Ian Dewhirst

Seconded. Well, he's still around I think..... https://www.fyicomminc.com/jazzmen/horace-ott.htm Ian D

He also did Don Covay's "It's Better To Have". A magnificent career. He seems like a real safe pair of hands which is probably how he managed to evolve over 3 decades or so. Controversially I think the best arrangement he ever did was on a Gay Disco record - Denis Parker's "Like An Eagle". I actually think the production is a masterpiece and it's subsequently been ripped off on a couple of 90's dance hits. It's not really appropriate for Soul Source but here's the Todd Terje re-edit of the song anyway... Dennis Parker "Like An Eagle" https://youtu.be/2VM3LLxVb-Y A million miles from "Key To My Happiness" but that's what you call a diverse career. He's a major unsung hero in my book. Ian D

Well John's obviously no slouch when it comes to assessing the value of indididual records and their potential worth. For that price I'd whack it in a cool frame and call it art......... Mind you, I don't blame him at all. I'm selling unique records which may not be considered to be rare but which I consider priceless and people are happy to buy 'em. Somebody somewhere in the world will always want a unique copy of a great record........... Ian D

It's because it was sold as an artefact rather than anything else. The audio quality will be inferior to the commercial pressing and only has a finite amount of plays in it anyway. So whoever bought it would probably want to frame it rather than actually play it. View it more as the Northern Soul version of an Andy Warhol piece of art rather than anything else. In fact Damien Hirst probably bought it. That'd make perfect sense. Ian D

Yep. I used to often get crushed by the sheer volume of Merle Haggard and Ferlin Husky records I had to go through to get to something decent. In my experience a lot of the majors massively over-pressed a lot of C&W 45's. I saw that for myself via the Bostocks market stalls in the early 70's, House Of Sounds in Philadelphia in 1976 and numerous other places ever since. It got to the point where if I hit a place and the first couple of thousand 45's were all C&W, I'd make my excuses and get out. The potential hit rate would be negligible and probably not worth it. Thinking about it now, I have no doubt that Nashville must have had some scams going. Why else would Columbia press up so many C&W stiffs which eventually ended up in the UK in the early 70's via a bulk warehouse clearance deal? The Soul stuff is rare compared to C&W and Pop. Maybe the inflated prices are actually justified ay? Ian D

There is such a thing as too many records. Decent Soul music probably amounts to a mere 0.5% and that's on a lucky day! Ian D

Yes. Uptempo type floater was what I meant. That was whiskey talking....... Ian D

I did, you schitzoid freak. Check the releases........ Classification is a bitch. One man's 'crossover" is another man's "mid-tempo northern". Anyone with a thirst to learn about Soul music probably won't mind experimenting a 'lil bit. Plus things change over the years. A 'ballad' from 1965 can then become a 'beat ballad', then a 'northern mid-tempo-classic' and then a 'mod anthem' over a gestation of 30 years or so. 'Modern' can suddenly become 'northern' if a 70's or 80's record hits big with the northern crowd. So records like Skip Mahoney and the Futures can slip into 'northern' more than 'modern' if they find the right audience. Nobody ever said this was easy........... Ian D

Yes! Of course it does you f*ckwit. People have their own particular 'comfort zones', so classifications are all important for today's market. For someone who supposedly does commercially successful compilations, I thought you would have realised that.......? Ian D

You could go on forever mate. Seriously, it's almost endless. The good ones kinda merge the boundaries 'cos if it's just great, then really who gives a shit about how it should be classified.....also people's perceptions change all the time, so there's never an absolute really. For instance how do you classify these..... The Fabulous Downbeats "Life Goes On" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E574hvX-zYM Joe Mathews "Ain't Nothing You Can Do" Matta Baby "Do The Pearl Girl Pt 1" Mod? Tittyshakers? Boogaloo? 60's R'n'B? Northern? Does it even matter? Ian D

Not just great. F*ckin' BRILLIANT! Perfect uptempo Soul music! Spanky Wilson "Easy Lover" Ian D

No, only a U.S. demo in my experience. And yes. I can remember Levine playing it first @ the Mecca, several times over a number of weeks. I think it's fair to say that the record spouted controversy from the start - "too gimmicky", "crap", "a pop record" etc, etc. Never took off and didn't last long in reality...... Ian D

LOL, that what happens when you let a young Mod compile it LOL! I shall forward your comment to Dean Rudland who will be on the naughty step! Ian D

Backbeats Artists Series - First 5 Releases — Track Listings Since its launch in early 2010, the Backbeats Series has subsequently released 30 compilations covering numerous genres within black music throughout the previous 50 years all at an incre... Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full

His burial was even weirder! Ian D

Is there an arguement that Mr Lucky is merely making his own luck? Ian D

The problem is Northern Soul is generally appreciated more when it's not commercially successful, so whilst Holland/Dozier/Holland's productions were second-to-none, unfortunately most of 'em were hits which automatically discounts 'em credibility-wise. Most of Wylie/Hestor's killer productions were commercial stiffs which edges it for them. Ian D

Yep. I'd have to dig out a few books but there's some other surprising examples of the same thing. Someone once told me that me that Al Johnson & Jean Carn's "I'm Back For More" made No.1 on the R&B charts purely through sales in the South alone..... Ian D

Lemon La Vida Loca for me. Jimmy Saville RIP LOL..... Ian D

...plus the murdered girl had a copy of Frank Wilson in her bedroom LOL.....this could be good..... Ian D

"Baby Do The Philly Dog" - The Olympics and "I'm Gonna Love You A Long Long Time" - Patti & The Emblems first two tracks played. Dancing and fashions all wrong but hey, it's a prime-time Sunday evening TV show. I think they call it 'suspension of disbelief' or something........... Ian D

And I'm playing a 70's/80's type set in Southend tonight so at least I'm playing something decent! Ian D

He did according to my research Steve. I know Jimmy Saville invented double-deck deejaying is a tough one to swallow but he was an enterprising guy so it makes perfect sense - he started the twin decks thing during world war 2 apparently.... He used to come down to a club I deejayed at called the In-Time in Leeds in the late 70's - another basement discotheque LOL..... Ian D

Yep, me too Steve. I spent quite a bit of time haring around the country from one rave to another in the late 80's and early 90's and thought exactly the same thing - fast music, all-nighters, drugs aplenty and a collective togetherness. Are you off to see Louie Vega @ the Warehouse tonight? That's where I'd be if I was up there...... Ian D

They're no doubt aiming at a younger demographic and the researchers probably didn't know any better. The term discotheque has been around since the 1940's, Paris and Rome had the best discotheques with twin turntables and good sound systems throughout the 50's, the first 'superstar' DJ in the UK was probably Emperor Rosko who could pull 2000 people on a Thursday night in Brighton in the late 60's playing dance music and New York and Ibiza had the best clubs in the 70's with phenomenal crowds and plenty of culture. Personally speaking, I consider the late 80's and all the 90's to be the period when club culture was at it's worst LOL! That's when it all started becoming very bland to me and the music became terrible. But hey, I'm old....... Ian D