and managed to bypass much of the above....... And now it hurts LOL......... Ian D

Well, there lies the question. I think so. Stafford should be enshrined as being the venue which provided the Northern Soul scene a much-needed shot of adrenalin when it was dying on it's arse! Suddenly there was a buzz again. And the word was Stafford. To my everlasting regret I never managed to make it because I was embedded in other things at the time. Plus too many friggin' beat ballads for my liking LOL.... But I think it could be argued that Stafford was responsible for keeping the scene alive at a crucial time. Hence my thinking that this era should be documented as comprehensively as the 60's and 70's. It's not the fact that the 80's venues may not have been as well-populated as the 70's venues (when they were at the height of Northern Soul overload) but the fact that such venues were there AT ALL! The Northern Soul mystique of why certain things happened at certain times..... So don't be shy Dave. Stafford was an era-defining club which re-invented the scene, even though it kills me to say it LOL..... The Northern Soul Story series works on the same premise as my Mastercuts series. If people have a nice time with the first four releases, then they'll be much more inclined to try further releases which have the same passion and quality control. So let's do a Stafford volume in the Northern Soul Story. Might as well get it right so that future generations don't get misdirected! Ian D X

Could be very true. I did a CD series earlier this year for Sony-BMG which covered the Northern Scene from the 60's up to the mid 70's - The Twisted Wheel, The Golden Torch, Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino. They're 4 bang-up albums, I'm very proud of 'em, they reflect my experience of the time and they've been very successful. In fact, you can pick 'em up @ an Asda, Tesco, Woolies or Morrisons's near you if Sony-BMG have their shit together LOL...... Because these worked really nicely and Sony-BMG seem pretty enthusiastic about more releases, this could be the time to look at the late 70's onwards. I was thinking of doing a couple of catch-all volumes covering Sony-BMG's rare and unbootlegged Northern discoveries from 1980 - present (which is already quite progressed from a reliable collector) and likewise with the Modern stuff (haven't started yet but looking forward to it). But then I started thinking how about 4 more influential clubs from the late 70's onwards? And I like doing 'em in groups of 4, like the last lot. So how about a Stafford one and a Canal, Thorne one? Dave can compile and do sleeve notes on the Stafford one and Arthur, Sam and Rod can do the Thorne one? And how about a 100 Club one with Ady doing the honours and a Yate one in a similar vein? That'll make a nice 4 album plot for Sony-BMG, which luckily, will be available at a local store near to the people who were there at the time. So if Dave's up for it, we could have a Stafford album out for mid next year. I think it would 'legitimise' the key venues of the 80's and dovetail nicely with the 60's and 70's volumes. And I'd really like to produce another 4 albums in "The Northern Story" series which cover the post 1978 era. It supplies a lovely legacy of a great era, it'll be available forever and the people who should be doing it will actually be doing it. And the way the music biz is going I'd rather get 'em out quick. The quicker the better IMHO.... So any views here on SS? We're talking a Stafford, a Thorne, a 100 Club and a Yate. Would that be a fair cross-section of the late 70's to the end of the 80's? And is there enough in the combined archives of the Sony-BMG empire to provide 4 strong albums? And will it sell as successfully as the 60's and 70's volumes LOL.....? Questions, questions........ So gimme a call Dave and let's have a natter! Best, Ian D

Yep, It's actually Alan Champ's dad, the late Des Champ who produced it. He's away for the weekend but I'll get him to do it early next week OK? Best, Ian D

Brilliant. Good for them. They always stay true to their interest and it's easily one of the best-stocked Soul stores in the UK. Good blokes and great little catalogue too. Also the record shop is a dying breed these days, so support the remaining ones ay? We may never have it so good again........ Ian D

Blimey. I didn't think anything could be much worse than the Al Wilson version but this is some of the cheesiest singing I've ever heard LOL........ Ian D

Hi Karlos, Try these out: The Whole Town's Talking - Blly Paul Got To Get You Back - The Sons Of Robin Stone Once You Hit The Road - Dionne Warwick Hooked For Life - The Trammps Plus the others recommended above. A good starting point would be "Creme De La Creme" Vols I & 2 on Warner Music:- Creme De La Creme 1 One of the best compilations of 70s soul you'll ever buy -- a treasure trove of tracks from mid 70s Atlantic and Warner Brothers Records -- all recorded in the mighty soul capitol of Philly! The set does a great job of combining hit singles with a load of lesser-known Philly gems -- tunes recorded as singles or obscure album tracks by artists who were working in the same Sigma scene as the bigger acts on Atlantic, but who never managed to crack the charts as much. The whole thing's great -- a smooth-grooving midtempo batch of tracks that never fails to please -- and honestly, if we had to dig through thousands of old records to produce such a set, we're not sure we could do a better job! Titles include "One More Time" by Dianne Steinberg, "Let's Get Together Now" by The Aristocrats, "Love Won't Let Me Wait" and "Loving You Is Mellow" by Major Harris, "Kiss My Love Goodbye" by Bettye Swann, "Welcome To The Club" by Blue Magic, "That's Where I'm Coming From" by True Reflection, "Save Your Love For Me" by Vivian Reed, "You Call Me Back" by Clyde Brown, ""I Got A Feeling" by First Choice, "Gonna Make You Mine" by Anglo Saxon Brown, "Got To Get You Together Now" by Sons Of Robin Stone, "Can We Come Together" by The Trammps, and "Once You Hit The Road" by Dionne Warwick. Creme De La Creme 2 Sublime soul from 70s Philly -- not just the hits, but a great range of lesser-known gems as well! The set follows strongly on the first volume of the series, but goes even deeper -- and presents a range of rare singles here for the first time on CD, and a few more previously unissued numbers -- alongside a well-chosen batch of overlooked album tracks from the 70s catalogs of Warner, Atlantic, and related labels who all worked often on the prime Philly scene. There's a wide Sigma Sound groove that runs deeply through the set -- a magnificent blend of tight rhythms and smooth instrumentation, mostly cut in the pre-disco years and applied to vocals from a range of excellent male and female singers! Titles include "Look Me Up" by Blue Magic, "Action Speaks Louder Than Words" by Terry Collins, "Happy Man (part 1)" by Impact, "When The Game Is Played On You" by Bettye Swann, "Each Morning I Wake Up" by Major Harris, "No Danger Ahead" by Ben E King, "What A Man" by Jackie Moore, "Mama Never Told Me (Tom Moulton rmx)" by Sister Sledge, "Spinnin Top" by Movin Violation, "Loving You Is Mellow" by Aristocrats, "Are You Ready For Love" by Spinners, "That's The Way Love Should Feel" by Dee Dee Bridgewater, "You & Me" by Margie Joseph & Blue Magic, "Never Love Again" by Holly Maxwell, "Tired Of Being Alone" by Vivian Reed, and "Some Guys Have All The Luck" by The Persuaders. Includes 4 previously unreleased tracks! Best, Ian D

Oh! So that's where they went! Ian D

Incredible story LOL! Did someone on here actually sell the MVP's to Uday Hussein???? I can see it now - 20 dealers immediately pull-out 'sandstorm-damaged' copies of the MVP's and Supremes and claim they were smuggled out of Uday Hussein's 'personal collection'. The strange world of Northern Soul continues @ pace...... Ian D

That would be Mike Pickering ex Hacienda booker/jock, musician, T-Coy and M-People Founder and now A&R man at Sony-BMG. Says he went to the Casino. Also several M.People records are stunningly close to some soul gems e.g. "How Can I Love You More" is similar to "Where Do We Go From Here" - The Trammps and "One Night In Heaven" similar to "Highwire" - Linda Carr & The Love Squad IMHO.... Also, Stuart Maconie on Radio One has waxed lyrical about the Wigan Casino days in his book and I think he is actually from Wigan........... They're growing by the minute LOL....... Ian D