Ian Dewhirst

Agreed! I had a feeling the thread would touch a nerve - I almost didn't post it but then I thought why not? What's to be afraid of really? In fact, it's making me wonder something else now: If for instance, Don Davis found a load of unreleased but brilliant J.J. Barnes material in his loft, would it prohibit them being played out because they've never existed on vinyl? I guess the same thing happened years back with the unreleased Motown stuff didn't it? In cases like this, does the format really matter? Surely a great tune is a great tune whatever the source isn't it? I've opened a can of worms here LOL.....Can I get safe entry to Yate? Ian D

I had the best hit of my life in a small town outside of Denver, Colorado - a truly unbelievable haul. Dave Raistrick arrived a couple of months later and still found stuff. Also had good hits in Oklahoma, Iowa, L.A. and even Florida back in the 70's and 80's. I've always wondered about Salt Lake City though. It's too far from anywhere to get there easily and I know it's full of Mormons but I just have a gut feeling LOL........ Any youngsters out there? Ian D

Now there's an idea.......fancy financing it Dave? Ian D

I wasn't suggesting that anyone could just hit a play button Neil - far from it. I was actually suggesting that some DJ's would benefit by having a choice of several thousand tunes to choose from rather than being confined to what they can physically carry. There could be that special moment where a DJ wished he had brought a certain tune because the circumstances could be exactly right to play that tune - maybe for the first time ever. I can't tell you the amount of times I wished I could have brought my whole collection to a (none Northern) venue and kicked myself because I couldn't. But I can now! Also I'm not sure how 'rated' a DJ with no records worth more than £25 each would be in this day and age. I think the scene necessarily has to have the huge rarities and one-off unknowns to provide the excitement and anticipation doesn't it? I guess it's more down to the taste of the person who has either great records or a laptop, or possibly in the future, both! Best, Ian D

Hence the thread Billy! I suppose a lot of people are saying how will the scene mutate and survive into the future unless new technology is embraced at some point. I'm probably one of the few people who could ask the question because I'm not really on the scene on a regular basis these days, I work in the music biz which is dying on it's arse and I can take an overview on things which may not be possible for people who are more involved in the scene. Some really interesting viewpoints coming out though and definitely food for thought..... Ian D

There isn't a music biz left - I reckon the CD is on it's last Xmas this year. Hip-Hop/RnB and a few dinosaur acts acts are keeping it running but the physical format, namely CD's and Vinyl will almost be gone by the end of next year IMHO. The biggest vinyl distributor in the world went down last Thursday and you can now get most back-cat CD titles for less than £3.00 now. I'm trying to sell some good CD titles @ 30p each with difficulty right now so you can see how bad it is. Hence the thread! Ian D

That wonderful cue-burn effect cost me a couple of grand back in the day! Ian D

You're dead right Nusha and it's a real shame. It's killing me at the moment 'cos I work in the Music Biz and right now it's dying on it's arse....... And you're also right about the sound to an extent. Nothing can beat the warmth of vinyl in my opinion but todays audiences - especially the youngsters, don't seem that bothered. It's the instant gratification and convenience generation! But gotta move with the times I guess........ The vinyl lover is a dying breed and can be found 24/7 right here on this forum. This could be the last bastion of a beautiful age.......... Ian D

Yep, one thing at a time ay!

I'll send a set of "The Northern Soul Story" 4 x CD's plus some Be Cool Publishing Northern Soul books if you PM your address Kirsty. Best, Ian D

Long as I've known it!

Haha LOL. Try asking the average Northern Promoter for Laser decks and see what the response will be! I'll tell yer what though, if I had a few multi-thousand pound rarities I'd definitely get a set of those decks, that's for sure. It would certainly preserve the value of the records better if they ever wanted to sell them in the future. People are so picky about condition these days that you're fighting a devaluation battle if you've even played a record out a few times..... Ian D

You misread me Jocko. Much as I love Northern I really have no desire to return to Northern deejaying these days - I kinda felt I left at a good time and the scene has changed a great deal anyway. I'm honestly curious as I'm digitising my own collection for other reasons and different gigs anyway and I was just wondering whether the same ethos could ever work on the Northern scene....... Ian D

Beautifully put Gareth. I'm not really qualified to put it quite as strongly 'cos I haven't been on here for that long and it's 30 odd years since I deejayed Northern every week, but this is kind of what I was getting at.... It would be a shame if it was just about money but I'm sure that has an effect. The bidding war I had on the only Bernie Williams back in '75 made me decide to go to the States and find 'em myself. And that was only £150 LOL........ Ian D

It wuz that Pointer Sisters boot thread which got me going! Honest Guvnor!

Not at all mate. Having an opinion's what this forum is all about. And I understand your point entirely. But you could still have exclusive MP3's couldn't you? Or MP3 cover-ups for that matter. The tunes would still have to be discovered in the first place. I just think that I'd rather have my entire collection to choose from on a laptop, then I could play what I wanted, whenever I wanted and not be limited to just a box of records if you see what I mean... Also it could be a prudent move to think about the future. How many decks do you see these days which still have the 78rpm option? I know Blues Collectors who refuse to listen to any other format but they'd be hard-pressed to find any equipment to accomodate 'em these days LOL.... Ian D

Maybe we could hook up Butch's PC with the HMRC people then we'd all be happy LOL What's Butch's take on this? And would he get lynched if he turned up at a gig with a laptop with people KNOWING that he has the originals? Ian D

I hope you're not playing yours on the Starpoint decks Mark! I know what you're saying 'cos I felt exactly the same when I playing in the 70's - I even used to get sniffy about playing acetates back then..... However, we do have a choice these days and most people have a good idea who has decent taste (I hope). So would you get lynched if 80% of your set was on rare vinyl and 20% of well-chosen but impossible to find killers on CD/Digital.....? I dunno but I can guess LOL....... Ian D

Mmm. A much cheaper option and gets rid of human error perfectly! Now if we could only find a laptop which could dig out unknown rarities........ Ian D

Yeah but boots are already established 'cos they've already been bootlegged. Plus, judging by most of the threads on here, there's only so many times that people want to hear the same old stuff. I'm really talking about mega rarities which haven't been booted if you see what I mean......... Also there is that side of me which knows that if you play a rare record on 50 different decks it will get trashed eventually.......... Ian D

Mmm. I see your point, but on the other hand it seems to me that you'd need at least £100K to be a top jock these days based on values alone wouldn't it? The bigger choice option would surely widen the playlists and then it would be down to someone's impeccable taste that decides whether they're successful or not surely? Ian D

Haha LOL! In Mike's case could well do - he travels a lot - usually promoting Manifesto I have to say. Just seen Steve H's post as well, so I've no doubt between Dave, Steve and myself we'll get it sorted. Best, Ian D

Just seen a post in another thread which reminded me of an earlier post I made which was buried away in another subject so I thought I'd revive it just out of curiosity. Namely: does it make any sense to play highly rare and valuable original records @ different venues these days? Surely it doesn't make a lot of sense to play impossibly rare records out at every gig these days does it? It's one way to wear your records out too fast. Especially styrene pressings - I ruined 2 copies of Morris Chestnut, 2 Tobi Legends, 1 Gerri Grainger, I Al Jones and countless others that way, so if you now have 'em in your collection and get annoyed from the hiss and spluttering at the beginning, then you probably have a deejay's old copy! Also, the way things are moving these days, even CD's are becoming out-of-date - the growth is now in digital formats as much as it kills me to say it. But, from a personal point of view, I think it makes more sense for a DJ to have 10,000 songs at his disposal so he can play what he wants without being limited to a single box of records. Maybe that could be one way to brighten up the playlists possibly? I know the Northern scene is naturally dominated by records but I'm not sure how relevent actually owning the original vinyl is going to be in years to come. Right now it's like a 'badge of honour' to own the original vinyl but how many of the crowd would be aware whether a track was played on the original vinyl or on CD? Less than 1% I reckon.........Also, the CD version would probably sound better than a well-played vinyl copy I'm saddened to say..... Don't get me wrong - I love vinyl as much as anyone - I still have a couple of rooms full of it, but I don't see what's so wrong with having the choice of playing both vinyl and CD/Digital. Does it make, say, an unreleased Kent track any better by playing an acetate of it, when it was probably cut from a CD in the first place? Also, I notice that several DJ's on other scenes are playing custom-pressed double-sided copies of their own rarities on bespoke one-off new vinyl pressings. So they're not playing the originals, they're playing re-dubbed versions of their own rare records on a newer piece of plastic. Well, if you do that, then surely it's got be easier to carry 10,000 tunes on a laptop hasn't it? I notice this is happening more and more with DJ's who play internationally. Freight charges, customs and even foreign Taxes are killing 'em if they carry vinyl these days. Also, it's a risk - would you risk your vinyl collection to baggage handlers around the world? Especially Northern collections! Or do you take 100 records only and limit your choice? I'm writing this at the time when, in the mainstream market, commercially, the vinyl format is now just about dead and the CD will be dead from mid next year in my opinion (going by the annual declines, store closures and distributors going bust). This'll be a hiding to nothing here, but is it really worth playing that mega valuable rarity out and diminishing it's quality and lifespan with every play? At least when I wore out my vinyl copies in the mid 70's I could replace 'em a lot cheaper than now........ So, as probably the pre-eminent vinyl collectors forum in the world, what are the views of Soul Source members? Ian D

Great minds think alike dude. Ian

I know Mike's been away just recently. Also he's almost as bad as Neil Rushton for returning phone calls but he's a mate so I'll give him a buzz tomorrow and voice everyone's concerns and tell him to pull his finger out! Best, Ian D