Ian Dewhirst

It still amazes me how rare this is. You'd have thought that being on Sussex it would have been nationally promoted. I wonder where the other 490 copies went.....? Ian D

I did it with Duke Browner Voc and Inst in the 70's. I used a 'chop-segue' technique on the Moog breakdown..... Ian D

That's just plain weird. They have the Vee Jay titles and the Holland-Dozier-Holland artists! Trying to get the correct listings on Amazon is a friggin' nightmare these days. It drives me barmy..........also there's 14 CDs in the HDH set not 8! Been trying to fix this for the last few weeks and I've run out of patience now! Ian D

Well that was an eventful few weeks since the last show. Sad news following the passing of Frankie Knuckles and Deon Jackson both of whom will be featured on the show today. RIP guys. Had a GREAT time over at Smooth Grooves in Essex three weeks ago with Bigger, Flip, Scott, Carl, Soulpersona and Princess Freesia so hopefully will see you all again soon. Last weekend I blasted up to Manchester for the Ritz Reunion and came back more bruised and battered than usual but had a great time as always. Looking forward to upcoming gigs in May at Bickley Manor in Kent, Butlins in Minehead and the Baltic Soul Weekender. The summer is truly beginning! This week’s show will feature the usual trawl through the eras taking in some truly wonderful Soulful House, some awesome re-edits, some Northern Soul, some Mellow Grooves and some feel good anthems, all with the emphasis on SOUL. The perfect soundtrack to a Sunday afternoon. Come and join the regular groovers in the Starpoint chatroom. The Original Mastercuts Show LIVE with Ian Dewhirst between 2.00-4.00pm on Sunday 27th April 2014 on everyone’s favourite Soul station www.starpointradio.com. Featuring…… Frankie Knuckles feat Jamie Principle * Paul Johnson * Big Moses feat Kenny Bobien * Love Committee * The Jackson Five * Curtis Mayfield * Eugene Record * 100% Pure Poison * Donnell Pitman * Bob Relf * Bobby Lacour * Big Don’s Rebellion * Darrell Banks * Deon Jackson * Al Kent * Jr Walker & The All-Stars * Jerry Butler & Brenda Lee Eager * Ecstasy Passion & Pain * Marvin Gaye * O.C. Smith * Shiva * Gene Chandler * Tavares feat Freda Payne See you @ 2.00pm sharp! Ian D

An early pioneer without a doubt. I just re-checked him out and I didn't realise he was as early as he was. First DJ to use headphones by all accounts too, so he deserves a lot of credit........ Good call mate! Ian D

I've been following this thread with some interest 'cos I'm into lots of different scenes but I'm predominantly into great Black/Dance music. I think it's more or less impossible to really compare the Northern Soul scene with some of the later dance orientated scenes. For a start, Northern Soul pre-dates the main Disco/Mixing eras by 5 years at least. Plus the records which were released in the 60's were seldom longer than 3 minutes and were designed for radio play rather than club play - that's why Motown records were mixed with the vocals, snare, bass and tambourine way up in the mix so they'd sound great over a 3 inch Japanese transistor radio speaker. It wasn't until the early to mid 70's when producers started cutting longer tracks and exploring the world beyond the 3 minute single. The Temptations' "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" was the record which started people thinking beyond the parameters of a 3 minute radio mix. Eddie Kendricks' "Keep On Trucking" and Creative Source's "Who Is He And What Is He To You" kept the ball rolling. By 1975, Gamble and Huff and Tom Moulton were massively influencing the way records would be crafted for the clubs. The rest is history really. It's very, very difficult to compare Northern Soul DJs with traditional DJs. Two different animals really. It's very seldom that I hear a beautifully crafted, perfectly constructed Northern Soul set because most Northern Soul DJs are not particularly skilled in the art of dee-jaying to any other audiences. If I'm looking for musically integrated technical dee-jaying skills the last place I would go would go would be a Northern gig. I've seen the greatest DJs of all-time playing out since 1969, so I know who's right up there at the pinnacle of musical and atmosphere skills and they wouldn't include any of the Northern Soul greats. Completely different skills I'm afraid When I go to Northern, Modern or Across The Board type gigs, I'm more interested in the record selection skills of whoever's playing rather than their ability to mix 3 minute records into each other to be honest. Different strokes for different folks and seldom the twain will meet. Ian D

Early indications are that the James Fountain/Montclairs sold out in many places by around 11.00am. I certainly had quite a few 'panic' calls and messages on Saturday saying that it was sold out. However, I've just been informed that we have 90 left for which the participating record stores are free to order up until next week I believe. It's got too hypey for me to be fair but it's probably great for the stores. I just read that Paul Weller's pulling out of next year though as his single was actually on e-bay the day before! Ian D

OK, good we're staring to gear up now. I'll compile a list of questions thus far when I get a sec..... Ian D

No, go ahead with it. It shows 'em that we're pretty switched-on about the nuances of this stuff........the more the merrier mate! Ian D

Good questions Jocko. I'll pitch 'em and well done 'cos you're the first with the questions. I think the way we'll do this, when I get to 10 or so questions, I'll submit them and see what comes back. HDH realise that there's a lot a haziness about this period and I believe they've all made peace with Berry Gordy again so they probably won't be in a hurry to upset the applecart, if you see what I mean. However, all my dealings with 'em thus far indicate that they understand that people are fascinated with this period and would like to know more. The door is open so what the hell? We'll ask 'em anything and see what comes back... Ian D

I'm going to start a campaign to teach you how to spell 'whether'...... Ian D

No I'm afraid not. Nothing really surprises me though, especially when it comes to majors. Lots of records, especially U.S. ones which were generally issued because of contractual obligations often got 'lost' in the systems. There's been many a time when I was @ Decca in the 70's and then EMI in the 80's when something would appear on the schedule, get pressed and then was never heard of again. I'd occasionally get 7" test-pressings delivered to my office asking what I thought about a particular record and whether it would be suitable for the clubs etc. I even received 7" test-pressings from companies in the 70's when I was in Leeds 'cos I was on all the key mailing lists back then. I've still got a couple from this period that I haven't been able to identify yet. The last ones I found were a 12" white test-pressing by a band called Bullet Train which turned out to be a huge Cosmic Disco rarity and a Love Committee 7" "Tired Of Being Your Fool" which was never issued and which now resides in Steve G's collection..... Ian D

Hahaha. Can't reveal it until the statute of limitations is up unfortunately. It's owned by a major so I don't want any legal eagles swooping down on my ass. Whilst I'd rate it as being the rarest of the rare, it's probably in the same category as the Sam Nesbit, if that actually exists...... Ian D

Yep, never seen that either. I take it that it can be verified? Ian D

No, this was a re-issue of a late 60's recording. Plus not really a boot. Permission had been granted but then got withdrawn just after the TPs had been pressed. So more of a lucky accident really...... Ian D

Unbelievable. The whole of Soul Source gets invited to ask Eddie Holland some questions and we get a big fat zero thus far............. OK, no probs. Lemme get Pharrell on the phone and start firing this sucker up.......... Ian D

Well it was their last bona fide UK hit record in June '73. Certainly a departure from their traditional sound, but essentially it was an ultra-commercial Parliament/Bernie Worrell jam that was aping "Superstition". But the arrangement and production were years ahead in my view. Also, I think Danny Woods just killed this tune! Amazing vocals! Ian D

Quite rare? I've never seen one and didn't even know it existed...... Ian D

It's a 60's recording Pete. One of the greatest...... Ian D

Nope, no trick question Maslar. The fact that "Finders Keepers" was NOTHING like any other COTB record has bugged me for the last 40+ years. I could never quite get how the COTB suddenly switched from their traditional Motown sound to a completely different contemporary funk sound. Now it's all beginning to make sense, although "Finders Keepers" is the most commercial record that the Parliament never made. The fact that it was an early Bernie Worrell jam makes all the sense in the world now..... Ian D

I was just checking a listing and found 3 Brenda Holloway tracks which I can't identify:- King Of Kings Brenda Holloway Was That You I Heard Praying Brenda Holloway Where There's Faith There's Hope Brenda Holloway "Where There's Faith There's Hope" must be a cover of the Chairman Of The Board unreleased acetate, which is terrific:- Where There Is Faith, There Is Hope" - Chairmen Of The Board - Unreleased Invictus Acetate https://soundcloud.com/ian-dewhirst/10-where-there-is-faith-there Can you imagine Brenda belting that out? Ian D

Hoping that I'll have enough time to play all the stuff I've pulled out for the Ritz Revival mini All-Nighter in Manchester on Sunday night. Also looking forward to doing a set with John Morales touch wood...... Ian D

Not at this point Kev. Could be sued. I'll unveil it in 2020. It's mouth-watering though...... Ian D

LOL, I saw that copy in the 70's. It's obviously bounced around a bit.... Ian D

I think some people under-estimate the sheer amount of U.S. 'soul-pack' 45s which came over here in the early 70's. It wasn't unusual to see stuff like Don Gardner or Bobby Adams given away as prizes at funfairs back then. And you literally couldn't give away those titles. They didn't mean anything and no one wanted 'em. Some titles that are currently fetching huge prices on auctions were freely available to all, yet languished as the none-starters back then. I saw literally 100's of some of these titles, so it really makes me question how 'rare' many of them can be...... Ian D