Spiritualized

Hi. 1st post on here.

Was wondering if any one could help me with any more info on this.

I won this Spacemen 3 - Recurring Test Press LP off ebay a couple of days ago for what I consider an absurdly cheap price (under £40). As a record collector I'm well aware that Test Presses rarely exceed maybe 15 copies so I was in two minds as to had I picked up an absolute class bargain or was it a fake/boot and that's why it didn't get bidded up quite so much.

Running through a few details and it seems to check up correct, the seller I bought it off, based in Oxford, was selling a Charlatans 12" EP / Single Test Press and another test press record at the same time and scrolling through his previous transactions he had been selling furniture out of Rugby.

It only has this written on the A side Label. The B Side is blank.


And it has the FIRE LP 23 A and B catalogue number on the etching on both sides.




I've listened through it a few times now and it all seems fine, tracks seem all the right length and the sound is great.

That's not an actual test pressing as such, it's a white label. The test pressing has an official Mayking label on it. Here: Having said that white labels were produced and are quite rare. What's more that is almost certainly Pete Kember's writing you have pictured here so your item is an authentic white label. The wording '1st tests' might mean that this was an early test press without the Mayking label - PK's wording is interesting - which means it's possibly of more interest to a collector. I don't know how many white labels were made - maybe 100 or so - so you certainly have a collector's item.

Ah right, by white label do you mean like a DJ copy / Promo copy?

It also says on the etching Paul on side A and "The Exchange" on side B if that is anymore information to you?

I guess, yeah. They sent out white labels as promos - sometimes they'd send out the test pressings too as the ones I have for Spacemen 3 have press releases with them.

Your copy may be one of an early pressing just to see how they turn out. Quite interesting.

I think The Exchange is/was a pressing plant in Camden