Ian Dewhirst

Yep TJM - you're right Mel! Ah, regarding Grady Harrell - so that's where he gets that voice then. Now it all makes sense! You're always a font of knowledge mate! I wouldn't mind hearing some other stuff from him 'cos "Wrong Side Of Love" is really doing it for me right now. And Front Row's "Wanting You" is another one of those insanely HAPPY records which I'm going for these days......even though it's an 80's recording it has a real 70's sing-a-long HAPPY vibe to it Onwards and upwards and, as ever, thanks for the comments! I know if a even a couple of tunes a week please you then that's good enough for me LOL...... Ian D

Great song, period Mandy! When these UK acts get the pastiches right they can come very close to a good record. There's a few that hit the mark for me..... However none better than this one IMO (although I'll get killed for saying it LOL).... Ian D

They have a Northern Soul precedent in that they did a Duffy 11 years ago with the brilliant "Black Eyed Boy" which was a Top 5 record in the UK in Summer '97 and would have been a monster if the Supremes had done it in their heyday! And, yes, they nick from a few sources which is why their records always sound so naggingly familiar, especially "Say What You Want" which strays very closely to Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" in my view. Ian D

Hi All, Al and I were back behind the console this week and what fun ensued........ Well, considering we had some visitors to the studio and some last-minute technical buffoonery going on, the show turned out surprisingly well LOL. The emphasis this week is pretty much on great Soul from all eras and I think we managed to get some! Some really superlative tunes this week so check 'em if you can - we don't think you'll be disappointed. Also we got some nice mentions in for the recent do's @ Gisburn, Wakey and Sir Percy's map-reading skills LOL! Just hit the live link below (or paste it direct into your browser bar) and you're in! Try it, it gets strangely addictive after a while............... Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show with Ian Dewhirst & Alan Champ - Sunday 22nd June 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 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 Opening Mix: T.J. - Am I Dreaming, The Ritchie Family - Frenisi - Close Mix Bill Harris - Uptown Saturday Night J.J. Barnes - I've Seen The Light Brenda Jones - My Heart's Not In It Scandal - Love Either Grows Or Goes One Way feat Al Hudson - Who's Foolin' Who, Skool Boyz - Feel Like I'm In Love, Henry Thomas - My Dreams Are Clouded Grady Harrell - Wrong Side Of Love Larry Wedgeworth & Clique - No More Games 2nd Hour Veda - What's It All About The Dynamics - You Can Make It If You Try Solid Solution - Think About It Girl Front Row - Wanting You Billy Paul - The Whole Town's Talking The O'Jays - Time To Get Down The Fantastic Johnny C - Waitin' For The Rain' (Tom Moulton Mix) Sharon McMahan - Get Out Of My Life Booker T - I Want You Collins & Collins - You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good Ullanda McCullough - Bad Company Gloria Scott - What Am I Gonna Do The Temptations - Aiming At Your Heart J.P. Rodgers Jr - All My Lovin' Marlilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr - Shine On Silver Moon (7" version) Download direct - https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-...2-Starpoint.mp3 Don't forget to send in any requests or dedications and we'll be pleased to honour 'em if we can! Best, Ian D

Bump! Going live in 90 minutes! www.starpointradio.com. Some beauties this week for lovers of SOUL! Ian D

Huh, thanks for putting 'hangover music' on before my show guys LOL! I'll be kicking off with some sinus-deblockers then! Hope some of you listeners stick around for this week's Original Mastercuts show as well, as I've got some good underplayed gear on this week, so it should fit nicely with Celtic Twist this week touch wood. Can't go wrong for Soul on Sunday's on Starpoint really - www.starpointradio.com. All the Sunday shows are great and the day finishes with Mark Bicknell between 10.00-12.00 which is as good a way to close off a weekend as I can think of! Best to all, Ian D

Yep, will try and get my head around it Rachel. I've been putting off learning Refosoul 'cos these things tend to frustrate me sometimes but I guess it's about time I got down to it (sigh)......sorry for being a bad lad! Does this mean you're not gonna spank me then LOL? Ian D

Yep, that's for me I think Chalky. I'm not doing anything next weekend so sounds like the place to be. Is it in Berkshire? And are there any local places to crash and get a hearty breakfast the next day LOL? I might try and get Mike Ritson along as he needs cheering up! Fingers crossed....... Ian D

Not if people get their heads together and start thinking objectively Des. Running such an event would probably require the resources of a collective of promoters, who would know how to run the event properly. These promoters should talk to each other, scout out potential venues and local authority co-operation and think about doing something that will be a catalyst for the scene instead of splitting their own audiences and fragmenting the scene, as is happening at the moment from what I read on here. Plus it would be a much-needed shot in the arm of a scene which appears to be getting slighly jaded in some quarters LOL... Yep, a BUZZY new all-nighter with all the best jocks would be a good thing right now I think...... Ian D

I wouldn't mind getting one-up actually LOL. I might give my mate Kevin a ring and see if he can't sort out The Rocket in London again but do it properly this time! Although I think a Midlands venue would probably be better from a practical point of view - Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby areas would be more accessible for many people. Y'know, an exciting All-Nighter with a roster of all the top jocks on regular basis would get people off their arses I'm sure. But it'd have to be a big Ballroomy type place as that seems to be the best environment for Northern...... ...and have a number of cheap hotels nearby for those of us who like a more leisurely approach to such things LOL.... Ian D

The answer will be when someone sets up more of a regular weekly or monthly large capacity 'event' all-nighter again with the top DJ's and serious up-and comers on. You really have to have a solid base to work from as The Wheel, The Torch, The Catacombs, The Mecca, Wigan, Cleethorpes, Stafford proved in their respective eras. When you have a strong venue with a progressive music policy then those circumstances tend to unite a scene and provide a nucleus event to focus everyone. Also it makes breaking new tunes a lot easier - that's how you break stuff to a huge audience in a few weeks and get a real buzz going isn't it? This then builds into a self-fullfilling prophecy because everyone will want to check it out and the buzz would grow and grow. Also I would go for resident roster of the top 'progressive' DJ's aligned with the younger, edgier element with a sexy crowd. So that'll be Sam, Butch and Trouble headlining then! Now who else? In fact, what would be the optimim DJ line-up to create the right mix of top rare unknown goodies and deeper, unplayed oldies which haven't been done to death? Oh yeah, and there has to be a bunch of youngsters for the energy levels LOL..... Now THAT would be a night worth going to! Ian D

Hey Jocko, OK then, there's a few on tomorrow's show which I think will hit the spot for S.S'.ers (and they're not always the obvious ones LOL)... Featuring T.J., The Ritchie Family, J.J. Barnes, Brenda Jones, Scandal, One Way feat Al Hudson, Skool Boyz, Henry Thomas, Grady Harrell, Larry Wedgeworth & Clique, Veda, The Delfonics, The Dynamics, Solid Solution, Front Row, Billy Paul, The O'Jays, The Fantastic Johnny C, Sharon McMahan, Booker T, Collins & Collins, Ullanda McCullough, Gloria Scott, The Temptations & J.P. Rodgers Jr The Grady Harrell, Larry Wedgeworth & Clique, Veda, Solid Solution and Front Row may well appeal but there's plenty of other goodies tucked in there for lovers of soul from a few eras.... Oh, yeah, it's on tomorrow between 2.00-4.00pm on everyone's favourite station Starpoint Radio www.starpointradio.com! Gratuitious plug over but the show's definitely worth a listen! Ian D

Yep, for the first time in 3 weeks Al & myself are back at the helm of the ORIGINAL MASTERCUTS Show - Sunday 2.00-4.00pm on everyone's favourite Starpoint Radio - www.Starpointradio.com! Don't miss tomorrow's show - especially if it's pissing down LOL..... We're talkin' a FEAST of incredible music which somehow, we think you'll like LOL Featuring T.J., The Ritchie Family, J.J. Barnes, Brenda Jones, Scandal, One Way feat Al Hudson, Skool Boyz, Henry Thomas, Grady Harrell, Larry Wedgeworth & Clique, Veda, The Delfonics, The Dynamics, Solid Solution, Front Row, Billy Paul, The O'Jays, The Fantastic Johnny C, Sharon McMahan, Booker T, Collins & Collins, Ullanda McCullough, Gloria Scott, The Temptations & J.P. Rodgers Jr Don't miss! This one's a beauty - I spent a week compiling it LOL.......! Ian D

Now why would Butch retire to Columbia? He's not fronting a rare record mail-order scam to distribute coke in 7" record mailers is he? Or maybe he's checking out Andrew 'Loog' Oldham's (ex Rolling Stones manager and owner of Immediate Records) PHENOMENAL collection (including the unreleased P.P. Arnold acetates and unreleased Spector stuff) which is stored in a garage on the outskirts of Medellin......? Ian D

Hang on, that sounds like the guy from New York who I spoke to who say's this guy keeps 'em in his 'back-room' but won't let anyone see what's in the room for 'insurance and security' purposes. Apparently he's got every Motown, Gordy, Soul and affilliated labels ever made and blah, blah, blah........ Ian D

Yep, the wonderful world of the internet casts the Northern Soul rod of 'passion = potential customer' far and wide LOL. I wonder how many U.S. sussed crate-diggers are lurkers on here and every other site? 'Cos in their shoes that's EXACTLY what I'd be doing! I reckon there'll be a few things like this coming up as people dig deeper and turn-up more local leads. It seems that the appetite for almost any interesting looking rare U.S. record with Northern Soul possibilities has a premium in the market. So all our U.S. cousins must be having a ball right now LOL. And good luck to 'em. They'll probably turn up some interesting stuff. And probably in quantity LOL............. Ian D

'Cos he's a serious bloke! I realised his natural genius when he played a live mix of Serious Intention's "You Don't Know - Remix" and mixed "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" all the way throughout the long intro and came in beat perfect @ the sweet spot! His gig's were always rockin'! Where did you catch him Jocko? Were you living down South in the mid-late 80's? Oh, yeah, I'm digging out those 10 Northern/Modern tracks to post, so that'll be tomorrow 'cos I'm prepping the Sunday's radio show, OK? But I'm also having to go through the DJ International catalogue for a 3CD 'best-of' so I'm immersed in House this week LOL... So any hidden killers on DJ International folks? I've found a few already........... And 'Trouble's' great! He did Classic House Mastercuts 2 which I'm now gonna play for inspiration! Ian D

Whoops....wrong decade! Ian D

It's just the terminology James. No big deal really. Probably just slightly galling when one reads that Butch 'broke' a record which was an established floor-filler and £1 on Soul Bowl's lists some 30 ago LOL. But good luck to Butch for revitalizing it - it's a good record. Its just fascinating that there's such a feeding frenzy on the track. I'm just utterly staggered by the price considering that there's probably hundreds of copies of it around no doubt buried in many people's collections. Buy, hey, that's Northern Soul 2008 stylee........... Ian D

You beat me the punch Kev! I can clearly remember Lee Fields being a floor-filler @ Cleethorpes and a biggish record for me and most of the Cleethorpes DJ's at the time. So revitalised is exactly right! Ian D

Well that's me on both counts then! Ian D

Actually this wasn't aimed at you Epic. I happen to agree with your signature. I just thought that N.F. Porter and The Fuller Brothers were two good examples of 70's releases which were huge at the Torch and pure Northern Soul.... Ian D

And you'd be right LOL! Ian D

Also how would you classify N.F. Porters "Keep On Keeping On" and the Fuller Brother's "Time's A Wasting"? I seem to remember buying both of 'em as new releases from Record Corner in the 70's along with First Choice...... Ian D

I think a lot of people would argue that "Like Her" - Gentlemen & Their Lady is precisely the kind of disco shite you profess to hate Pete! Weird innit. I like a lot of Disco but I HATE Gentlemen & Their Lady....... Ian D