The Singles Collection

The Specials

US

3-200 151
Vinyl LP - Bootleg
Released: 2002

The Singles Collection
The Singles Collection
The Singles Collection
The Singles Collection

Side 1
Gangsters
Rudi, A Message To You
Nite Club
Too Much Too Young (Live)
Guns Of Navarone (Live)
Rat Race
Rude Boys Outta Jail
Maggie's Farm

Side 2
Do Nothing
Stereotype
Ghost Town
Why?
Friday Night, Saturday Morning
Racist Friend
Free Nelson Mandela

Vinyl copy of the US edition of The Specials Singles Collection, which may in fact be a bootleg release from 2002.

The following is some very interesting research into the official status of this record by a collector who prefers to remain annoymous:

"When I started researching this record, I was mainly concerned about a US release on vinyl in 1991. I was very dubious because major labels at that time were very rarely issuing vinyl in the US, the push was CDs and cassettes. This is evidenced by the CD booklets for the US release showing what Specials products were in print at the time, but only on CD and cassette.

It seems hard to believe that the label would have only picked this particular singles collection to release on vinyl as well as CD/cassette.

Furthermore, I started looking at overall packaging. The label design uses the old "fading blue with white logo" which is not period correct. Chrysalis was using the white label with abstract butterfly during this time, starting in the late 80's. Why would they make a one-off with the old design and not add other classic details like the Specials logo, etc if going for a retro look?

The catalog number was another thing that seemed odd as well. During the early 90's, US releases carried catalog numbers starting with F and followed by a number that is included in the Barcode: CDs F2, cassettes F4, vinyl F1.

The catalog number on this release seems chosen at random, not following any pattern for the Chrysalis label, either in the US or UK/Europe. The barcode itself is also suspect, again seemingly random. All other versions of this release generally start with the numbers 0946 and include numbers from the catalog no. This is true among versions from the US and other countries.

The etched runouts are clearly European in origin (note the 1's in 151). Chrysalis was being distributed in the US by Capitol Records around this time and I'm sure they would have likely pressed the vinyl for US release, or at least used one of the few remaining US vinyl pressing plants for a domestic product.

They pressed the CDs for US release, including repressings in the mid 90's. I'm also sure that they would have required the label design to have the period correct catalog no. rim text and even ℗ Chrysalis Records Inc.

Here is a link to a vinyl record purporting to have been pressed in 1991 as an example of an official release of the time: Daddy-Freddy-Stress Also, here is an unofficial release Stiff-Little Fingers - Nobodys Heroes Catalog number is 3-200 150, theoretically it would have been released around the same time, right before The Singles Collection vinyl. It has the same random catalog number, same random Barcode. The label design is very similar as well. "


Related Releases

The Specials Singles - CHR TT 5010 - UK