Ian Dewhirst

Very rare. Sold mine to John Vincent in the mid 90's. Ian D

Stomping 70's Van McCoy Mecca fave.... "Uptown Saturday Night Pt 1" - Bill Harris https://youtu.be/ic9EsmUYmDs Ian D

Yep, I get to some of these things late. But that's OK. Even if it was 'discovered' after 2000 that's still pretty incredible for a Wylie/Hestor 100% Northern belter like this. Makes you wonder what else may have been missed 30-40 years ago doesn't it? Ian D

Spoilsport! I think this brings a whole new dimension to record collecting and thus is fascinating to watch. This is pretty much my favourite record of the last 12 months or so and I still find it kind of unbelievable that a Detroit Wylie/Hestor record could have lain undiscovered for so long. But the other side of my brain is also pondering how ignorant I was to leave hundreds of similarly damaged valuable records in the past on the basis that they were unplayable and thus no use to anyone. How stupid was I ay? Ian D

It's been a challenging year for me. Workwise it was very fulfilling with successes with the Philadelphia International box set and the Tom Moulton PIR remixes packages and the Acid Jazz box set rounded off the year nicely, plus not forgetting any of the other 25 releases which should all add up to a great year for Harmless. Some fantastic gigs throughout the year included the Baltic Soul Weekender, the Preston 2012 guild, some top notch private gigs at the Cafe de Paris, the South Of France, Sweden and Ibiza and some memorable parties (and I love a good party). Had to put the Original Mastercuts show on Starpoint on hold in October whilst I dealt with some personal changes but back in the seat tomorrow (2.00-4.00pm). Moving house in late November was a bit of a challenge though, not least the dismantling and relocation of 10K records, 2K CD's and 1K books plus assorted memorabilia and 10 years accumulation of general junk. Bloody expensive too, so it's been a low key couple of months whilst I've re-adjusted from the charms of Carshalton to the wonders of Warlingham perched on a mountain in Surrey! Now that I'm settled in, I'm beginning on some ambitious plans for 2013, so fingers crossed I'll have the health and energy to see 'em through. Happy New Year to all! Ian D

It's actually a complex question Barry. One of the reasons I decided to seek avenues anew way back in '75 was because I felt I was becoming personally restricted by the confines of the Northern scene at the time. I was discovering other exciting music which I enjoyed but was unable to express as a DJ at the time - and I was a DJ who straddled both traditional Northern Soul and contemporary Soul releases, so it's not like I was that restricted in the grand scheme of things. However, in 1975, even if you were a name DJ, there were still expectations for you to play sets that would fulfil the expectations of the majority of the crowd. So most people would reasonably expect a set which would include the majority of my personal big records interspersed with other records which I could fit in that would still keep the majority of the crowd happy. Bear in mind, that even on a normal Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday we'd still be getting 200+ at most gigs. So in an average 1.5-2.0 hour set, there really wasn't that much scope to experiment too deeply. Plus, forget what we now call 'crossover' back then. I can tell you that there was zero appetite for anything other than 4/4 at the time. The slowest records were in the vein of Jodi Mathis, Sheila Anthony, Ila Vann, Anne Sexton, James Fountain etc, etc. Steppers and Rare Groove mid-tempos didn't start getting popular until the mid 80's (from memory via Kev Edwards' club in Warrington Barry?). So it's difficult to apportion 'blame' for wondering why you never heard certain killers at specific times. It all depended on the scene you were on really. The most mind-blowing musical experiences in my life came from a wide range of sources across several different scenes, several different decades and in several different countries. I mean, I'm pretty musically educated but every so often I hear a stone KILLER and wonder how come I never heard it before over 40 odd years. Life's full of surprises and that's the way it should be. Ian D

Cheers Peter. There's actually 30 Backbeats mult-artist comps and 10 Backbeats artist-only comps out now with another 10 multi-artist comps coming in early February - details shortly. Advance warning: the first 10 Backbeats comps will be coming up for deletion shortly unless we renew 'em, so here's a quick checklist of everything I think:- https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_9?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=backbeats+series&sprefix=backbeats%2Cpopular%2C211 Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all! Ian D

Why thankyou Aid and compliments of the season to you too sir. I certainly think Soussan did a lot to harm the scene from around '75 when he was pimping all the tailor-mades around, so I can absolutely see where you're coming from but that should also be balanced with the stuff he came up with earlier on, which generally was first-rate. Anyway, Merry Christmas! Ian D

That's just not right Aid. He probably discovered more records than anyone between 70-73 and we benefited because he was distributing them via a handful of UK dealers. As Steve pointed out, he was in a chocolate factory finding loads of chocolate but, as a result, we got loads of great records just as the scene was demanding them and his taste was usually spot on. So he supplied a demand. He wasn't a nice person in my opinion but he sure knew tunes. I'd say that the majority of new discoveries between 70-75 came either directly or indirectly through him without a doubt, including a lot of cheapies on various people's lists. That's where "Cool Off", "Rosemary What Happened", "Ain't Nothing You Can Do", Your Loves Too Strong", "Love On A Rampage" and numerous others came from. But, apart from that, the guy's got hardly any redeeming features..... Ian D

They bought all the 45 stock from the MGM/Verve U.S. warehouse - probably millions of 45's which obviously included all the MGM/Verve stuff but also countless other labels including Detroit ones. That stock got distributed all over the UK and would turn up everywhere in the early 70's. Ian D

What's really frightening is that when deals are done to secure catalogues, the physical masters are often the last thing to get mentioned in case they skewer the deal. A friend of mine has over 300 multi-tracks of classics from the 70's and 80's most of which are on major labels, which makes me think that previous reissues of these tunes have probably come from mixed-down 1/4 inch production masters. Many multi-tracks were disposed of in the late 80's when companies started digitising their catalogues and before the companies knew that there would be a boom in re-issues. Also it's amazing how many companies simply didn't want to retrieve their masters from studios when the studio closed down so often the studios would just dump 'em because they were too expensive to ship or store! Philadelphia International kept all their masters but they're one of the few! Ian D

Deepbeats were from the early 90's Barry, I presume you mean Backbeats? Most of the Backbeats series are taken from earlier releases of which most were originally mastered from the tapes, but Backbeats is a budget series and thus re-mastering from analogue tapes would be way too expensive for a series which retails at a fiver a pop. Ian D

Back in the day but an old leopard doesn't change it's spots now does it? Ian D

Master tapes are becoming increasingly more difficult and more expensive to work with. Most U.S. companies view master tape retreival as a pain in the ass and a low profit centre, so they try and charge you the earth. Also there's no money in deep catalogue releases unless you're a specialist like Ace/Kent or Numero, so most companies don't have access to original master tapes as no one wants to spend the money on retreiving them and baking them (most 70's master tapes now need to be baked in an oven in order to use them). It drives me mad as I would make access to master tapes a condition of the deal, but often the repertoire owners just can't be arsed to deal with digging the masters out of a storage facility in Encino or New Jersey. Nuts I know but that's how it is these days. There is actually a sort-of underground network of people who get access to some masters and this is one of the areas which is interesting at the moment. Some of the greatest masters ever recorded are in private collections and not even available to the companies who actually own them. Ian D

Quite right too. I'm happy to verify that you were the shining example and perfect role model for teenagers in the early 1970's. I shudder to think what would have happened had someone else had that role. The consequences could had been awful. The rare occasions when you were foaming at the mouth, making random intelligible statements and careering into tables full of drinks, I put down to nervousness and peer pressure.......... Ian D Ian D

I always maintain that I was born at least 5 years too late. I'm 57 now but I was 10 in 1965 and was already looking at the possibilities that life had to offer because I'm quite precocious when it comes to having fun. I lived in Roundhay up till 1966 and then Mirfield thereafter and often went into town with my parents. So as a kid being dragged around the Leeds arcades from 1964-68 I saw the action on Saturday lunchtimes first-hand and felt frustrated that I wasn't old enough to have that kind of fun. I also read the papers about the Mod/Rocker rucks at the seaside and realised that it was all going on and all I could do was watch from a distance. I started collecting records in 1967, I got educated musically by radio, youth clubs and older people's record collections. By 1969 I was sneaking into the Bin Lid in Dewsbury and pretending to be a junior mod. By 1970-71 I was getting into Northern big time, buying 40 records every Saturday for £2 from Bostocks and collecting like a maniac. By 1973 I was deejaying everywhere. An unbelievable period. But I'm so pissed off that I didn't get there 5 years earlier, 'cos I think I would have loved the early 60's and fitted right in there like a glove LOL. Can't win 'em all ay? And talking about Kegsy, I believe that he was around at the first ever DJ gig I did at Bradford Polish Club. I was still finding my feet and understandably nervous, when this guy appeared and asked to look through my records. He pulled out Art Freeman "Slipping Around" on UK Atlantic (a record I got by default via a collection I'd recently bought) and immediately asked me if I wanted to sell it. I'd only played it a couple of times and was still getting my head around it and didn't realise it was even rare but something about the guy's enthusiasm to buy the record flagged me and I decided I'd better hold on to it. Smart move ay? I really wish there was some kind of foundation or trust which could preserve as much of the era as possible because I think it was important period and says a lot about British culture. We're still in a position to collate and preserve a lot of stuff and the opportunities have never been better, primarily down to sites like Soul Source. If anyone wants to seriously talk further about the possibilities, especially vis a vis national heritage or lottery funding then please drop me a line because this is something I'm genuinely interested in persuing. Being born 5 years too late is a bugger LOL..... Ian D

It's a question of time Steve. It's one of my plans for next year if the demands of running a record label allow it! Ian D

Yep, it was definitely a 'caveat emptor' or buyer beware scenario with S.S. every time. I remember buying a Prince George and a George Blackwell off him and receiving 'em but was never totally convinced that the George Blackwell was real as it wasn't so easy to check against a real one back then. So I moved it on. However, I'm still not entirely sure. That was the problem back then, in that some of his boots were very very limited for some reason. It still left a bad taste though. Just to recap on the Mecca incident: Soussan was looking through my box and pulled out 2 relative cheapies at the time which he didn't know - one of them was Shona Springfield "I Need A Rest" on Rialto I think. He was offering some brilliant swaps for them, so I was obviously anxious to get the deal consumated. But as this was going on, there was a real atmosphere of discontent reverberating around the Highland Room and a crowd started to build up behind us. One or two people were saying, "Oi Soussan. You owe me for records I paid for you tw*t" etc, etc and the atmosphere was getting more intense as more and more people started crowding behind us. Richard Searling could see what was coming and said "Er, Simon, I think it's time to go". At that point some half-wit was digging into my back, when all I wanted to do was get the deal done and get my records off Soussan. Then the digging in my back became more vicious, so I kinda lost it and pushed back from the bar to relieve the pressure but that caused a kind of mexican wave effect and people started to fall over at the back. Then I turned around to confront whoever was pushing me in the back and a pebbled one pint glass hit me squarely in the face busting my nose and blacking my eyes in the process. In the ensuing chaos Soussan nipped out sharply and got away. I cleaned up and continued on to Wigan. Never did get any records out of it! Ian D

Paul Schofield. He used to do Friday nights when it was Jazz-Funk. The first French Fries came from his collection...... Ian D

True Robb. He always credited me with 'saving his life' when I took a beer glass full on into my face when things turned nasty one night at the Mecca and, as a result, he managed to get out in one piece. However that didn't stop him ripping myself and Neil Rushton off when Shalamar took off. I'm a believer in karma, so what goes around comes around. For instance, he always had appalling problems with a stomach ulcer so he spent a massive amount of time doubled-up in pain. When I saw him again some 17 years later, he was still in great pain. In fact, I seem to remember that Les McCutcheon had to bail him out so he could get some stomach surgery in the mid 90's. Irrelevant I know, but if you live by the sword etc, etc..... Ian D

I took him and Sabrina to a Morrocan Castle just off Sunset, which was his favourite restaurant. Pigeon pie and cous cous. The food was pretty unbelievable and that was actually a good night. I seem to remember he was on top form that night and cracked up everyone who was waiting for their cars to be brought by the valet..... Ian D

I guess he's the easiest target. The fact is that many people did business with him, many without even knowing because Simon was pretty much the ONLY U.S. based supplier of prime Northern Soul in the early 70's. So whether you bought your records from many of the dealers or bought your bootlegs from Selectadisc, Soussan was generally involved somewhere along the line. The last time I saw him was 1990 and he wasn't doing so well then, living in a basic apartrment somewhere around Santa Monica I believe with a new wife and a couple of kids. The point that people maybe miss, was that Soussan, hustler or not, was a true lover of Soul music. He also knew, was generally liked by, and got on, with many artists. He introduced me to Solomon Burke, Ike Turner, Jack Ashford, James Jamerson and countless others. So he was a small-time hustler who got out-hustled himself by much bigger, more respectable hustlers, like happens every day to most of us. In the grand scheme of things, S.S. isn't even a blip compared to, say, UBS who got fined $1.5 billion today for rigging the libor rate (like Barclays before them) or the scum bankers and politicians who have recently ripped us off etc, etc, so no point in getting hysterical over a small-time hustler like Simon. There are far worse people around than him believe me. Ian D

He was a regular fixture @ the Hollywood Swap Meet which I think was the first Sunday of every month in the mid 70's. You'd often get people rolling up with trucks full of 45's. Unfortunately Simon was always there, often going directly from Chez Nous in Beverly Hills which closed @ 4.00am...... I just googled and found this.... https://gogonotes.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/197677-capitol-records-swap-meet.html Ian D

It's an open forum so anyone can post about anything. Like it or not S.S. discovered 100's of incredible Northern Soul records, doubtless many that you'll probably love, so how you can say it's not good history is difficult for me to comprehend. Just because he was a shyster didn't mean it was 'bad' history whatever that means..... Feel free to start some threads on your own choices if you like.... Ian D

I agree pretty much with everything you say. He was an incredible talent whether you liked him or not and certainly his nose for Northern Soul was just incredible. Many many times I've seen him in Warehouses or Garages that I'd lost interest in going through anymore and he's suddenly pull a record out, study it and say, "this is the one baby boy. I can smell it" and he'd be right. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of arrangers, producers, writters and publishers and no matter how old looking or straight the label was, he'd often see something that most people would have missed at the time. He was definitely in the right place at the right time to find stuff though and he sure didn't dick around once he got going. I think once he'd done that first Colony trip in '71 or thereabouts he was always heading towards L.A. (via a year in Mexico City whilst he waited for his green card). By the time I got there, he'd already cleaned up massively (and got banned from most places in the process). Out of most people I'm probably the one who should moan the most, since neither Neil Rushton or myself never saw any of the proceeds from a million-selling record we collectively co-produced. Mind you, Simon then got shafted when Soultrain went bust, so there's always a bigger shark around...... That Don Cornelius clip is kinda ironic as well, since Simon got ditched by Soultrain after producing half of the Shalamar album! Simon and Don knew each other long before Shalamar via a club called the Candy Store. In fact, the first night I got to L.A. Simon introduced to Don at that very club. Wouldn't swap the memories of that trip for anything though! Ian D