Here’s why this “unerringly ordinary and, to be brutal, boring” vinyl record is worth £19,000

How much are you willing to spend on a vinyl? Twenty bucks? One hundred?

This is a question every collector faces whenever they make a trip to the record store, or rummage for LP gold at a pop-up fair, as I regularly do whenever Dig a Little visits my local pub.

And, for many of us, it’s an important one, especially when haggling with a trader and it's all too easy to get caught up in the moment.

If you're not smart, you’ll end up like me, overpaying for an album you’ve already got multiple copies of, just because it’s a pressing you don’t have – and not necessarily a better sounding one.

It's this inability to find a ceiling for my own spending habits that led me to pitch and write this feature, chronicling efforts to track down the most expensive vinyl in the world for our Vinyl Week event.

And while it may not be the most expensive ever, after a quick Google search, research on Discogs and a chinwag with various specialist auction houses, the idea led me to discover Dark’s Dark Round The Edges album, which sold for £19,000 at Omega Auctions in 2022.

Not heard of it? You’re not alone. Even speaking to fellow collectors and the editors at our sister publication, Louder, I was met with a series of blank faces. Adding insult to injury (for Dark fans), editor of Prog magazine, Jerry Erwing, tells me:

“It's more atypical of fuzzy psych of the era rather than prog. Listening to it, what does strike me is that, as with so many of these kinds of albums that somehow amass cult following, followed by great fiscal power, how unerringly ordinary and, to be brutal, boring it sounds!”

So, how does an album that most people haven’t heard of and is, as Jerry says, “unerringly ordinary” come to sell for nearly twenty grand?

What makes Dark special?

Dark - Dark Round The Edges Track 1 Side 1 - YouTube

Watch On

Speaking to Omega Auctions' Director of Operations and Consignments, Dan Muscatelli-Hampson, the obvious starting point is the album’s rarity.

Only 12 copies of the original pressing were made, and the one sold at auction was originally gifted to the owner by one of the British psychedelic rock band's members when it was first released in 1972.

“It was released in very limited quantities. This example, specifically the black and white gatefold sleeve, was produced in a run of only 12 copies. It acquired cult status amongst collectors through the years since release,” Muscatelli-Hampson tells me.

Muscatelli-Hampson adds that, even with that in mind, the auction house originally valued it significantly lower, and that album sales this high are still incredibly rare, even with "Holy Grail" finds like Dark Round The Edges.

“Pre-sale, we placed an estimate of £6,000-£10,000 on the record," he explains, "this was based on our experience through the years of working with rare and valuable records. We always expected that we would likely beat that auction estimate on the day.

“A sale price of £19k and quantities limited to 12 is in no way common. The vast majority of records are produced in large quantities, and the average values are far lower than that. Collectors will pay premiums for records that were produced in smaller quantities or that did not sell well at the time, and so therefore there are less available on the market. Where these factors are combined with the quality of music being high (such as on the Dark LP) – that’s where you can get into the ‘top tier’ of price bracket.”

Editor’s Note: I still have an LP of my university band, Sad Potato’s debut, self-titled album. As far as I know, it’s the only one in existence, and I am very happy to part with it for a cool £19,000. I'll even sign it for you.

But why this one in particular?

But aren’t there other albums this rare, from bigger-name acts? That was the question I was left with, the answer to which still eluded me.

Doing a call round with independent record store owners, I discovered that there’s a key factor, other than its rarity, that adds to the allure of rare vinyl. One that, as Flashback Records CEO Mark Burgess notes, only really makes sense if you’re in the fandom.

“In terms of your basic question, there is a basic answer, which is market forces. A record is worth what someone will pay for it, essentially,” he says.

“Copies come up for sale very rarely, so when they do, there is a bit of a frenzy around the sale and buyers get super-competitive, which will push the prices up at auction. There are many other records of equal rarity which do not command the same sort of price tag as the Dark.”

Burges goes on to point out that, in this sense, albums like Dark’s aren’t being bought like traditional vinyl, and that as a trader it’s better to think of them as antiques, ones which will likely continue to go up in value.

“These artefacts are now more than 50 years old and are starting to become valuable as ‘antiques’. The sort of person who spends £19,000 on an LP will probably never actually play it – they probably just wanted it as a trophy in their collection, for personal satisfaction and to impress their friends. They can also be pretty sure that the value won’t go down any time soon,” he says.

“The supply of these rare records is getting tighter and tighter as time goes on, and the rarity value of these items in good condition is only going to go up. So the rare market is booming across many genres, not just ’70s Rock. Reggae seven-inches', Delta blues 78s, ’90s rock and indie vinyl, Northern Soul and early stereo classical LPs are just some areas where there are very sought-after rarities.”

Steve Sexton, Senior Buyer at Sister Ray, mirrors the sentiment, arguing it’s largely about fandom and “owning” the history as much as the music.

“We’re all collectors, so the Dark album going for such crazy amounts is maybe the logical pinnacle of that. There’s a strata of customers who will want the first press 1A/1B matrix of records, in the ’60s market especially,” he says.

Is it worth it?

And this brings me to my final question: is an album ever really worth £19,000? Here, the answer is difficult. There are plenty of people willing to pay vast sums for the records they love. That’s clear if you look at Omega Auctions vinyl section, where numerous albums have been sold over the years for multiple thousands.

But, is it worth it? Here, as a collector, I think there is no universal answer. As noted by Relevant Records owner, Andy Powell, it all depends on the individual and specific record you’re looking at:

“There are plenty of Holy Grails kicking around, depending on what your bag is – it’s in the eye of the beholder.”

Do you agree? If so, which album would you be willing to part with vast sums of cash for? Let us know in the comments below, or on our social media and forums.

MORE:

How to spot fake records: 10 tips to avoiding counterfeit vinyl

We rank the best turntables that money can buy

Our guide to the best speakers we’ve reviewed for every budget