Over £25,000 total raised for The BRIT Trust music charity
Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino’ bags top sale price of
£1,300
The Beatles, Sex Pistols, Genesis, George Michael, Oasis, Coldplay and Kylie
also hugely popular
One of the events leading up to National Album Day, next Saturday 12th October
YESTERDAY’S White Label Auction of rare LP test pressings – held to mark next Saturday’s (12 Oct) National Album Day – proved a smash hit with album fans and music memorabilia collectors.
The sale of nearly 150 lots by Omega Auctions generated a fantastic total of £25,3352 for music industry charity, The BRIT Trust, to support its work promoting education and wellbeing through music, in this, its 30th anniversary year.
Arctic Monkeys’ Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino attracted the highest bid of £1,300, while a pressing of the 50th anniversary reissue of The Beatles’ Abbey Road (donated by Paul McCartney and Apple Records) – which on Friday went straight to No.1 in the Official Album Charts – also proved hugely popular, attracting the second-highest sale price of £850.
This was matched by the price paid for a Sex Pistols lot featuring the band’s Never Mind The Bollocks and God Save The Queen albums. Two lots, featuring a range of Genesis LPs, each went for £700, just ahead of Faith – George Michael’s 1987 debut album (£620) and Oasis’ Definitely Maybe (£600).
Coldplay’s three-LP Butterfly Package (£580), Brian Eno’s Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks (£540), Kylie Minogue’s Step Back In Time (£500) and The Specials self-titled The Specials (£500) made up the rest of the top ten bestsellers list.
The Specials generated the highest total overall – £2,000 spread over five lots.
Other artists featured in the sale included David Bowie, Biffy Clyro, Anna Calvi, Eric Clapton, Foals, Liam Gallagher, Lianne La Havas, Lenny Kravitz, Manic Street Preachers, Mark Ronson, Ed Sheeran, Tom Speight, Dusty Springfield, Thin Lizzy, Paul Weller, The Who and many more.
See Notes for more details.
Top ten best-selling auction lots
1. Arctic Monkeys Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
£1,300
= 2. The Beatles Abbey Road (50th Anniversary
Reissue) £850
= 2. Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bollocks / God Save
The Queen £850
= 4. Genesis Lot of five albums incl. Seconds Out
£700
= 4. Genesis Lot of five albums incl. And Then
There Were Three £700
6. George Michael Faith
£650
7. Oasis Definitely Maybe
£600
8. Coldplay The Butterfly Package, incl. A
Head Full Of Dreams £580
9. Brian Eno Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks
£540
= 10. Kylie Minogue Step Back In Time: The Definitive
Collection £500
= 10. The Specials The Specials
£500
The items were, with artist and artist management support, donated by the UK’s major and independent record labels and companies, including Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music, BMG, Domino Records, Blue Raincoat Music, Cherry Red, Kobalt Music, Sour Mash, Ignition and Apple Records. The auction was supported by media partner. Record Collector magazine.
Johnny Chandler, Catalogue A&R director at UMC, Universal Music UK, who came up with the idea and collated the items, said: “This is such a brilliant result made possible by the generosity of all the labels who donated test pressings and the artists and managers who gave their blessings. I’d like to thank them all along with the BPI, Omega Auctions and the fans and collectors who went online to bid. The money raised will be put to great use by The BRIT Trust, and hopefully we have planted the seed for something that’s a little bit different that can become an anticipated annual event.”
Omega Auctions auctioneer, Paul Fairweather, said: “It was an incredible sale with the prices realised and bidding activity a great reflection on how strong the market for vinyl is. Record-breaking prices for artists such as The Arctic Monkeys, Liam and Noel Gallagher and Coldplay plus the fact that it has raised a lot of money for charity have made this an excellent day for all involved. We are already looking forward to doing something similar next year.”
John Craig, chair of The BRIT Trust charity, said: “It’s wonderful that the White Label auction for National Album Day has raised such an amount to support the vital work of The BRIT Trust in promoting education and wellbeing through music. The backing we give to a range of charities and good causes, such as The BRIT School, Nordoff Robbins and Music Support, is more needed than ever, and, on behalf of all the trustees, I would like to sincerely thank all the labels and artists that donated, the BPI and the organisers of the auction, not least Johnny Chandler, at Universal Music UK, whose original idea it was.”
ENDS
Enquiries
Gennaro Castaldo, BRIT Trust
gennaro.castaldo@bpi.co.uk 020 7803 1326 / 07801 194 139
Dan Hampson, Omega Auctions dan@omegaauctions.co.uk 01925 873 040
Kate Etteridge kate.etteridge@dawbell.com 020 3327 7111
Jordan Shepley jordan.shepley@dawbell.com 020 327 7180
Sophie Brocklehurst sophie.brocklehurst@dawbell.com 0203 327 7156
Callum Bracken callum.bracken@dawbell.com 0203 327 7176
Notes for editors:
About the White Label auction
The explosion in sales of vinyl in recent years has created a wealth of ‘white label’ test pressings – produced to ensure the sound quality is as the artist intended and so called because there is no sleeve/label artwork at this stage. With as few as five or ten of each being produced, these first-off-the-press copies are typically checked by artists and their representatives and are much sought after by fans and collectors.
The £25,335 total shown is net of Omega Auctions commissions deducted from the ‘hammer-price’ total.
Among the white label discs that fans will be able to bid for are various recordings released or reissued mostly since 2014, including around 20 that are artist-signed:
Arctic Monkeys (Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino), Richard Ashcroft (Natural Rebel), Rick Astley (Beautiful Life), Bastille (Doom Days and others), Biffy Clyro (Balance Not Symmetry), David Bowie (Early Decca recordings), Buzzcocks (Another Music in a Different Kitchen and others), Anna Calvi (Hunter), Eric Clapton (Slowhand and others), Clean Bandit (What Is Love?), Coldplay (The Butterfly Package – signed), Cream (Disraeli Gears and others), Nick Drake (Family Tree and others), The Fall (New Facts Emerge), Foals (Everything Lost Will Not Be Saved Part 1), , Free (Alright Now), Liam Gallagher (As You Were and others), Rory Gallagher (Rory Gallagher and others), Genesis (Selling England by the Pound and others), Hot Chip (A Bath Full of Ecstasy), The Human League (Reproduction – signed), The Jam (Live At The Music Machine), James (Living in Extraordinary Times – signed), Lenny Kravitz (Raise Vibration), Lianne La Havas (Blood), Manic Street Preachers (Resistance is Futile), John Martyn (Solid Air), Kylie Minogue (Step Back in Time), Sinead O’Connor (I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got), Primal Scream (Maximum Rock’n’Roll Volumes 1 & 2), Public Image Ltd (incl. 4-LP Album), Mark Ronson (Late Night Feelings), Roxy Music (Avalon and others), Royal Blood (Royal Blood), Jack Savoretti (Singing to Strangers), Sex Pistols (Never Mind The Bollocks and others), Ed Sheeran (No.6 Collaborations – signed), Simple Minds (New Gold Dream and others), Snow Patrol (When It’s All Over We Still Have To Clean Up This Mess), The Specials (The Specials – signed), Tom Speight (Collide) The Streets (Remixe4s & B Sides Too – signed), Dusty Springfield (Dusty in Memphis), Thin Lizzy (Live and Dangerous – signed and others), T-Rex (Electric Warrior), KT Tunstall (Wax and others), Ultravox (Ha! Ha! Ha! And others), The Verve (Urban Hymns and others), Paul Weller (Stanley Road), Whitesnake (Slip of the Tongue – signed), The Who (My Generation) and more.
The Beatles Abbey Road was kindly donated by Paul McCartney and Apple Records, George Michael’s Faith was donated by Jonathan Morrish from his personal collection, and Tom Speight’s Collide was donated by the artist himself.
About National Album Day
Following a successful inaugural year in 2018, National Album Day returns for its second annual edition on Saturday, 12th October 2019. Organised jointly by UK labels body the BPI and ERA, the Entertainment Retailers Association, the music and artist community will come together with BBC Sounds, and with the support of AIM, Classic Album Sundays, and Network Rail among others for a series of events and activities in the lead up to 12th October that will celebrate the UK’s love of the album and the craft that goes into making this culturally significant body of work.
This year, National Album Day is themed around the notion of ‘Don’t Skip’, to encourage music lovers to discover albums – both new and classic – in full, as a complete body of work that tells a story. The theme will also serve to highlight the wellbeing and mental health benefits of album listening as a form of musical
mindfulness. A number of the UK’s most prominent artists have already signed up as ‘album champions’ for this year’s National Album Day campaign: No.1 artist Lewis Capaldi, Mercury Prize winners Elbow, BRIT Award nominated Mahalia, and international musician/producer Mark Ronson.
About The BRIT Trust
Established in 1989 and this year celebrating its 30th anniversary, The BRIT Trust is entirely funded by the recorded music industry – in large part through monies raised annually by The BRIT Awards and also through the Music Industry Trusts (MITS) Award.
The BRIT Trust’s mission is to give young people of all backgrounds a chance to express their musical creativity regardless of ability or their gender, ethnicity and social background as part of a wider goal to promote education and wellbeing through music.
The Trust has to date donated over £25 million to a range of progressive causes, including The BRIT School, the leading performing and creative arts school that is free to attend, and Nordoff Robbins, the music therapy provider, as its main beneficiaries since 1989. Other charities supported include Mind, to promote good mental health in schools, the music industry and the workplace; Music Support, the addictions and mental health charity; East London Arts & Music (ELAM), the free school sixth form; and Key4Life, which seeks to help young men in prison, or who are at risk of ending up there, away from a life of crime by drawing on their passion for music.
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