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I had visited Jerry Purcell in the 80s when he had an office in Manhattan and, while asking him about Debbie Taylor and the Persians, of which he had very little knowledge, could not stop my eyes wandering over to some old metal filing cabinets, intrigued by what might be hidden inside. The conversation did not get as far as “Can I just delve through your files for half an hour?” so they remained untouched by British hands. Twenty years on, I was contacted at Ace by Mr Purcell’s office who indicated that they were ready to make a deal to license their masters to Europe; the previous meeting had held us in good stead. A trip to New York was duly arranged but by then GWP was virtually dormant. Most of the publishing had lapsed and Jerry had relocated his office to his home in Bayside. There I met Ed Bland, a charming musician and arranger who had done the early work for the GWP label who, as Jerry’s right hand man, had been entrusted to organise the deal. After surveying the fascinating looking tape cache I caught site of one old filing cabinet and asked Ed what was in there. “Oh just old music sheets, record samples and contracts”, “Could I look?”, “Sure”. I pulled open a drawer and found that the container was a treasure trove of records and acetates. The company had filed their samples fastidiously and in between the cardboard dividers could be found four demos and two issues of September Jones’ 45, five issues of the Dynamics’ ‘I Need Your Love’, a Kenny Carter single in a German pic cover, Willie Kendrick’s ‘Change Your Ways’ plus many more vinyl singles: but oh, the acetates.

They say that character is destiny, so, make of it what you will, but I don't seem to have had 'adventures' in the field of black American music, so much as 'magic moments'. I remember my first-ever encounter with a recording artist was when I was still an early teen, and I also remember it to this day since it also taught me a lesson in life. When it was first issued, I had gone potty on Dee Dee Sharp's Mashed Potato Time, and, when she came to do a short promotional tour, to the mockery of my mates, I decided to miss the first part of the show and wait at the back entrance of the theatre to catch a glimpse of her in person. Eventually my patience paid off, and she arrived (with her mother, as it turned out), and I shyly introduced myself. She couldn't have been sweeter, warmer or friendlier, and before we parted, she bent over and gave me a big kiss on the cheek! I blushed to my very bones!