Ian Dewhirst

You and me both LOL. He virtually lived off my EMI expense account I seem to remember! I'm a believer that fate goes full circle, so it'll come back in some form or other hopefully............ Mind you, does it surprise you that much......? Ian D

Yeah but a lot of the Eccentric Soul stuff seems to finding an audience with some pretty bizarre none-commercial material it seems. Also I presume that the Peri-Tone/Yellow Horizon stuff would be owned by his estate wouldn't it? And licensing costs necessarily need to fall as there's simply no way of recouping some of the ridiculous advances some people are looking for - the majors being the worst culprits....... Ian D

Phew. Thank God for that. I thought someone over there had some kind of magic solution for the ills of the music biz LOL.... Glad to see you guys are still wearing rags and investing in great packaging rather then new threads. Keep up the good work! By the way, when is someone going to get around to doing a 'Texas Soul' Oscar Perry comp? You'd sell a few over here if you did........ Ian D

Yep. It's right next to Jade Goody's best-seller...... Ian D

Yep, I keep hearing about this Sebastian. One for the Xmas list. Many thanks. Ian D

I think I'm right in saying that Branson sold the Virgin stores to an MBO, cleared the existing debts and funded 'em for 2 years providing they changed the name. His thinking was that music retail was dead, he wanted to get out but couldn't afford the Virgin brand to be tainted by any problems, hence the fact that the stores changed from Virgin to Zavvi. The funding period is coming to close now and co-incidentally I'm noticing lots of the provincial Zavvi stores closing down without warning, so watch this space! In terms of coming up with new solutions, the old system pretty much has to be dismantled completely as it bears no relation to reality anymore. That will take a massive sea change on the part of the major companies (who own 80% of the most popular repertoire), the rights organisations, the shops, the distributors, the manufacturers, the mastering companies, designers etc, etc. There is a market out there but it's a much cheaper one than any of the existing power brokers want. I sold 26,000 cd's the other week @ 30p each and that was a struggle! Ian D

These are precisely the kind of venture capitalists I'm seeking Paul. They're the only ones with any dosh these days. Also, pimps and loan sharks considered as well....any of Thatcher's entrepreneurs in fact. I do however draw the line @ lawyers and accountants........gotta have some kind of standards......... Ian D

Blast. No CD Warehouse for the North east then.............. Ian D

Truer words were never spake Dave. I was astonished at the arrogance and sheer ineptitude that I encountered with Entertainment UK just this last Summer. As I sipped a cappucino in their in-house coffee bar whilst trying to flog Soul albums to one of their buyers (who wanted 'em by the way), I couldn't help thinking how completely out of touch with reality they were. Same goes for most of the majors. It's like they're in some kind of cosy fur-lined cocoon where reality never intrudes. Not any more........ If some wealthy entrepreneur out there gets in touch, we could set up a brand new chain called "CD Warehouse", buy all the stock cheap from all the distributors which are going down, take over 40 city centre closed Woolies stores at a short-lease song and make a bundle very quickly LOL! Ian D

I treat all figures with a certain of scepticism these days Paul. Personally I don't know how Numero can consistantly release their stuff with such unbelievably good packaging UNLESS they're independently funded by a Soul Loving millionaire! Any Soul loving millionaires over here by any chance? Ian D

Agreed on all counts Paul. I've actually never allowed my stuff into Woolies over the years as I believed that it would cheapen the product and I had endless shouting matches from Sales Managers who always look for volume whether it's good or bad for the business. Short-term objectives all the time have ruined so many businesses it's beyond belief. I'm now in a position where if I do any work for the majors it HAS to be viable for the supermarkets otherwise they won't bother releasing it! Which is why I'm not very busy at the moment LOL. Also, over the last few years, I've noticed that the Sales depts have been virtually A&R'ing most of the back-cat releases which means that everything is dumbed-down for 'popular' taste. It's a bit like the banks really. The madness and desperate scramble for growth at any cost that had inflicted so many walks of life is very responsible for the death of the music biz IMO. Now is the very time when we need the indie shops desperately, but they've been destroyed by the all-consuming greed of the supermarkets. A smaller more manageable cottage industry would be a better bet for the future but I have a horrible feeling that the audience has moved on now....... Ian D

Hi Garry, I got the 10K number from a contact who deals with the label regularly. When I questioned it, I was told that Numero have phenomenal clout with the remaining indie shops and chains in the U.S. and that their catalogue is well-stocked everywhere via their deal with Ryko Distribution. I kinda believe this, since I first became aware of them on a U.S. trip a couple of years ago and I saw their stuff in virtually every indie store I went in. In fact, I actually bought the "Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up" CD 'cos I couldn't believe they'd dug up so many great cover versions of Soul stuff from a tiny island like Belize LOL.... I'm sure the figure is mildy exaggerated for some of their releases but it's believable because I had their stuff thrust at me in at least 5 different stores on the one trip. They definitely seem to have some real clout @ indie retail in the U.S. and I guess by the time they've added website, export and campaign sales that figure might not be far off the mark over a couple of years of sales. Their packaging is just fantastic as well, so who knows? And thank God that deal with Entertainment UK never proceeded! Although I was massively pissed-off at the time, that's nothing to how I'd feel now if we'd all have ended up being screwed. I had a similar situation when Fopp went down last year but luckily managed to get the £9K due to my clients some 9 days before they crashed, thank the lord! Incidentally, I have a couple of decent private orders with immediate payment - I'll drop you an e-mail if that's OK........ Ian D

And that track IS Al Downing but a completely different mix - sounds like an early 'unsweetened' demo to me...........nout to do with Toast, Marmalade and Jam but I thought I'd throw it in........ Ian D

You can say that again Neil. I noticed Endulge on the list of distributed labels, so presumably some of your stock is there.......? Ian D

Couldn't agree more Dave. Except I'm not sure if Joe Boy actually make a living from it and I'm pretty sure that many of the guys @ Ace/Kent are retained on a freelance/part-time basis these days. One label I am impressed with is Numero. Frankly I don't know how they do it, but they appear to sell 10K each of beautifully packaged obscure releases but who they sell 'em to is anyone's guess. Maybe the guy who owns is independently wealthy or something? Anyway, they seem to be riding the storm pretty well....... https://www.numerogroup.com/ Ian D

The problem is not really with Northern Soul per se, as this scene exists in it's own bubble which is pretty unnaffected by the mainstream. The implications are more for small labels which release current Soul or re-issue labels which release back catalogue Soul. For instance Expansion and Soul Brother are two of the labels which will be massively affected by the Pinnacle crash and that's bad news for those of us who love their releases...... Just imagine that if The Group featuring Cecil Washington was released as a new release today, outside of a handful of places, there'd be nowhere to sell it! Ian D

Yep, I was in HMV Oxford St the other day and the 7" vinyl rack was full of major label pap, the back wall was full of 12" bootlegs and the back-cat CD's had thinned down considerably. Frankly it was crap compared to what it used to be like. Earlier this year I tried to open some accounts with Entertainment UK in order to get some stuff into Zavvi, Morrisons and Asda but they couldn't handle a piss-up in a brewery. As it turns out, they did me a favour as I'd be screwed now if they had actually managed to open the accounts. I also tried to open the same accounts with HMV but 'they weren't taking on any accounts until the new year' quote, so no wonder there's a lack of decent releases in their stores! If you speak to the HMV managers, they're as frustrated as I am. One of the guys at Oxford St told me he has to buy the releases he wants from indie shops or Rough Trade! What kind of advert is that for the UK's biggest music account? Pathetic. Until these chains get their act together and start taking into account the fact that the business has changed forever, then the choice on the high street will be mediocre. So support your local indie shop (if you can find one) is the mantra! The Pinnacle crash has meant that 400+ labels who rely on the busiest time of the year for music sales will now be struggling to get their stock back and many of them will undoubtably fold as a result. By the time it's all worked through, I reckon that somewhere in the region of 5K jobs will be gone as a result of this alone. Ian D

It's a disaster of the highest order. Pinnace distribute over 400 labels and following on from the Entertainment UK/Woolies crash last week, this will be the final nail in the coffin for many operations. Physical sales (i.e. CD's and Vinyl) have been slipping disasterously over the last few years and have reputedly dropped a further 27% since this time last year. The majority of independent record shops have closed, pressing plants and mastering facilities have been dropping like ninepins and there's only HMV and Zavvi left on the high street (but for how long?). Essentially the music business is going the same way as coal-mining - the older ones among us will still remember coal fires, coal bunkers and coal deliveries. Well, in years to come people will remember record shops in the same way - a quaint reminder of the 'old' days. I'm not sure who distributes Ace and Kent - I'm pretty sure they distribute themselves, but I'm sure Ady or Tony will enlighten us. Hopefully they'll weather the storm ahead. But it's bad, bad news as Pinnacle and Entertainment UK were two formally very solid foundation blocks of the UK Music biz and what is happening now is a bit like a pack of cards falling and will undoubtably cause many, many other companies to fold. I think what will happen now, is that over the next couple of years you'll see the 4 majors - Universal, Sony, EMI and Warners downsize radically (or probably merge in the case of EMI and Warners) and the Independent side will become more like a massively downsized cottage industry. The minute music got digitized is when the rot began IMO but it's difficult to hold back 'progress'. Northern Soul won't be affected as such, so no worries on that score but my condolences go out to the thousands of people who will lose their livelihoods through all this. Ian D

A nice lively show this week and another lovely Sunday afternoon vibe - many thanks to all for joining me - always great to have a sociable crowd! As with every Original Mastercuts show we highlight the usual spectrum of Soulful music from House, Garage, 80's & Slowies to Northern and Modern Soul from the different eras........ Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show with Ian Dewhirst, on Sunday 30th November 2008 on www.starpointradio.com. To download the show simply hit the link below! Or for this and all archived shows please pay a visit to www.sixmillionsteps.com where you can download the last 4 weeks worth of all Six Million Steps produced shows. That's 16 hours of free music over the last 4 weeks alone! Plus, loads of new fully downloadable KILLER mixes in a variety of styles! So let's go with this week's show:- 1st Hour KWS featuring Teddy Pendergrass - The More I Get, The More I Want The Young Disciples feat Carleen Anderson - Apparently Nothing (K-Klass Remix) Cool Million featuring C.J. Anthony - Give Me My Love Tata Vega - Get It Up For Love Lee Garrett - You're My Everything Napoleon - Why Curtis Hairston - The Morning After Paul Laurence - Strung Out Lenny Williams - Messing With My Mind Kaiya - What You Trying To Do The Magnificents - On My Way Up 2nd Hour Marvin Gaye - Sunny Stevie Wonder - A Place In The Sun The Jackson Five - I Wanna Be Where You Are The Temprees - At Last The TSU Tornadoes - What Good Am I Terry Callier - Look At Me Now Billy Jones - I'll Keep Holding On Sex - It's You (Baby It's You) Virgil Henry - You Ain't Saying Nothing New Marvin Gaye - Abraham, Martin & John Timmy Thomas - Why Can't We Live Together Lamont Dozier - Fish Ain't Biting The Temptations - The Jones (Dr Bob Jones Remix) Frankie Knuckles featuring Sheldon Beckton - It's Hard Sometimes Tavares with Freda Payne - I Wanna See You Soon https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2008-11-30-Starpoint.mp3 Best, Ian D

LOL, I know John. I'm quoting verbatim from Sharon's book here but as you rightly point out, the explanation's b*llocks isn't it? I think your explanation is the one which makes most sense here...... Ian D

Yep, correctomundo Tony. The TM stood for Tamla and Motown, the G for Gordy and the L for Latino according to Sharon Davis's book. Which begs the question: what Latino? Ian D

Coming up today @ 2.00-4.00 LIVE - The Original Mastercuts Show on www.starpointradio.com. Packed to the rafters this week with a veritable smorgasbord of brilliant soul from all eras taking in all genres for a 2 hour show that simply oozes great stuff from beginning to end including...... KWS featuring Teddy Pendergrass, The Young Disciples feat Carleen Anderson, Cool Million featuring C.J. Anthony, Tata Vega, Lee Garrett, Napoleon, Curtis Hairston, Paul Laurence, Kaiya, The Magnificents, Bridge, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson Five, The Temprees, The TSU Tornadoes, Terry Callier, Billy Jones, Garland Green, Sex, Virgil Henry, Timmy Thomas, Lamont Dozier, The Temptations, Frankie Knuckles featuring Sheldon Beckton & Tavares with Freda Payne See ya LIVE @ 2.00pm! Ian D

Seconded! Ian D

Without a doubt. Pure Northern Soul magic and a voice to die for.......... Ian D

I have a telephone contact for John Madara if Ady needs a first-hand source on this.......... Ian D