|
15/12/00
Somebody thought that they would buy themselves an early Xmas pressie - an autographed picture sleeve copy of "Suicide Alley" walked out of a UK dealers door recently for £600-00 so good to see that there still diehard Manic fans/collectors out there!...
As previously mentioned the new album is set for Spring release (in the UK) apparently April-ish; final mixing is being done in a London studio, presumably Whitfield Street Recording Studios since this is where the last 2 albums were "finished" off - rumours are rife as to names of singles/albums etc. but nothing is being said by anyone so we'll have to wait and see.
05/11/00
Looks like the Canadian Promo CD saga may be coming to a close - whilst I was still skeptical at ESPRIT's claim of 12 sets only existing I have had recent confirmation from another UK dealer who is adamant that that is the number. As this appears to be now correct I have revamped my Top 30 List to reflect this. Speaking of which, I have another set for sale soon so if anybody wants it let me know - details here
09/09/00
..One of the more recent exciting releases I've discovered is a European 7" pressing for "Theme from MASH". Whilst most of the UK singles had a European counterpart, what makes this special is the fact that the b side is NOT the The Fatima Mansions "Everything I Do (I do it for you)" but "Spectators of Suicide" so like the CD issue that was released outside the UK, a unique coupling. Obvious sleeve differences is that there is nothing to indicate NME's involvement and "Suicide is Painless" is used as a subtitle on the front and rear. Scanned sleeve available at European 7" section...and whilst on the subject of that single I've come across a UK jukebox pressing that sticks with the "normal" issue...Okay, this may be the final nail (??!!) in the coffin of the ongoing Canadian promo-only picture disc set. I spoke to a UK dealer the other week regarding this matter and he is adamant that only the 12 copies exist.. He is a regular to Canadian shores and knows the radio station that apparently received the pressings. We shall see….Trying to find out more about James's involvement with "Regular Fries" on their new single "Smoke 'n' Coke" which features a remix by the Manics frontman...Looks like I've done my dough on a set of Holy Bible dog-tags - still waiting for them to be mailed to me (after about 3 months!) and no reply to a few emails so I presume I won't be seeing that parcel. No word from previous communications with "Valley Boy" about any possible re-issues of the dog-tags so they obviously don't like to communicate unless money is involved!!.. A few US promo copies of "Sleepflower" have been kicking around recently so now's a good time to grab a (hopefully!) cheap copy..New album for the lads is apparently due for Sept. 2001 although some reports are that a few tracks are finished. This of course means that we now only have a year before the next onslaught of singles, promos, acetates etc. from around the world (er, has anybody caught up yet with the last album bits and bobs? No, me neither..!!)
04/08/00
..damn. Just got the UK jukebox 7" for "The Masses against the Classes" and the 'b' is the same as the 'a' side so no hidden treasures...A European contact told me that she got 2 of the "Holy Bible" dog-tags from a not-so-reputable source a few years ago so possibly my guess about certain merchandising companies re-pressing them may be correct. I've emailed "Valley Boy Merchandising" to see if they can throw some light on the subject...I see another set of the Canadian promos have turned up (unfortunately!!) on another UK dealers doorstep but at least they have had the good sense to put more of a reasonable price on their set than ESPRIT's £250-00 asking price - I mean £225-00 is more than a reasonable price isn't it??!!
01/07/00
..the continuing Canadian CD promo saga - having noticed that ESPRIT changed their description of said promos to "only 12 sets pressed" I yet again emailed them - and the reply?… (quote) "Actually they found out the info and passed it on to me. Semms one of our contacts picked up another set on his recent visit to Canada and was told thaere were 12 sets pressed. His info was probably more reliable than mine, so we updated the description.". Hmmm...Well I got the Oz promo cassette for "Generation Terrorists"
And sadly I have to report that I can't see/hear a difference but why change from a red to blue sleeve (or vice versa!) I don't know (yeah, well I never said I knew everything..!!)… "Motown Junk" is still keenly sought after - 12" copies regularly sell for £40-£50 and I know that a CD copy in the UK has gone for just over £100….
|
|
