VERY RARE - DAVID BOWIE - THE WEMBLEY WIZARD TOUCHES THE DIAL

	£		90
	$		119

VERY RARE - DAVID BOWIE BOOTLEG - THE WEMBLEY WIZARD TOUCHES THE DIAL 1976 (Released 1979)

This is a rare bootleg recording of the Wembley Stadium Gig on the 7th of May 1976, made by Hallowien Jack Records. The outer sleeve is just paper, with a white cardboard inner sleave, then a cellophane inner record sleeve for added protection. The only damage is on the back down the edge, which how I got it. I have kept the whole thing in a plastic album cover since purchase, and have probably only played it a couple of times, as I used to collect bootlegs then copy them to listen to.  

The vinyl has only a white label, but with "The Actor 79" and CCIB etched into the edage of the vinyl. 

According to the report below only 2,500 were printed and supposedly 250 in this report but a third (appx 800) in another were ever recovered. Which means there is appx 1700 to 2,250 in existence.

I have searched all over the web and could not find any being sold via any record seller / buyer, nor ebay, ebid etc.  The only place I found was a european site selling in Euro's for appx £300, which I think is way over but therefore have have no guide price so have opened a starting bid and will see what interest is shown        

Tracklist - 

Side 1 - Station to Station, Suffragette City, Fame, Word on a Wing, Waiting for the Man

Side 2 - Queen Bitch, Life on Mars, Band Introduction, Changes, TVC 15, Diamond Dogs 

Have played both sides both, excellent condition, slight damage to back of paper cover

Read Below

http://www.ratrecordsuk.net/blog/item/99355-loose-booty-3-the-man-strikes-wack.html

People who dedicate their careers to stopping contraband businesses often not only do not understand the game they are dedicated to destroy, but actively make it all worse by playing around.  Those that are not real cops, but part of industry associations with no real legal powers of their own, do this even more, even dumber and even more comically.  Being an "Inspector" for some kind of industry watchdog snifflog body is a job for someone who wants to be a cop, yet is too cowardly and incoherent even to succeed as a mall security guard.

The BPI, the lobbyists and enforcers for the mainstream majors that today dedicates itself to positive press releases when Adele "album" sales are up by 0.3% and trying to bully internet companies into revealing the identities of 12 year olds who may have downloaded a Rizzle Kicks MP3, decided to play dress up Detectives.

By the late 70s, the big bootleggers Stateside had gone underground again as the law had changed and the heat was on.  Elvis conventions in Memphis were raided like crack dens in search of illegal takes on The King.  No more reviews of illicit LPs in Rolling Stones, and in most places Class As were easy to come by.  Bootlegs were once again a nudge, wink head shop, fan club and swap meet obscurity.  They didn't die - as declining record sales and demand for vinyl meant there were plenty of plants in LA ready to take the cheddar.  But in Old Europe, the big presses were still cranking - especially to satisfy the needs of people into Punk and Post Punk sounds.  And to the BPI, Customs and Cops were not taking it all seriously enough.

The Law in the UK is usually not as stupid and cruel as in the USA.  You can see the difference in the fact fucking speed cameras are signposted here, while in the US they operate as a kind of surprise tax on movement.  Tonnes of bootleg LPs were coming across from the Continent, with no clear illegality given complex copyright laws.  Customs either delayed them while dealers explained the situation, or just turned them over with a shrug.  The new Punk fad meant there was a major gap between the demands of fans to hear their new heroes and a lack of legit recorded material of the same.  Johnny Rotten's ex-friends were passing rough mixes and show tapes to shady characters and coining it big.

The Police were more interested in lost wallets.  Someone had to stand up and strike a blow for the majors.

That man was BPI chief Hobby Bobby, Bill Hood.

Bill had clearly been watching too many episodes of The Sweeney in a state of some chemical distress, so came up with a cracking plan.  What if the BPI made it's own bootleg and traced who bought it, where and why?  Like a bad ITV special, "Operation Moonbeam" was thus born.

Bill and the BPI approached Bowie's confused label, RCA, with a proposal.  Bowie's 1976 shows were particularly hot with punters, and a Japanese LP of one of his Wembley dates, "Don't touch that dial", had appeared in the Dutch mail order trade.  Technically legal in Japan, and made in Japan, it was one of those gray market wonders causing so much bother.  It was one of the rarest and most sought after Bowie boots of the day, and the BPI was about to make it a lot easier to get.

Bill hooked up with some two bit bootleggers from Manchester, posing as a bent pressing plant manager.  The BPI made new stampers of Don't Touch That Dial and re-labelled it as The Wembley Wizard Touches the Dial.  A typical bootleg run of 2,500 copies were pressed, and passed to the Manchester crew.

In the subsequent sting/bust/PR stunt/total fuckup 250 of the boots were "recovered" and some legal bother was created for the minor players.

Except one. Rough Trade.  Virgin had been busted in 1973 for carrying shifty product, and the spotlight now turned to Ladbroke Grove.

Today's hipster darling label was mostly a shop back then and Punky bootlegs were part of its scheme, especially for mail order customers in the States.  That stopped.  However, the rest of Operation Moonbeam was covered in dog mess steam.  Stores that never had a bootleg before stocked the BPI knockoff, and charges were served to the wrong names with duff addresses.  The Police first were frustrated, then livid. The Courts were even less helpful - reminding all that stung wholesalers were "perfectly entitled to stay silent about their customers and suppliers...alleged offenders protected from self incrimination by long standing legal privilege."  The Judges involved curled out much angry scat on the BPI and its faux cops.

Retarded press statements were made by Bill and the BPI, a lot of congratulations all round until the dust settled on a pint of the cold piss that is reality.  A tonne of punters had been turned on to bootlegs. And the confusion around international copyright had also been exposed.  Western acts had no protection in Japan, and on the Continent major loopholes about what was recorded live, when, by whom and the nationality of the artists concerned appeared like magic in the dusty law books.  The stage was set for a new explosion of bootlegs from Europe.  Bill retired in mockery.  Ken cracked a knowing smile and put up the mainsail.

Please note : This is part of a private sale, I am not a dealer.  

I have collected vinyl for over 45 years and have amassed appx 750 single and 350 albums, between the 60’s and 90’s until cassettes came out.   

I have recently purchased a new stereo that copies vinyl direct to my PC so gradually I will be copying that vinyl that I wish to keep and this whole collection will be put on sale.     I will therefore have played some to check their quality, but in the meantime some will be listed un-played, though I will have checked all for any damage or scratches.      When an item then sells I will confirm the record is of the standard I have described and if not, then would immediately refund your money instead of posting and disappointing.       If anyone though wishes me to check a particular item before bidding then I will do so.   Please also note that the likes of David Cassidy, David Essex and similar are not mine but my wifes.

Many of the singles have their middles missing, this is not because they have been on commercial Juke Boxes.  During this period my father worked for Ditchburns, one of the major distributors of Juke Boxes and Fruit Machines, and managed to get me my own 50 selection Juke Box, so they have only ever been on mine.  

Click on "See Other Items" to view all the records I am selling

Vinyl

Mint   The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality.

Excellent+   The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is no lessening in sound quality. Very minor light surface marks.

Excellent   The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. Light surface marks. 

Very Good   The record has been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality despite noticeable surface marks. 

Covers   

We will not send grossly damaged /torn or dirty sleeves. 

Excellent Minimal creasing, no tears, no sticker damage, no writing. Many are as new. 

Very Good   May have small tears (nothing over 5mm), minimal sticker damage, creasing or small writing.