This reminds of a guy that paid something like $1100 for what was supposedly the only existing retail copy of The KLF's "Love Trance" 12" (Pure Trance volume 3). For ages it was possible to get the sleeves and labels but it was never pressed, and in fact nobody had ever even heard the song before, not even on a white label.
Virtually everyone on the mailing list at the time thought it was fake. Its not that the song didn't sound like KLF (it sorta did) the track on the record had been circulating through the internet for years, and its validity was disputed and the logistics just didn't make sense. Why would there be only one retail copy of something from a duo that had such a history of releasing DJ promos etc? Since the band dissolved its been possible to find a artistic trail for virtually everything they produced in the form of promos (some print runs as low as 12), previous takes, etc including all sorts of unreleased stuff. But this supposedly legitimate copy of Love Trance kind of exists in a vacuum.
The guy who payed a grand for it wanted it to be special and real, but that doesn't make it so. Think of all the stories from the eBay sellers that say that Sapphire was only for sale at some show, or that only so many copies were made (some number they'll quote, when in reality I'm not sure anyone knows). Then think of the Care4Data releases...how much did the first one go for?
http://www.discogs.com/release/151629Only 20 fully labelled and sleeved versions exist.
Also there are 3 white label test pressings.
The copy he paid 1100$ for was most likely a Test Pressing. Those are extremely rare.
1100$ is nothing for some of their stuff though.
This USED to go for 2000 pounds (equivalently slightly over 4000$):
http://www.discogs.com/release/140785I'm honestly surprised that it no longer holds the value that it once did. There were supposedly only 20 copies left, as they burned the originals, so I really doubt that 100 people own that, or that those 3 copies for sale are authentic. There are several different vinyl bootlegs that have been making their rounds over the years. Most likely the venture of the internet and people just wanting the music, rather than the original release has killed off the value extensively. For those clueless about that release, basically the 2 members burned most of the copies after they went to ABBA's doorstep to talk to them about their samples they had used. The release was banned and ordered destroyed because it illegally sampled tons of artists.
You can say The KLF sucked all you want Kitsunexus, if you don't like their music, but you can't sit back and ignore their creativity and the overall scheme of things they did, which blow any other pop band out of the water for the last decade and beyond. The theatrics on their videos are absolutely crazy, and what they did during awards shows in the UK, not to mention all the other things they did, made the whole record industry a farce of itself, much bigger than anything is going on these days, with the exception of possibly selling music via the internet without record companies. Basically the whole thing was an art show / joke, and a lot of people didn't get the joke, because it was way over their head. They even wrote a book, which I forgot the title, but it was something about how to have a #1 single or something.
Go do some research about them and you will easily see what a riot the whole stuff is. Jimmy Cauty is still pulling art stunts to this day. The whole thing is a slap in the art world's face anyway, and like I said, most people don't get the joke.
