Evelyn Thomas - Have A little Faith In Me

After twenty long years, the fabulous Evelyn Thomas and I are reunited again, to record three brand new 2008 songs, but the first thing we did was to go and film my all time favourite song I ever cut with her, "Have A Little Faith In Me". I love this song so much that I recut it last year with Ebony Alleyne, as my favourite song from our album, "Northern Soul 2007", which we released last September on Centre City Records and is still available to buy. I wanted my protege, Ebony Alleyne, to be seen performing a song which I wrote and produced in early 1978, virtually thirty years ago, for my then protege, Evelyn Thomas, and was both a twelve inch and the album title track on AVI Records. Redoing this song, one of my favourites of my entire career, gave me the idea for my next project, "Yesterday And Tomorrow", having all my current roster of artists reinvent my early classics. But back to the original, Evelyn Thomas. We've done a deal with Wienerworld, a major music DVD company, and the same company who originally released our classic documentary "The Strange World Of Northern Soul", and we have now released the definitive DVD box set. A five disc set of 200 performances called "Northern Soul's Greatest 200 Floorfillers". And this wonderful classic thirty year old song is part of it. What a joy to work again with my premier diva, Evelyn Thomas. I was also lucky enough to film the legendary and beautiful Evelyn Thomas singing all her old classics, virtually every single one, and already put "Doomsday", her second release which was recorded in the summer of 1975 in Chicago, and released in 1976, up on YouTube a few weeks ago. Two more of her classics, "My Head's In The Stars" and this one, "Have A Little Faith In Me", both have videos appearing on the Wienerworld DVD set. I first discovered Evelyn while holding auditions in 1975 in Chicago, arranged by Danny Leake, who I'd met the year before, in England, with his group, 100% Pure Poison. In February 1976, Evelyn's first record, "Weak Spot" and a song by a young Chicago postman, L.J. Johnson, both charted in the same week, and both acts were flown over to appear on Top Of The Pops, both on the same show. The entire music business was flummoxed as to how two completely unknown young black singers from Chicago, who had never even recorded before, both had hits on entirely different labels in the same week as each other. Evelyn's second release, "Doomday" also hit the charts, debuting its first week at number 41, which in those days was a fair sized hit. It was a further eight years before Evelyn went on to record her classic, the seven million selling "High Energy" My biggest ever hit, made in 1984 for Record Shack Records, which sold seven million worldwide. How they ever went bust after that is a mystery, but I stepped in and rescued the whole catalogue from the liquidator. What a privilege to now have a video of this heartstopping song.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Northern-Soul
• Disco
• Anthem
• Blackpool-Mecca
• Motorcity
• Centre-City
• Girl-Groups
• Icon
• Classic
• Chicago
• Seventies
• Diva
• Dance

[rgianatos]

I'm back in love with my favorite voice on my favorite track. Happy memories, this one. :-)!!!!

[IanLevine]

@rgianatos - You recorded the vocal to it in Chicago, and I cut the music in London, in 1979.

[phillydisco]

Thanks for putting together this video. This is also my favourite song by her. I first heard it on a Hot Productions compilation CD. Very classy music and vocals!

[IanLevine]

It's also my own favourite song by her, and you are most most most welcome.

Did you ever hear Ebony Alleyne's version ???

[phillydisco]

I hadn't before, but I just checked it out, and it's very good too!

I've wondered if you still have access to the original master tapes for your songs (multi-tracks), and thought about doing retro-remixes, the way Tom Moulton, Kenny Dope have done with some 70s cuts?

And if you' ve thought about putting together some kind of Anthology package with all the various tunes from your career? Or did you already do that and I missed it?

[IanLevine]

Tom Moulton is planning to do a double CD set of Centre City - The Tom Moulton Remixes.

[IanLevine]

I did two separate anthologies of the best of my career.

The first is "Reaching For The Very Best".

The second is "Running In Another Direction".

A third one, "Midnight Ride" is planned.

Each one is three discs with 24 songs per disc, and very cheap too.

The first two are available from amazon uk.

[bobrofmad]

such an outstanding performance,so much a true

feeling around,BRAVO!!!

[LeatherbearPhilip]

I really could use every positive superlative in the English language to express my feelings for this wonderful presentation of the magnificent Evelyn performing one of my own most favoured recordings.

[weezerz]

I have this on an AVI compilation. I hadn't heard it prior to the purchase a couple of years ago. Living in NY in 1978, the first Ian Levine productions that I remember getting radio/club airplay were James Wells and Eastbound Expressway. In any event, this is also great.

[phillydisco]

Thanks for the information! I'll have to admit, in addition to buying the original vinyl, I also bought the Hot Production CD reissues of most of the LPs. I don't know if you got royalties from those. But I will keep an eye out for those sets you mention.

I'm not sure I heard about that Tom Moulton CD. I know he did do one for the Half Moon label a few years ago, and he does stuff here and there (like Waitin For The Rain by Fantastic Johnny C). I'll keep an eye out for that one too!

[boneym22]

Yes that comment was in sleeve notes on a cd i have of hers i know shes black lol but she sings like a white girls voice the cover has a bw photo of hers and a 4 page booklet of notes its grerman :) anyway i love her and i dont fancy a punch off her she is a big lass!!!