This is my own personal favourite song that I have ever written in my entire life. We rele
This is my own personal favourite song that I have ever written in my entire life. We released it by The Four Vandals, with Steve Brookstein singing lead. But this is the original version, sung by Scottish singer Marc Dillon, with a totally different arrangement - much more High Energy than Northern Soul, although I do prefer The Four Vandals arrangement of the song. Marc was one of the finalists of the last series of Pop Idol, just before Simon Cowell left and formed The X-Factor. Marc made the final top ten, but got knocked out in the week of the final seven, which I thought was a tragedy, as he was as good as Will Young, in my opinion. I was so impressed that I wanted to work with him, and gave him this wonderful song, which I co-wrote with Jamie Pearce and Clive Scott, and we also shot this video at the time, in 2004. But to my mind, the arrangement was wrong for a song which obviously cried out for a generic soul feel, and so I rethought the whole song, and ended up doing it with Steve Brookstein. Having said that, Marc hits notes that most singers can only dream of, and this original unreleased version certainly has an exubherance and vitality all its own. And I still think Marc has a big future ahead of him.
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"I'm Living My Own Life" finally finally makes it to video and to YouTube. This is THE cla
"I'm Living My Own Life" finally finally makes it to video and to YouTube. This is THE classic by Earlene Bentley, the Record Shack anthem that epitomised the entire 1980s High Energy movement, both musically and lyrically. Earlene was simply an utterly outrageous New York Diva, and best friend of Miquel Brown. Earlene's first song for Record Shack, "The Boys Come To Town" was featured in the movie "Police Academy". Three more classic twelve inches followed, "I'm Living My Own Life", "Caught In The Act" and "Stargazing" which was a duet with the late great Sylvester. Then "Point Of No Return" saw her in much more mellow soulful form, and very unlike the big Record Shack high energy classics. I was pestered for months, by all the High Energy fans, to put up videos of her big four twelve inch songs from the Record Shack days, but as "Caught In The Act" was the only one ever filmed, and all that footage is lost forever, and Earlene always refused to revisit her old songs, that always seemed impossible. Now thankfully, the grand diva herself had a change of mind, and we put a video of it here on YouTube, and just think - it only took twenty three years for us to bring it to you. We shot this classic as well, but waited till now to edit and complete it - Good things ARE worth waiting for. Earlene recorded two songs last year for out "Northern Soul 2007" album, and we already posted up the song, "Water Under The Bridge", which has to be her best recording ever, we think. But "Ashes To Ashes" has also grown and grown on us all, till we all now like it just as much. But, of all of them, her most beloved song is this one, "I'm Living My Own Life" and all the fans of 1980s High Energy music will be queueing up to watch this over and over again for the first time in history.
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Oh how utterly wonderful this is. It lifts my soul and makes my spirits soar. Angelo Starr
Oh how utterly wonderful this is. It lifts my soul and makes my spirits soar. Angelo Starr said that this track is the closest we have ever come to real authentic mid sixties Detroit. Donna Williams took the melody and played with it like a temptress, seductively coaxing sultriness out of every note. WOW !!! This is the absolute first time premiere of yet another track which I am exclusively unveiling here on YouTube, from the next forthcoming album, "Northern Soul 2008", which will be released on June 30th, 2008. Donna Williams sings "Landed On My Feet". It is true to say that I have tried many times in my life to capture that quintessence of what makes a Northern Soul record actually work on the dancefloor, and with records like Sidney Barnes "Standing On Solid Ground" and Chuck Jackson "All Over The World", I certainly hit a popular chord. But this time I have never been more artistically satisfied. Everything about this wonderful new song suggests the magic and energy of the era that I fell in love with as a teenager. Forget the purists - this one has it all. If you can keep your feet still while listening to this, then you must be a country and western fan or something. Donna Williams, along with Tahira Jumah, Verna Francis, Fay Jones, Shenton Dixon and Winston Ward, represents the new generation of Centre City artists. Thanks to the wonderful Tahira Jumah, who has been scouring England for the best soul talent there is, our new album is a vocal masterpiece, a new hope for the future, and a proof positive that great soul music is far far far from dead and buried. Thankyou my wonderful wonderful Tahira. You have done me proud. The best A&R talent scout there ever was. This is Donna's third release with us. She was brought to me by Leee John, lead singer of Imagination, who recommended her for our "Disco 2008" album, for which she sang "Let Me Be A Sinner". Then on our recent "Yesterday And Tomorrow",album, she did the most stunning job reinventing Miquel Brown's classic "So Many Men So Little Time". But up till now, we never dreamed she could be as stunning as this, and this one is going to be a hard act to beat. The new album, "Northern Soul 2008" will be released on June 30th on Centre City Records, distributed once again by Passion Music and Pinnacle, and available to pre-order through the new website, http://www.ianlevine.co.uk This new current upcoming Northern Soul album is a sequel to our album from last year, "Northern Soul 2007" which was the very first release on Centre City Records. I have spent thirty two years honing my craft to the point when I am able to produce authentic records like this. There are some small minded people who call themselves fans of Northern Soul who refuse to accept that anybody can make a new record that sounds like the real thing. But with well over two million YouTube hits, they seem to be thankfully a very small minority, and my YouTube page is officially the 54th most watched UK Music Channel on YouTube of ALL-TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The new album will consist of twenty four brand new 2008 songs by soul and disco legends. Each song has an accompanying video of the artist basically performing it the studio and in outside locations, and the DVD will have four extra bonus tracks too. The work that we have all put into this project is quite staggering, and I hope it will break down the barriers between the older Northern Soul stalwarts and a new generation who need younger acts who still produce the same vibe we all witnessed forty years ago for Motown's glory years. Play the CD, watch the DVD, and give new Northern Soul a chance this time. Donna and I co-wrote this wonderful song, "Landed On My Feet", which sounds like a classic 1967 Detroit Pied Piper production, of the type that made a whole generation fall in love with Northern Soul.
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George Daniel Long makes a fabulous new version of my 1994 top ten hit for Bad Boys Inc, c
George Daniel Long makes a fabulous new version of my 1994 top ten hit for Bad Boys Inc, called "More To This World", which was the biggest of the six top thirty hits we made with that band. George already made a huge amount of noise doing a wonderful track for my previous album to this one, called "Disco 2008", performing "What Makes A Man A Man", a wonderful song which was also done by both Liza Minelli and Marc Almond, as well as being performed and written by the legendary Charles Aznavor. It tells the story of a male performer who is also a drag queen, who changes sex before the audience's eyes, starting out as quite amusing, a little like Harvey Fierstein's famous and brilliant film, "Torch Song Trilogy". The song then goes on to explore the alienation and bigotry of being gay in a world where it's not accepted, and in fact caused resentment and being shunned, the very world still remembered by older gay men of the 1950s. My dear friend Paul Savory asked me to do a disco version of the song for my fabulous album, "Disco 2008" and I found the perfect singer to deliver it, star of the "Rat Pack", George Daniel Long, who played Sammy Davis Jr. And now this amazing version of "More To This World", simply gives me goosebumps, as does this wonderful video. My brand new album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow", is probably the most dear to my heart project that I have ever undertaken. I decided after thirty three years since I made my very first record, "Reaching For The Best" by The Exciters, to take a trip back down memory lane and recut thirty of my classics on artists who I am currently working with, reinterpreting them in 2008 without losing the magic that made them special in the first place. It's a totally self indulgent project, but one which already has my fans salivating with delight. I first got the idea when I recut Evelyn Thomas's wonderful classic "Have A Little Faith In Me" with Ebony Alleyne, last year. So I'm doing thirty in total, twenty four for the CD and six more extra ones for the DVD, picking either my biggest hits, my most beloved tracks, or the songs which people most requested to see a video. As I must clearly explain, these are not the original versions. And that's what makes the project exciting and new.These are brand spanking new interpretaions of the classics, by Centre City's current roster of artists , built up over a thirty three year career of making records.
REACHING FOR THE BEST - WEAK SPOT - YOUR MAGIC PUT A SPELL ON ME - BABY I'M STILL THE SAME MAN - HE'S SO IRREPLACEABLE - MY HEAD'S IN THE STARS - NO WAY OUT - LOOKS LIKE LOVE IS HERE TO STAY - I'M IN WONDERLAND- TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY - MY CLAIM TO FAME - TRUE LOVE IS MY DESTINY - NEVER LET GO - NEW YORK'S ON FIRE - SO MANY MEN SO LITTLE TIME - HIGH ENERGY - HE'S A SAINT HE'S A SINNER - ON A CROWDED STREET - CLOSE TO PERFECTION - ALL OVER THE WORLD - MY HEART KEEPS BEATING FASTER - TECHNICOLOUR - FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWING ME - I FOUND HEAVEN - MORE TO THIS WORLD - FAN THE FLAME - I CAN'T ERASE THE THOUGHTS OF YOU - DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM - RUNNING IN ANOTHER DIRECTION - WALKING ON AIR.
The album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow" was released on March 3rd on Centre City Records, exclusively through the new website, http://www.ianlevine.co.uk - and I hope you will all consider supporting it.
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This is one of my favourite Northern Soul songs I have ever cut. We did it in 1999, and I
This is one of my favourite Northern Soul songs I have ever cut. We did it in 1999, and I co-wrote it with John Reid of The Nightcrawlers. It came out twice, once in 2002 on the "Don't Wait Around" CD, and also on "Ian Levine Presents Northern Soul Memories - Volume Four" which was released on Goldsoul. I just LOVE this song, and got Tammi to film some footage singing it while messing around in the studio in the summer of 2007. Tammi was a teenager when I discovered her in 1993 and I have watched her blossom into the most fabulous soul diva.. Her version of "No Way Out" is my favourite track off "Yesterday And Tomorrow". Tammi also sang that huge 1970s Northern Soul classic recorded by Bettye Swann on Atlantic, "Kiss My Love Goodbye", as great a Philly song as you could ever wish to hear. It had such a dreamy, timeless, smooth orchestrated feel, that I always planned to cut it on someone one day. Tammi Lavette's real name was Tamla Dhani, and when I first met her in 1993, we cut a song called "My Heart Keeps Saying No", and I initially named her Tamla Tyrrell, which, on reflection, sounds quite nice in itself. But in the end we settled on Tammi Lavette.But I discovered her in time for the Blackpool Mecca Reunion in 1998, and we took her up there to perform on the Saturday night in the Highland Room in front of a thousand people. She comes from New York but lives in England, and at the Mecca, she performed "You Tore Apart My Broken Heart", and also sang the actual theme song for the massive DVD box set "The Strange World Of Northern Soul", a song called "Seven Days", and the video for that can be seen on here. We also cut a song called "Too Much Too Late" on her, a song which was discovered by my mentor Chris Hill when he was head of Arista records. It was an obscure single in the early nineties by a group called Rufus Doors, a brother/sister act, but he left Arista before ever signing them, so I snatched up the song and did it on Tammi. That video can also be seen on here too. We cut a whole album on Tammi, but it's never yet been released on CD although it is on iTunes.
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This is the absolute first time premiere of the first track I am unveiling from the next f
This is the absolute first time premiere of the first track I am unveiling from the next forthcoming album, "Northern Soul 2008", which will be released some time in late June 2008. And obviously, the very very first track I'm unveiling has to be my number one protege, Tahira Jumah, the fabulous diva who is my Evelyn Thomas for the new millenium. When I first met her, when she came to the studio with Fay Jones, they were both friends of Angelo Starr, and he brought them along to meet me. I decided to pair them up to make a song which I wrote with Angelo, "It's An Ill Wind". They had never met each other before that day. But as I got to know Tahira, I realised she had all the attributes of a real Ian Levine long term star, which is why she then sang my very first song ever, "Reaching For The Best", for my last album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow". And also, "It's An Ill Wind" has now firmly become one of my two favourite tracks off "Disco 2008", and, along with the Odette Adams track, these two ended up being the real sleepers of the whole bunch. Tahira is FABULOUS. I just want the privilege of introducing her to the world. The album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow" was released on March 3rd on Centre City Records, exclusively through the new website, http://www.ianlevine.co.uk - and I still hope you will all consider supporting it. This new current upcoming Northern Soul album is a sequel to our album from last year, "Northern Soul 2007" which was the very first release on Centre City Records. I have spent thirty two years honing my craft to the point when I am able to produce authentic records like this. There are some small minded people who call themselves fans of Northern Soul who refuse to accept that anybody can make a new record that sounds like the real thing. But with two million YouTube hits, they seem to be thankfully a very small minority, and my YouTube page is officially the 54th most watched UK Music Channel on YouTube of ALL-TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The new album will consist of twenty four brand new 2008 songs by soul and disco legends. Each song has an accompanying video of the artist basically performing it the studio and in outside locations, and the DVD will have four extra bonus tracks too. Because a lot of my fans on MySpace and YouTube kept begging me to do this, I decided to get up and make it happen, so there will be a giveaway DVD with the CD showing the same twenty-some songs, all being performed in the same running order as the CD, plus the extra four bonus tracks. The work that we have all put into this project is quite staggering, and I hope it will break down the barriers between the older Northern Soul stalwarts and a new generation who need younger acts who still produce the same vibe we all witnessed forty years ago for Motown's glory years. Play the CD, watch the DVD, and give new Northern Soul a chance this time. Tahira and I co-wrote this wonderful song, "World Of My Own", which sounds like a classic Blackpool Mecca record from 1975.
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The original version of this song, "Fan The Flame" was Barbara Pennington's first hit on R
The original version of this song, "Fan The Flame" was Barbara Pennington's first hit on Record Shack, after a few years of inactivity between our days together with United Artists in the 1970s, then followed by "On A Crowded Street", both being released in 1984 on Record Shack Records. Now this fabulous classic from the mid-80s is interpreted anew in 2008 by one of the sassiest sultriest Divas I have ever had the pleasure to work with, Fay Jones. I first met Fay on the same day as Tahira Jumah, because they were both friends of Angelo Starr, and he brought them along to meet me. I decided to pair them up initially to make a song which I wrote with Angelo, "It's An Ill Wind". They had never met each other before that day. But as I got to know them both, I realised they each had all the attributes of real Ian Levine long term stars, which is why I have since recorded them both solo, as well as also cutting them as a duet, on Carol Woods' "I'm In Wonderland". Fay has quite simply done the most amazing job with my classic Barbara Pennington hit, and I'm very proud, as it's such a major important track for my new album for so so many reasons. And yes the album is now ready - it's finally ready. It's TRULY ready. And I'm breathless with anticipation. After weeks of non stop work and my two video editors staying up night after night without sleep, it's actually honestly ready. This is the premiere of my oh so important new project. My brand new album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow", is probably the most dear to my heart project that I have ever undertaken. I decided after thirty three years since I made my very first record, "Reaching For The Best" by The Exciters, to take a trip back down memory lane and recut thirty of my classics on artists who I am currently working with, reinterpreting them in 2008 without losing the magic that made them special in the first place. It's a totally self indulgent project, but one which already has my fans salivating with delight. I first got the idea when I recut Evelyn Thomas's wonderful classic "Have A Little Faith In Me" with Ebony Alleyne, last year. So I'm doing thirty in total, twenty four for the CD and six more extra ones for the DVD, picking either my biggest hits, my most beloved tracks, or the songs which people most requested to see a video. As I must clearly explain, these are not the original versions. And that's what makes the project exciting and new.These are brand spanking new interpretations of the classics, by Centre City's current roster of artists , built up over a thirty three year career of making records.
REACHING FOR THE BEST - WEAK SPOT - YOUR MAGIC PUT A SPELL ON ME - BABY I'M STILL THE SAME MAN - HE'S SO IRREPLACEABLE - MY HEAD'S IN THE STARS - NO WAY OUT - LOOKS LIKE LOVE IS HERE TO STAY - I'M IN WONDERLAND- TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY - MY CLAIM TO FAME - TRUE LOVE IS MY DESTINY - NEVER LET GO - NEW YORK'S ON FIRE - SO MANY MEN SO LITTLE TIME - HIGH ENERGY - HE'S A SAINT HE'S A SINNER - ON A CROWDED STREET - CLOSE TO PERFECTION - ALL OVER THE WORLD - MY HEART KEEPS BEATING FASTER - TECHNICOLOUR - FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWING ME - I FOUND HEAVEN - MORE TO THIS WORLD - FAN THE FLAME - I CAN'T ERASE THE THOUGHTS OF YOU - DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM - RUNNING IN ANOTHER DIRECTION - WALKING ON AIR.
I want this album to have you dancing in the streets. I want this album to have you dancing in the aisles. I want this album to have you dancing on the ceiling. This album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow" was released on March 3rd on Centre City Records, exclusively through the new website, http://www.ianlevine.co.uk - and I hope you will all consider supporting it.
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Big Al Cooper was discovered and brought to me by Tahira Jumah. He played the lead in a mu
Big Al Cooper was discovered and brought to me by Tahira Jumah. He played the lead in a musical about Luther Vandross's life story. He comes from Guyana originally, and lives in London now. Here he has done the most amazing job with my classic James Wells hit, "True Love Is My Destiny", which, along with "My Claim To Fame", topped the US Billboard disco charts for seven weeks back in 1978. He has turned it from an old disco record into a soul classic and I'm very proud, as it's such a major important track for my new album for so so many reasons. And yes the album is now ready - it's finally ready. It's TRULY ready. And I'm breathless with anticipation. After weeks of non stop work and my two video editors staying up night after night without sleep, it's actually honestly ready. This is the premiere of my oh so important new project. My brand new album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow", is probably the most dear to my heart project that I have ever undertaken. I decided after thirty three years since I made my very first record, "Reaching For The Best" by The Exciters, to take a trip back down memory lane and recut thirty of my classics on artists who I am currently working with, reinterpreting them in 2008 without losing the magic that made them special in the first place. It's a totally self indulgent project, but one which already has my fans salivating with delight. I first got the idea when I recut Evelyn Thomas's wonderful classic "Have A Little Faith In Me" with Ebony Alleyne, last year. So I'm doing thirty in total, twenty four for the CD and six more extra ones for the DVD, picking either my biggest hits, my most beloved tracks, or the songs which people most requested to see a video. As I must clearly explain, these are not the original versions. And that's what makes the project exciting and new.These are brand spanking new interpretations of the classics, by Centre City's current roster of artists , built up over a thirty three year career of making records.
REACHING FOR THE BEST - WEAK SPOT - YOUR MAGIC PUT A SPELL ON ME - BABY I'M STILL THE SAME MAN - HE'S SO IRREPLACEABLE - MY HEAD'S IN THE STARS - NO WAY OUT - LOOKS LIKE LOVE IS HERE TO STAY - I'M IN WONDERLAND- TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY - MY CLAIM TO FAME - TRUE LOVE IS MY DESTINY - NEVER LET GO - NEW YORK'S ON FIRE - SO MANY MEN SO LITTLE TIME - HIGH ENERGY - HE'S A SAINT HE'S A SINNER - ON A CROWDED STREET - CLOSE TO PERFECTION - ALL OVER THE WORLD - MY HEART KEEPS BEATING FASTER - TECHNICOLOUR - FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWING ME - I FOUND HEAVEN - MORE TO THIS WORLD - FAN THE FLAME - I CAN'T ERASE THE THOUGHTS OF YOU - DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM - RUNNING IN ANOTHER DIRECTION - WALKING ON AIR.
I want this album to have you dancing in the streets. I want this album to have you dancing in the aisles. I want this album to have you dancing on the ceiling. This album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow" will be released on March 3rd on Centre City Records, exclusively through the new website, http://www.ianlevine.co.uk - and I hope you will all consider supporting it.
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The original version of this song, "On A Crowded Street" was Barbara Pennington's equally
The original version of this song, "On A Crowded Street" was Barbara Pennington's equally popular follow-up to "Fan The Flame", both being released in 1984 on Record Shack Records. Now this fabulous classic from the mid-80s is interpreted anew in 2008 by sultry soul singer Pamela Ivonne-Cole, who was introduced to me by Tahira Jumah. Pamela is an exceptional and experienced live singer who's performed with the likes of Angie Brown, Daniel Beddingfield, Kym Mazelle, Taka Boom and many more. She has done the most amazing job with my classic Barbara Pennington hit, and I'm very proud, as it's such a major important track for my new album for so so many reasons. And yes the album is now ready - it's finally ready. It's TRULY ready. And I'm breathless with anticipation. After weeks of non stop work and my two video editors staying up night after night without sleep, it's actually honestly ready. This is the premiere of my oh so important new project. My brand new album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow", is probably the most dear to my heart project that I have ever undertaken. I decided after thirty three years since I made my very first record, "Reaching For The Best" by The Exciters, to take a trip back down memory lane and recut thirty of my classics on artists who I am currently working with, reinterpreting them in 2008 without losing the magic that made them special in the first place. It's a totally self indulgent project, but one which already has my fans salivating with delight. I first got the idea when I recut Evelyn Thomas's wonderful classic "Have A Little Faith In Me" with Ebony Alleyne, last year. So I'm doing thirty in total, twenty four for the CD and six more extra ones for the DVD, picking either my biggest hits, my most beloved tracks, or the songs which people most requested to see a video. As I must clearly explain, these are not the original versions. And that's what makes the project exciting and new.These are brand spanking new interpretations of the classics, by Centre City's current roster of artists , built up over a thirty three year career of making records.
REACHING FOR THE BEST - WEAK SPOT - YOUR MAGIC PUT A SPELL ON ME - BABY I'M STILL THE SAME MAN - HE'S SO IRREPLACEABLE - MY HEAD'S IN THE STARS - NO WAY OUT - LOOKS LIKE LOVE IS HERE TO STAY - I'M IN WONDERLAND- TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY - MY CLAIM TO FAME - TRUE LOVE IS MY DESTINY - NEVER LET GO - NEW YORK'S ON FIRE - SO MANY MEN SO LITTLE TIME - HIGH ENERGY - HE'S A SAINT HE'S A SINNER - ON A CROWDED STREET - CLOSE TO PERFECTION - ALL OVER THE WORLD - MY HEART KEEPS BEATING FASTER - TECHNICOLOUR - FOOTSTEPS FOLLOWING ME - I FOUND HEAVEN - MORE TO THIS WORLD - FAN THE FLAME - I CAN'T ERASE THE THOUGHTS OF YOU - DANCING ON THE EDGE OF A DREAM - RUNNING IN ANOTHER DIRECTION - WALKING ON AIR.
I want this album to have you dancing in the streets. I want this album to have you dancing in the aisles. I want this album to have you dancing on the ceiling. This album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow" was released on March 3rd on Centre City Records, exclusively through the new website, http://www.ianlevine.co.uk - and I hope you will all consider supporting it.
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