A Guide to Collecting Records by
NOTE:
This was written back in 1999, so might be a little outdated now.
Best place to get Euros
& HWL stuff is still ebay!
Introduction
I get a lot of emails from visitors to the site, and still,
by far the most frequently asked questions are about getting hold of Europeans and How
We Live records. Well, after nearly a year and half running the site, I thought
it might be a good idea to produce a collecting guide of sorts. I live in
England, so this is written from an English perspective...
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1. What is out there ? There are three Europeans albums (plus the "All Balls and No Willy" Otway album), one How We Live album, plus numerous single releases. Only HWL's "Dry Land" and the Otway album are/were available on CD, the rest being vinyl and cassette only. Have a look at my discography page, which is always as up-to-date as possible, listing all the releases, with picture sleeve scans and catalogue numbers, and also some promos. |
2.
Can I order items from my local record shop?
Sadly not. All Europeans and How We Live records are long since out of print, or "deleted" from their respective record company back catalogues, so you won't find them in your local commercial record outlet. Hopefully the Europeans albums will be re-issued on CD soon, as Colin, Steve, Ferg and Geoff have hinted. The Otway album is available, details at question 6 below. Note : The How We Live album has been re-issued on Marillion's own Racket Records label, and is now available to order from www.marillion.com.
3.
So, where can I get them ?
Good question! There are dubbed copies of the albums
circulating among the Marillion fanbase. These range from
poor quality multi-generational tapes to clean, crisp CD-Rs. I would always
recommend trying to get hold of the original vinyl copies where possible. I can
think of a number of places to look:
Second-Hand
record shops are probably the best place to start.
Records could (obviously) be filed under . "E" or "H", or
perhaps the shop has recognised Steve Hogarth's name and placed them in a
'Marillion' section. Alternatively, they could be filed under such sections as "POST PUNK", "80s
POP", "NEW WAVE", "ROCK",
"ALTERNATIVE" There are an increasing amount of
second-hand record stores online now, many with fully searchable databases. For
the UK, try this page of links : http://www.moremusic.co.uk/links/uk_shops.htm
Record
Fairs are
similar to the above, only often more of a needle in a haystack. Always worth checking out the Marillion sections, or asking the stall
owner. Many people at these fairs have
certainly heard of Europeans,
but rarely have items by them!
Online
Auctions are always worth an occasional
look! Every now and then, Europeans
and HWL
items come up for grabs on places such as ebay.com or ebay.co.uk
You may well have to outbid other interested parties!
Record
Searches:
There are some people out there that will ask collectors to send them WANTS LISTS. They can then hunt down these particular items, and for the price of an extra commision
fee, deliver the goods. These can be quite pricey, but you are usually under no
obligation to buy.
Free
Ads: Publications
such as the UK's Record
Collector contain hefty pages of classified ads, where private
and commercial collectors can buy and sell (usually) rarer items.
Others: Of course there are places such as
charity shops, car-boot sales, house clearances etc.. that might hold some luck.
4. How
much should I pay for these records ?
This is where it gets tricky. I have been collecting all
sorts of records for over 10 years now, and have seen some truly ridiculous
prices. I'm always very diplomatic, by telling people that "a record is
worth what you will pay for it!" I have heard ghastly rumours that an
original CD copy of the How
We Live "Dry Land" album has been seen on sale for
over £100! Likewise, I have seen some Europeans singles listed for up to £40
each. Frankly I think you'd be foolish to spend silly money such as this! Your
own perception of a "rare"
record is going to be different to others, and we all have our own budgets.
However, with little stuff out there, it may be worth remembering that there
might not be much opportunity to shop around!!
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The monthly UK magazine Record Collector publishes a hefty
volume each year, listing and pricing, by artist, records it perceives to be
particularly "collectable." This is a great resources,
pooling information from around the world. Europeans items were first included in
this volume in 2000.
Prices have risen in two years, and have just been published in the most
recent edition (2002) These are listed
below. Prices are in pounds sterling (£), for the record in
"mint-condition." (i.e rarely played,
unscratched, unmarked cover) |
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(£) |
2000 |
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2002 |
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82 A&M AMS 8245 |
Animal Song / Someone's Changing
(p/s) |
... |
4 |
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5 |
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83 A&M AM 113 |
AEIOU / Voice on the Telephone
(p/s) |
... |
5 |
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5 |
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83 A&M AM 138 |
Recognition / New Industry (p/s) |
... |
7 |
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7 |
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83 A&M AM 158 |
American People / Going to Work
(p/s) |
... |
4 |
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5 |
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83 A&M AMX 158 |
American People / Going to Work /
Someone's Changing / New Industry (12", p/s) |
... |
7 |
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8 |
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84 A&M AM 184 |
Typical / Falling (p/s) |
... |
4 |
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5 |
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84 A&M AM 201 |
Listen / Climb the Wall (p/s) |
... |
4 |
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5 |
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84 A&M AMX 201 |
Listen / Climb the Wall (12",
p/s) |
... |
7 |
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8 |
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84 A&M AMLX 68558 |
VOCABULARY (LP) |
... |
10 |
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12 |
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84 A&M SCOT1 |
LIVE (LP) |
... |
10 |
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12 |
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84 A&M AMA 5034 |
RECURRING DREAMS (LP) |
... |
10 |
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12 |
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82 Empire HAMLP1 |
JOHN OTWAY (ALL BALLS & NO
WILLY) (LP, with Europeans) |
... |
10 |
10 |
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82 Empire HAM3 |
In Dreams / You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (p/s) |
... |
4 |
4 |
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82 Empire HAM6 |
Mass Communication / Baby It's the
Real Thing (p/s green vinyl) |
... |
4 |
4 |
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82 RSB1 |
Various Artists : The Snoopies Album (numbered
with inserts, 1000 only) |
... |
15 |
15 |
Remember, this is only a guide, and prices will fluctuate.
Ironically, the most common item I have seen is the "limited edition"
Europeans
Live album! The "promo" Acid Rain 7" single is also very common,
as it was given away free on shop counters across the country.
5. What
else should I look out for ?
From a collecting point of view, here a few pointers about particular records:
Europeans:
· Original copies of the Vocabulary LP (1983) came with a 12" size double sided 'insert' with the song lyrics, credits, a few pictures and other doodles. You had to write away to get the lyric sheet for Recurring Dreams
· 12" sleeves all have different pictures to those on the 7" single sleeves (except Listen)
- Some
albums are embossed in silver or gold with a small rectangle containing
the text "Demonstration Copy Only : Not For
Sale." (see pic below) These were simply
pre-release promo-copies, and are not in any way different to the proper
released versions
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- There are
a number of promotional items that have unique picture sleeves. (See the
discography)
- There are
no 12" versions of Typical or Acid Rain (as far as I know!)
- The
12" single of Listen is pressed on clear vinyl
- There are
cassette versions of 'Vocabulary' & 'Recurring Dreams' but not 'Live.'
- The US
mini-LP Recognition features 6 remixed tracks from Vocabulary, including
an alternate take of American People. The artwork is very similar to
Vocabulary, but with reversed sides and re-written track details.
How We Live:
- The Dry
Land LP came with an "inner bag" with the lyrics printed on it
- The All
the Time in the World single was originally released in 1986 with a sleeve
showing a traffic jam (often known as the "motorway" version) It
was re-released in 1987 with a sleeve of the "baby" from the
album cover. The record itself is not different in each case.
6. How
can I get my hands on the Otway album ?
In 1982, Europeans recorded an album with John Otway called
"All Balls and No Willy." John Otway has re-issued this LP on to CD,
coupled with another Otway LP, "Where Did I Go Right." This CD is
available by Mail Order from Otway's own website at http://www.doremi.co.uk/otway/
Or
you can simply send a cheque for £12 (pounds sterling made payable to John Otway) to:
John Otway, Unit 247, Wandsworth Workshops 86-96 Garrat
Lane, London SW18 4DJ
Let us hope that the albums will be with us on CD in the
near future, but in the meantime, Good Luck and happy hunting
!!!
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