991.com Sleevenotes : A Blog about Collecting Rare Vinyl 7", 12" & LP Records, CDs, Memorabilia & Music

Here's this weeks extracts from the R.C. Weekly Newsletter, brought to you by 991.com.

You can subscribe to the full edition by contacting [email protected] - please mention 991.

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Record Collector – where The Beatles meet Cockney Rejects while Eloy float in the sky above. We’re hard at it, so to speak, on the next issue. With the London International Ska Festival on the way we have a look at Madness’ take on the music, and hear the band’s memories of the early days of 2Tone. Some great tales will be coming your way in issue 401. In the meantime, reports from the retailer-customer interface tell us that RC 400 has been flying out of the shops, so thank you for all your support, dear readers. We are in your debt.

I spent last week out and about in search of vinyl – I think they call that a holiday. Best thing I found was a copy of Over The Wall We Go by Oscar – Bowie connection, but Oscar is Paul Nicholas (yes, Grandma’s Party Paul Nicholas), so it’s a mixed blessing. He is the son of The Who’s lawyer, I believe, and hence had Townshend (Join My Gang) and Bowie writing for him. The odd thing is that his best record was the one without their involvement, the freakbeat-meets-Northern soul Club Of Lights, a tune I feel in love with in the mid-70s when I found it at a junkshop and thought, “Duh, The Who’s label, that might be good.” The same impulse landed me a single by West Point Supernatural, although that’s not so fantastic. You don’t need me to tell you that it’s that much harder to find these kinda things cheap nowadays, and 99 per cent of the time I don’t, but maybe there are bargains still out there to be had. Classical music is one area, but it’s never floated my boat – too hard to dance to apart from the Viennese waltzes – so I know nowt about it, but for sure there are some dance 12” turning up in charity shops that are worth dosh if you can identify them. But the joy is in the hunt as much as the finding, and it’s better to travel in hope than to arrive in disappointment… keep searching.

Thank you for reading

Best,

Ian McCann, Record COllector Editor

In the 400th Issue:-

400 rare gems selected (mostly) by Ian Shirley, editor of the Rare Record Price Guide.

Jerry Shirley talks about Humble Pie

Sonja Kristina talks Curved Air.

A fantastic piece on Liverpool’s renaissance as a rock city after punk, which included the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and the mighty Eric’s club

Plus Ian McNabb has a word with us, as do Unisonic, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Counting Crows, Halestorm and Dave Stewart.

And we identify an unlikely place to find rare vinyl, and review releases by Bruce Springsteen, Dio and Graham Coxon, among others

At The Jazz Store

Swing your panties jazz fans, there's a healthy portion of modern jazz LPs that have just hit the site, all quality titles and mostly British artists. They're all wallet pounders too, but if these are on your wants list prepare to act fast; not only are they all practically mint but they're selling quick. Here's a selection of in-stock titles at the 991 Jazz Store:

Don Rendell/ Ian Carr - Change Is

Neil Ardley - Greek Variations

Mike Westbrook - Love Songs

Michael Garrick - October Woman

Nucleus - We'll Talk About It Later

http://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=467257

991.com helps Collectors fill in the gaps

By Chris M Junior at Goldmine Magazine

Robert Croydon’s entry into the music collectibles industry occurred in the 1980s, when the then-teenager made a modest profit selling a 12-inch remix of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood song “Relax.”

A cash register The Who's Keith Moon had at his home is among the treasures featured at 991.com. Photo courtesy 991.com.

Ever since, Croydon has shown a propensity not to relax when it comes to buying and selling memorabilia. The same can be said of Julian Thomas, his childhood friend and longtime business partner. They spent several years working day jobs while also pouring time, effort and resources into building their memorabilia business, selling their items in various ways. Since 2007, their primary collectibles venture has been the Web site 991.com, which specializes in rare vinyl, posters and clothing, as well as items once owned by star musicians, such as a cash register that Who drummer Keith Moon had at his home.

Asked to explain the origin of the site’s name, Croydon begins by saying that 99 percent of any record collection is already complete. The remaining 1 percent, he adds, “is a pang for a new experience, one more step in a journey driven by music, and the gap hungering to be filled. So 99 is the collection, and 1 is the gap.”

(What’s your vinyl worth?)

While Croydon spends his workdays pretty much deskbound at the company’s U.K. headquarters, Thomas is on the move in search of quality product, specifically jazz vinyl collections. Thomas and the other full-time buyers at 991.com (some of whom are based in America, Japan and Mexico) travel around the world to major record shows to track down rarities and purchase entire collections.

In a typical week, Croydon says, 991.com will add around 3,000 new collectibles. New vinyl acquisitions, such as the 15,000 titles purchased from a single owner in early March, are researched, graded, described, pictured and priced before they are offered for sale.

“The Web site is entirely live,” Croydon explains, “so once we hit ‘save’ on our database, then that item is immediately available for purchase on 991.com.”

The site claims to have 500,000 mint-condition pieces. For a while, CDs were the biggest part of its business. But vinyl has been king lately, according to Croydon, who says vinyl sales increased by 15 percent between 2009 and 2010.

Rare vinyl also is featured at 991.com. Photo courtesy 991.com.

“With the advent of the MP3, people want the physical, tangible feel of a proper record again,” he says. “We offer fans the chance to set themselves and their record collection apart, bringing back the individuality and bragging rights that have been lost to people in the age of downloads. Our site is for people who appreciate the pleasure that comes with owning a unique physical object, as well as the convenience of a play list.”

When it comes to confirming the genuineness of such memorabilia as the Moon cash register, Croydon says his company uses its decades of experience and renowned resources, in addition to working closely with sellers, to determine authenticity.

“Pop memorabilia is a growing area for investors wishing to seek an alternative to traditional commodities, so authenticity is paramount to protect that investment,” he adds. “As a bonus, there’s also the regular dividend a collector will enjoy from simply owning cool pieces of pop culture. It’s not always about the money.”

Croydon says that 991.com is expanding into books and art, but the heart of the business will always be buying and selling music items. At the top of his want list are record collections containing such artists as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Queen, Madonna and U2.

Wednesday's Top Three! Including Arthur Brown's Epic Kingdom Come On This First Pressing And Both Queen And Joy Division On The Polish-Only Tonpress Label!

KINGDOM COME Galactic Zoo Dossier

Rare original 1971 UK 1st pressing 14-track Polydor label LP with A1/B1 matrices, housed in the matt gatefold picture sleeve with facsimile signatures on the reverse manufactured by the E.J. Day Group and comeswith the extremely rare double sided fold-out lyric poster. Apart from some minor signs of age and some light storage marks the sleeve is in excellent condition, the vinyl looks VG but plays EX without any problems, the all important poster isin stunning condition with only a few signs of age and has never been displayed - overall an outstanding copy of this 41 year old release.

 

QUEEN The Best Of Queen

Rare 1980 Polish-only Tonpress 11-track vinyl LP compilation with superb unique picture sleeve. Includes some of Queens biggest and most loved hits such as Killer Queen, Somebody To Love Me, and the iconic We Will Rock You. The sleeve does show some signs of storage wear with age, but the vinyl itself is in spectacular mint condition, a great collectors item.

 

JOY DIVISION Love Will Tear Us Apart

Rare 1985 Polish Tonpress black injection wide centre label 7" vinyl single, also featuring She's Lost Control. Housed in a unique picture sleeve in excellent condition.

The Official Top 40 biggest selling albums of all-time

Last night (Monday, April 9) Tony Blackburn counted down the Official Charts Company’s Top 40 biggest selling albums of all-time on BBC Radio 2.

The legendary DJ revealed that the UK’s most popular album is Queen’s 1981 Greatest Hits collection, which has more than 5.8 million sales to its name. The British rockers’ 1991 follow-up, Greatest Hits II, which was released in October 1991 - a month before lead singer Freddie Mercury’s death - also made it into the Top 10 (Number 10) with sales of over 3.8 million copies.

The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, which celebrates its 45th birthday in June, is at Number 2 in the chart with sales of just over 5 million. Abba’s Gold is narrowly behind Sgt. Pepper’s... with sales of 4.9 million, putting it at Number 3, while Oasis’ 1995 sophomore release, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, is at Number 4 with sales of over 4.5 million.

The Top 5 is completed by Michael Jackson’s 1982 epic, Thriller, which has sold more than 4.2 million copies in the UK. Like Queen, The King of Pop has two albums in the Top 10; 1987’s Bad is at Number 9 with sales of 3.9 million.

Adele’s 2011 mega-selling second album, 21, is still sitting pretty at Number 6 with sales of 4.18 million copies. As previously reported, despite only being on sale for just over a year, 21 has already overtaken classics such as Michael Jackson’s Bad, Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms (Number 7, with sales of 4.15 million sales) and Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon (Number 8, 4.11 million sales). Now with just 89,000 copies separating 21 and the Number 5 album, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the London-born singer could move up another place in the biggest selling albums of all-time chart very soon.

Make sure you follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest Official Charts news. And remember to log on to www.officialcharts.com – the only place to see the Top 100 Official Albums and Official Singles charts in full every single week.

Here is the Official Charts Company’s Top 40 biggest selling albums of all-time in full: 

01	GREATEST HITS (1981) - QUEEN
02	SGT PEPPER’S LONELY HEART’S CLUB BAND (1967) - THE BEATLES
03	GOLD - GREATEST HITS (1992) - ABBA
04	WHAT’S THE STORY MORNING GLORY (1995) - OASIS
05	THRILLER (1982) - MICHAEL JACKSON
06	21 (2011) - ADELE
07	BROTHERS IN ARMS (1985) - DIRE STRAITS
08	THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON (1973) - PINK FLOYD
09	BAD (1987) - MICHAEL JACKSON
10	GREATEST HITS II (1991) - QUEEN
11	THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION (1990) - MADONNA
12	BACK TO BLACK (2006) - AMY WINEHOUSE
13	STARS (1991) - SIMPLY RED
14	RUMOURS (1977) - FLEETWOOD MAC
15	COME ON OVER (1997) - SHANIA TWAIN
16	BACK TO BEDLAM (2005) - JAMES BLUNT
17	URBAN HYMNS (1997) - THE VERVE
18	BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER (1970) - SIMON & GARFUNKEL
19	NO ANGEL (2001) - DIDO
20	SPIRIT (2007) - LEONA LEWIS
21	LEGEND (1984) - BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
22	BAT OUT OF HELL (1977) - MEAT LOAF
23	DIRTY DANCING (1987) - ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
24	1 (2000) - THE BEATLES
25	TALK ON CORNERS (1997) - THE CORRS
26	WHITE LADDER(1998) - DAVID GRAY
27	SPICE (1996) - SPICE GIRLS
28	CRAZY LOVE (2009) - MICHAEL BUBLÉ
29	LIFE FOR RENT (2003) - DIDO
30	BEAUTIFUL WORLD (2006) - TAKE THAT
31	THE FAME (2008) - LADY GAGA
32	A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD (2002) – COLDPLAY
33	HOPES AND FEARS (2004) - KEANE
34	THE JOSHUA TREE (1987) - U2
35	BUT SERIOUSLY (1989) - PHIL COLLINS
36	SCISSOR SISTERS (2004) - SCISSOR SISTERS
37	ONLY BY THE NIGHT (2008) - THE KINGS OF LEON
38	THE WAR OF THE WORLD (1978) - JEFF WAYNE
39	THE MAN WHO (1999) – TRAVIS
40	X&Y (2005) – COLDPLAY   The full article can be read here at Officialchartscom

Tuesday's Top Items - It's Ladies Day! Including Madonna's 'Naughty' Book, A Blondie Promotional Note Book And *Hubba Hubba* Julie London's 'Calendar Girl' On Vinyl!

MADONNA Sex

Original legendary and long deleted 1992 UK large spiral bound book featuring Madonna in many erotic poses! Superb metal cover with title stamped on the front, in opened foil outer wrapper and also includes the bonus Erotica promotional CD which has the re-sealable foil sleeve! - not for the faint-hearted! **Adults Only**

 

BLONDIE Blondienotes

Rare US Chrysalis label promotional only pink coloured note book, features a large picture of Debbie Harry on each page plus the Chrysalis logo on the bottom, this is from circa 1978.

 

 

JULIE LONDON Calendar Girl

Original 1957 UK purple London label 12-track mono LP in the American Series, housed in a fully laminated 'scalloped' flipback sleeve featuring the delectable Miss London in twelve themed 'pin-up' shots. The sleeve shows minimal wear and the vinyl shows only the lightest signs of play - very nice!

Don't miss out - Final few days to save 15% off all rare vinyl records, CDs & memorabilia with voucher code EASTER at 991.com

Last week we sent you this Easter offer:

15% OFF all rare vinyl records, CDs and music memorabilia 991.com at for a limited time only. Simply enter voucher code EASTER991 at the checkout.

This voucher expires soon and our April sale is underway with many items selling quickly.

Thanks

Robert Croydon
Managing Director
http://991.com Rare vinyl records, CDs & Memorabilia

PS If you have something to sell us, we are always looking to buy rare items or entire record collections. Call our Freephone number 0800 345 7551 (or +44 1474 816043 if you are outside the UK). If you have the right items for us, we can even arrange collection from your door!

Monday's Top Three! Including A French Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan On 180g Vinyl And A '59 Rarity From Dylan Thomas!

LED ZEPPELIN Led Zeppelin III

Rare original 1970 French plum and red Atlantic label 11-track LP, unique front laminated flipback picture sleeve. The sleeve shows just a little light wear & a spot of scuffing at the opening, but nothing material.The vinyl is free from all but the lightest of surface scuffs & remains in excellent condition. A nice EX copy of this rare French pressing in far better condition than usually found!

 

BOB DYLAN Another Side Of Bob Dylan

2001 US limited edition 11-track LP pressed on HIGH DEFINITION PREMIUM 180gram VIRGIN VINYL, originally released in 1964, and containing an embarassment of riches, with many titles being adopted into the 'folk rock' canon by The Byrds and Turtles, picture sleeve reproducing the original album artwork. This copy remains factory sealed from new & is therefore still mint & unplayed.

 

DYLAN THOMAS Under Milk Wood Parts 1 & 2

Rare 1959 UK mono 2-LP vinyl set, as narrated by Dylan Thomas himself, starring the original New York Cast with Nancy Wickwire, Nov Poole, Sada Thompson, Dion Allen, Allen F. Collins, premiered at the Poetry Centre of the YM-YWHA, Levington Avenue on May 14th, 1953, with both parts housed in their respective front laminated pasted sleeve. Immaculate condition.

Saturday's Top Items! Including A Near Mint Iron Maiden, A Metallica '89 Classic And The Lord Of The Rings On Picture Disc!

IRON MAIDEN Powerslave

1984 UK 8-track LP for the 5th album featuring Aces High, 2 Minutes To Midnight and Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, housed in a full colour textured picture sleeve complete with the original lyric inner sleeve plus an original merchandise insert. This copy is in spectacular near new mint condition, with no marks or scuffs, or even spindle marks leading to believe this has been barely played, if at all which is remarkable given that the record is 30 years old!

 

METALLICA One

1989 UK 3-track 12" vinyl single including exclusive live versions of For Whom The Bell Tolls and Welcome Home - both recorded at Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas on 5 February 1989, glossy picture sleeve with the classic 'Pushead' image.

 

THE LORD OF THE RINGS The Lord Of The Rings

1978 US limited edition 15-track double vinyl PICTURE DISC LP featuring the original soundtrack recording composed and conducted by Leonard Rosenman. The discs feature pictures from the original cartoon film, housed in an embossed die-cut gatefold picture sleeve

Friday's Top Three! Including An Autographed Janet Jackson Lithograph, A Guns N Roses Picture Disc And A Rod Stewart Picnic Set!

JANET JACKSON Autographed Lithograph

1990 USA promotional only 11"x13" black and white lithograph AUTOGRAPHED by Janet Jackson herself. There is some minor discolouration to the top corner, but the autograph is clearly visible in silver pen, and would look fantastic in a frame! A great collectors item!

 

GUNS N ROSES Nightrain

1989 UK limited edition 2-track bag-shaped vinyl PICTURE DISC single, also featuring Reckless Life, clear PVC sleeve.

 

ROD STEWART Rocks His Greatest Hits - Picnic Cooler Set

2009 US picnic set issued on select American dates during his 'Greatest Hits' tour to people who purchased the VIP Gold circle package. Includes an 11" x 13" x 6" cooler bag which has a shoulder strap, insulated compartment with a zip-up top, fold-out front setion with clip and a top velcro fastening flap which is embroidered with 'Rod Stewart' in grey and 'Rocks His Greatest Hits' in red on the front. This integrated insulatedcooler is large enough to hold three bottles of wine, comes with a two place setting picnic kit which has cutlery made of steel with plastic handles, along with other useful utensils. Please see more information for complete list of content.

Thursday's Top Items! Including A U2 Promotional 2-CD set, A John Mayall '69 Outing On Vinyl And A Bob Dylan Comprehensive Lyric Book!

U2 The Best & The B-Sides of 1990-2000

Rare 2002 UK 29-track promotional 2-CD album set, each disc housed in a custom card picture sleeve, with outer picture slipcase!

 

 

JOHN MAYALL Beyond The Turning Point

1969 UK 9-track stereo LP, starring Harvey Mandel on Guitar, Johnny Almond on Tenor Sax & Flute, Sugarcane Harris on Violin and more, matt picture sleeve with pinched spine. Due to the sleeve being unlaminated, there is a little edge scuffing and ring wear evident, but the condition is otherwise very good - the vinyl is near mint, with illustrated catalogue inner.

 

BOB DYLAN Lyrics 1962 - 2001

2004 UK 610-page 8¼" x 10¼" hardback book, containing the lyrics to all of Dylans albums from 1962's 'Bob Dylan' through to 2001's 'Love And Theft'. The book has a chapter dedicated to each album with an image of therecord sleeve for each release, lyrics in full, additional pictures and an index of the songs, each with publisher and release information. Nice silver embossed spine & a stunning book jacket featuring a striking photograph of Dylan in his prime.  

Wednesday's Top Items! Including A Myléne Farmer Limited Lithograph, A Madonna Platinum Award And A Rare It Bites Japanese-Only Album!

MYLENE FARMER 2001.2011 Lithograph

2011 French Limited Edition promotional 16.5" x 11.5" lithograph print produced to promote the outstanding 'Best of' album for the stunning chanteuse. Utilising the subtle and gentle watercolour and inkportrait artwork from the album release, which was described by Thierry de Cabarrus [Suite 101] as "enigmatic, even melancholy" and featuring Myléne's facsimile autograph with limited edition number along the bottom - A beautiful and eye-catching piece which [when displayed] will provide an instant talking point! ***Limited To 500***

 

MADONNA Madonna

Very rare early official US Sire Records In-house PLATINUM sales award disc issued circa 1983 to commemorate sales in excess of 1,000,000 copies sold in the USA. Features a platinum LP mounted above a 'floater' style artwork minature & engraved dedication plaque which features the Sire label logo. All mounted on a black background, measures approximately 17" x 21" framed with a silver frame and glazed - a truly stunning item!

 

IT BITES The It Bites Album

Rare 1989 Japanese-only rarities 10-track PICTURE DISC CD album featuring extended versions of Kiss Like Judas & Midnight, lyric booklet picture sleeve.

Tuesday's Top Items! Including A Rare '69 Frank Zappa Outing, A Scarce 'Now That's What I Call Music 35' And A French-Only XTC CD Album!

FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION Uncle Meat

Rare 1969 UK 28-track stereo double LP on Transatlantic, gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve on this copy shows just a little light shelfwear with a bit of edge scuffing & would be graded VG+/EX-, with the vinyl remaining in excellent condition. A great copy of this very hard to find UK original pressing!

 

VARIOUS Now That's What I Call Music 35

Extremely rare original 1996 UK 40-track 2-LP compilation album including top chart hits by Spice Girls, Pet Shop Boys, Ocean Colour Scene, Pulp, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys, Faithless, Underworld, Bjork andmore, housed in a glossy gatefold picture sleeve which has some minor storage marks mostly on the edges plus a light sticker mark on the front, the vinyl is in immaculate condition and looks unplayed - this is the holy grail of the Now LP releases, the last of the compilation albums to be released on vinyl in very limited quantity, very hard to find and now a very sought after pressing.

 

XTC The Tiny Circus Of Life

Rare 1992 French-only limited edition 16-track CD album, only 3000 made. This unique compilation features tracks from nine albums, and includes Making Plans For Nigel, Senses Working Overtime, This Is Pop?, The Mayor Of Simpleton and Blame The Weather, superb picture sleeve!

15% off ALL rare vinyl records, CDs & memorabilia for Easter

Get 15% OFF all rare vinyl records, CDs and music memorabilia at http://991.com for the Easter Holidays.

Simply enter voucher code EASTER991 at the checkout.

 

And don't forget, if you have something to sell us, we are always looking to buy rare items or entire record collections. Call our Freephone number 0800 345 7551 (or +44 1474 816043 if you are outside the UK). If you have the right items for us, we can even arrange collection from your door!

Cheers

Robert Croydon
Managing Director
http://991.com Rare vinyl records, CDs & Memorabilia

Monday's Top Three! Including A Black & Gold Please Please Me, An Edgar Broughton 1970 Rarity And Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' EP!

THE BEATLES Please Please Me

Rare 1963 UK first issue first pressing mono vinyl LP on the legendary black & gold Parlophone label. The label credits 'Dick James Mus. Co' for the title track, not Northern Songs as later pressings did, Ernest J Day front laminated flipback picture sleeve with large mono logo on the top right hand corner of the sleeve.

 

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND Sing Brother Sing

Rare classic original 1970 UK Harvest issue 10-track stereo vinyl LP with 'The Gramophone Co' label perimeter text, great front laminated gatefold picture sleeve. The sleeve shows some light edgewear, and some markings on the inside of the sleeve where there was some tape on there but generally the sleeve is VG, However the vinyl looks barely played, and for a record that is 42 years old is in excellent condition, and rarely seen in such great shape as this! This rarity is not to be miss out on!

 

JOHNNY KIDD & THE PIRATES Johnny Kidd EP

Very rare 1963 UK 4-track 7" vinyl EP featuring I'll Never Get Over You, Then I Got Everything, Hungry For Love & A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues, front laminated flipback picture sleeve. The sleeve shows onlya little shelfwear & discolouration to the unlaminated back and would be graded EX-. The vinyl has managed to remain in a superb VG+/EX- condition with just a few light cosmetic surface scuffs to show for its fifty years. A very respectable copy of this rare EP at an advantageous price!

Excerpts from the latest R.C. Weekly Newsletter

991.com is pleased to bring you excerpts from the latest edition of the R.C. Weekly Newsletter...

Hoorah – we are officially 400 years old! Or something

The special 400^th edition of the magazine is now in the shops, featuring 400 rare gems selected (mostly) by Ian Shirley, editor of the Rare Record Price Guide. When we started, there probably weren’t 400 rare records worth talking about, and a gold and black edition of The Beatles’ Please, Please Me was worth 38p. Although you could go on a 10-day holiday to the Bahamas for 17p or buy a detached house in Millionaire’s Row for 29 guineas.

Now there are at least 400 records worth quite a bit more than that. I guess they call that inflation, although that term may just refer to the increase in my waist size between now and 1979, when we first walked the earth, dodging the dinosaurs. Seriously, Record Collector is the longest-established monthly music magazine in the UK – and what’s more, we do it 13 times a year. Which is a miracle at our advanced age.

Also in our 400^th issue: Jerry Shirley talks about Humble Pie; Sonja Kristina talks about Curved Air; we have a fantastic piece on Liverpool’s renaissance as a rock city after punk, which included The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and the mighty Eric’s club; plus Ian McNabb has a word with us, as do Unisonic, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Counting Crows, Halestorm and Dave Stewart. We identify an unlikely place to find rare vinyl and review releases by Bruce Springsteen, Dio and Graham Coxon, among others. RC 400, in the shops now. I’d buy it if I didn’t get a copy for nowt. Oh, and if you know who those four geezers on the right of the cover near Kylie are, you are a mature prog rocker of some distinction…

Not a great week for vinyl hunting for me; I’ve ordered a few mail order bits which haven’t turned up yet; went on a wild goose chase in search of a 12” I’m (still, sigh) after on Saturday; I did find Non Stop Soul, a bizarre James Brown album on Polydor which features his productions knitted together, at Notting Hill’s Music & Video Exchange. Other than that, the pickings have been slim. Hope you’ve done better…

Thank you for reading

Sincerely

Ian McCann, Record Collector Editor

 

Subscribe to the Monthly Record Collector Magazine by clicking here:- http://www.recordcollectormag.com/issue-detail/400?dm_i=GQR,R5QN,4I8SYH,270HJ,1

 

You can receive the full unedited Weekly R.C. Newsletter with reviews, news, tour updates and more for collectors by contacting [email protected] - please mention 991.

Sgt Pepper revisited for 2012

Sir Peter Blake has taken inspiration from his famous Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover to create a new artwork.

When it first appeared in 1967, the album cover of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band featured the style icons of the day, including Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando and Karl Marx.

The list of today's heroes, collated by Sir Peter Blake, the original designer, reveals a slightly more sedate bunch. The chefs Delia Smith and Mark Hix, the author JK Rowling and the designer Robin Day were among those on a recreation chosen to celebrate Sir Peter's 80th birthday.

He said: "I've chosen people I admire, great people and some who are dear friends. I had a very long list of people who I wanted to go in but couldn't fit everyone in. That shows how strong British culture is.

"The Sgt Pepper album cover was made by cutting pieces of cardboard and hand–colouring them. This one is computer generated. I often thought that if I did it again it would be very quick on the computer but it was very laborious."

Read the full article at The Telegraph here.