Ian Dewhirst

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 - Holland & Dozier, Laura Lee, Honey Cone & More View full article

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

Yep. I was disappointed. As with many of these shows, I thought it gave a totally disjointed account of what I remember. As an example, those guys who said that it was embarassing to be a DJ before 1985 are just stupid. I have no idea what they were talking about. They obviously weren't around in the 60's and 70's. And the idea that Ibiza 'started' when Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway and Johnny Walker went there in '87 is ridiculous. They were at least 20 years too late to the party. Ibiza has been rocking since the mid 60's. I heard the best mixing I've ever heard in Pacha in 1976 when I was 21 so the so-called Balaeric scene was no mystery to me. The fact that 4 mates went on holiday to Ibiza and witnessed something for the first time doesn't make it definitive. I give 'em credit for bringing that vibe to London in the late 80's but it's not like it was a mystery before then. I'm not knocked out with the live deejaying either. No live dancefloor? Just a deejay spinning to a camera crew. Boring. It'll be interesting to see what audience figures they get....... Ian D

Yeah but good DJ's with nerve have always 'reactivated' tunes haven't they? Lots of previous underplayed and known tunes broke massive when they were reactivated by good DJ's at the right place at the right time. Such tunes should be part of any DJ's arsenal. Records like "Girl Don't Make Me Wait" - Bunny Sigler, "Night Owl" - Bobby Paris, "Time Will Pass You By" - Tobi Legend, "You've Been Away" - Rubin, "Your Love Makes Me Lonely" - The Chandlers, "I Still Love You" - The Seven Souls and TONS of others were all 'known' long before they ever took off. All it took was one inspired play at the right time in the right place to the right audience and boom! Suddenly a 'sleeper' for several years would be the hottest record on the scene within weeks. However, it's pretty rare for such things to happen these days. I think it's great when 'lost' or forgotten records get revived but Butch is probably the only guy who has the available reach to make a big impact these days - the Lee Fields revival being a case in point. But in answer to the question that the thread asks, there's loads of Northern DJ's I'd like to hear out but I won't be able to because I don't have the available time, energy and limitless resources to go to dozens of different venues to catch 'em. What the scene needs more than anything is a major venue and regular all-nighter which will attract a big audience and be a real event.This is not to knock the many regular smaller venues that feature great DJ's regularly but it strikes me that the scene is now incredibly fragmented into too many numerous regional and musical factions, so it's incredibly difficult to get any cohesive unity going. Someone, somewhere needs to create the 2012 version of the Torch, the Casino, Cleethorpes Pier or Stafford, i.e. a venue which will attract thousands of fans on a regular basis and keep 'em happy with a rotating line-up of the country's best DJ's with guest spots for the best up and comers. And obviously no obvious oldies either as there's enough venues who cater to traditional audiences. Or is that a crazy idea......? Ian D

At least he's keeping with the theme of b*llocks though Chalky... Ian D

Good, so not only me that's had ball problems then Dave. We should keep this kind of thing quiet otherwise it'll be all over the forums....... Ian D

Yeah, Spike's kinda cool. Totally impractical though as everytime someone called me Spike, I'd automatically wince with pain and cross my legs....... Ian D

Nah, I've always walked like that, even way before the spike. My left ball has always been kinda sensitive as long as I can remember, so ramming it into a metal spike @ 30mph was merely the pinnacle of a lifetime of nervousness about it's welfare. Effectively, both my left ball and I knew, that one day there would be a world of pain in that general area, so we were both prepared in our own ways. So it was no surprise when it happened. But a 30mph accelaration of your balls directly into a metal spike with 1000 people watching is still pretty extreme whichever way you look at it. So yes Steve. I'm pretty sensitive about the status of my balls OK? The John Wayne quips really aren't helping mate...... Ian D