The Black Album by Prince made record price at Discogs during an action that included  Satyricon’s Dark Medieval Times album.

AUCTION | ENTERTAINMENT

The Canadian Version of The Black Album by Prince was the top seller at Discogs auction where albums by Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Satyricon and several others had a good showing.

PORTLAND, OR., -The 1987 original Canadian pressing of Prince’s The Black Album has sold for USD $27,500 at Discogs. This is the most expensive item sold by the company for June 2018. One of the factors that contributed to the record auction price is its provenance. The other is history and rarity. The Black Album is the only known production copy from Canada, making it one of the rarest pieces of vinyl in the world.

The history of The Black Album is better couched in spirituality and repentance. Originally styled as The Funk Bible in press releases, The Black Album was slated for release in December 1987. One week before the album hit the market, Prince had a change of heart. He decided the album was “evil” and ordered Warner Bros. to shelve and destroy every copy. More than 500,000 copies of The Black Album were destroyed. The Black Album could have disappeared from history but for the fact that some promos were already in circulation and were been passed around. Consequently, those promo copies are how The Black Album became one of the most bootlegged records of all time.

ART NEWS | READ ALSO: Prince’s Yellow Cloud Electric Guitar Sold for $137,500

The Canadian version of the album came to Discogs through music historian and record dealer Jeff Gold of Recordmecca. A former Executive VP at Warner Bros Records who worked with Prince, Gold made news in December last year when he found five sealed copies of the U.S. variant of the Prince rarity. A U.S. variant of The Black Album sold via the Discogs Marketplace in April 2016 for $15,000 and more recently in February 2018 for a reported $42,000 through Jeff Gold website.

The news and the success of the U.S. version of the album the market spread across the world like wildfire. A former Canadian record pressing plant employee was one of those who heard about the discovery of the U.S. variation and the record auction prices. He contacted Gold to let him know that he has a Canadian variation of the album. Gold retells the man’s story:

In 1987, he was working at Columbia Records Canadian pressing plant in Canada. When The Black Album was pulled and the copies that had been made marked for destruction, he kept one copy for himself. He never realized its rarity or value until reading about the discovery of the U.S. copies in Rolling Stone and contacted me.”

The authenticity of ultra-rarity—the single Canadian variant of The Black Album known to exist was confirmed after considerable research and inspecting.  Discogs’ Discography Specialist, Brent Greissle believes it to be legitimate as well.

Only eight U.S. original vinyl copies have surfaced in the 30 years since the album was destroyed. This is the first and only Canadian copy to have surfaced.

A foremost Database, Discogs is a Marketplace and Community for music. With a catalog of more than 10 million releases and 5.3 million artists, the user-built Database is the most extensive physical music Database in the world.  Discogs connection to buyers and sellers across the globe, with more than 42 million items available, makes it the Marketplace and leading destination for both new releases and elusive rarities.

The Black Album is just one of the expensive items sold by Discogs in June 2016. Below is a list of other items sold by the company in June 2018:

Pink- Floyd- The- Piper- at the Gates of Dawn. Image: Discogs

Hog-Gish – Hog-Gish

Sold for $1200.00 Label: Not On Label (Hog-Gish Self-released)
Format: Flexi, 8″, EP
Country: Japan
Released: 1988
Genres: Rock
Styles: Punk

Andy Y Su Orquesta Riverside – Trae Salsa Al Bembe

Sold for $1200.00 Label: ORC Records (2)
Format: LP
Released: 1971
Genres: Latin
Styles: Guaguancó, Guaracha, Bolero, Guajira, Mambo

Satyricon – Dark Medieval Times

Sold for $1227.00 Label: Moonfog Productions
Format: LP, Album, Ltd
Country: Norway
Released: 1993
Genres: Rock
Styles: Black Metal

Garnet Mimms – As Long As I Have You / A Little Bit Of Soap

Sold for $1231.00 Label: United Artists Records
Format: 7″, Single
Country: France
Released: 1969
Genres: Funk / Soul

Rey Davila – On His Own (Ya Era Tiempo)

Sold for $1257.00 Label: ORC Records (2)
Format: LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1971
Genres: Latin
Styles: Salsa, Mambo, Latin Jazz, Descarga

Tickled Pink – Reach Out (And Give Me Your Hand)

Sold for $1298.00 Label: Pink Knip
Format: 7″, Single
Country: US
Released: 1972
Genres: Funk / Soul
Styles: Funk, Soul

Macintosh Plus – Floral Shoppe

Sold for $1299.00 Label: Beer On The Rug
Format: Cass, Album, Ltd, C44
Country: US
Released: 2012
Genres: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Styles: Abstract, Funk, Vaporwave, Experimental

Razar – Stamp Out Disco / Task Force (Undercover Cops)

Sold for $1301.00 Label: Not On Label, Able Label
Format: 7″, Single, Yel
Country: Australia
Released: 1978
Genres: Rock
Styles: Punk

Eric Dolphy – In Europe

Sold for $1312.00 Label: Debut Records (3)
Format: LP, Album
Country: Denmark
Released: 1962
Genres: Jazz
Styles: Post Bop

Cody Black – Keep On Keeping On / I’m Slowly Molding

Sold for $1328.00 Label: King Records (3)
Format: 7″, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genres: Funk / Soul
Styles: Soul

The Saints (2) – (I’m) Stranded

Sold for $1339.00 Label: Fatal Records (2)
Format: 7″, Single
Country: Australia
Released: 1976
Genres: Rock
Styles: Punk

Michael Jackson – Someone In The Dark

Sold for $1350.00 Label: MCA Records
Format: 7″, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genres: Pop
Styles: Ballad

Thors Hammer – Thors Hammer

Sold for $1398.00 Label: Metronome
Format: LP, Album
Country: Denmark
Released: 1971
Genres: Jazz, Rock
Styles: Jazz-Rock, Prog Rock

Joy Division – An Ideal For Living

Sold for $1459.00 Label: Enigma
Format: 7″, EP
Country: UK
Released: 1978
Genres: Rock
Styles: New Wave, Punk

Tsunematsu Masatoshi – Do You Wanna Be My Dog・g・g!?

Sold for $1461.00 Label: Gozira Records
Format: 7″, Single
Country: Japan
Released: 1979
Genres: Rock
Styles: Punk

Museo Rosenbach – Zarathustra

Sold for $1498.00 Label: Ricordi
Format: LP, Album
Country: Italy
Released: 1973
Genres: Rock
Styles: Prog Rock

Spontaneous Generation* – Purple, Purple

Sold for $1500.00 Label: Peace (19), Peace (19)
Format: 7″, Single
Country: US
Released: 1971
Genres: Rock
Styles: Psychedelic Rock

Kraftwerk – Trans Europa Express

Sold for $1515.00 Label: Not On Label, Kling Klang
Format: LP, Album, Promo
Country: Germany
Released: 1977
Genres: Electronic
Styles: Electro

Mark Fry – Dreaming With Alice

Sold for $1630.00 Label: IT
Format: LP
Country: Italy
Released: 1972
Genres: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Styles: Acoustic, Psychedelic Rock, Folk

Jackie McLean – Presenting… Jackie McLean

Sold for $1650.00 Label: Ad Lib (2)
Format: LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1955
Genres: Jazz
Styles: Bop

Grateful Dead* – 30 Trips Around The Sun

Sold for $1749.00 Label: Rhino Records (2)
Format: 80xCD + 7″ + Box, Ltd
Country: US
Released: 2015
Genres: Rock
Styles: Psychedelic Rock

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II

Sold for $1752.00 Label: Atlantic, Atlantic
Format: LP, Album, M/Print, Wre
Country: UK
Released: 1969
Genres: Rock
Styles: Blues Rock, Classic Rock, Hard Rock

Bathory – Bathory

Sold for $2053.00 Label: Black Mark Production
Format: LP, Album
Country: Sweden
Released: 1984
Genres: Rock
Styles: Black Metal

The Parisians – Twinkle Little Star / The Cockroach

Sold for $2497.00 Label: Demon Hot Records
Format: 7″
Country: US
Genres: Funk / Soul

The Rolling Stones – Songs Of The Rolling Stones

Sold for $2502.00 Label: ABKCO Music, Inc.
Format: LP, Comp, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1975
Genres: Rock

Pink Floyd – The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

Sold for $2566.00 Label: Columbia
Format: LP, Album, Mono
Country: UK
Released: 1967
Genres: Rock
Styles: Psychedelic Rock

Little Nicky Soul – I Wanted To Tell You / You Said

Sold for $3125.00 Label: Shee Records
Format: 7″, Single, Promo
Country: US
Genres: Funk / Soul
Styles: Soul

Roy Panton – Endless Memory

Sold for $3305.00 Label: Bronco (2)
Format: 7″, W/Lbl
Country: Jamaica
Released: 1968
Genres: Reggae
Styles: Rocksteady

Bernie Williams – Ever Again / Next To You

Sold for $5314.00 Label: Bell Records
Format: 7″, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1969
Genres: Funk / Soul
Styles: Soul

Prince – The Black Album

Sold for $27500.00 Label: Warner Bros. Records
Format: LP, Album
Country: Canada
Released: 1987
Genres: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Styles: Soul, Funk

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