Ian Dewhirst

Ah, maybe I made a continuity error Eddie. I always assumed that "You Didn't Say A Word" was after "I Can't Change". The production on "Didn't Say A Word" sounds much better and more contemporary than "I Can't Change" which always sounded dated and slightly doo-woppy to me. I was really wondering what happened to her after "Didn't Say A Word" 'cos her performance on that is right up there with my all-time faves. I think it's one of the greatest productions, greatest arrangements and greatest vocals ever laid to plastic and it's almost inconceivable to me that she disappeared after that........ ......there again what about Jodi Mathis? What happened to her? How can a vocalist of that magnitude just disappear into the ether..........? Ian D

Only the two I'm afraid. The Patti Austin 70's version (whilst great in its own way) is still kinda limp compared to the earlier superior Yvonne Baker recording, one of the greatest Northern Soul records of all time. Pretty much unbeatable IMO. Did she ever record again? Ian D

Bernie Williams was a Colin Curtis 'last hour @ The Mecca' spin but I never thought it fitted with the Mecca sound at the time. It was much too dated and R'n'B'ish compared to most of the other stuff Ian and Colin were playing at this point. This was a point where the Mecca was championing the more progressive 'Modern' sound and that's what people were getting off on. As a result, many of the more traditional Northern stompers were being relegated to occasional plays or 'last hour' status. Which is kinda what happened with records like Joe Mathews, Jimmy Raye, Robbie Lawson, Herbert Hunter, Jenny & The Jewells, The Inspirations, Jimmy Mack and tons of others etc, etc. Times were a changing @ the Mecca and there was almost like a sort of reverse snobbery about the traditional Northern sound in this period. It was cooler to play King Sporty than Bernie Williams LOL...... Rosey Jones, Mel Britt, The Carstairs, The Anderson Brothers, Marvin Holmes & Justice, Anne Sexton and James Fountain were the floorfillers at this point and the new fashionisters frowned on out-on-out million-mile-per-hour stompers 'cos it seemed like a throwback to the recent past. This was when the Northern/Modern split was just beginning to happen, so even though Levine and Curtis had the cream of everything in their boxes, it seemed like some of the more traditional stompers were being relegated to 2nd class status IMO. For instance, Ian HATED Joe Mathews with a vengeance and used to complain every time Colin played it. Even Ian will admit that he veered waaaaay too far at this point, even apologising sometimes for having to play a stomper rather than, say, the latest New York underground indie label club track. So, bit by bit, traditional Northern Soul was being edged out @ the Mecca. When Ian came back from a trip to the states and unleashed a traditional Northern monster like, say, Jimmy Raye, he was almost apologetic about it. Similarly Colin would get unbelievable Northern one-offs that everyone else would kill to get hold of but somehow they were never as popular as, say, an Oscar Perry record........ So, in short, many of the later KILLER Mecca Northern discoveries were wasted @ the Mecca. So, throughout this period, vampire-sucking opportunists like me and various other DJ's/Collectors would be watching, analysing and thinking about the effect that some of these records would have on a 100% pure Northern gig like Wigan Casino for instance. If only some of these 'cult' traditional Mecca Northern stompers could be liberated from Colin or Ian and then exposed to the right audience, then BINGO! Job accomplished. Squeezing the bastards out of either Ian or Colin was another thing though. Ian didn't sell anything period and Colin was a hard bargainer at the best of times. So the smart money said wait until the right moment then pounce......... So I stored Colin's Bernie Williams record at the back of my mind and figured I'd swoop out of the blue a few months down the line, get it and then unleash the bastard to willing audiences @ Wigan, Cleethorpes, Leeds and Sheffield and take the kudos.........it should've been a piece of cake theoretically......... .....but I knew I was in trouble when I rang Colin to snag the record and he told me he'd traded it with Jack Bollington from Derby. Uh Oh....... The end result was that I consider that my 'private' deal with Jack to buy the Bernie Williams record for a hefty £40 at the time was the beginning of the insane price escalation of Northern Soul. The word got out and suddenly there was a bidding war between myself and another well-known and enduring name on the scene. When the price reached £120 and a Rosey Jones and World Column - essentially £150 in 1975, the deal no longer made sense to me. That was the point when I realised that obsession has no boundaries. So I decided to go to the U.S. and find the f*ckers myself. I took strength from adversity and it completely changed my life. As a result of backing out of the Bernie Williams bidding war I have been rewarded with a rich and interesting life which continues to this day. So Bernie Williams was a very significant record for me...... However, in answer to the original question, Colin Curtis discovered Bernie Williams OK? Ian D

I actually had a copy very early on but never quite managed to get it away. It stayed in the box for 2 years though but eventually got traded on. Similar stories with Ernest Mosely, Al Jones and Mikki Farrow I'm ashamed to say....... Graham Coates rings a bell though........ Ian D

Look at that. I couldn't even get the names right. Were Gary Lewis and Joey Dee the same guy LOL? Also Ginger needs to take a bow for Tommy Sands "The Statue"! Ian D

I then found one a couple of days after looking through your box but never actually played therefore I should be just mildly flayed....... Who was responsible for "My Heart's Symphony" and "Good Little You" both by Joey Dee though? They should be skinned, sprayed with salt and then surgically disected and disemboweled, fed to carniverous wolves and then the bones should be set alight. After that you can piss on their graves LOL....... Nearest I got to out and out Pop was Barnaby Bye, Felix Caveliere and Benny Troy....... Ian D

I'm afraid he who shall not be named found a bunch of Holly St James on one of his U.S. trips and used 'em as swops for stuff he needed from the UK, so I guess that's another one down to him......it took a while to take off after that though....... Ian D

Jack always had goodies but it was murder getting anything out of him and Kev LOL....... Levine got the Detroit Executives from Brian and I was kicking myself 'cos I liked the sound of it too. When he played it at the Mecca the next Saturday I realised I'd made a huge rick. Luckily I got mine off Russ fairly quickly. Instant floorfiller for the next couple of years.......then found an Ideals @ Cheapo Cheapo shortly thereafter........ Always wanted the Nancy Wilson on British but never found one......... Ian D

Plus that Electrical shop in Brick Lane that ordered one of everything in the 60's was handy. We got a Carl Douglas out of there plus Jim Wilson's in Shoreditch of course..... Ian D

You could fill a seperate thread with the stuff which was originally turned up in London in the early 70's. Transport links were tougher, there wasn't much communication and Northerners going down to London record-digging was a relative rarity anyway, so a handful of guys - Dave Rivers, Dave Burton, Ian Clarke, Tony and Ady had the whole of London to plunder lucky buggers...... Ian D

Still haven't had time to transfer the track-listings (will do a.s.a.p.) but they're now available to pre-order so here's a preview........ https://hmv.com/hmvweb/simpleMultiSearch.do?isRefinementSearch=true&refinement=2087&refinement=1284&refinement=2014&refinement=4294952642&refinement=2045&Find.x=28&Find.y=5 Ian D

Well, you would wouldn't you? One hell of a set of lungs for sure.......... I think it was around the time of "Touch Me Baby" too, so no wonder he hauled ass over to Atlanta. Ian D

Yep! Great on all counts mate! What's with the 'Grey Matter' thing by the way LOL.....? Ian D

Yep, that rings a bell Sean. Can anyone confirm? It makes sense 'cos Dave would have been on every U.S. mailing list going in the 60's, so he probably came up with a few more besides. Also I know John Abbey from Blues & Soul must have had James Fountain before it was discovered up North 'cos he ended up selling the second copy but it's got me thinking what else he may have had in his personal collection (this was the one that ended up in a record shop in Southend wasn't it)............ Ian D

Bugger! I know you had a major hit there. Did I ever mention that I went to a rodeo show in Cheyenne, Wyoming and found an Al Wilson in the middle of a zillion Merle Haggard records..............? And yep, Prestatyn's in the diary for sure. Can't wait. I know it'll be a howling monsoon as usual but who needs Miami when you have Wales LOL..... See ya there. Ian D

Yeah, it was either Keith or Martyn Ellis I think....? More to the point, what did you find that I left at that unbelievable place in Denver in '89? Don't worry, I can take the pain Dave. I only had enough time to scoop up most of the known originals - I was on a plane the next day so I know I left a shitload plus in '89 I was waaaaay out of the loop for the unknowns and Stafford/post 80's stuff so I know you cleaned up! C'mon mate.....put me out of my misery......... Ian D

Yep. No doubt about it. Trivia question: Who out of the three of 'em is the odd one out? Answer: John Anderson. The only one who didn't have an obsession with the title "Reaching For The Best"! Ian D

Unlike Pete to miss such a beauty but there again with Pete anything was possible LOL.......he must have been coming down or something....... Ian D

Well that was one of a handful I think. I didn't get it for at least another couple of years and that was off Anderson when he found a few of 'em circa '74/'75 ish. Who played it at the Torch then Ian? Ian D

'Fraid so. Ouch...... I did get one of the first Yvonne Baker's out of John from that same trip so it wasn't a complete cock-up....... Ian D

Yep, I was at the Top Rank when Sam played Rubin. I thought it was too fast LOL (I was right actually - it didn't catch on for a while).... I bought my Tomangoes off you (a very painful deal to conclude I seem to remember) but that's a good point. Who found the Tomangoes first? Sandi Sheldon was played at the Wheel by all accounts (but by who?). The Shalimars was surely a Bradford Market special? R. Dean Taylor was 100% he who shall not be named on here - he played it 6 times the first night back from the states. I think Pep had the Yum Yums 'cos I remember hearing for the first time at that same Top Rank gig I think. It took me the best part of 2 years to eventually find one. I dunno on the other ones........ Ian D

OK....... There must have been 10,000 copies of Billy Woods "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love" on Verve @ Bradford Market which you couldn't give away at the time..... .......and gazillions of EVERY record on Sussex everywhere - TONS of Bill Withers, Soul Searchers, Creative Source, Zulemas, Dennis Coffeys etc - you had to fight your way through tons of Sussex crap to get to anything rare back then......... .......so a Billy Woods record on Sussex for £3 didn't seem like such a bargain at the time LOL...... It's still completely unfathomable as to why the record is so rare. It just doesn't make sense. Even Clarence Avant who owned Sussex had never heard of it and the record wasn't included in Universal's Master tapes when they bought Sussex so it remains a bit of a mystery to this day. I wouldn't mind but Anderson kept telling me I'd regret it but I just couldn't see a rare Sussex record. Hindsight is a wonderful thing my bearded friend. Very painful. Thanks for reminding me mate! Ian D

Even nuttier is that when I met George again in the early 90's he didn't even have a copy himself (I'd already met him when Parliament were recording "Flashlight" in L.A. in the mid 70's before Tamala Lewis was discovered). I ended up giving him my copy along with white promos of Shirley J. Scott and Roy Handy when he came over to the UK in the early 90's......an all-round great guy and a huge influence so it somehow felt right that the records went full circle............. Ian D

That was a KILLER discovery by Dave! 100% Northern Soul in every way - one of the greatest IMO plus a great C/U title - "My Heart's Wide Open" - Freddie Jones. When you consider that the Coasters were essentially a novelty act it makes the discovery even better. I remember the shock when it was finally uncovered as the Coasters - I must have spent the following 3 weeks wading through crap Coasters records looking for it (but didn't find a real original for years). Exactly the same thing with Paul Anka "I Can't Help Loving You" (covered as Johnny Caswell I think). How many gazillions of bloody Paul Anka U.S. RCA copies did I wade through looking for one of them and NEVER finding one! Really weird. Both ex chart acts and big-name known acts with major record companies but both originals are rare to this day. How come? You would have thought there'd have been plenty out there.......... Ian D

Who found "Skiing In The Snow" - The Invitations? It was always incredibly rare - only around 2 (or maybe 3 copies) when it was huge and it never really turned up, so whoever found that first copy really found a beauty. I also heard a story about someone finding the 3rd copy which got destroyed in a car crash on the way to the Torch. Does anyone know this story? Ian D