Ian Dewhirst

Just like everything these days, you have to read the small print on ANYTHING. There's a reason why they always put contentious things into small print in the first place and that's mainly because:- 1) People can't be arsed to read it because it's inherently boring and general written in obtuse English which only lawyers can seem to understand and argue about. 2) Many of the clauses are cheap con tricks designed to defraud with a piece of paper rather than a gun and are often immoral and bordering on the grey side of the law IMO. 3) KNOWING that most people aren't lawyers and hate anything boring like small print, most companies cram as much confusing, contentious stuff in there on the basis that 99% of the customers will have no idea what the small print means anyway. 4) Most people would prefer to spend their hard-earned money on something other than wealthy lawyers @ £250 per hour. I always remember that famous deal with Prelude in the 80's when CBS UK managed to get a zero royalty for UK 12" sales in the contract on the basis that the 12" format was a promotional tool LOL. In fact the majority of Prelude's UK sales were on 12" in the early 80's - maybe 80% of them in fact. Yet none of those sales were accounted for because of a slick contract insertion. In this instance, both the US record company and the artist got deprived of royalties on the vast majority of their sales (I think 12"'s were wholesaling @ £1.99 dealer back then as well). Really, if you're an artist you're generally at the bottom end of the food chain! Don't ask me how all this is possible in this enlightened day and age, but apparently it is. Weird ay? Ian D

Canna worms Cunnie! Ian D

Couldn't agree more with your last two posts Paul! Bang on mate! I had a Jeff Buckley white-label test-press of the "Grace" album on E-Bay a few years back and got forced to take it down after Jeff Buckley's estate's lawyer contacted E-Bay, Sony-BMG and me personally. I got forced to take it down and flogged it the next day to one of five private collectors who contacted me privately as a direct result of E-Bay removing the item! So a total waste of time, effort and money which had no real result except, strangely enough, for me. You'd think they'd have bigger fish to fry wouldn't you? Probably a lot of man hours wasted plus a large legal services retainer bill no doubt and all for what????? Just crass stupidity IMO. Ian D

I HATE these bloody modern formats like 7" vinyl records! How dare anyone consider these horrible modern attrocities to be worth anything when everyone knows that the original format is the best. Go play with your silly 7" records and leave the professionals to the real deal:- https://www.vcaauctions.com/show_images.php...p;auction_id=34 Bloody kids! Ian D

Twink used to have his own lathe to cut emidiscs in his garage and he used to order the blank acetates directly from EMI which came complete with blank EMI white labels I seem to remember....... Ian D

Haha LOL. Cheers Mel. Yep, my volume was far too loud. Many apologies - we had to use the guest mike and we haven't yet mastered the art of testing the levels as we have a new mixer in there. Hopefully all back to normal next week. On the other hand, 40 years of listening to music at excessive volumes had essentially made me deaf by normal standards, so my voice is basically louder than most. Oh and the TV volume seems to be creeping up too LOL! And Main Street, Leonard Lidell, Rojas, Mother Fox. Helen Baylor and Brainstorm are all killers aren't they? And the Sherrick version I actually downloaded from EMS 'cos I needed a digital file although I do have the 12" - I'll check but it sounds like a Latin type remix to these ears. Apparently the rest of the tracks on the Larry Hancock album are meant to be duff but I love "Sweet Persuasion". Maybe someone on here has the album and can comment further.......? Thanks again Mel - always a pleasure to hear from ya! Ian D

Great record - utterly brilliant! Sounds like the same session as "You'll Get Enough". Where did this crop up? Is it off the "La La I Love You" album...........? Ian D

OK, we were working with a recaltrant microphone this week but hey, it's all about the music and boy is there some music on this show! Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show with Ian Dewhirst & Alan Champ - Sunday 1st 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 get 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. 1st Hour Opening Mix:- Main Street - That Music Cerrone feat Jocelyn Brown - Hooked On You - Close Mix MLS - Extra Careful Metropole - Miss Manhattan Fifth Avenue - Got To Take A Chance Leonard Lidell - Fallen Out Of Love Sargeant & Malone - Love Message Johnnie & Joe - Double Dealing Enchantment - Somebody's Loving You Rojas - With Your Love 2nd Hour The Salvadores - Stick By Me Baby Herb Ward - Honest To Goodness The Tomangoes - I Really Love You Sam Ward - Sister Lee Ronnie McNeir - Sitting In My Class Mother Fox - Fallen Into Love Nicky Newmarkers - Woman Curtis - How Can I Tell Her Peace Of Mind - Heaven In Your Eyes Helen Baylor - Oasis Impromp2 - Summer Night Larry Hancock - Sweet Persuasion Sherrick - Call Me Brainstorm - We're On Our Way Home https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2008-06-01-Starpoint.mp3 Best, Ian D

It's not Clarence Carter from '76 on MCA is it? There's several pages of "Come Back Baby"'s but as I say I'm not a Southern fan........ Ian D

OK, I've done searches on MCPS/PRS/ASCAP & BMI databases and there's nothing for "Let Me Come Back Home To You" so I guess that's not the title dammit! Blimey, I'd be embarassed if I was a Southern Soul expert LOL! I just know it's on Malaco, I.C.A. or one of those type of labels, but I normally hate that stuff so I don't have much of it. The stupid thing is I'm sure I should know it - it just sounds so familiar............ Ian D

Yep. Agree. Too each their own...... Ian D

Yep, could you explain that again in idiot-proof bullet points please Barry? I'm very concious that I may go off-thread if I'm not careful! Ian D

Good point Rog. Gimme 2+ hours behind the decks anytime. That way you can actually work the music better and construct a more interesting set rather than cramming everything into an hour. However, with Northern, the whole 1 hour spot thing still meant you could squeeze a good 25 records in as they're all two and a half minutes long! Also I think there could be more imaginative ways of programming sets. For instance, I think it would be fascinating to do a themed Northern set where you could go from New York to Philly to Memphis to the South to Chicago to Detroit and close up with L.A. - it'd probably take 3 hours but it would be a fascinating educational journey for many people and help them to appreciate the sheer bredth of the music at the same time. Lively debate this........ Ian D

Yep. Sign me up LOL! You made some very good points there Sunnysoul. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to the sheer excitement and glamour of the scene. A lot of it was the total exhuberance of youth, fun and the attractions of a cool underground scene with very little competition if you lived up North. I was deejaying @ 16 years old and playing nighters @ 17 years old. Every weekend was an EVENT! The quality of the music and most of the DJ's was really good. The Torch, Va-Va's, Blackpool Mecca, Sheffield Samanthas, Wigan Casino and Cleethorpes were all none-miss events really. However, the average age back then was essentially 16-25. The Northern Soul scene was really the precursor of the Rave scene which followed some 20 years later - at it's height in the mid 70's some 50,000-100,000 people would mobilize themselves and dip into the Northern scene at some point (didn't Wigan have 100,000 members at one stage?). The best EVENT I've been to in the last few years was the Kent 25th Anniversary @ The Forum in London which was the nearest thing to a 70's event that I'd been to for years and was both packed out and obviously brilliant. What a night! The Rocket in Highbury could have been one of the ultimate All-Nighter venues for the future but unfortunately too many egos got in the way IMO. But what a venue! I think there's a potentially HUGE London audience for Northern Soul but it's really got to be pitched correctly. The current scene seems to me to be too far pitched towards the conneisseurs and collectors who are old men (like me) and carry 30 years of knowledge, opinions and baggage. It seems to me to be very much deteriorating into mates who want play their records to their mates, if you see what I mean........... Which isn't necessarily that sexy to a 17 year old soul fanatic who requires ACTION, BUZZ, INVIGORATING MUSIC TO DANCE TO and at least the POSSIBILITY that he or she might get laid LOL..... Which isn't always possible at the Wheeltappers and Shunters monthly rarity appreciation do, if you see what I mean. That James Trouble gig I went to in London the other week had the right idea. A great mix of people across the ages, great atmosphere, intelligent deejaying and SEXY! A good mix all round with old and new - Soul Sam was doing it for the London crowd and they loved him so age is obviously no barrier LOL.... I'm with the kids here. I want a BUZZ about a gig when I head out, not a live collector's forum - we can get that on here. There's a potential audience of 100's of 1000's of potential Soul Music fans out there who haven't been exposed to this music under the right conditions. And whilst it may rankle a few on here, they don't necessarily want RARE, they just want GREAT. And where did that FANTASTIC 1500 capacity audience from the first Rocket nighter go I ask myself? This gig was the only occasion when I got paid to not DJ LOL - a first for me. Apparently I didn't have everything on an original pressing and this gig was all about rare originals apparently, so I reluctantly went with the apparent concensus 'cos I just couldn't be arsed with the political arguing and manouvering. I then stood back and watched the whole thing fall on it's arse. It still rankles. And it was a massive shame. The 1500 punters wanted HIGH-OCTANE TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT and CLASSIC NORTHERN SOUL and they just didn't get it. I saw the same audience a few months later at a Gaz's Rockin' Blues gig - the atmosphere was magical, the buzz was in the air, the joint rocked and everyone left happy. A world of difference. I agree with the Football analogy earlier on this thread. This music was made to be HEARD by new ears and they should be hearing it under the best possible circumstances. Promoters should take note. Do you have a diverse crowd which spans the age group? Or a solid bunch of aging but quite vocal regulars? More soulful fun-loving youngsters really wouldn't be a bad thing would it? It'd be a nice burst of youthful energy onto the scene. Which is pretty much how it started in the first place isn't it? Ian D

Bloody Hell lads! No result yet? I had it down for a Malaco typa thang but that's not really my area. Bit of a mystery ay........? If I had the title it'd help but it hasn't really got an obvious one has it? There could be several potential titles...... Ian D

That's why you need a sexy Western Digital Passport 250g or 500g External Hard-Drive which'll easily fit in your shirt pocket! That'll back up your lappy and hold 100,000+ tunes if need be. Takes up less space than the 3 rooms which are currently holding Vinyl and CD's that's for sure LOL..... Ian D

Truer words were never spake! Spot on Neil. And the Perigents is filed just before those Oscar Perry tunes isn't it? Third row down towards the left........... Ian D

Haha LOL! That's what a weekend in Birmingham and a general lack of sleep will do mate! For me I like the choice option. I can almost never have enough choice. There's always that unique mind-blowing possibility if I could just choose any record I wanted. The sort of choice which would allow me to go from, say, Ernie K. Doe's "Here Come The Girls" to T. Connection's "Do What You Wanna Do" to Dillinger's "Cocaine In My Brain" to Eddie Kendricks' "Date With The Rain" for instance LOL.... Some people may argue that it could be too much choice LOL..... But with a few thousand Northern tunes I could do some damage. When was the last time anyone played Sterling McGee's "Keep On", the Perigents "Love's On A Rampage", Peaches & Herb's "I Need Your Love So Desperately" or The Fabulous Downbeats "Life Goes On" for instance? Would they even be in the box for a gig? God, there's TONS of stuff which is surely underplayed isn't there? A lot of the time it's 'cos the DJ doesn't have them with him or her because they only have the couple of hundred tunes which they know will be generally OK. But just imagine if you had massive knowledge and unlimited choice of what to play. Incidentaly Mark, drop me a PM - I'm doing an office clearout right now with TONS of stuff which I think is right up your street - lotsa Soulful Jazzy Housy typa stuff and yer welcome to cherry pick! Best, Ian D

Good point Sutty. And food for though ay? After singing the praises of the digital revolution, I've now seen a downside to it all after reading your post. I'm thinking of my Dad and his lack of technical patience - he's only just got comfortable with the CD format LOL! At least with a physical format you have it in your hands and it can't be dictated by a credit card, hard drive or a broadband connection can it? But we seem to be hurtling into an age in which physical products are being rapidly devalued and seem to be becoming almost obselete in many areas of life. Oh baby baby it's a wild world.......... Ian D

The possibilities are HUGE! This for someone like me is progress. I've got very eclectic tastes which go right across Northern, Modern, Disco, Funk, Motown, Modern, Jazz-Funk, Mellow, Boogie, 80's etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Almost any type of music you can think of. I've got wide tastes..... To have my entire lifetime collection at my disposal in my shirt-pocket anywhere in the world at any given time, to me is just incredible. I no longer want to limit myself just by what I can physically carry. Also I want to paint from a massive canvass to the right audience. So that means I'd prefer to have my ENTIRE collection with me, so that when I get inspired I can go many different routes and play tunes which have never been heard before by much of the audience. I wrote an article about all this recently........ Manifesto___Northern_Soul_In_The_Digital_Age.doc I'm EMBRACING the possibilities that the digital age can offer! A godsend for me in terms of convenience and choice of music. Also, as Rob & Karen Whigley pointed out on another thread, this is the week when Woollies decided to discontinue CD singles. The world as we know it has changed massively in terms of music delivery and formats. Interesting times. Great thread! Ian D

"California Montage" - Young Holt Unlimited on Brunswick and available on "The Northern Soul Of Brunswick" CD. One of the all-time GREAT instrumentals! Ian D

Don't wanna be pedantic Matt, but the Aristocrats was on Warners and Mainstream and TSOP are both indies but all great records nonetheless........ Ian D

Well talking conspiracies, has anyone ever read the book "No 1 With A Bullet" by Elaine Jesmer? https://www.amazon.com/Number-Bullet-Novel-...r/dp/0374223475 "A black popular singer whose brother-in-law owns the company he records for, comes to a crossroads in his life and career. His marriage to his boss' sister is crumbling and in the concept-album oriented 70's, this former singles seller is fast becoming archaic. He is unable to get out of either contract neatly. Connections between this fictional singer and the real troubles between Marvin Gaye and Berry Gordy of Motown Records are easily seen. Sprinkled into the mix are thinly disguised portraits of Tammi Terrell and other Motown stars and a music-and-the-mob theme in which the control of the company is taken out of one family's hands and into the other "family's" hands, making it possible for the hero to exit his contract and sail happily into the sunset of the new singer-singwriter music scene. This book was bought by the movies, but never made, while "Dreamgirls" and "Sparkle" went on to explore similar material. An interesting read by an author whose insight and apparent good connections into the rhythm and blues music scene of the time gives the book significant credibility". "No 1 With A Bullet" was essentially removed from the shelves at the time apparently by Berry Gordy due to the fact that Elaine Jesmer was Marvin Gaye's west coast publicist and the story alluded to Tammi Terrell's death (or murder) and Berry Gordy considered it to be too contentious. He also apparently killed the film rights by doing a deal with Universal for "Lady Sings The Blues" and making sure that "No 1 With A Bullet" was shelved for good. How's that for a conspiracy? Ian D

It's all fascinating isn't it? I call it the eighth wonder of the world. Namely, how come the North of England developed an instaiable taste for the forgotten sounds of 60's obscure uptown soul. Betcha ass I'll write about it babes! I just love the fact that we're analysing it to the nth degree. It truly is a phenomenon and, as such, needs documenting IMO. I'm thankful that we have so many more resoiurces these days! Like this for instance. This thread is absolutely cream on the top for me. The beauty of Soul Source...... We should be so lucky......... Ian D

Six Million Steps Presents The Original Mastercuts Show with Ian Dewhirst & Alan Champ - Sunday 18th May 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 get 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. 1st Hour Opening Mix:- Creative Source - Don't Be Afraid To Take My Love Cordial - Wave - Close Mix Hubert Laws - Chicago Theme (Love Loop) Change - The Glow Of Love Atlantic Starr - Circles Khemistry - Can You Feel My Love Crypton - All My Lifetime Sheila Dionn - Suddenly, Somewhere Earth, Wind & Fire feat Kenny G - I Like The Way You Move The General - Life In The Big City Passage - I See The Light B.O.F. - I've Got Your Number 2nd Hour The Mike Post Coalition - Afternoon Of The Rhino The Mylestones - The Joker Terrible Tom - We Were Made For Each Other The Coasters - Crazy Baby Vicki Nelson - Stoney Face Esther Phillips - Catch Me I'm Falling Eugene Smiley - It's You Girl Jan Jones - Independent Woman Ron Henderson & Choice Of Colour - Gemini Lady Jill Scott - I Gotta Get Up Brenda Russell - Piano In The Dark Janice McClain - Passion & Pain Manhattan Transfer - Spice Of Life Kleeer - Never Cry Again https://www.sixmillionsteps.com/6MS-2008-05-18-Starpoint.mp3 Best, Ian D