Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. Levine was once known as a fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who. Early and personal life Levine was born into a Jewish family; his parents owned and ran the "Lemon Tree" complex in Blackpool, including its casino and nightclub. Levine is openly gay. He suffered a major stroke in July 2014, leaving him with severely limited movement on the left side of his body. Career Disc jockey 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. He later became an avid collector of soul, R&B, and Northern soul. After his parents emigrated to the Caribbean in 1979, Levine sold most of his records to fund a house purchase in London. Having attended some early Northern soul all-nighters at "The Twisted Wheel" nightclub in Manchester with DJ Stuart Bremner, on leaving school in 1971 he became a disc jockey at the Blackpool Mecca. 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 opened. 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. This resulted in BBC Radio 1's DJ John Peel travelling to Blackpool to interview Levine. In 1979, Levine began advising London's gay disco Heaven on its set-up, and became the club's first resident DJ, remaining through most of the 1980s. Levine was also one of the first DJs to mix records in the UK. Writer/producer In 1974, Levine assisted Dave McAleer with in compiling Solid Soul Sensations, which was released on the British Disco Demand label and reached No. 30 on the UK Albums Chart. With the proceeds, 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. This allowed Levine to then travel to Chicago, where he signed postman L.J. Johnson,