On the other hand, there exist only 100 of these in the world, and each has a different sleeve, so it is unique - along with being the most expensive I think it's also the rarest record I own, so the price should be starting to make (some) sense.
Each year, seven songs are pressed onto vinyl and each given unique sleeves drawn by artists who submit their work to be involved for Secret 7's. The resulting records are then sold with the money going to charity - this year to Mind, a mental health charity, and a cause I can get behind. I've been aware of the project for a couple of years (Max Richter had a 7" of a song from Sleep a year or two ago) and always thought it was cool. This year it was announced that one of the songs would be No Surface All Feeling by the Manics, the closer from Everything Must Go, and a song that has had a bit of a resurgence since the 20th anniversary shows and made it back into regular setlists.
Just to dwell on that for a moment - I'm really pleased that No Surface All Feeling is finally getting the respect that it deserves. I've always had a lot of time for it and thought it was neglected being tucked away at the end of an album that is quite front-loaded (but the positioning of A Design For Life is always going to weight things unfairly). I feel that, unlike a lot of bands, the Manics aren't known for their grand closing statements on albums (feel free to tell me I'm wrong) - they've always written such huge singles that the albums tend to focus around them. That is to say, I don't think the song was positioned last because they necessarily wanted the album to finish with it, or wrote it as a closer; it was just the best place for it. Both times I've seen them play this year, not only did they play it, they played it third, right after Motorcycle Emptiness. That's quite a promotion to go from "last track on the album" to "played amongst the biggest singles". I'm pleased for it, if that isn't a ridiculous thing to say. I always thought it was a great song, and it's nice to know I'm not alone.
Back to the 7". My Manics collection has had it's ups and downs over the years. For a while, I stopped altogether, but in recent years have fallen back in love with the band, and rekindled my love for eBay too, meaning I've been chipping away at parts of the collection here and there. But I've long known my collection will never be complete; I just can't see any scenarios where I have enough disposable income to buy an original Suicide Alley or those excellent looking limited edition Japanese reissues (although I hope I do!). So I was a bit unsure what to do when the news of this 7" came out - I could admit that I was never going to complete my collection and let this be a hole in it, or I could commit to doing the best job possible and buy it. I very much doubt I'll ever have the chance to buy one of these again, and I shudder to think how much it would go for then. This was my best and probably only chance, so I went for it.
However, I didn't go for it to the extent that I travelled to London to buy one when they were exhibited. We were going to a wedding that day, but even if we weren't, I wasn't going to get the train all the way to London for it (plus, I don't think my wife would agree that it's a valid excuse to leave her with the baby for the day). I hoped that all 100 wouldn't sell out on the day and, to my luck, they didn't - 38 were to be auctioned on eBay the following week. The £50 selling price and the £30 train ticket would have put it near the most expensive record anyway.
By some brilliant coincidence, the eBay auctions all finished during the hour in the evening in which I was going to be on the train to London for a gig anyway. Had they finished any other time or day, I might not have been able to stalk the auctions and get an understanding for the market/going-price (this, I think, was key). Had I not been going to that gig, they'd have finished whilst I was bathing and putting the baby to bed, a set of activities that aren't easily done with eBay in the other hand. It was too good a coincidence.
So I sat there on the train (with wifi) and watched the first 7" finish - it was one of the sleeves I liked the most and sold for an impressive £127. The next few had some of the worst artwork in my opinion and all went for about £100. At this point I assumed that maybe the going-price would drop as potential buyers became owners, but I was wrong. Clearly there are more than 38 Manics collectors out there and I suspect some people were buying multiple copies. Prices started to rise to around £110. The next ones I really had my eye on (all with interesting geometric designs) were quite a few auctions away and I was worried by then the prices would be even higher. The bidding was always happening in the last few seconds - classic eBay - luckily I have many years experience of sniping auctions in the dying seconds so was prepared for this.
The next one that came up with artwork I thought was good was the one in the picture above. As the final few seconds rolled around I snuck in with a bid that was a bit higher then the last few had gone for (along with the usual £1.53 I add on top, just to outbid the people who think an extra £1.50, or £1.51, or even £1.52 will clinch it over the people who foolishly bid in round numbers - I'm yet to lose an auction to a person bidding £1.54 extra, but have pipped a few people to the post by just a penny or two). The auction ended a few seconds later and I had won, at an eye-watering £115. I kept an eye on the auctions that followed and prices rose a bit further, but not hugely so; the ones with geometric designs I'd been eyeing up sold for more, which validated my plan.
I think we can all agree that £115 for a 7" is a ridiculous price to pay. Luckily, the proceeds are going to charity, which allows me a pleasing get-out: in my mind, I didn't pay £115 for a 7", but instead gave £115 to charity (the postage was a similarly expensive £7.50, so that was the cost of the 7" in this excuse (which is still pretty pricey for a 7"!)). I try to give to charities from time-to-time, but I'm aware that I don't give often enough and could give more. If a friend does a charity run/cycle/whatever, I try to make sure I donate a decent sum. This 7" is the equivalent of, say, three friends doing a charity activity, but the best part is that no one had to run 26 miles and I got a 7" out of it. I can definitely get on board with record collecting for charity.
Format: 7", insert, unique artwork, single-sided
Tracks: 1
Cost: £122.50 new
Bought: eBay
When: 12/07/18
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
