Ian Levine
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953)<ref name="MySpace">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A populariser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has co-written and co-produced records with sales totalling over 40 million.<ref name=DMCW/>
Early and personal lifeEdit
Levine was born into a Jewish family; his parents owned and ran the "Lemon Tree" complex in Blackpool, including its casino and nightclub.<ref name=DJHist/> Levine is openly gay.<ref name=SwtRev>Template:Cite book</ref> He suffered a major stroke in July 2014, leaving him with severely limited movement on the left side of his body.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref name="stroke">Template:Cite news</ref> Levine has also survived nasal cancer, bladder cancer, sepsis and sarcoidosis.<ref name="NYPost">Template:Cite news</ref>
Levine spent decades tracking down 3,000 of his relatives. He has organised several meetings with hundreds of family members over the years, which have been covered by media outlets. Levine has written books about his genealogy search.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
CareerEdit
Disc jockeyEdit
Levine began collecting Motown records from the age of 13, building a collection from UK record shops and those his family visited on holidays to Miami and New Orleans.<ref name=DJHist>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He later became an avid collector of soul, R&B, and Northern soul.<ref name=DMCW/><ref name=DJHist/> After his parents emigrated to the Caribbean in 1979, Levine sold most of his records to fund a house purchase in London.<ref name=DMCW/>
Having attended some early Northern soul all-nighters at "The Twisted Wheel" nightclub in Manchester with DJ Les Cokell,<ref name=DMCW/><ref name=DJHist/> after leaving school in 1971 he became a disc jockey at the Blackpool Mecca with Tony Jebb.<ref name="Pavillion Books">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name=DMCW/><ref name=DJHist/> Levine joined other DJs in travelling to Stoke on Trent to join the Northern soul all-nighter "Torch", which was quickly shut down but was the fore runner of the Wigan Casino events, which Levine DJ'ed on the 3rd all-nighter.<ref name=DJHist/> Working with fellow DJ Colin Curtis, the pair was responsible for guiding the Northern Soul scene away from its oldies-only policy and towards modern soul and disco.<ref name=DMCW/><ref name=DJHist/> This resulted in BBC Radio 1's DJ John Peel travelling to Blackpool to interview Levine.<ref name=DMCW>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Opening on 6 December 1979, Levine became the club's first resident DJ at London's gay disco Heaven on its set-up,<ref name=DMCW/><ref name="Pavillion Books"/> and remained there through almost all of the 1980s. He finally left in 1989.<ref name=DMCW/><ref name=SwtRev/> Levine was also the first UK-born DJs to mix records.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Becoming a songwriter and producerEdit
In 1973, Levine caught notice when he turned Robert Knight's "Love on a Mountain Top" into a UK Top 10 hit, leading to him assisting Dave McAleer in compiling Solid Soul Sensations the following year, which was released on the British Disco Demand label and reached No. 30 on the UK Albums Chart.<ref name=AllMusic>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> With his father's investment, he travelled to New York City and co-produced Reaching for the Best with girl group the Exciters, which reached No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart selling 80,000 records.<ref name=DMCW/> This allowed Levine to then travel to Chicago, where he auditioned and signed three unknown singers: Postman L.J. Johnson, Barbara Pennington, and Evelyn Thomas. Thomas and Johnson's debut records would both chart in the UK Top 30,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ensuring them both an appearance on Top Of The Pops on 19 February 1976.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Barbara Pennington would enjoy a big disco hit in the U.S.A. the following year with "24 Hours a Day" (No. 4 Billboard Disco Charts)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as would James Wells whose "My Claim to Fame" reached the same position in 1978.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following a string of albums towards the end of 1979, Levine's record productions came to a halt when he had 4 album deals fall through due to demise of disco, leaving him indebted due to the high production costs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Hi-NRG and PopEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} According to Levine, in 1983, the London-based record shop Record Shack offered Levine £2,000 to set up a new joint-venture record label, Record Shack Records,<ref name=DMCW/> though Record Shack had been distributing records starting in 1980,<ref>url=https://www.discogs.com/label/12792-Record-Shack-Records</ref> Through friend Jean-Philippe Iliesco,<ref>including the 1981 remix of Burundi Black and Space's 1977 hit Magic Fly.</ref> he used his Trident Studios, and reformed his songwriting partnership with Fiachra Trench after his 3-year recording hiatus.
The first record from the label was "So Many Men, So Little Time" by Miquel Brown,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which sold two million copies and got to number 2 on the American Dance Club Songs chart.<ref name=DMCW/> This was quickly followed by "High Energy" by Evelyn Thomas, Levine's biggest hit, selling more than 7 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Several other dance singles followed, before the partnership with Record Shack ended in 1985.
After several more releases on various labels throughout 1986, Levine set up his own Nightmare Records in December,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> releasing 90 Hi-NRG singles over the next 3 years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also mixed numerous dance-pop hits for a variety of artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Bucks Fizz, Erasure, Kim Wilde, Bronski Beat, Amanda Lear, Bananarama, Tiffany, Dollar and Hazell Dean.<ref name=DMCW/>
Motorcity RecordsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} It was during his Nightmare Records period that Levine got to work with former Motown singer Kim Weston in 1987, a collaboration that lead Levine to record several other ex-Motown acts, incl. The Supremes' Mary Wilson, Jimmy Ruffin and Brenda Holloway. After a reunion of 60 Motown stars, including Edwin Starr and Levi Stubbs on top of the Pontchartrain Hotel close to the original Hitsville USA building,<ref name=DMCW/> Motorcity Records was launched as a record label.<ref name=DMCW/> Initially distributed by PRT, then Pacific, Charly and finally Total/BMG, the label ended in the 1992 due to severe financial losses,.<ref name=DMCW/> 750 songs had been recorded, and a further 107 songs would be added in the late 90s with Pat Lewis and Brenda Holloway. The label only enjoyed one Pop hit with "Footsteps Following Me", a UK Top 20-hit in 1991,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> by Frances Nero.
The boy band period of the 1990sEdit
Following the financial failure of Motorcity Records,<ref name=DMCW/> Levine co-wrote and co-produced hi-NRG-derived singles for various bands, including Take That (he co-produced three tracks on their debut album, incl. a cover version of "Could It Be Magic" which won the Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1993,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and co-wrote their Top 20-hit "I Found Heaven" with Billy Griffin), and the Pasadenas (he co-produced three tracks on their Yours Sincerely album of 1992 with Billy Griffin, including the No. 4 UK hit "I'm Doing Fine Now").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After Levine's falling out with Take That's Management, he formed Bad Boys Inc in 1993 and enjoyed 6 UK singles and a Top 20 album<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> followed by further Top 40-hits with boy band Upside Down UPSIDE DOWN, Gemini,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and mixed group Optimystic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Miami-based label Hot Productions reissued Levine's entire catalogue of the 1970s and 80s on CD from 1993 onwards as well as a big part of his Motorcity catalogue before folding in 1998.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also co-wrote and co-produced the theme music for the 2004 Donna Summer television special "Discomania"None. In 2010, Levine formed a new boy band called Inju5tice. After the commercial failure of debut "A Long Long Way from Home",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the album release was cancelled, and the group and Levine split.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
Returning to Northern SoulEdit
By 1998, Levine tracked down 179 former Northern Soul singers in the USA for his 4-hour documentary "The Strange World of Northern Soul".Template:Citation needed
Following the various artists album "Solid Ground" in 2006 (named after his collaboration with Sidney Barnes in 2001 which had become a favourite on the Northern Soul scene),<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Levine formed Centre City Records in 2007 especially to record a series of albums of tailor-made Northern Soul music, and released 9 albums of 24 tracks each between 2007 and 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After a hiatus of 12 years, Levine released his 10th album on the label, "Northern Soul 2024" in March 2024<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which saw him reform a songwriting partnership with his previous collaborator from the 1970s and 80s, Fiachra Trench.
Doctor WhoEdit
Ian Levine is known as a long running fan of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.<ref name=DRwho>Template:Cite news</ref> and put a halt to the destruction of old episodes in 1978, as well as returning 21 missing episodes. By purchasing private copies of all the existing episodes, Levine in conjunction with BBC-employee Sue Malden successfully stopped 4 further episodes junkings.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Levine was consulted by members of the production team about continuity for a while during the mid-1980s.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="abouttime7">Template:Cite book</ref>
In 1985, when the BBC announced that the series would be placed on an eighteen-month hiatus, and the show's cancellation was widely rumoured, Levine was heavily involved with the media protest covertly organised by series producer John Nathan-Turner. He appeared on the ITN's News at One<ref>A clip appears on Trials and Tribulations DVD documentary</ref> arguing against the decision, and together with the series' production manager Gary Downie gathered a group of actors from the series to record "Doctor in Distress".<ref name="whocares">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The single was universally panned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Levine also organised a private project to recreate the incomplete 1979 Doctor Who story Shada with animation and newly recorded dialogue from many surviving cast members. Levine had hoped that the project would be released on DVD, but the commissioning editor of the Doctor Who DVD range did not use Levine's animation on the DVD release of the story.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The completed Levine version appeared on torrent sites almost two years later, on 12 October 2013.
Levine has been responsible for producing a number of extras on the Doctor Who DVD releases: the documentaries Over the Edge and Inside the Spaceship were included on the 3-disc set The Beginning, while Genesis of a Classic appeared on the release for Genesis of the Daleks. He also co-wrote the theme music for K-9 and Company, a pilot for a proposed Doctor Who spin-off series featuring the robotic dog and Sarah Jane Smith.
In October 2017, Levine received criticism for his negative reaction to the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, with some deeming his comments sexist.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In response, Levine claimed he had quit Doctor Who fandom<ref name="54 years">Template:Cite tweet</ref> though he later set up a Facebook group Ian Levine's Doctor Who Group.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Disputed claimsEdit
Template:Close paraphrasing According to Levine, he was the unofficial continuity consultant for Doctor Who in the 1980s, apparently leaving after the casting of Bonnie Langford.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> In the documentary The Missing Years, he also credits himself with personally saving the entirety of The Daleks from destruction by BBC Enterprises. As of 2024, neither of these claims have been corroborated by any other individuals involved or any relevant documentation.
Levine claimed to have co-written Attack of the Cybermen, although Eric Saward disputed this.<ref>The Cold War, Doctor Who DVD Range Documentary for Attack of the Cybermen</ref> According to Richard Bignell, Levine also claimed that Saward was to write a story for Season 23 called Gallifrey, but Saward disputed this claim.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Levine also claimed that a storyline for the unmade Season 23 story Yellow Fever and How to Cure It was written, but Bignell has noted that there is no evidence such a storyline document was commissioned from Robert Holmes,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and also took issue with Levine's claim that The Rani would not have been featured in the said story if created, as documentation exists to show permission was received from Pip and Jane Baker to use the Rani.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
American comic booksEdit
Levine owned the only complete set of DC Comics in the world, completed in 2004,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with at least one copy of each DC comic book sold at retail from 1935 to 2015. His collection was photographed in D.C.'s own official history book.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He sold the collection in 2008 "for a tiny fraction of their value"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Berkeley, California.<ref name="MySpace" /><ref name="conservative">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
External linksEdit
| name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0505817|2=^nm}}
| Template:Trim/
| nm0505817/
}}
| {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
| name/Template:First word/
| find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
}}
}}{{#if: 0505817 {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch:
| award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
}}}} {{#if:
| {{{name}}}
| Template:PAGENAMEBASE
}}] at IMDb{{#if: 0505817{{#property:P345}}
| Template:EditAtWikidata
| Template:Main other
}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0505817|plain=false}}
| 1 | 3 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}