Further I comment I made in another thread, I thought I’d post up some of my more interesting (hopefully not just to me, haha) record sleeves that have special stickers on the front. I’ve found it’s most often the initial pressings that will have these special additions, sometimes making them much rarer records as a result, but often they seemed to have been added either as a marketing tool or just for fans amusement. Anyway, I have quite a lot of these and so will share some of my favourites, I’d be interested to see any others you may have too of course.
my favourite one
Here’s a question on the same topic, but at a slight tangent. Do you keep stickers that are put on the cellophane wrapper? It’s fairly easy to do so for LPs but CcD jewel cases present more of a problem.
With new records I sometimes peel them off the cellophane and stick the on the BACK of the sleeve or inside the cardboard of the sleeve, this may appear to be a bit mental but, a) I don’t always want to lose said sticker and b) they don’t always look good on the front, the sleeve art & presentation is quite important to me really, I just have my ways. Price stickers on new records always come off VERY CAREFULLY, but I have older price sticker examples that I think actually enhance the sleeve.
A second-hand record shop owner once told me vinyl with the vintage HMV/Virgin/Our Price/Parrott price stickers still on garner a higher price than those without.
Given that at the time, I was buying an armful of 12″ singles for a quid a pop, I’m not sure I would agree. Some of them still had the £3.49 stickers affixed.
I used to peel them off, sometimes with catastrophic results (my copy of the third Cocteaus LP has a large circular white patch on the cover).
The Record and Tape Exchange/Music and Video Exchange ones were the hardest to shift – they must have superglued their stickers on.
More distressing than the stickers are my records and Cds where I have attempted to peel off the sticker and am part way through only to discover -it ain’t coming off. So you are stuck with either a dog eared sticker flapping around, the sticker partially torn off with the underside showing and the sticker now illegible, or trying to stick the the top layer of the sticker back onto the sticker that you were trying to remove. That really is galling.
I agree about Record and Tape Exchange stickers.
Oh yes. Welcome to the support group, Junior.
Vodka* will usually remove paper stickers from Album sleeves and CD jewel cases, but can leave the glue behind in a state of advanced stickiness.
*Or Surgical Spirit or Meths, if these are your favoured tipples.
I’ve always thought that. According to Discogs the copy of “Never Mind The Bollocks” that I acquired there is a valuable early pressing, but with their price label clinging on for dear life it’s worth somewhat less.
A good example where the sticker MUST remain on the cellophane is this one
I have that one. I still have the poster, but the cellophane is long gone – and the label with it!
who knew £1.60 was so gay?
I believe it’s what’s known as the pink £1.60
I tried ever(so)hard to refrain from making that joke
Not sure there has ever been a more Afterwordy thread: stickers on albums/CDs. You should all be thoroughly ashamed
Indeed. I’m proud to say that none of my records, boxes, etc. has any sticker, cellophane or shrink-wrap on ’em.
@fatima-Xberg how is that? A secret technique or a specialist sticker free supplier?
No secret – I just pull those stickers and price tags off as soon as I have something new. And (as mentioned elsewhere) a bit of alcohol or (if it’s an old LP cover) a quick heating with a cigarette lighter usually does the trick.
It’s just that these stickers don’t belong there – otherwise they would have been printed as part of the artwork (and yes: I know there are exceptions, like the sticker on black shrink wrap from »Wish You Were Here«, or the Fairport Convention album shown below). Or does anyone keep the price tag on when they put on a suit?
Agreed. It is just that I have found many stickers to be quite unwilling to vacate their spot.
Those price tags with security detection embedded are right bastards to remove. From plastic CD covers.
Hell has a special reserved circle for the b*stards who stick those f*ckers inside the tray.
I feckin’ HATE stickers on albums.
I’ve spent too much time trying to gently tease them off sleeves, sometimes gatefold works of illustrative genius, without damaging the artwork beneath to have even the smallest shred of patience with the artless, stupid, philistine marketing drongos who apply them to the finished product.
There are VERY FEW exceptions to this visceral loathing; the Lou Reed example in the OP would be one of them. And bananas are exempt.
These days the cellophane outer wrapping at least lets one tear the f*ckers off and throw them away where they belong without ruining the actual sleeve.
One of my VERY FEW exceptions:
Some stickers can’t be removed for other reasons, such as There’s a Riot… because it has the track-listing.
Sticker comes with ribbon attached!
Not just another copy of the album.
Like the Red album this one has to stay on.
These are fine exceptions to my NO STICKERS PLEASE rule.
In fact, when I bought a late repressing of the Fairport History album, I was very disappointed to find that the ribbon and its sticker had been replaced with simple artwork.
I always retain the hype sticker if I can – most seem to peel off the cellophane OK, and then I reapply it to the cover (in the same position, natch), but I don’t get upset if the process doesn’t work and I have to chuck it – ces’t la vie and all that. Removing them from a card LP or CD sleeve is fraught for reasons mentioned above….and the risk of leaving a fingernail dent makes me shudder.
I have pulled out a few LPs recently which I haven’t played for years and still have price stickers. I guess I never removed them because of the attendant damage risk (I can’t remember), but they sometimes give me a nice recollection of a shop I frequented, or are a reminder of a bargain scored.
What about shop stamps?
Heathen vandalism.
Record shop bags are a different kettle of fish though. Mightily fine Proustian artifacts in their own right.
Ahh, record bags and sleeve stamps I’ll save for another thread/day, but meanwhile here’s half a dozen bargains for you, though The Ruts stickered sleeve is worth a lot more than 3.99 now.
I had that Trumpton album as a nipper. Last weekend I bought a Wombles album I also had, for a quid, knowing that Mike Batt has recently destroyed the master tapes, thereby dashing my hopes of a half-speed mastered box set.
Oh no! I’d hoped that we’d finally see the release of “Madame Cholet – The Kitchen Sessions” album.
£1.35 for a re-issue copy of Relics with that ghastly red colouring-in of Nick Mason’s fab artwork?
What a rip off!
It was 99p when it first came out.
yes, in a matt uncoloured sleeve too, which I have of course, but I kept this re-issue as a friend and I did mushrooms listening to it one night years ago and I did my own “artwork” on the rear of the sleeve which will NEVER be posted online.
Pssst – I know a guy who can do a really good fake Syd signature…..
Some sleeves that required explanation stickers!