The Flirtations - He's A Saint, He's A Sinner

The Flirtations' brand new and utterly amazing version of my classic Miquel Brown song, "He's A Saint, He's A Sinner", simply makes me dizzy with pride, as does this wonderful video. And of course this is yet another performance for 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 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.
These are the original Flirtations, Earnestine Pearce, Shirley Pearce, and Pearly Gates, who originally were the Gypsies. They have been together recording for forty four years and look just fabulous still, right up to this day. Pearly Gates, real name Vi Billups, has been a friend of mine for thirty years. The girls started out as the Gypsies on Old Town Records, a classic teenage girl group from New York, with the early sixties classics, "Jerk It", and the Northern Soul legendary classic "It's A Woman's World", before becoming The Flirtations, and emigrating to England. They had many hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including "Nothing But A Heartache", and another Northern Soul classic, "Need Your Love", on the Deram label. In the late seventies they disbanded, and I got to produce a whole album on Pearly, called "No Two Ways About It", during the classic disco era, an album for Music Business legend, Artie Mogul ,once he had left United Artists in 1979. But he reneged on the deal, and I never got paid, and the album never came out, till years later, when I started using the tracks on my Nightmare Gold series in 1986, and then eventually the tracks were all used on Hot Records 1995 CD release, "The Best Of Pearly Gates". In the meantime, the Flirtations, without Pearly, had reformed for Proto Records, for Barry Evangeli, with the high energy anthem, "Earthquake", which Ian Anthony Stephens produced. This lineup of The Flirtations then went to Passion Records, under Anne Plaxton, and I got to produce them on "Read All About It". And at the same time, Pearly herself did a solo track for a label called Funkin Marvellous, called "Action", which George Hargreaves produced, and this was a huge floorfilling classic, and one of the most popular High Energy records of the 1980s. Next, I myself produced her next single for that label, called "Third Time Lucky". Then Pearly rejoined the Flirtations, and all three original girls, Earnestine, Shirley, and Pearly, were back together once again. We then did a Flirtations single for Nightmare Records, called "Back On My Feet Again", and also a solo track with Pearly called "One Less Bell To Answer" . Finally we had so many tracks with Pearly that we completed the "Best Of Pearly Gates" album for Hot Productions. I have now known Pearly for thirty years, and yet she still looks thirty years old. Very few 1960s girl groups are still together, and ever fewer look like these fabulous three. My girls. And now we have redone this beautiful and poignant song - a truly beautiful song for a beautiful group - and the three ladies will have you dancing off the ceiling. The album, "Yesterday And Tomorrow" will hopefully 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.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Yesterday-And-Tomorrow
• High-Energy
• Female-Vocals
• Northern-Soul
• Motorcity
• Centre-City
• Disco
• Girl-Groups
• Diva

[mylessssss]

gay...

[IanLevine]

Damn right - and bloody proud of it.

[IanLevine]

Everybody.

This CD and DVD, "Yesterday And Tomorrow", is available right now. Right away.

Either from Amazon or on E-Bay.

I ask you, those of you who watch my videos and enjoy my music, to just this once take the trouble to buy it online.

It sold so few copies in its first week that it's left me wondering if it was all worth it. PLEASE please, this once show your support. If I can get one and a half million hits of my videos on YouTube, then please can we just sell a mere few hundred CDs ???

[nrgfan105]

My copy of the album arrived this morning from Amazon. Sensational, Ian. It is worth every single penny. Your work just get's better and better. I have just put a review of the album on Amazon.

This re-working of the Miquel Brown hit is great and one of my personal favourites!

Well done!

[IanLevine]

I'm so grateful you bought it already. I just hope and pray others do too. Did you buy it off Amazon or off E-Bay or off Soren's website ???

The problem with doing it ourselves, is that we need people to take the trouble to go to Amazon or the website especially to buy it. People are not going to find it their local HMV, no matter how much we wish that was not the case.

[nrgfan105]

I bought it directly from Amazon and it came from Centre City records. I have left very good feedback as my order was processed & dispatched immediately.

A couple of my friends have heard some of the tracks and are going to order copies too.

I am a member of various websites and I am doing my best to help promote the album.

[IanLevine]

Thankyou. We really do need it, because the album is only available this way.

[bfmsgv]

like this better then miguels. hawt

[bfmsgv]

bangin, ian. good stuff. and i like the mckoy sisters. glad we have you

[dclambert]

Great Stuff Mr Levine amazing remake!!!

[tg4ever]

Wow! I love this version!!!

[MusicPolice72]

Had me completely fooled.. I thought this was an Old school group from the 60's doing a remake of a song that THEY THEMSELVES wrote. That's just how good it was. Totally throwback.

[jerseycityjoe]

This is Freak- in awesome! Way to go Ladies!!!!!!!

[pudd750]

hmmm theyre frikkin still / more beautiful than the "nothin but a heartache" years , but viola back then ...... well, i dont think she wouldve been able to take a 15 year old to have and to hold--actually i just found out who they are, as a result of utube roaming- good job all!!!! ill look at the cd/dvd on ebay

[pocodfe]

I generally detest remakes of classic disco songs, because the frenetic beats that get added drown out the vocals...when people actually SANG with VOICES. However, this version is perhaps one of the best remakes I've heard of a classic song (from Miquel Brown). I was fortunate to meet her and see her perform live a few times, and she was so nice, and quite a huge voice! She's actually done some acting in major movies (generally small parts), and growing up in that era...what memories!

[Heartbear]

You GO DIVA'S You sound AWESOME and Look So Amazing...

Original Flirtations ROCK!!!

God Bless You

[dlowm]

These girls look and sound sensational! So nice to see and hear them again.