Ian Dewhirst

Does anyone have any info on Henry Brooks - The Greatest Debt To My Mother on P&P please? How long has it been around? Year? Any value? Etc, etc Many thanks, Ian D

Does Herbert Hunter's "I Was Born To Love You" on Spar qualify? In fact there were a few on the label weren't there - Jenny & The Jewells and a cover of "Selfish One" I seem to remember........ Best, Ian D

Actually my 'holiday' started in '76 when I went to the U.S. to look for undiscovered Northern stuff. When I came back 6 months later I went to quite a few Northern venues and even ran Leeds Central Northern Night on Saturday nights but I guess I'd kinda moved on in many ways - it would have difficult for me to have continued my passion at the same intensity that I had from 1970-76 - which I truly believe was what people keep referring to as 'the Golden Age of Northern Soul'. However I never stopped dropping in on venues from '76 - present and enjoyed 'em for the most part - in fact I was @ The Forum for Kent's Anniversary on Friday night and that was one of the greatest events I've ever been to in the last 40 years! Plus I still kept in contact and sold records to lots of DJ's and collectors throughout the period from '76 - '90, so I never completely lost touch. So maybe I just got older and developed some other interests which absorbed me as much as the Northern scene had in earlier years? But it's really hard to convey to people exactly how huge the Northern scene was back then. We really were spoilt for choice. I personally had several gigs every week - Burnley Cricket Club (Tuesday), Leeds Central, Huddersfield Starlight, Sheffield Samanthas (Friday), Wigan Casino/Cleethorpes Pier (Saturday)and numerous Sunday All-Dayers. My weekend started quite often on Thursday night and would continue until Sunday night/Monday morning. Plus the quality of the records was overwhelming in my opinion - I don't think there can be any doubt that the period from the Wheel to Wigan Casino really was an incredible period of dicovery for Northern Soul records. Also I think I read somewhere that at one point in the mid 1970's there were circa 100,000 Northern Soul fans over those years. Certainly records like "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me" (No.1), "There's A Ghost In My House" (No.3) and "You Sexy Sugar Plum" (No.22) were capable of becoming UK Pop hits back then selling tens of thousands in the process. It was a vibrant exciting time to be a Northern Soul fan if you were into both the music and the buzz as I certainly was. Also, with many people, one of the key periods in their lives is between 15-25 - 'the carefree years' (in my case 15-Present LOL) and I think that has a bearing on why people 'dropped-off'. I could never understand at the time why so many of the local Wheel and Torch veterans dropped off the radar in the Mecca/Wigan years. It was generally 'cos of wives, kids, work, mortgages etc, etc. You know - growing up and being responsible.... In conclusion I think it's really impossible to run a comparison between different eras. Times change. I personally preferred many of the 60's and 70's Northern records 'cos I was there at the time! In retrospect I've ended up liking a lot of the later discoveries from the 80's to present and enjoying pretty much all of the gigs, albeit with not the same level of intensity that I did in my younger years. Although last Friday @ The Forum gave me a good run for my money! Best, Ian D

Ron & Candy - Lovely Weekend Dooley Silverspoon & Jeanie Burton - Am I Losing You Ian D

Actually selecting just one person from the last 40 years is a daunting task Malc. What I think could work, would be to put together a list of key contributors in the various decades over the entire period. For instance, the 60's would almost definitely have to include: Roger Eagle Trevor Churchill Dave Godin Brian '45' Phillips Etc, etc And the 70's John Anderson Ian Levine Colin Curtis Soul Sam Mary Chapman Etc, etc - you get the drift. In fact it would make a really nice project for someone who runs a magazine to do an 'icon a month' article and then turn it into a book sometime in the future. There's not enough documentation or first-hand accounts of the 60's era and even some of the info from the early 70's can be sketchy. Plus, as we know too well, none of us are getting any younger, so it would be great to do a definitive project which covered the whole era methinks.... Best, Ian D

Looks like they were playing my Blackpool Mecca CD - Vol 3 from the Northern Soul Story! That's the spirit! Ian D

Still in the UK Mel - owns a couple of houses in Wembley........ Best, Ian D

Sorry mate - been away and obviously out of touch! Could paste the clip anyway LOL.... Ian D

Best advert of the moment? I predict this will bring Northern Soul back into media fashion again big time. All regular DJ's will now have to have a requisite 'Lambrini' session for drunken hen parties LOL.......

Actually Greg Wilson tipped me about this article. I went to the Timepiece when Les deejayed there in the early 70's and it was a real Funk club, no doubt. Quite scary for a couple of white guys from Leeds (I went with Paul Schofield I seem to remember). But Northern Soul never really clicked in Liverpool. The only guys I can remember being into Northern from Liverpool were Dennis Brennan (a big UK label collector) and Pete Lawson (R.I.P.). Also Liverpool always had different records to the rest of the country even on the Funk/Jazz-Funk/Disco scene - I used to natter to to Terry Lennaine when I was a plugger for Decca in the 70's and they always had different 'big' records to the rest of the scene at the time. So Liverpool's just one of those places where Northern Soul really didn't figure that much. Has there ever been a great Northern Soul venue there? Can't think of one..... So Les isn't to blame for his statement - he just never really got it like many of his fellow Liverpudlians....... Ian D

I owed Dave a lot - he pretty much put me on the media map in the early 70's when he did a B&S column called "The New Wave Soul Masons" or something similar and based the article around me plus got my piccy in there as well which was a first for me back then. Also I believe he was the one who got me my first ever compilation job - compiling the Stax Northern Soul album in 1974, so he had no idea what he triggered 33 years ago LOL....... R.I.P. Dave - I'll be having a fag and thinking about you! Ian D

That looks suspiciously like the cover of Deep Disco Culture Vol 1! Vol 2 coming up next week for all you Disco freaks on here....... Best, Ian D

Well I did tell Arthur that oral sex was out of the question due to potential 'beard burns' LOL..... And Jellybean's just become a MySpace friend so who knows.........? Didja meet up with Mr Schofield? Best, Ian D

Just been with him at the Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto plus he played a club set t'other night @ a club. He's still totally into music and a lovely guy to boot! Ian D .....

Mainly 'cos the forum's called Soul Source, hence maybe not the right forum for a white New York disco singer called D.C. Larue and a russian jazz musician called Miroslav Vituos. Whereas the Salsoul stuff I can totally see on Soul Source because there's little disputing that the artists are actually soulful aren't they? But, hey, I'm easy going....... I really don't mind. I personaly don't think Disco Tex and his Sexolettes get enough props LOL...... Ian D

Great thread! Nothing like a bit of creative winding-up is there LOL.......... And, for those who are interested, coming up in 3 weeks time is the 'Vintage Grooves' Disco double CD...... Melvin, Harold & The Blue Notes The Love I Lost Pts 1 & 2 Ripple The Beat Goes On And On Aquarian Dream Phoenix McCoo, Marilyn & Billy Davis Jnr Shine On Silver Moon Celi Bee & The Buzzy Bunch One Love Vickie Sue Robinson Turn The Beat Around Musique In The Bush Inner Life I'm Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair) First Choice Doctor Love Black Ivory Mainline Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Whispering/Cherchez La Femme Oddysey Native New Yorker Sylvester Over And Over Cloud One Atmosphere Strut Sine Just Let Me Do My Thing Johnson, Bruce Pipeline Clyde Alexander Gotta Get Your Love Johnson, Samuel Johnathan You Connors, Norman Once I've Been There GQ Disco Nights (Rock Freak) Best, Ian D

First time I've ever heard Loleatta Holloway, Eddie Holman, Skip Mahoney and Moment Of Truth - all soul acts, described as rubbish on a Soul Forum........ D.C. Larue and Miroslav Vituos, great records though they are, are both white acts. Wrong forum perchance? Ian D

Nope, absolutely no facelift I swear - just down to some good genes - the only bloody thing I got from my parents LOL... However, the teeth are quite another matter although everything else appears to be in working order! Best, Ian

I don't think I'm exagerating when I say Roger Eagle was probably the single greatest influence on the growth of Soul music in the North of England. A true pioneer. I wish I'd met him..... Ian Dewhirst

I remember deejaying for Terry in the early 70's. Also did a great gig at the Cat's Whiskers in Leeds with Jnr Walker & The All-Stars which Terry promoted. Great memories - I've probably forgotten more then I can ever remember LOL.... Ian 'Frank' Dewhirst