Ian Dewhirst

Haha LOL. Wasn't that the famous time Liam got busted on Oxford Street @ 8.00am in the morning with a packet of 'white powder' according to the tabloids? Ian D

Ah, well this could sort another answer from another thread out too then........ Hi Neil, Were the Crow a black band, multi-racial or a white rock act? Nobody seems too sure.........? Best, Ian PS I've been trying to ring you for several weeks now. Is all OK?

Steve Craddock from Ocean Colour Scene likes his Northern and let's not forget the lovely Corrine from Swing Out Sister if they qualify....... Ian D

I bumped into him in the loo at a launch party for a Northern Soul DVD and thought he was Eddie Piller from Acid Jazz..... There's an awful lot of people down here who claim to be into Northern and I'm sure they are to an extent but I'm also sure there's a lot of revisionism going on as well. I reckon Marc got into Northern in the very late 70's/early 80's - I don't think he went to the Casino although I think Dave Ball did. He only recorded "Tainted Love" after he heard me play it at a Q.Tips gig @ Leeds Warehouse in '81, so it's my fault LOL....... Ian D

Well, there's only two people who would know and that's Johnny and Colin! There was a lot of mystique in those days about the prices which were paid. No one wanted to overpay but, on the other hand, if you HAD to have a record then you'd really push the boat out. Also, I think this period was when the prices really started going nuts. I've think I've written about it elsewhere on here, but as an example, Bernie Wiliams went from £40 to £120 plus a World Column and Rosey Jones I believe totalling aprox £150. And that was over the period of a week! This was a bidding war between myself and Mr Manship which unfortunately Johnny won. One reason why I never decry some of the prices that Johnny gets these days, is because I can remember a time when he was happy to pay BIG prices for big records, so good luck to him some 32 years later I say! Ian D

Oi! Don't you besmerch my name by suggesting I'd pay double for something Ady! I'm a Yorkshireman and well-known for buying stuff for 20p which later would top £100 - a habit I've never managed to get out of LOL.... The "Cigarette Ashes" story was slightly before my time (I did buy it on Jay-Boy) but I heard the horror story which always made me double-careful when buying high-priced stuff in the future. I think the Robbie Lawson story is correct. Didn't Colin buy it off "Disco" Bob Catanneo from San Francisco? And the James Fountain story was definitely Johhny Manship. It was the most wanted record at the time and I think he bought it off Colin if my memory serves me well. I also thought the figure was nearer £500. Johnny was driving me nuts in those days 'cos he was targeting the same records as me and usually winning them - James Fountain, the Anderson Brothers and Bernie Williams to name a few. One of the reasons why I decided to go off to the States and find 'em myself LOL...I'm sure John will confirm the James Fountain story...... Best, Ian D

In the 70's there was a certain amount of derison for Soul Packs. It was thought that the only things which went in there were records which the seller had a few hundred copies of. So terms like 'it's a Soul Pack record' meant it was common and not that exciting at the time. Occasionally, someone would stumble into 'a Soul-Pack find' which were almost never taken seriously because there'd probably be hundreds of 'em..... But times change LOL.......The Innersection record was a 50p staple for years........ Ian D

Thanks Mark. In which I have it here - too many records, too many cd's............ Best, Ian D

I only ever heard this once or twice and I remember it as being 100mph stomping pure Northern Soul on some tiny L.A. label I think. Does anyone have an MP3 of it? Is it rare and was it ever played anywhere? Best, Ian D

Also there's a great million mile an hour poppy stomper called "It Ain't Gonna Happen To Me Again" by Paul Clemens on Playboy...... Ian D

Me neither! Used to be a £2 cheapie which was in everyone's box! Ian D

I'm Getting On Life - Wombat! Ian D

Hi Brian, Long time no see! Hope you're well mate and I guess the beard's grey now LOL! Best, Ian "Frank" Dewhirst

Do The Pearl Girl - Matta Baby Broadway Sissy - Roscoe & Co Ton Of Dynamite - Frankie 'Loveman' Crocker Wrong Crowd - Prince George Ian D

Oh you shouldn't believe everything you hear about Show Biz dearie! It's all quite innocent. I was talking to my associate Andre and he thinks you have a cherubic face which will work well in a video. We were wondering whether you may be available for some personal choreographing by our resident choreographers Lionel Blair and Wayne Sleep to be held at the Rainbow Hotel this weekend and then we'll all go dancing at the famous nightclub Heaven. Oh, by the way, could you please bring some leather undergarments please as we'd like to assess your body shape? Monty De La Prenuer

Clyde McPhatter "Please Give Me One More Chance" Bobby Hutton "Lend A Hand" Ian D

Bloody Hell. Haven't seen him since he sold me the Pointer Sisters at Burnley Cricket Club in 1974! Please give him my best! Ian D

Dunno where the 'all vinyl's were boots' thing came from. Hundreds of vinyl copies originally came from Bostocks @ Bradford Market in the early 70's (via the MGM warehouse in the U.S. I believe) and none of 'em were boots! Ian D

Blimey. Must've been lonely dancing by yourself in your bedroom all those years then? Ian D

Also let's not forget that the Northern Soul scene has always been full of cantankerous characters - it's part of the nature of what has always been an elite scene. When anyone came onto the scene in the early 70's they were automatically classed as 'Divs' or 'Wallies'. It was like a form of induction or baptism by fire into a scene, which, despite what you read on here, doesn't suffer fools gladly. Maybe it's because the Northern scene requires a bit of passion and dedication and that idealogy continues to this day as can be evidenced by this very forum. Also despite the harshness of some of the contributors on here, most people I think have a healthy respect for each other. It's 'the devil you know' and the 'he's a twat but he's OUR twat' type of syndrome....... All that's happened, is that Soul Source and the Internet has provided a means of people actually airing their views to all and sundry instead of just at various events or via fanzines, as in the past. So naturally the loudest, most controversial and most obnoxious ones among us tend to get in there quick LOL! Ian D

Hi Tommy, I just pm'd you 4 lots of sleeve notes I did for the Northern Soul Story 4 CD set I did earlier this year. This may help as it looks at Northern Soul from a hands-on personal perspective whilst it was happening at the time.... Hope it may help! Best, Ian D

Agreed! It's pretty failsafe if you have a lot of records. I do mine aphabetised in the following sections:- 1) Rock/Pop Albums 2) Soul/RnB Albums 3) Compilation Albums 4) Reggae Albums 5) U.S. Soul/RnB 7"'s 6) U.K. Rock/Pop 7"'s 7) U.K. Soul/RnB 7"'s 8) U.K. Reggae 7"'s 9) U.S. Northern Soul 7" 10) U.K. Northern Soul 7" 11) U.S. 12"'s 12) U.K. 12"'s 13) U.K. and U.S. Rock/Pop 12"'s 14) Reggae 12"'s 15) CD - Artist Albums 16) CD - Northern Soul 17) CD Compilations Always worked for me. I can generally go straight to what I need within seconds. I generally have a re-filing session about once a month which takes a couple of hours or so, but that beats the frustration of not being able to lay your hands on something quickly! Best, Ian D

Hey The Screamer! Yep, Gary Fields bought my cracked Joe Mathews bless him. Even though it played just fine it had a big wadge of masking tape holding it together. He bought it because of the history of the record and what it meant to him....... Next time you see him can you let him know that I've been saving all my cracked records over the last 20 years specially for him LOL...... Ian D