Ian Dewhirst

Nope, there was only the one copy which Levine had. It was the most sought-after record on the scene at the time believe me. Ian D

It was at least a year and more likely 18 months Kegsy and DH! I was after the record for a good few months after Levine started spinning it and then finally got the second copy off Dave Burton @ the Heavy Steam Machine in Hanley as he was on his way back to London. Like I said, I had a good year with it at least. I should know as having that record was where most of my bookings were coming from and it was by far the most requested record of 1974 or thereabouts. If the pink copies had come in so fast then the record would have died a death quickly. I think it was around 2 years from Levine first playing it to when the pink copies arrived. Just to get it straight though, maybe DH can find the ad 'cos it'll have a date on it. Cheers, Ian D

LOL, I wonder why that was? Ian D

Free up the one's which you KNOW are brilliant and potential future monsters and pass 'em onto the young turks who can use 'em. It's better then 'em gathering dust on your shelves mate. I decided long ago that it's better to pass forward great records than to sit on 'em and let 'em stagnate. I can virtually guarantee you that at least 100 key records over the last 20 years came from my shelves originally. Many of 'em went for relatively little money at the time but the important thing is that everything I sold went to the right people who were key in helping the records to take off. That way you don't feel so bad about moving 'em on. Good karma Dave. Ian D

Yep! EXACTLY the way to go! Ian D

C'mon Mark, you would would never have let 'em go for pennies LOL..... Northern Soulers are essentially defined by their record collections so when we have thin down for whatever reason it's painful. Did I ever want to lose my Alexander Patton, Garnett Mimms and Lou Johnson mint UK promos? No, of course not. However, when I worked out how many times I actually used to pull out the originals and play 'em I realised that other people needed 'em more. They were essentially 'trophy' records which I didn't really need anymore. However I wish I'd had 'em back in '72 LOL.... Ian D

I think it's also a good idea to keep a sense of perspective about the whole thing. Life is a roller-coaster and circumstances change over the years for many people and a lot of things really depend on the ebb and flow of people's lives. I started collecting records in 1967 when I was 12 years old. I then collected furiously for the next 8 years and amassed a brilliant wide-ranging collection including a top notch Northern collection with numerous high-end items. By the end of 1975 I became disillusioned with the Northern scene at the time and sold up my then Northern collection to finance a move to the USA. Just 12 months later, at the end of 1976, I had virtually most of the stuff I'd sold back plus thousands more great records, all bought for a fraction of what I sold the first collection for with many of those new records I found being the fuel for the scene for the following 35 years. So, a good move and one which I've never ever regretted. Records come and go, but incredible life changing experiences don't happen that often believe you me. Since then, I've gone through another half dozen Northern collections and some unbelievably rare records have graced my shelves. And sometimes life simply dictates what happens. People get married and have kids, start businesses which either prosper or fail, are healthy or get ill, have domestic situations which require immediate remedies, need cash quickly for one reason or another or simply decide that the £50K which is sat on their shelves could be better deployed on bigger priorities in life. Many people define themselves by their record collections which is absolutely 100% fine. I've done that for a lot of my life. But I've also freed up several collections over the years via many of the avenues suggested above. I sold a couple of relatively decent collections to both Pat Brady and Tim Brown at different times with no regrets whatsoever. I needed the money and they both got me out of severe holes at the time. Have I ever missed the records? Nah, not really. I've got 'em all in different forms anyway so I can listen to every record I've ever had in my entire life with no problem whatsoever. If I suddenly get rich again quickly (which has happened a few times over the last 30 years) I may well embark on buying 'em all back again. Essentially it boils down to whether you can afford the luxury of keeping rare records on your shelves, i.e., is there anything better that you can do with the money? I'm such a random type of person with so many many different areas of interests that it would be almost obscene for me to simply hoard great records which I'll probably only play a couple of times every few years anyway. So I like to pass 'em on to people who can really use 'em more than me and get better value from 'em then they'll get gathering dust on my shelves. So, if you're not really using 'em and you don't really need the money quickly, then feed 'em out slowly on e-bay 'cos that's probably going to be the best way to get anywhere near the price you paid for 'em. Or if you want to get rid of all of 'em in one fell swoop, then figure out what you really want to do with the money and then flog 'em to TIm, John or Pat. Either way, best of luck! Ian D

That's why you're the well-rounded totally balanced person that you are Bob. Ian D

Yep. My mistake. 'Twas "Walk On Guilded Splinters" on TOTP in 1969. I knew I was at school at the time so now it makes sense:- https://cosmic-dancer1970s.piczo.com/?g=53755533&cr=6 Ian D

That Donnie Ray that's No.2 in their chart was one of the best releases from last year and a real hark back to a good ole Southern Soul floorpacker. Next time I'm down thataway I'm gonna check out a shag party........ Ian D

Yep, you're right. I took the '69 date from the clip but that's wrong by the looks of it. It was more likely in the early 70's. It was pretty outrageous for British TV at the time. It wasn't often that the underside of a pair of breasts got beamed into the living room @ 7.30pm in those days. Mary Whitehouse is probably turning in her grave LOL.... Ian D

That clip is TOTP from 1969 mate. I saw it when I was at school. It was quite a talking point the next day. Here's another clip of it..... https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd858d_marsha-hunt-at-top-of-the-pop-1969_music Ian D

He didn't even need to use the stick - Marsha would've happily shown him her ass I'm sure. Does anyone remember her incredible performance of "Oh No Not The Beast Day" on Top Of The Pops when her boobs were falling out......? Ian D

Actually it was a lot later Kegsy. I had the 2nd known copy and got a good 9 months play out of it before the pink represses came in. Ian D

Sorry, very pedestrian to these ears..... Ian D

Still rockin' in the 80's too...... Ian D

Old Mecca play from '75...... Ian D

Unfortunately can't make it this Sunday so Al is covering and hopefully I'll be back next week! Ian D

It was on Friday night LOL..... Ian D

Damn. Another tortured soul. RIP Whitney. Ian D

There's no easy answers here. I totally empathise with Andy, Arthur, Butch and Steve. It must be infuriating when you've either discovered or revived a rare tune and when it finally reaches a level of acceptance then suddenly a legitimate reissue, or worse still, a boot appears. I've been there myself and there's a level of sadness in knowing that the lustre has disappeared for that particular tune and you won't be able to play it anymore 'cos every other Tom, Dick and Harry will be playing it. So I sympathise to a certain degree. However, I remember when I started putting out the Mastercuts albums in the 90's (albeit covering different scenes to Northern and Modern), I'd occasionally get a snidy comment from one or two record dealers when I dropped by record fairs and they'd be accusing me of killing the value of the originals. In actual fact the value of the originals increased because more people got to hear the tunes because of the albums and subsequently wanted to own the originals. Plus the added advantage that the repertoire owners, artists and songwriters all got paid properly and saw their songs reach a much wider audience (back in the good old days when you could sell 50K of an album). The real bile should be directed at the bootleggers as they're the one's who are just out to make a quick buck. I don't put John Anderson in that catergory at all. He's probably done more to increase the awareness of hordes of lesser-known artists and many people are thankful that he did. Leo's Sunship is still being licensed out regularly to this day and that's a record that would probably have just become a big money collectors item and maybe never found the audience that it subsequently did if it hadn't been for John. It still doesn't seem as bad as it was in the 70's though where some weeks half a dozen fresh bootlegs would appear. I remember Colin Curtis flogging his originals off for a couple of quid each every time they were booted and saying 'they're no use to me now'. And they weren't. On the other hand there's been some fantastic 7"ers released in the last few years that would never have seen the light of day at all if people hadn't have taken the time and effort to get them out there. As I said, there's no easy answers here, except avoid the bootleggers at all costs 'cos they don't benefit anybody. Ian D

Incredible. You couldn't give this record away in the 70's and 80's. The Ninandy copies used to be around in quantity..... Ian D

When I first came onto the scene, it's fair to say that the Invitations "Skiing In The Snow" was the No.1 record on the scene and also one of the rarest records ever - at the time there were only 2 known copies. I think it's an incredible record to this day and a brilliant example of perfect Northern Soul under the original term. Conversely, the Wigan's Ovation version was a complete piece of shit and a horrible Pop cash-in. Ian D

Some more of those wonderful Tom Moulton remixes here:- 1st Hour The O'Jays - Backstabbers - Tom Moulton Remix The Three Degrees - Year Of Decision - Tom Moulton Remix Jose Burgos feat Kenny Bobien - For Your Love - Tom Moulton 2011 Remix Luther Vandross - Never Too Much - Fingerman Re-Edit Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up - Elijah Collins Re-Edit Archie Bell & The Drells - Where Will You Go When The Party's Over - Tom Moulton Remix 2nd Hour The Casualeers - Dance Dance Dance The Idle Few - People That's Why Bobby Hebb - Love Love Love Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - It's Too Late To Turn Back Now The Four Tops - If I Were A Carpenter - Apple Scruffs Re-Edit Brenda Holloway - All I Do Is Think About You Junior Walker & The All-Stars - Way Back Home Inst & Voc The Jones Girls - Nights Over Egypt - Tom Moulton Remix David Ruffin - Walk About From Love - Soho 808 Re-Edit Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Tom Moulton Remix https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2012-01-29-Starpoint.mp3 Ian D

Many apologies for the late posting folks! Up to my neck in work at the moment so better late than never! We continued pretty much from where we left off last time with several more utterly brilliant new Tom Moulton remixes from the upcoming "Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Remixes" now due in early March touch wood. Plus some cute new mixes and new re-edits and some stone Northern killers and a brace of beautiful Motown gems. As per usual the Starpoint chatroom was packed so many thanks to all for joining in with lovely Sunday afternoon banter. Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show LIVE with Ian Dewhirst between 2.00-4.00pm on Sunday 29th January 2012 on everyone's favourite Soul station www.starpointradio.com. Download link below. Featuring...... 1st Hour The O'Jays - Backstabbers - Tom Moulton Remix The Three Degrees - Year Of Decision - Tom Moulton Remix Jose Burgos feat Kenny Bobien - For Your Love - Tom Moulton 2011 Remix Luther Vandross - Never Too Much - Fingerman Re-Edit Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up - Elijah Collins Re-Edit Archie Bell & The Drells - Where Will You Go When The Party's Over - Tom Moulton Remix 2nd Hour The Casualeers - Dance Dance Dance The Idle Few - People That's Why Bobby Hebb - Love Love Love Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - It's Too Late To Turn Back Now The Four Tops - If I Were A Carpenter - Apple Scruffs Re-Edit Brenda Holloway - All I Do Is Think About You Junior Walker & The All-Stars - Way Back Home Inst & Voc The Jones Girls - Nights Over Egypt - Tom Moulton Remix David Ruffin - Walk About From Love - Soho 808 Re-Edit Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine - Tom Moulton Remix https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2012-01-29-Starpoint.mp3 Also I'll be up in Leeds for 'Heritage' @ Distrikt this coming Friday 10th February for a brand new city centre night with Paul Schofield & Liam Frisco just mere yards from the old Central club where we started some 35 years ago! Catch you next Sunday afternoon 12/02/12 between 2.00-4.00pm sharp! Ian D