Ian Dewhirst

Haha LOL! I'm glad you mentioned that Harry. I set off to New York in 1976 at the age of 21 and my mum and dad saw me off from Manchester airport with a very emotional goodbye. My mum, god bless her, had done a bit of research on New York and said to me, "now when you get there, don't be wasting money on expensive hotels. There's this place called the Y.M.C.A. where young people can stay and it's very cheap and safe". So okey dokey, the Y.M.C.A. it would be for my first night in New York. I got a cab from the airport and shot into Manhattan, which was a mind-blowing trip in itself. Remember I was from the industrial Yorkshire of the early 70's. The biggest thing in our area was the I.C.I. chemical works in Huddersfield! So seeing the New York skyline for the first time as I entered Manhattan was truly a brilliant experience - I'd only seen it on films and here I was doing it myself, just a 21 yr old kid from Mirfield in Yorkshire! What a buzz...... I came back down to earth with a bump when the cab pulled up at the Y.M.C.A. A guy was getting beaten up right outside and the Y.M.C.A. security guard at the entrance was just watching! I nervously got out of the cab, got my case out of the boot, paid the cabby, side-stepped the fight and entered the Y.M.C.A...... The first thing I realised when I got through the entrance was that there were an awful lot of guys hanging around and they all seemed to be staring at me! Disconcerting to say the least but, hey, this was the Young Men's Christian Association so what did I expect? I headed towards the reception desk to check in..... The clerk at the desk looked up when I got there, suddenly got flustered, went bright red and then very coyly said, "HEEELLLOOOO sir, how can I help you"? And then kind of pouted at me. He looked exactly like the gay guy with the turtle-neck black top on in the "The Producers" film! I thought something was odd but I was still pretty naive around gays - the Northern scene in the early 70's wasn't exactly the place for our gay brothers back then LOL.. So I just went through the ritual of signing in and getting my key and trying not to look the clerk directly in the eyes. I got my key, turned around to pick up my case and realised I was being stared at by aproximately 20 guys! I then headed for the lift before I became aware that there was a virtual stampede of guys anxious to get in the lift all of sudden. I think it was then that the penny finally dropped and I realised that my mum had recommended that I check-in to a gay knocking-shop for 'safety'! I realised what was happening as about 10 guys squeezed into the lift. When a guy asked my what floor I wanted, I immediately chose the floor above my actual floor. When the lift got to the designated floor the lift virtually emptied but I stayed in and one of the guys said "oh, I believe this is your floor isn't it"? I said, "no actually, I think I made a mistake....." and the doors closed. I went further up in the lift and then down to my real floor. I then ran along the corridor, got into my room and barracaded the door with the wardrobe! A couple of hours later, I plucked up the courage to go out and ventured out into Times Square, ran the gauntlet through the hookers, drug dealers, petty crooks and hustlers and almost immediately found the Colony records store which was still open at 11.00pm. One hour later I emerged with a Sounds Of Lane, a Strings N' Things, a Jerry Williams, an Earl Jackson, an Ambers plus about 20 other goodies. I walked back through the street gauntlet of hookers and pimps again and then through the secondary gauntlet of highly aroused gays in the hotel lobby and then in the lift and finally got up to my room, barracaded the door again, spread my new acquisitions on the bed, unwrapped my cheeseburger, opened my coffee and just stared at the 25 records with justifiable pride. THIS was what I had come there for. And I thought, "OK, I'm trapped in a building with roughly 500 gay guys of which at least 20 were actively stalking my room but let's look on the bright side........................" And that was my first few hours in New York. LOL, the memories are flooding back to me now Harry. Most of 'em were great, some of 'em were downers and many of 'em were virtually suicidal.... But I did survive 5 years of nighters in the North of England and we didn't accept fools gladly then. And nothing could be scarier than a nighter at Va-Va's in Bolton when the locals fancied a ruck..... So New York? Piece of piss LOL........ Ian D

Hi Paul, Well, I've had a few successes in my time but here is one CATASTROPHIC failure I had concerning the good Soul Bowl. I think I've mentioned this before, but the WORST mistake I ever made with John Anderson, was turning down Billy Woods "Let Me Make You Happy" for £3! He'd just come back from the U.S. and there was the usual battle to get through on the phone and I finally got him @ 9.30am and we started going through stuff on the phone. The first record he mentioned was Billy Woods and in his thick Scottish brogue he said "I've only got a handful of these and it's really good. I asked what label it was on and he said "Sussex". Now here was the problem. The Sussex label was everywhere with tons of cut-out 45's on Creative Source, the Soul Searchers, Dennis Coffey, Bill Withers etc, etc. You couldn't go ANYWHERE without bumping into a zillion Sussex cut-outs at the time, so Sussex was probably the worst label in the world at that point for clogging up the record racks. A decidely none-rare label. Was there ANYTHING that they hadn't pressed 20K of? That was strike one. The second problem is that I was surrounded by tons of copies of Billy Woods "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love" on Verve. Literally. A local market chain called Bostocks with stalls at Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield and Leeds had bought out the stock from an MGM/Verve warehouse in the states with the result that one of the most common records round my way was Billy Woods on Verve. I was SICK of seeing Billy Woods records! So that was strike two. And John really tried to twist my arm when I declined - he said "well Richard and Levine both bought it, I've only got two left and it's just £3.00......" I said, "Nah, I don't think so John. What else ya got......"? The rest, as they say, is history. "Let Me Make You Happy" turned out to be one of the rarest records ever and I've never owned an original despite 32 years of searching. Furthermore, I've talked to people who either worked, or were involved with Sussex at the time and no one can even remember a Billy Woods record. Even the original label owner Clarance Avant couldn't remember it when I asked him about it. One thing I do know, is that there is a master tape from the Billy Woods/Van McCoy sessions currently lying in the corner of the basement of the Universal Tape Storage facility in New Jersey and one day I'll get my hands on it! I've been in pain over this for the last 30 years! Ian D

I'm running out of 'em LOL..... Where's John Anderson, Dave Raistrick, Arthur Fenn and everyone else when we need 'em? One story I'd like to clear up was the third copy of "Skiing In The Snow" which was found in a U.S. Woolworths store for 10 cents, brought back to the UK but got destroyed in a car crash on the way to the Torch. Anyone know the full story? Also, has anyone ever found copies of Robbie Lawson, The Twans, Don Varner, the Inspirations or any other ultra-rarities on a U.S. trip? Similarly has anyone ever been prevented from buying records because they're English? It happened to me in Texas, when the minute the guy heard my voice he ordered me out of his shop because 'you English have been ripping us off for years'. I said, "well, do you want to sell records or not" and he said "no, not to you, you English scumbag"! Another time I got talking to a guy in a shop and then got taken to a house in East L.A. to see some guy's collection and there was a card game going on with 4 very angry-looking black guys who thought I was a cop coming to bust 'em. One guy picked up a shotgun and another had a handgun - ever seen "Training Day"? Well, it was EXACTLY like that! They finally cooled down after I kept shouting "I'm English. I'm only looking for records"! The worst thing was that the so-called collection was terrible. Lot's of beaten up albums and nothing worth looking at. I couldn't get out of there fast enough...... A similar situation also happened when I was in Jamaica circa '77 and I thought I'd pick up some Dub stuff. I was on my way to the airport in a cab and I dropped in at Beverly's in Montego Bay and found about 30 serious dub albums and for some reason the woman refused to serve me. The shop started filling up with people and a nasty vibe started circulating and then the cab driver ran in and said if I didn't leave RIGHT NOW he'd be going without me. I had to send him back in to buy the albums for me LOL..... I called round at a well-known record dealer in Terre Haute, Indiana, rang his bell, the door opened and a shotgun was levelled at my face. I did the usual - "Whoa, I'm the guy from England. Don't you remember we spoke on the phone"? And he said "well, we don't like strangers round here". Got some great stuff though..... Oh and 18 months ago I went to the worst street in the Bronx three times (it was the street where Biggie Smalls used to sell dope) and each time the guy wasn't in! I had to walk through 3 gangs just to get in and out. By the third time it was a joke. The only way I made it each time is 'cos no one could quite believe that the same white guy would keep showing up @ 7.00pm every night and then hang around for two hours in the Soul Food cafe with the bulletproof glass! The annoying thing is, when I looked through the letter box the hallway was crammed from floor to ceiling with 45's! There was even a copy of "Alone With No Love" - Rock Candy on the floor. Very frustrating and obviously dangerous. Also, I've got a great story about when I sold my Lada Edmund Jr demo when it was rare, but I'm saving that for later LOL...... Come on guys more stories please..... Any situations which looked incredible but turned into super spectacular failures? Like with records, the stories are out there. We just need to dig 'em out! Ian D

Nice record to find during your daytime job ay? What a STORMER! Ian D

Oh boy Covmart. I had a goody just next to South Carolina. I was on the way to Hilton Head Island for the weekend and we'd just crossed into Georgia (could have been Augusta I think) and I found a GREAT shop in the backwoods! Only had about 30 minutes there but found a bunch of stuff including all the Lorraine Chandlers, a Lee David and a lot of stuff from James Brown's personal collection. I think this guy bought up a lot of James Brown's possessions when they were auctioned off 'cos his shop was like a shrine to James Brown. Somebody on here will know the gaff for sure and I shudder to think what was in there. I was being hurried up by the American family I was staying with who wanted to get to Hilton Head before sundown LOL so I couldn't clear the shop out and I never made it back there. Very frustrating....... Good luck in Carolina. It might be worth sniffing around some Beach Music collections whilst you're there 'cos there will be stuff tucked away in collections I'm sure. An Embers on MGM perchance? I have a feeling you're going to be lucky, so keep us posted! Ian D

Agreed. And John could probably write his own book on his finds. I heard some great stories about John A's dealings with John Lamont from Philly, who later turned up in the book "Stiffed" when he was beaten up by the Mob over a cut-out deal which went wrong. Wouldn't mind reading that book again actually as it deals with a lot of the 'grey area' of cutouts etc..... Ian D

I'm surprised you could even understand Peter Brown. That guy talks FAST. The original Harlem hustler...... Also, do you remember Rick from Global? He used to play at Leeds Central quite a bit in the early 70's? I think he discovered Gene Chandler "Mr Big Shot" out of Global............ I've never found a Silhouettes in the U.S. which always bugged me because I figured there'd be a few around with the 45 coming free with the album. Might be a few knocking around via the Doo-Wop collectors though......... Better luck next time Ernie - sounds like you're due some....... Ian D

Playing D. Train, the Peech Boys and Gwen Guthrie at Leeds Warehouse to the groovy disco crowd LOL.... Mixmaster D

Yep, I thought Florida had been cleaned out but I went to a flea market in Orlando 'cos I also collect weapons and, of all things, my missus wanted a bankers light, so she dragged me round all the furnishing and ornament stores and in the last store in the covered section there was a box of albums. TONS of great stuff Anthony White, Bobby Hutton, Jean Carn, Jones Girls, all mint, all promos. So I bought around 20 albums for a buck apiece and they asked if I wanted any more. It turns out their son was a huge 70's Soul/Dance/Disco fan and he'd been collecting for 20 odd years but died suddenly from Aids a couple of months previously. So I went round to their house the next day and there were aprox 5K albums and 2K 12"'s, so I ended up buying quite a few! Very sad though. You could tell this guy had loved his music and he was obviously very big on the great female singers of the 60's and 70's especially. Paid for the trip though and replenished my collection for the 40th time which is the probably the kick I get out of it. I still love listening to stuff I don't know and occasionally finding the odd gem.... ...in I fact found one the other day from '82 and it's one of the greatest records I've ever heard - J.P. Rogers Jr "All My Lovin'" - I'll post on a seperate thread. Think it was played @ Thorne back in the day but I've only just heard it...... See! I've got the bug again. Time to start sniffing around some of those leads......... Ian D

Well, what didn't help was that the minute they gave me access to the MCPS database, I started digging around and immediately realised that something dodgy was going on..... Because some of the entries were duplicated and sometimes several 'tunecodes' were assigned to the same song, I started wondering whether some of the writers of some songs may be spurious or even fraudulent. So I looked up the tunecode for the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" because on the writing credits it's simply credited to "the Corporation" which was a collective of Berry Gordy, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards & Freddie Perren but which an elderly typist in Streatham might not be aware of or understand correctly. So I found "I Want You Back" registered to one Pamela Motown at a P.O. box number on the Isle Of Wight! Must have made a packet over 15 years LOL........ But stuff like that didn't make me flavour of the month there, so I was ready to get the hell out and the U.S. trip and the dosh I made from it eventually lead to me having enough time and money to develop the Mastercuts series a year later. So record collecting can be good for your karma LOL..... And Reddington's Rare Records in Glendale was brilliant even after Soussan plundered it plus there was a GREAT shop over in Orange County that someone got to before I got to it in the mid 90's. Dammit. Wish I had a time machine....... Ian D

Jesus. Look at that! A veritable plethora of flying pigs just flew past the window........... Ian D

It was designed for you Dave! Incidentally, big-up on your website discographies mate! I've found 'em invaluable just lately, so credit where it's due. Also I have some full discographies on Salsoul, Philly Groove and the post '76 Philly International gear if they're any good to you. PM me with your e-mail addy and I'll whack 'em over....... The thread that dreams are made of LOL...... Ian D

Well you said it mate! It looks like you'd been ingesting the crate-diggers diet - a constant diet of burgers and coffee 'cos it's QUICK LOL..... I put on a couple of stones after 6 months in L.A. due to a chain of Burger places called "Fatburger" which did what it said on the tin! Ian D

Just booked the plane ticket - I'll give Jerome your regards Sean! Ian D

Hi Paul, You've bought a few of mine over the years I seem to remember! I did EXACTLY the same thing in St Petes. Dropped the missus off in the Howard Johnson's hotel (you can see where my priorities lie) and shot round to Bananas just intending to have a quick browse. Got in the warehouse round the back and got dug in. I found a Tartans and John Rhys on Impact and a Lou Kirton white promo in the first 5 minutes. I thought I was set but then nothing for the next couple of hours..... Lucky the missus fell asleep 'cos I left @ 3.00pm and didn't get back till 8.30pm....... Still worth it though. I always work on the basis of never expect too much and then you can be nicely surprised. Naturally, after the Dobards hit, Johnny probably realises that the chances of ever getting a hit like that again are remote to say the least, which has probably dulled his future expectations........ .......only until the next hit! Ian D

100, 000 dynamite 45's and you couldn't raise a smile???? Brilliant Johnny - the stuff that dreams are made of! Ian D

LOL. Ain't that always the way Ady..... Also I wish I'd known what I know now back then. I can plainly remember leaving lots of L.A. little label stuff in L.A. garages back in '76 because they were too slow or too RnB for that period. And I think there's probably still some decent stuff archived away in some of the bigger publishing house. I had a mate who had access to Southern Music's library and he'd pull out interesting stuff from time to time.... Incidentaly, I just gave a rave review for "The New Breed With Added Popcorn" for Manifesto, so I'll PM it over...... Best, Ian D

No, it's perfectly normal behaviour to sit in a damp, smelly basement covered in rat shit looking through hunks of plastic for that one elusive moment LOL! Great story John! Many thanks mate. I wonder if there's any other ex 60's Black Music DJ's who have their records in storage somewhere? George Woods must have had a few 'cos he was involved in labels too. E. Rodney Jones or Frankie Crocker anyone? I once went to Nashville and had a stunning Album/12" hit from a C&W store. It was a Chicago DJ from the 70's and he'd moved to Nashville and just dumped a lot of his stuff in this one place. 600 items @ 50 cents apiece. Makes you wonder what he sold 'em for.... Ian D

How come the Dobard's haul didn't turn up 'til '05 though? Had no one bumped into this stuff before? What was the story there John? And , more to the point, will there ever be another Dobards? Questions, questions........ Ian D

Absolutely Brilliant!! THIS is EXACTLY what we are looking for on this thread!! Information GODDAMMIT! Whoops, drunk now but having fun. Let's keep this thread rockin'....... Best stuff I'd read in years LOL..... Ian D

Was over your way a couple of years ago - I went into New York and then swung down to Newark/Princeton area before heading up to Buffalo to check a load out. Didn't find much Northern but did pretty good on rare 12"'s (but even those are drying up now it seems). I hit a lot of out-of-way little towns and found some basements full of stuff but it was very hard work to dig out anything heart-poundingly exciting. Also, the WORST thing these days is the fact that the shops/dealers want YOU to do the hunting and then, after several hours of digging, you take 'em the pile over and they just key in the titles to a computer and check on E-Bay/Gem etc and then base their prices on that! It's taken a LOT of the fun out of things IMHO. I was in Toronto last year and went into one shop and asked how much the 12"'s were and the guy said a dollar each. I then spent 2 hours and dug out some FANTASTIC goodies, took 'em to the counter and started counting out dollars and the guy said "can you give me, like, 15-20 minutes? I need to check with the owner"? I said" "what do you need to check with the owner for? You told me they were a dollar each" He said "well, the owner told me that if I saw anyone who knew what they were doing, then I needed to check with him". I said, "you should have told me that BEFORE I wasted 2 hours of my life pulling these out". TWAT! Everyone's so clued up these days LOL..... Anyone ever checked out Salt Lake City? I just have a feeling....... Ian D

Haha LOL! Thanks Kev. I was waiting for that one! Was this one the cellar in Baltimore you told me about or did you have an earlier hit? I'm sure you went to the States before that didn't you.......? Ian D

Yep, the Japs were out in force in the mid 70's mainly looking for different stuff from us at the time. In fact, the very first store I went to in L.A. had three Japs going through the 25 cent box and they passed a couple of copies of "Seven The Loser" - Eric Lomax (big at the time) which I snapped up once they'd finished. Things got worse in the 80's I think. I went to the Austin Record Fair and they were queuing up with U-Haul trucks @ 5.30am and basically going from stall to stall saying "how much for everything?" A pain in the ass LOL..... I had a brilliant hit about 15 years ago at the Wimbledon Record Fair when I found a guy who had a stack of Amy/Mala U.S. promos - he used to a label manager @ RCA and had the stuff from the 60's....... Also, one of the best finds of this type was the original UK Decca/London library which had everything in there, both U.S. and U.K. I got in once for about half-an-hour and got Lee Roye, Johnny Caswell, Jean Carter and Sweet Three for my trouble. A few years later Decca got sold and I think the original label manager got most of the gear 'cos he was advertising in Record Collector for a few years after..... Who knows how many garages, lofts and lock-ups still have stuff in? The next great hit could be round the next corner......... Ian D

I left my missus on the beach in L.A. whilst I checked a place out and returned to find a Jesus-Freak hitting on her! On the next trip, we went to Clearwater in Florida and I left her on the beach again and came back just before sunset to find half a dozen Latino guys surrounding her saying she reminded 'em of Sam Fox! Nope, girlfriends and wives don't make crate-digging easy that's for sure! Ian D

Oh my God Mcleanmuir - you're gonna give a lot of SS'ers nightmares over the Chinatown story! It's funny but there were tons of distributors in downtown L.A. when I was there at the time but I seldom bothered going through 'em 'cos there was too much Latino gear to go through. I think West Pico was where a lot of 'em were.... Also I went to House Of Oldies in Philadelphia once and there were simply too many records!!! If you can imagine a huge building one block long, one block wide and five stories high packed with thousands of 20' x 20' wooden crates on every floor with circa 50K of 45's in each you have some idea of what was available at the time. I spent 3 hours in one crate alone but it was all Country & Western and I got demoralised too quickly! I hit a few places about 18 months ago but it's all changed with the Internet, E-Bay and the Price Guides these days. I had a guy in New Jersey trying to convince me that the Total Eclipses was a $1000 'rare Northern Soul' record LOL........ Mmmm. Well this has livened up an otherwise dullish day! Happy Easter..... Ian D