There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Pink Floyd’s 1973 opus, Dark Side of the Moon, is one of the most iconic albums of all time. The Hipgnosis designed sleeve, A prism refracting white light into a rainbow on a black background, is in some cases more recognisable than the music itself. Even those who haven’t heard a note of Pink Floyd’s music will know what it is. Then, however, something different appeared on the market from Japan.
While details are somewhat scarce, is said that this alternative sleeve was created sometime in late 1977 or 1978 for Toshiba-EMI’s (TOEMI) mail-order only record club in Japan. These were a popular marketing tool in Japan at this time, and it is believed TOEMI wanted to expand their international artist repertoire through their club releases.
The unique sleeve artwork depicts a live stage scene from their 1977 Animals Tour, which adds to the narrative that this was released between 1977/78. The famous tan and red EMI label design also supports this date range. Further evidence in support of its record club origin is that there is very little on the sleeve or label that’s printed in English. The song titles, band name and album title of course, but very little else. The back cover is virtually all Japanese script. The lyric insert is similarly basic, albeit with English lyrics.
This is, without doubt, the rarest pressing of The Dark Side of the Moon, and it’s widely regarded to be the rarest Pink Floyd record never issued. This has sold as high as £3500, and is one of the ultimate investment pieces. Regardless of its origin and the divided opinion about when and why it was manufactured, there is no doubt about its authenticity and extreme rarity.
This article appeared in issue 25 of Long Live Vinyl magazine, available now
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- Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon - 3rd - Brazilian - vinyl LP - £95.00, $118.75, €106.40 (New Item) (arrived 11-Aug-2020 15:47)
PINK FLOYD The Dark Side Of The Moon (Rare circa 1978 to 1982 Brazilian third issue 9-track vinyl LP with the classic label design featuring just the outline of the prisim with both EMI and Harvest at the top and 'The Gramaphone Company' text atthe bottom. This pressing has a few misprints on the Side 1 label, with track two not numbered and listed as 'Breathe In The Air' instead of Breathe, this has caused the rest of the tracks to be incorrectly numbered, and On The Run is listed as'On the Sun'. Comes housed in the gatefold picture sleeve featuring the classic artwork, with lyrics inside, this example has a 'Puppy Om' store sticker on the front and comes in a store printed sleeve printed with the same logo as seen on the sticker. The sleeve displays some minor general wear mostly to the edges, whilst the vinyl shows just tiny signs of play. An interesting pressing and the first we have ever seen XHVL-1001)
- Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - 1st (a) - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £395.00, $493.75, €442.40 (New Item) (arrived 10-Aug-2020 21:05)
PINK FLOYD The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (Rare 1967 UK 11-track first press MONO vinyl LP on the blue & black Columbia label, housed in the front laminated flipback picture sleeve manufactured by Ernest J. Day & Co. Ltd without the 'File Under Pop' text on the back SX6157) See 'More Info' for details on Condition ...
- Pink Floyd - The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn - 1st (a) - VG - UK - vinyl LP - £395.00, $493.75, €442.40 (New Item) (arrived 10-Aug-2020 08:23)
PINK FLOYD The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (Rare 1967 UK 11-track first press MONO vinyl LP on the blue & black Columbia label, housed in the front laminated flipback picture sleeve manufactured by Ernest J. Day & Co. Ltd without the 'File Under Pop' text on the back SX6157) See 'More Info' for details on Condition ...
- Pink Floyd - More - Odeon Export - UK - vinyl LP - £545.00, $681.25, €610.40 (New Item) (arrived 08-Aug-2020 08:42)
PINK FLOYD More (Very Rare 1969 UK EMI Odeon label export issue 13-track stereo LP - the soundtrack to Barbet Schroeder's exploration of drug addiction on the Balearic Island of Ibiza, starring Mimsy Farmer & Klaus Grunberg. Cult status aside, this item is of great interest & an unusual piece; this issue was manufactured for export, specifically to Germany, but isn't pressed on the original EMI Odeon label as expected. After a time, EMI Odeon scrapped the printing of special labels for their export LPs & opted to sticker their sleeves & vinyl where appropriate. As such, all of the original Columbia logos on the domestic sleeve & labels have been overstickered using gold Odeon stickers - now a seriously rare find! The stickers remain shiny, fully intact & unmarked. The sleeve is Excellent with just some faint & natural foxing on the back & the vinyl appears Near Mint SCX6346)
- Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother - 1st - EX - UK - vinyl LP - £150.00, $187.50, €168.00 (New Item) (arrived 06-Aug-2020 11:41)
PINK FLOYD Atom Heart Mother (Very rare 1970 UK first press 5-track stereo LP with 'Gramophone Co' label credit & without EMI boxed logo, gatefold picture sleeve. The first press is in theory the only issue to contain the looped dripping tap audio at the end of Morning Glory SHVL781) See 'more info' for condition details...
- Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - Japanese - vinyl LP - £95.00, $118.75, €106.40 (New Item) (arrived 05-Aug-2020 08:52)
PINK FLOYD Wish You Were Here (Original 1975 Japanese 5-track LP, housed in the iconic Hipgnosis designed picture sleeve with lyric inner, fold-out Japanese text 'History of Pink Floyd' insert, a 20" x 30" fold-out poster, glossy postcard plus one obi sticker attached to a small section of the blue shrinkwrap. The packaging shows minimal age wear & the vinyl is Excellent with few signs of any play SOPO100)
- Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon - 1st - Japanese - vinyl LP - £125.00, $156.25, €140.00 (New Item) (arrived 03-Aug-2020 16:41)
PINK FLOYD The Dark Side Of The Moon (Rare 1973 first Japanese issue 10-track vinyl LP with 'solid prism' Odeon labels with 'Mfd. by Toshiba Musical Industries, Ltd. in Japan' text, housed in the iconic gatefold picture sleeve with 30-page colour lyric/tour date booklet, two large fold-out posters & double-sided postcard replicating the two stickers from the UK release. The packaging is Excellent with a little minor foxing inside & otherwise some minor shelfwear to the edges. The vinyl remains in Excellent with light play only. This is a no brainer if you compare the staggering difference in price between this quality Japanese original & a UK solid prism equivalent! EOP-80778)
- Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly - Japanese - 7" vinyl - £75.00, $93.75, €84.00 (New Item) (arrived 03-Aug-2020 16:21)
PINK FLOYD Learning To Fly (Rare 1987 Japanese orange Sony label promo sample wide centre 7" single, also includes Terminal Frost, comes in the original picture sleeve complete with with lyric insert. The sleeve has only a few light signs of wearwhilst the vinyl is in near mint condition 07SP1060)
- Pink Floyd - Return To The Dark Side Of The Moon - UK - vinyl LP - £35.00, $43.75, €39.20 (New Item) (arrived 03-Aug-2020 16:21)
PINK FLOYD / VARIOUS Return To The Dark Side Of The Moon (Superb 2010 UK exclusive Limited Collector's Edition 10-track LP pressed on High Quality Heavyweight Vinyl, which sees a variety of top artists re-interpret songs from the album,including The Pineapple Thief, Doug Paisley, Gallops & more, gatefold picture sleeve with a nice obi-strip type paper cover band. The sleeve shows just a little shelfwear, aside from one small scuff the vinyl appears barely played MOJ002)
- Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - German - vinyl LP - £95.00, $118.75, €106.40 (New Item) (arrived 03-Aug-2020 16:08)
PINK FLOYD Wish You Were Here (Rare 1975 German limited edition 5-track LP pressed on Translucent Blue Vinyl, including original lyric inner and unique picture sleeve variant with 'Farbige Pressing' logo.The sleeve displays some light general wear wear, whilst the vinyl shows minimal signs of play 1C064-96918)
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