Wasn’t there a thing about Blue Monday skipping on the 7” test pressing so they had to release it as a 12”?
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Sounds entirely plausible. I know XTC’s English Settlement album (15 tracks) was only released in Australia in its entirety (double album) for the first 1000 copies. After that the label removed 5 tracks, rejigged the running order and released it as a single LP.
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I was reading recently that there is now only a bare handful of vinyl pressing plants left in the world (something like 2 or 3). A small-ish act who plans to release on vinyl will regularly get shunted by bigger acts (with big record label pressure) in getting their vinyl pressed up, which leads to massive delays with the smaller acts’ release date. The waiting list for vinyl pressing these days is phenomenally long.
Cheers, that all makes a lot of sense.
And one of the big ones, GZ Media in Czechia, has a rep for poor presses. Caveat emptor!
Nice to know. Bought in Dixon’s (Camberwell) probably around 1997 for $8 as is, vinyl is very good and plays a treat, the cover was always very ring worn. A quick search reveals the Australian pressing (V 2223) isn’t going for much, not that it matters. Great LP.
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Nice, I always intend to get around to getting the XTC peak albums for my collection. I see them regularly so always put it off. It’s good they are affordable.
Prob past the era you’re interested in, but you’ll pay plenty for original pressings of Nonsuch, Apple Venus and Wasp Star on vinyl…
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I was wrong too - it was the first 5000 copies that were double albums. There’s a little box on the back cover telling you which number yours is…
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Yeah, the early to mid 80s stuff interests me most.
That’s a fair collection you have there!
Many hours spent combing record shops. Also, the early days of EBay and Discogs (when there really were bargains to be had…) helped fill a lot of holes…
Compared to some out there, mine is a drop in the ocean. A fella I know in the US at one point had over 3000 items in his collection. His Excel spreadsheet was something to behold. Just about every pressing from every country in the world. Right down to bootleg coloured Yugoslavian flexidiscs, and cassettes that had a misspelling in the tracklisting. He’s sold it all off now…
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Wow. I seldom need more than one press of anything unless there’s a different limited track or something. My Cure and New Order collections would be my most plentiful.
Yeah, that’s pretty much my philosophy. XTC is by far my biggest collection, probably the only artist I’ve been in any way completist about.
There are plenty of these europe some record producers have there own in house
the second one goes into much more detail as regards to compostition weight etc
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Must be the UK pressing (V2223) as there is none. The catalog number does appear to have a space but I guess not.
I had a look for Apple Venus a few years ago and the cheapest a handful of them was going for was about $180 which has since sky rocketed. Looks to have been a repressing since. Had some outstanding moments on it.
Yeah, if it doesn’t have a small white box on the back saying e.g. Limited Edition 1769 of 5000, it would be the UK version.
There was a 2019 or 2020 repressing of AV. By the time you add shipping to the purchase price it’s well over 100 bucks. I don’t have it, but it supposedly sounds great.
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Alan parsons still available Simmo
Probably belongs in this thread …
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