James Wells, and also his sister Susan Wells, were both a crucial part in the early career of Ian Levine. This 45 on this video, "Baby I'm Still The Same Man", released forty six years ago on Polydor, has been one of my most consistent all time Northern Soul floor fillers. It was indeed our very first ever record together. I had always wanted to produce him, ever since in 1974 I first saw him sing live with Danny Leake's group 100% Pure Poison. Two years later on, in 1978, Chicago soul wailer James Wells gave us a number one album on the national USA Disco charts called MY CLAIM TO FAME. AVI Records immediately called for a second album called "Explosion", produced in late 1978. Rick Gianatos mixed the album, just as he did the last one, but he got DOUBLE DOSE OF LOVE all wrong for me and he missed the whole point of the song. I was bitterly against the version that was released, but in the mid 1990s Hot Records in Miami released THE BEST OF JAMES WELLS, and due to my insistence used the correct version with the added bonus that it was remastered by Tom Moulton. Then about twenty years ago, Neil Rushton coincidentally wanted to reissue the James Wells Northern Soul classic, "BABY I'M STILL THE SAME MAN", but I only agreed to it being released if this favourite of mine could finally be released on the other side of the 45. So we finally released my favourite, mixed by me, mastered by Tom Moulton, and FINALLY the correct version of that wonderful song was released, just as it should have been heard in the first place. But the A side was "Baby I'm Still The Same Man", released for the first time since 1976. Neil pressed far too few copies, so that now it's unavailable and rare. One of the greatest double sided 45s of my career. James Wells died of AIDS in the beginning of the 1990s. Danny Leake and I had made one last record with him in 1987, called "Great Minds Think Alive". I had also produced three duets with him and his sister Susan, for Simon Cowell's Fanfare record label.

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