Ian Dewhirst

A new one on me Dave but I'll do some digging around.... Next you'll be asking about floatation tanks! Ian D

Yep, deejayed there a few times. The venue was famous for it's record decks being suspended from the ceiling on 4 wires! I also remember writing-off one of my cars on the way back from Cleethorpes but still making it to the Cat's Whiskers for a set on a Sunday afternoon - how's that for commitment! Am I going nuts or did I once DJ there with Jr Walker & The All-Stars? I seem to remember but can't be absolutely sure that was the venue..... I think there were two promoters at different times - John 'Kojak' Harvey (interesting bloke - I never knew where he came from or whether he was a big Northern fan or not) and Terry ? (forgotten his name but he promoted a lot of gigs in the early 70's). But Meanwood? Phew. Not a good place to hand around on a dark night LOL..... Ian D

Cheers Roger, Useful but still sketchy though. The weird thing is that the strings are all mixed in a very similar way but the producers and arrangers are all different on many of the records. It makes me wonder if Ed Wingate used to have a final listening say in each of the mixes and made sure that the strings were upfront in the mix..... Maybe one for Rob Moss...... Ian D

Just listening to some stuff today and it occurred to me that there's some really terrible mixes which made it to record. For the less technically-minded, the mix is what gets pressed onto vinyl, so if it's crystal clear it's usually a good mix and if it's muffled or you can't hear certain elements of the record, then it's mixed badly. So a couple which have always sounded awful to me:- "They Say" - The Ovations "Gee Baby" - The Malibus Any other contenders? Ian D

I've been listening to the string sections on the intrumental versions on records like Duke Browner "Crying Over You", The Tartans "Nothing But Love", Wingate Love-In Strings "Let's Have A Love-In" and Al Kent's "The Way You've Been Acting Lately" and I love the way they've been mixed in the original recordings. I think they've mixed better than the Motown recordings from the same era because they're more upfront in the mix. So were these all the same string section? I presume they were.... If so who were they? And also was it the same engineer on all these recordings? Any info appreciated. Thanks in advance. Ian D

If a computer analyses it then it has to be digital and this sounds like a digital interpretation to me. The only way you can get an analogue version is via the tape or vinyl........ Ian D

Remember a massive load of Canadian Motown releases were brought in by Bostocks in the early 1970's. I bought hundreds at the time which were available at Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Huddersfield markets @ 25p each - in fact I still have many of them sat on the shelves right now. Maybe one reason why they're priced down? Ian D

I'm not so sure Derek. How many great tracks which never get aired are on Refrosoul? Having a massive choice can provide spontaneity which you wouldn't necessarily have with just a box of pre-selected stuff. Every time I read Manifesto and the various columns in there or some of the threads on here, it makes me want to hear a lot of the records described. What would Sam, John Manship or Tim Brown play if they had the option of having their entire collections with them instead of just a box of 'regulars'? I don't think it's a 'security blanket'. I think it's having a massive choice. But I take your point about the Greg example not being like for like. But there's also a part of me which wouldn't mind hearing a bit more diversity generally in some of the gigs I go to as well. Has there ever been a Northern gig with 4 decks with 4 jocks taking a deck each and having a Northern soundclash? Now THAT would be interesting..... Ian D

I think The Cooler King has the right attitude. There can be a balance. If Don Davis sent me a previously undiscovered killer on MP3 what am I gonna do - NOT play it??? Plus let's not forget that all these records were cut from tape first - the vinyl is the second format in the chain if you think about it....... Ian D

Actually MP3's are pretty crap for quality - WAV files are the way to go apparently. But you're right. It's very difficult to sexually molest an MP3..... But there is a bit of sexual undercurrent going on with the vinyl thing though isn't there? I can't count the amount of times I've been accused of loving vinyl more then women LOL........ Ian D

You're WAAAY too romantic Paul! I want a vinyl record to be as near to the original recording as possible. I can't tell you the amount of ticks, scratches, hisses, jumps and pops which have totally pissed me off on recordings I love - I have no fondness for fighting through beaten-up records to hear a recording. Also, most of the scratches have been put on by people who had the record before me and didn't look after it! The vinyl is merely a format - a carrier Paul, it's not an organic living breathing thing. You may be developing a very unhealthy obsession here LOL..... And you're being a little unfair describing someone who may use a laptop as some "lack lustre, chair bound, lazy, charlatan, downloading onto his laptop and pressing play at the event". Is this a million miles different from a lack lustre, chair bound, lazy, charlatan, with a few quid putting a stylus on a record at an event? Nope. Same thing. I think if you'd ever seen someone like Greg Wilson (who by the way has a huge vinyl collection) use a laptop creatively you'd probably think again. Vinyl is a very loveable format but it's only the means of getting the recording to the public. Let's not over-romanticise it. Ian D

20 years of waiting then the other half steps on it! Sounds like divorce material right there! Have you forgiven her yet? Or renewed your marriage vows LOL? Ian D

No wonder the title's "It Really Hurts Me Girl" LOL Ian D

You're absolutely right Spot. I was young and had rare vinyl blinkers on! I'd have been aghast at playing anything other than pure originals and rarities and I had very little respect for people who played boots or acetates back then. But when we're in an age of £10K rarities I'd certainly be thinking twice about playing 'em out several nights a week that's for sure. Wouldn't be able to afford it for a start! And the last bunch of Northern I've sold have been by far the most difficult with people's expectations of grading being sky high. I just can't get into conversations about grading and stuff like that. My attitude is the record's rare, it's 40 years old, it got played a lot, so let's be realistic on condition. But, no, people are incredibly anal about condition and grading. So back to why I started the thread - is it worth playing £10K rarities out when they're going to get devalued by maybe 50%? I pitched this thread because I have similar discussions with numerous people almost every day regarding the death of vinyl and I thought it would be an interesting thread because the Northern scene really will be the last bastion of vinyl I reckon. I thought it would generate some heated debate and it has. And I certainly wrecked a lot of very decent rarities on those bloody decks at Samanthas which were notorious for carving up vinyl....... Plus people like your good self would never have had it any other way wouyldja? Ian D

I think I may have been guilty of a slight exaggeration there Kev! I just worked it out on the train and even with my couple of thousand CD's chucked in the figure's far more likely to be 80-100K thinking about it. Including 7" and 12" B sides as well LOL.... We might just be the last generation of vinyl though. I'm not sure if tomorrow's audience will have the understanding for blips, jumps and scratches...... Ian D

Haha LOL! Agreed! I've already got a few so shall I press acetates? I'm getting the new set-up sometime between Boxing Day and the New Year so I'll let you know what I decided on.... Ian D

OK Barry, here's a situation to ponder. Right now I have pretty much everything I want right here, right now, on either vinyl, CD or a digital format - probably over 250,000 tunes in total. Yet, if I elected to use a laptop to play them @ a gig, I would accused of 'selling out', 'not being real', 'being lazy' or 'not committed' etc, etc. So if I won the lottery tomorrow and then spent £500,000 with Browny, Manship, Brady and E-Bay and amassed exactly the same records on original vinyl would that then make me OK and credible again? Whaddaya think? Ian D

Still got most of my vinyl Barry, but since I've over 20,000 records it's not always possible to take even 500 of 'em to gigs - especially 12"'s! I should make the point here that after over 40 years of collecting, I now prefer to do sets which are very eclectic and necessarily demand a lot of choice. It's a practical issue rather than anything else. I like a lot of music and don't particularly like limiting my choices to what I can physically carry. So just to make it clear - I LOVE vinyl. However I love music more. Vinyl is a brilliant format but that's really all it is. If I can only get a great tune on MP3 or CD does that make it any less of a tune just because it doesn't happen to be on a 7" piece of plastic? I've also released more stuff on vinyl then virtually anyone else over the years. I was Head Of A&R for the world's largest vinyl re-issue company - Simply Vinyl from 1997 to 2002 where I put out over 400 albums and 125 12"'s on vinyl, so rest assured I love the format! Ian D

This in a way is an even nastier twist on the theme because you never really had the time to enjoy your extraordinary find! It reminds me of when I when to Cheyenne, Wyoming once to see an original Rodeo - I was frog-marched there by an American friend to 'get me away from record shops and see the real America' LOL. Naturally I found a record shop in town had a quick look and found an Al Wilson "Help Me" and a couple of other bits. Several hours later as we staggered out from yet another bar I realised I no longer had the records with me. We couldn't remember which bars we'd been in, so there's a nice Al Wilson promo still knocking around Cheyenne somewhere........... Keep 'em coming...... Ian D

More pain! Somehow I feel slightly better about my own mishaps now. But this confirms my theory that everytime you leave the house with a box of valuable records there's always the potential for disaster. Plenty of human error instances here too. Seems like the elation of a great gig or a great record find can cause momentary loss of normal controls LOL...... Ian D

Hey Joe, I meant to ask you - do you know whatever happened to the record library when Polygram (now UMG) took over Decca in the late 70's? The room used to be down at Albert Embankment and it had mint promo copies of every record both UK and US ever issued on London, Decca, Coral etc, etc. I just wondered whether the stuff went into storage when Polygram took over? Might be worth investigating....... I think we're coming down on Saturday although Champy's being a tad unpredictable at the moment.... Promise I won't mention laptops LOL..... Ian D

I'm just talking on the scale of records (Lord knows a lot worse things can happen as we can see on other threads) but would you say it's haunted you ever since? I'm being serious here. I cried when my Joe Mathews snapped because I knew I'd probably never get another. And I haven't since. But I couldn't keep the snapped one either. Too painful. I ended up taping it back together and ended up flogging it to Gary from Leeds........... Ian D

Cheers Cel - good job I checked. I remember him even though senility starts creeping in when you get to my age LOL..... RIP Dave. Ian D

Very painful! I've never had one so that would've killed me! Those styrene ones break too easily (like the Joe Mathews above). Did you claim for it by the way? And did you find another? Ian D

Go on. Tell! Please. I know Sam but I haven't heard this story......... Ian D