Collectors Items CDs, etc.

Oh, thank you so much, that's incredibly helpful. Unfortunately right now castalbumdb.com gives me an Error when I click on a specific recording, but even looking at the Footlight and Dress Circle websites is quite impressive (£150 for Spend, Spend, Spend?!). Dress Circle has kinda gone off my radar since the shop in Covent Garden closed, but I guess it would make sense to compile a list and send to them.

why is Spend Spend Spend so valuable?

I'm well into my 30s and don't know what one is.

I think they might be better known as 12" singles in the UK (compared to regular 7" singles). Basically it was a very drawn-out version of a song that could go on for ages. Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" and New Orders "Blue Monday" were good examples where the 12"/maxi single were actually more popular than the regular version.

God, I feel old now.

As a general rule of thumb CDs are worth money if:

- they are early West German or Japanese CDs (pre-1989). This is where the world's first CD plants were built.
- the audio fidelity of the particular pressing is considered to be the best. All CDs don't in fact sound the same. 

In collector circles the two generally boil down to the same thing, though later high resolution formats (Super Audio) are valuable as so few are made. Sarah Brightman SACDs are incredibly rare.

Out of print really means 1st edition in CD collecting jargon since digital downloads mean everything is always in print.

The rarest CDs are also some of the biggest sellers. ABBA first edition CDs, Now That's What I Call Music 4 and Michael Jackson's Thriller sell for over £200 but they have to be the 1st pressing. 

It's ultimately like book collecting.

This is the best CD resource there is www.keithhirsch.com/

(Although viserys did already say in the first post of the thread that he didn't find it particularly suitable for his needs, sooo...)

It's fine I actually went back to it and I think I might try the forum there at some point.

You all have given me some great pointers. Now I need to get my backside in gear and compile a list sometime...

It had (no longer have the single) a profile picture of FR, nose slighty upturned. Hair blown partly over face. It had "Newly recorded version of her showstopper" on it too.

I did find it eventually on Youtube. Try FR OMO 1987. She appears lipscynching on an American show, very 80s outfit and hair! Nice version though, which takes me all the way back to... the 80s!

I own that maxi-single of Stranger to the Rain, as well as the CD single and the 7" single. Again, like the On My Own singles above, I bought them when I was a student, so I didn't pay much for them, and doubt they'd be worth considerably more these days.

Spend Spend Spend is being released as part of a Barbara Dickson 4CD set which will also be very limited. That's selling for £50 so a cheaper option.

My collection of theatre recordings is pretty extensive, as a rule of thumb if vinyl has been released on a proper pressed CD it becomes worth very little, if on a CD-R then it will tend to retain its value. Clownaround, for example, has less than a hundred copies in existence as the show tanked and the album run was binned. I paid a nice amount for mine maybe twenty years ago and, unless you're lucky and someone sells it thinking it's on CD properly, you'll still pay a lot. Same with acetates or pressed vinyl demos, often via the composers or publishers, these can be pretty unique. I've provided recordings to a few labels which release old musical recordings, often ones that the composer themself had forgotten about, as long as it means they have an existence and more than the few that have them get to hear it then that's great.

CDs are sometimes rare because they were only sold at the theatre but, again, the rarest are those that never even got that far, being destroyed (as per Cam Mack and the Korean Les Mis that they hadn't asked for permission for) or properly pressed demo or private discs. Again CD-Rs aren't really worth much as they're pretty easy to make copies of.

Sometimes the nature of a show means that not many were pressed, industrial shows for example, or college shows. One of my favourites is 'Bathrooms are Coming', a musical about the joys of bathroom fittings (seriously). Non English language recordings too, especially from small markets like Iceland.

A few things I don't yet have, CDs such as the Australian Sunset Blvd single by Debra Byrne, the Mamma Mia Moscow promo CD, Billy Elliot Italian cast CD and We Will Rock You Dutch Cast 3 track Promo. For vinyl then the Norwegian Cats LP, Lieutenant OBC LP, Irish Songs of Sondheim LP or Listen to the Wind studio EP. If you have any original copies of these please shout out!!

You absolute legend. May your theatre visits never appear on the 'Bad behaviour' thread. May you never see an understudy ever again. May your seats forever be upgraded. 

Just pre-ordered it! Thank you so much for the nod!