Ian Dewhirst

Well, for sure. Although generally most record companies will usually pay their advances well before any records are issued. But Stax really was in chaos at that time. I think I'll have a re-read of the two Stax books again and try and work out exactly what was happening from the dates between the two singles. As someone pointed out earlier, Stax even bought it's own pressing machine because it was running out of manufacturers............ Ian D

Yep. It all seems a bit murky from that period doesn't it? As I mentioned earlier in the thread, it wouldn't surprise me if Dave Johnson took the rights back following Stax's implosion which, contractually, he could have had the right to do since the record company generally contractually agrees to use it's 'best efforts' to exploit the artist and repertoire - something that Stax was unable to do by this point. Possibly the same scenario for Jo Armstead who leased the Gospel Truth sides to Collectables in 1996:- https://www.discogs.com/Jo-Armstead-A-Stone-Good-Lover/release/2271957 Ian D

Hence my question as to whether Stax used Monarch in L.A. throughout this period. This was when I managed to get into a store-room @ Monarch and picked up a bunch of stuff including the Si Hightower T.P. I'm beginning to think that's where I found the Sandra Wright album because they were storing at least one copy of everything they pressed in that room. That's my guess anyway and it's pretty much the only one that makes sense. Ian D

Nope. Fantasy bought worldwide rights as any of the Ace/Kent guys will confirm. Ian D

Well, if I'd have seen a Joshie Armstead album I'd have picked that up too for sure. I'd have left the Darktown Strutters album though as, ironically, I wasn't into Blaxploitation stuff at the time. However, in later years I did pick up what I consider to be the weirdest Stax release ever: an IRANIAN copy of "Shaft's Big Score"........must be the only one in existence following the revolution I'd have thought........ Ian D

I just worked there for the last 6 years lol. I found a CD copy in the cupboard there just after I joined and asked Val Jennings how come they didn't use the original sleeve but he couldn't remember....... Ian D

I dig what you're saying Dean but there's still all sorts of things which don't completely add-up. Two separate people who are not connected with each other both claim they've either had it (me) or seen it and held it in their hands (the other Dean). The one that Dean had through his hands came from John Anderson so there's another avenue to check out if anyone speaks to John. When you say, "so the idea that they would divert funds to make an album is unlikely" I would question that. I thought that they had bought the album in the first place and it's the album repertoire which produced the material for the two singles or 4 songs. So I thought it was a finished album deal right from the off? Also weird, is that the completed album was subsequently sold to Demon in 1989 from when the reissue came out (note I say reissue :)). So one would assume that Stax lost ownership of the album right? And then the 2 Sandra Wright singles turn up on the Complete Stax/Volt Singles 5 years later in 1994. So it's pretty confusing as to who actually owns the repertoire in my view. Also weird that this is pretty much the ONLY 'lost' album from such a vast catalogue. It's not like we've been inundated with bundles of other 'lost' albums by any of the other Stax acts is it? Also weird that Demon would release something like that rather than Ace don't you think? They would have either had to license the 4 Stax controlled tracks from Ace or, 5 years later, Universal would have had to licence the 2 tracks for the box set from whoever controlled the licensing of the album to Demon surely? The tracks can't be owned by two different parties can they? Questions, questions. However I'm realistic enough to know that this will never be accepted until the definitive proof is provided so, like the other Dean, until then I don't think there's any point saying anything else. Killer album period. Wish I'd kept it! Ian D

Don't blame you Jim. Especially over the last week or so...... I fully expect Sandra Wright albums on Truth to start pouring out of Scorpio shortly........ Ian D Any Stax experts on here that can answer the above? It may explain something if they did...... Ian D

It was a one-off for the best part of 30 years I believe. Now there's two known copies since Butch picked one up. Ian D

I haven't back-pedaled. I don't know know anything about it being green either. I guess you can believe what you want but I don't need to make anything up. You can join the long line of disbelievers........ Ian D

A Si Hightower 10" Test-Pressing mini LP found at Monarch distributors in L.A. in 1976. Sold to Colin Dilnot in 1978/9 and which now resides with Steve G. Ian D

OK, well my copy certainly didn't get to John, or, if it did then it was via someone else. Which means that 2 copies are residing somewhere in the UK unless John Anderson's lost his conkers/marbles as well. Ian D

Quick question: Did Monarch in L.A. press any Stax stuff in this period? Ian D

What shop was it Dean? And what year if possible? And thanks for deflecting the heat from me mate. Can you remember the sleeve? Or are you losing your marbles too? Ian D

I wasn't mate. I'm sure people like Gary Cape knew about it too. I wasn't into Deep Soul anyway but I did keep my ears open. I sold it or traded it with someone who was into Deep Soul in a big way. I think it went when I was in Leeds, so sometime between '77-'79 at a guess. And it WASN'T A SECRET at the time I keep stressing. We knew about Sandra Wright, or at least I did. Of course I'm gonna pick up an album by her. I had no idea at all that the original wasn't meant to exist. I thought it was just a rather nice obscure Deep Soul collectors thing and never thought about it again until I found the reissue in a cupboard at Demon in 2009. My first thought was 'why didn't they use the original artwork'. But, hey, I may have 'lost it' and be spouting shite. Doctors tomorrow so we'll soon find out. I may have the kind of brain which conjures up releases out of nowhere ay? Whatever the outcome, I'm pretty sure that £3K would ease it out of any private collection. Ian D

My my my. You guys do make me smile. My very sanity is being questioned here. "The mind plays tricks" etc, etc. Hey I'm 61 years old in 6 weeks and have been collecting records since 1967, almost 50 years. I've probably had 100,000 records through my collection in that time and I have a pretty good idea where I got most of 'em from. Most collectors know that there is generally a 'mental snapshot' of key records one has bought and sold over the years and there is nothing whatsoever wrong with my recall, as anyone who's ever read my multiple sleeve-notes since 1974 will already know. You could even try my sleeve notes to "Stax Northern Soul" - coincidentally, the first album I ever compiled and wrote the sleeve-notes for and which came out on UK Stax in 1974 - 2 years before I went to L.A. and found the Sandra Wright album. So Sandra Wright was certainly on my radar back then and I KNEW there was an album knocking around OK? It was no big secret to me. Since then I've probably produced more compilations then most - Upfront, Best Of House, Mastercuts, Deep Beats, Rewind Selector, MVPs, Vintage Grooves, The Northern Soul Story, Funked, The Masters, Harmless, Backbeats as well as hundreds of artist releases and other compilations. I've probably steered over 1000 releases and that's being conservative. You know, it's my JOB! Been doing it for 42 years now and there's no end in sight. My whole career is steered by my musical memories and recall. I guess when one starts reaching old age, then these kind of comments will start rolling out automatically because it's the first thing someone would say isn't it? We could have had this self-same discussion about whether Darrell Banks was ever issued for 49 years before someone found an issue last year. I avoided such speculation because I work in this business and I know what happens. I don't recall ever seeing a Darrell Banks issue on the internet or anywhere else in those 49 years does anyone else? Nothing is written in stone in my view. Right now I have a legitimate UK release (with provenance) that no one knows even exists and if I told the story no one would believe me. A simple mistake that someone made but the record got pressed and then quickly withdrawn, so on paper it doesn't technically exist. But it does because I'm holding it in my hand right now. Whatever anyone believes is fine but please don't make assertions about my mental abilities. Just to be on the safe side, I'm booking myself in with the doctor on Monday morning to let him know about people's concerns about my mental abilities and we'll see if he can throw any light on it ay? Ian D

Well, here's the weird thing. I certainly wouldn't have considered mentioning it because I assumed that there were more copies around. I knew it was rare but not one-off rare. I'm pretty sure that like Si Hightower, Colin would have pestered me for months to buy it before I eventually caved in (assuming it was Colin I sold it to). Also I knew about the album before I even found a copy. It was certainly known in some circles in the mid 70s. That's why I'm amazed no ones popped up to verify it yet. This is really weird to me. Like living in some kind of parallel universe. Also Colin is very shy about disclosing what he has. He always has been and he's told me in the past that he didn't want hoards of Northern collectors pestering him. Plus bear in mind that Pete Lawson lived nearby to him in the late 70s! Ian D

I don't think so Steve but that is the first thing most people say. It's weird when no one believes you though........ One day I'll be vindicated...... Ian D

Sorry Jason, I was merely replying to an earlier post that suggested that Colin had sent his original to Soul Brother: - "I am almost certain that Colin Dilnot told me that he lent his copy of the album to Soul Brother records to make a copy". Oh well, no offence intended. Back to the drawing board then (no pun intended)..... Ian D

Well that would make all the sense in the world. They really have to scan an original Album sleeve in order to get a decent quality scan for the re-issue. Well done Kev. I did sell it to Colin Dilnot and that would be where the Soul Brother original sleeve came from. I never thought it would be a one-off but it sounds like it might be. Plus Colin's not a guy to shout about what he has anyway, so he'll have been sitting on that since the late 70s by the looks of it. Plus, obviously he'd never sell it. That's why I sold it to him. It needed a good home and I'm not really into Deep stuff........... Ian D

Mmm. You're making me wonder now. I do recall that the album was heavy because it had busted through the fairly thick card spine so it actually looked pretty battered and the cover art didn't improve with age either 'cos most of the sleeve was black and beginning to fade. It may have been a test-press which was pressed at an indie plant which would make sense knowing what they were going through at the time. I bet Colin Dilnot got it. He knew what to zoom in on so that album would have been a no-brainer for him I believe. Ian D

Plus tastes change over the years. I left a 100 count box of Lew Kirtons in the mid 70s 'cos you couldn't give that record away then. 10 years later a different story. Arnold Blair was a soulpack record which no one bothered with and now it's a £100 record. Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it? Ian D

Mark, I have thousands of original soul records. In fact I've bought more in the last 5 months than I have in the previous 20 years. I have records in my collection now that I've been after for 40 years and finally managed to nail. But I don't have a spare £100K to replace some of those key classics, many of which I found in the first place. I simply don't have the level of wealth required to buy them again. So, for mainly aesthetic reasons, I'll grudgingly accept a fantastic repro 7" if I feel the need to own a 7" vinyl copy. I pretty much have everything I want in different formats anyway, so I already own every song I've ever wanted for the most part. I'll probably never own an original Billy Woods 7" again 'cos I don't have £5K spare, so in those rare moments when I'm in a 7" frame of mind, I'll just have to make do with a repro. It's a bitch and I self-flagellate myself daily because of it but the level of self-flagellation doesn't seem so bad if it's a GOOD repro. Ian D

Yep. I'm that way inclined tonight. I have been re-calibrating my 7" key play-out collection over the last 5 months and replacing a lot of stuff as well as clearing out some of those old bootlegs that were on the shelves that I would never actually play in a million years and I've now realised that that there is a massive market for this stuff, especially with younger people who would never get access to the originals and who could never afford them anyway. So it's better that I pass 'em on, rather than letting 'em wallow on my shelves. In the 90s, I had a particularly good Mel Britt repro which wasn't for sale but some nutcase insisted that they had to buy that copy for £50 at the time, so I sold it. No big deal. I thought I could replace it. But I couldn't. So despite being a repro, I wish I'd kept it. So I'd love to have a look at these Salvadors and Billy Woods repros because they'll probably be way superior to the ones I have. I want to see exactly how close they can get to the originals from a professional viewpoint. So is someone gonna send me 'em since, apparently, they're free? Am I not in the inner circle...? Ian D

Effectively what we have here is a microcysm of the art world. There are original paintings which will be generally beyond the reach of most mere mortals. Then there are limited-edition top end prints, which are the next best thing and still have a level of credibility and which are more affordable than re-mortaging the house. And at the bottom of the demand are the quicky quick-buck prints that don't make any attempt to be anything other than supplying demand to those who are not bothered about credibility. So demand for the items means that it's inevitable for boots and repros to be made. Bootleggers are bootlegging with impunity at the moment because it's simply too cost prohibitive to enforce copyright and chase 'em down for most copyright owners. It's the wild west again folks. So there is a market for the people who can't afford £4K for a Salvadores original but don't mind paying £100+ for a repro which is almost indistinguishable from an original. I have yet to see ANY of these repros or boots. I bought a Salvadores original in 1973 which is long gone. And, even though I legally issued it on 7" for the Northern Soul 7" Box Set in 2015, I would still love to jettison my shit-looking blue Wise World 70s boot for a more authentic looking repro. I'm beginning to take boots and repros as a fact of life these days. I can't stand bad boots and don't want them in my collection. Since the originals are way beyond my budget these days, I'm still in the market for SUPERIOR repros for reasons I still haven't worked out. I think it's the basic aesthetic of being as close to the original as possible. I still bought a light blue Idle Few repro a few weeks ago. You know, I CARE about this stuff..... Ian D