Ian Dewhirst

Styrene though innit? Those white promo vinyls are just beautiful. Found two in Colorado and the record never sounded better! Ian D

Also it's currently holding the Harmless record for export pre-sales orders and is a buzz album on Amazon plus we have some amazing press and radio unfolding over the next few weeks so hopefully we'll get some decent coverage before the World Cup onslaught. I'd like to be a fly on the wall when Brian, Eddie and Lamont get to see the finished article! Hopefully they'll be as blown away as I am! Couldn'tbehappier.com. Massive thanks to Mike and all @ Soul Source for the quality of the membership! We've enjoyed huge support from the Soul Source fraternity and all contributors have been respectfully credited within the package. Seriously, this incredible package would have been impossible to assemble without the contributions of many key S.S. contributors so pat yourselves on the back fellas! This is one to be proud of! Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,859 in Music (See Top 100 in Music) #8 in Music > R&B and Soul > Motown #11 in Music > Pop > Disco #12 in Music > R&B and Soul > Classic R&B https://www.amazon.co...versary box set Oh, did I mention it's out on Monday? Thanks to all! Ian D

Wow! Finished copies arrived on Tuesday but I've only just had the chance to examine one. Result? Utterly fantastic to have the complete Invictus/Hot Wax and Music Merchant U.S. 45s, both A and B sides at your fingertips, thus releasing the pain-in-the-ass job of trying to find the stuff in your collection! A very very handy piece of kit whichever way you look at it. Plus the package just looks great and is really easy to navigate. Naturally this is my own view and I'm obviously completely biased but it certainly does the job for me. Pre-sales on this are simply incredible and I'm heartened by the fact that the export orders for this are really incredible for a box set of this size. So I'm delighted. Time to go on holiday whilst I'm still on a natural high. Out on Monday. Don't dick around. Just order it now! Will post some pics of the finished package when I get if I remember! Ian D

Hi Benji, on the info that went to Amazon for the CD track-listing, for CD2 it says "Plus more tracks to be confirmed shortly) but they didn't see fit to include that on the page Grrrrr...... It had to go up on Amazon before the track-listing was completely finalized due to pressure from the Sales and Marketing boys, as they are obsessed with getting projects up there as soon as possible! Apologies for the confusion (one reason why I HATE putting anything up there before it's ready). Ian D

No probs. Please bear in mind that this is totally Elaine's project and she's very hands-on with the music choices as anyone would expect her to be, so all the tracks are her own choices, which is fine. I'm certainly not gonna argue the toss with her (and woe betide anyone else who dares LOL). She's actually away on a foreign location at the moment but she still took 10 minutes this morning to feed some more tracks into the project. The whole licensing process can be very frustrating for everyone. We're currently waiting to hear if some 4 other tracks which have never been legally comped before can be used so I'll update as soon as we hear. Ian D

And lest I forget, the good Ady Croasdel was also the main source for contacts and was highly involved in the licensing clearances for the film. I think it's fair to say that for everyone involved in this, that it's been a true labour of love! As of this point it's already looking remarkable! Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 203 in Music (See Top 100 in Music) #3 in Music > R&B and Soul > Soul #8 in Music > Pop > Pop R&B #19 in Music > Box Sets Ian D

A couple of things on this. The soundtrack album needed to be loaded onto Amazon early because that's the way that things seem to work these days with the Sales and Marketing guys. We're still waiting for a release date for the film from Universal so the album date will certainly be linked to the release date for the film which means that the present release date is likely to be changed. I find some of the comments on the track listing a little mystifying. I think it's a great balance of the complete soundtrack on CD1, Elaine's personal choices on CD2 and a bonus DVD of a full interview with Elaine about the making of the film. Neither CD has been sequenced yet but the tracks have all been LEGALLY licensed, many for the very first time unlike some of the previous CD releases! In fact, the tracking down of some of the tracks has taken both the film licencor (Gary Welch) and the Demon licensing teams literally months of trying to locate the proper owners. Many tracks that were on Elaine's preferred list could not be cleared for legal reasons or the owners could not be verified to the lawyers satisfaction. This is becoming more and more difficult now with even the major's now turning down tracks that they've previously licensed for other compilations. Some tracks took literally months of hassle before the legal guys were happy to proceed and other tracks had to be reluctantly turned down because of the ridiculous rules that certain licencors tried to put into place. There are also problems with certain companies and stuff like i-tunes and single downloads etc which are far too tedious to get into here. But I can assure everybody that this is anything but an 'amateur' outing! There's been more professionals involved with this then most other albums I've ever worked on. We're lucky that we managed to even get an album like this together LEGALLY OK? The CD2 track-listing will also have some others added touch wood. Also there'll be a 14 x 7" disc vinyl edition of the soundtrack too for those who want 7" vinyl. Plus a separate and very tasty artwork book of some of Elaine's incredible photos along the way. It's a prestigious audio release for a prestigious film. Ian D

I don't think so. They quite obviously use out-of-date price guides instead of real-time sites like Discogs. I'm often staggered to see many run-of-the-mill things priced at sometimes 2-400% more than the average price on Discogs. I know it's for charity but I don't think paying waaay over the odds for stuff is the way to go..... Ian D

Great proper UK indie label. I like the cut of it's jib but I know very little about it. I'd love to know the story behind why this little indie ended up signing former hit-makers the Foundations and Limme. I think they sold jack-shit of any release but I'd love to know who was behind the label........ Ian D

It used to be but I haven't seen any around for years. Fantastic double-sider. The arrangement is out of this world..... Ian D

Yes. Ian D

Blimey. Where does it go wrong Arthur? Ian D

Yep, I heard that story and it makes sense because hardly any other copies have shown up from anywhere else since. Even Clarence Avant who ran Sussex couldn't remember the record....... Ian D

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