Tuesday, August 31, 2010

EYE ON EBAY------Sunburn and bloody noses One of the great lost indie bands that sprouted up from the fertile C86 soil, The Siddeleys released the formidable Sunshine Thuggery 12" on Sombrero in 1988. Four flawless tracks of mustard-laced indiepop criminally overlooked at the time managed to persuade a punter to part with £33.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290466356936&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY--------Childish Claim Kent mod revivalists The Claim released several singles on various labels and this one on Caff is one of their rarest. Sleeve artwork by Billy Childish might have helped this rocket up to a final sale price of £79.81.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220655562173&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

EYE ON EBAY----Raising the temperature Rough Trade-based fun with the unsettling sounds of This Heat and their 1981 experimental extravaganza Deceit. Despite the sleeve looking scuffed this attracted expensive interest with one determined bidder taking the prize for a magnificent £137.29.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300428723213&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT  

EYE ON EBAY-----Tiny seller tidies up An astonishing £64 is paid for Liliput's Rough Trade LP. I know someone who picked this up for under a tenner at a record fair about three years ago, much to my chagrin as I wanted it myself.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150445356901&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Not so desirable, it seems, is their other LP Some Songs which rewarded the same seller with a paltry £22.23.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150445357909&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-----Friday on my mind The influence of the Two Tone label was ebbing by the time of this release by Friday Club which is a frequent visitor to ebay but not often in the 12" format. The final sale price was £57. The much rarer What Is Soul single has attained as much as four times that. I picked up my 7" of the former in an Oxfam in Huddersfield.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220609608990&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Monday, May 31, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-----Double signal They came from York and they had a thing about signs. This is Sema 4, who if around today might well have written an ode to York City's march to Wembley a few weeks ago, perhaps a reworking of their dynamic song Capital City. Both EPs surfaced within a few days of each other, the 4 From Sema 4 single, despite being a little trammelled, achieved a remarkable sale price of £181. A different seller extracted £94.99 for, in my opinion, the slightly stronger second release. Both contain very fine furious muddy moddy punky numbers.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200468305765&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200469922243&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY----Little support for this Limps effort Described as a worthy EP by 45 Revs which might imply a degree of mediocrity is on show on this four track EP which showcases two efforts each from The Limps and No Support. They released a further shared single before filing for a permanent divorce in 1981. This struggled to titillate ebay's punk community, no doubt due to the absence of the picture sleeve, the seller claiming a rather weak £32.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250620069241&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-----Wails from Wales This EP promises Sex, Violence And The Eternal Truth. Featuring old favourites What To Wear, who appear to have the lowdown on Martians, Lost Boys, Venom and the Dodos, it's a plucky affair that usually attracts serious bidders. This was on offer without a sleeve which undoubtedly affected the final price of £51.09.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260592669358&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Monday, May 17, 2010

EYE ON EBAY--------I would go out tonight but I just paid £77.99 for a What To Wear single. Yes the Welsh japestars lone release, not counting their effort on the Sex, Violence And Eternal Truth EP, drains someone's pockets and possibly forestalls the replenishment of said someone's wardrobe. Hope they are consoled with this rare prize.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260590672401&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, May 13, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-----Wonderful buy Has the market collapsed with regard to this slice of delicious vinyl pie? Maybe it was because the seller only had 98.8% positive feedback that this rare pop gem by the Hardy Boys sold for a meagre £69.90. And it was free postage from Japan. It's pleasing to see the Japanese selling some of our pop legacy back to us, assuming of course that the winning bidder was based in the UK.

The Hardy Boys are playing live tomorrow at the Buffalo Bar next to Highbury & Islington underground station.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280498397262&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY----Massive Mexican stand-off A number of bidders went for this pleasant pop offering from Mexico Red helping it reach a final sale price of £102. First time I've seen this item on ebay. Picked up my copy for £9 in MVE about two years ago.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370374663904&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&autorefresh=true

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Friday, May 7, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-----Old school cravat tribute to prime minister? Angry noisy punk from the only good thing to come from Redditch, probably. Gordon by the Cravats sells for £34.77 which is probably a lot more than Gordon Brown's credentials are worth this morning.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120556072970&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT  

EYE ON EBAY-------A kick in the wallet When the Incredible Kidda Band grew up they became Kicks and the single If Looks Could Kill was released on Blue Chip records in 1981 as a limited edition. Popular on powerpop wants lists this sold for £158.18.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120556053686&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

EYE ON EBAY------A mixed-up kid returns. Responsible for one of the great powerpop singles, The Original-Mixed Up Kid, the Various Artists LP has surfaced after years of hiding. This is most certainly the reissue that appeared a few years ago. Nothing as startling as their solo single lurks within. Not sure this ever got a proper release back in 1981. Final sale price of £56.05 after 27 bids would have left me wincing if I hadn't bought my copy at a record fair a few months ago for £10.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140394261120&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY------Dessert reaches price ceiling Before Blancmange began wowing eighties popkids with such hits as Living On The Ceiling and Waves they were involved in an experimental adventure they prosaically called Irene And Mavis. What would the old ladies in the laundarette pictured on the sleeve have made of it? "Put it back in the wash, dear", they might have said. It's minimal madness that belongs on Industrial records. I can assure you of this as I snapped up a copy from a generous dealer for £20 about two years ago. It sells on ebay for £88.96.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120547669051&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY-----A message to you, Rudi Pete Newnham's Rudi zooms into three figures and halts at £131. If you're itching to hear the A side I point you towards Bored Teenagers Volume 5 comp on Bin Liner. Plenty of other bruising punk wails to enjoy by the likes of the Negatives, Blitz, Rezizters and the Rats.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220579843135&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-------A-yodelling we will go You ebayers are so predictable. £417 for the Exits ep. Couldn't you have let it alone so I could win it for £100? If only I'd been a regular at Rumbelows in Hounslow back in the day, one of the few outlets it was sold despite the band coming from the glamourously-glazed city of Stoke.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310209797120&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY----He's back Clive Culbertson returns and this time he's even greedier. His unsatisfied appetite gobbles up £213.04. Hope that 4p doesn't give him indigestion. Last time he squeezed a £150+ from some punter. Despite the fact that this record seems to be multiplying there's no shortage of free-spending candidates in thrall to its dubious rarity.



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330422254672&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY-----Page three extras Those naked women on the Scoop sleeve appear snooty to me; difficult to achieve when your shorn of all attire. Their charms lured in £141 for seller Punkysteve. A good price for a record that often scrapes the £100 undercarriage.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310212655016&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, April 2, 2010

EYE ON EBAY----Not jilted this time Comedy records, love or hate them, one could feel the pain Jilted John was working though whilst moping outsode the chip shop. Never, since Leader Of The Pack, was teenage love presented so poignantly. One could almost smell the heartbreak wafting off of those chips. Graham Fellows left his soggy-hearted alter ego behind and began a new life. One legendary LP from the 80's, the romantically named Love At The Hacienda, captures collectors' imaginations, enough to secure a final sale price of £63.47.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140394150256&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:GB:1123

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-------Satan's little earner Thrust my hands deep into my pockets and found a farthing in a nest of fluff. So I stepped out of the bidding ring and let the madness ensue. Don't think I've seen this sell for as much as £345. It's Royal Northern by Demon Preacher. Seller Punkysteve is held in high esteem in ebay world so this attracted a small circus of non God-fearing bidders. If only this single would go forth and multiply; in other words will Sing Sing records please reissue it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310208359090&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, March 26, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-------Cashmere-lined raincoats Some dirty old man or woman pays £87.68 for Blue Movies by the Fascinators. About the going rate. This single was for sale in MVE a few weeks ago for £175 and it sold! I'd love to meet the maniac who paid that for it. A few months previously an Oxfam near Marble Arch had two copies, both for sale at £75. How many copies of this record were pressed?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400109875092&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT 

EYE ON EBAY------Maybe I'm amazed (on consideration, I'm not) Predictable isn't it. The Amazing Space Frogs gently hop over the £300 barrier eventually selling for £310.99. Boring. Be a story if it sold for less than half that.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160411015617&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, March 25, 2010

EYE ON EBAY----Worried trousers The Angst In My Pants EP is home to some fine jagged offerings from the Digital Dinosaurs, Midnight Circus and the 012 among others. Experimental, detrimental or just mental tunes, there's plenty here to challenge the complacent listener. Final price, a surprising £104.53.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260563280137&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY----Too unlovely to dance with Remember this Wallflowers single being on my wants list for a few years. Thank You is a mid-paced slightly melancholic tune. The band came from Slough which is still awaiting a barrage of bombs to land on it. The seller reeled in £41.50, only the 7" though, the 12" might secure nearly twice that.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380212397359&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

MACHINE------A ghost in or a spanner in....... The existence of some obscure SRT release from around 1978 by a band called Machine called Bored Of The City was brought to my attention. 45 Revs is not up to (45) speed on this one. It's out there somewhere. Any info on this would be cherished around these parts.

EYE ON EBAY----The portable minimal Dylan I remember buying this single by Rainy Day Women some thirty years ago. As the seller declares, it's the first release on the legendary Monogam label. What sort of world does he live in? One I'd frequently visit, I imagine. Difficult synth but not as hard work as say the FoetusSymphony Orchestra (featuring Lydia Lunch) which I found in a charity shop yesterday for £2. Anyway the seller raked in £26 for this German nugget.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330405614150&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, February 26, 2010

EYE ON EBAY---You can almost see my street on that map Ah the old homestead. I spent my crucial years (those between the ages 6-25) in the ye old shit hole East Sheen. Yes that cruel chorus " East Sheen's a dirty shit hole, East Sheen we're going to burn it down" often reverberated around my bedroom. Late one night after coming back from a Marc And The Mambas gig East Sheen was indeed ablaze. Not the entire suburb but the wood merchants at the bottom of my road. I leaned out of my bedroom window and took a photo. No one thought to question the members of O Level despite the arsonist tendencies East Sheen bestirred within them. It wasn't a shit hole, just a dull suburb where the middle classes amassed against the lower life forms of Roehampton and Mortlake. We were better than them, we had a Waitrose. Oh what a day of celebration it was when Waitrose came to town. But anyway......East Sheen by O Level sells for an astonishing £132.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310199377633&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

EYE ON EBAY--------Love less than minus zero Noisy punkniks from Bradford the Negatives released this much sought after single in 1979. Always encourages great activity on the keyboard when Love Is Not Real surfaces on ebay. Generated a tidy sum of £127.77 for the seller.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280462117409&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY---------Frustrated rebels The Outcasts had looks to match their name. Simple but effective Northern Irish punk band with a basic rawness that served them well. Though at times they make the Lurkers seem sophisticated that only makes them more endearing. Up for sale here was their first release, Frustration, on It records. Interest peaked at £58.89.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120528106774&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY------Panic in the streets of cyberspace Fronted by a certain Mr. Valentine Guinness (hope that's his real name) Panic released an extremely limited red vinyl 7" around the beginning of the 1980's. Powerpop fiends were gently flustered and someone carried this prize off for £64.03. Guinness had a solo effort on the RAK label sink without trace a few months previous to this.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350314855676&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

EYE ON EBAY------Foresight no good without hindsight Tempted though I was to finally procure a copy of the LP The Foresight Saga by the Dubious Brothers I suffocated the raving lunatic part of my brain and let the bidding madness continue without me. Glad I was for my restraint as this elusive nugget sold for £137. Surprised me as it generally stalls around £80-£90.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370332803412&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-----Let's do the spin cycle again Rockabilly was milling around the nether regions of the charts in the early 80's but the Wild Eagles failed to glide on the trade winds. A private release in 1982, Wash Machine Boogie was backed with the more familiar Rip It Up and Twenty Flight Rock. Hopes were high for this but in the end it trundled off to a new home for the skinny sum of £7.16.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WILD-EAGLES-Wash-Machine-Boogie-KBD-UK-1982-PRIVATE_W0QQitemZ350312941851QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Records?hash=item519047491b

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Thursday, February 11, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-------The price of a licence fee Bee Bee Cee's straightforward punk product You Gotta Know Girl twists a formidable £127.55 out of some punter.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270522567731&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-----Lost battle Gingerly bidding just under half the sale price, as I did, for this indie offering from Guernica released in 1987 on Idol records was a recipe for failure. I think they were Irish which might lend some significance to the title of the A side, Orange And Red. Sold for £92.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360230245197&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

EYE ON EBAY------Mod spends wad From the Mike Read collection comes Stevie Sharp And The Clean Cuts. Mod revival on Happy Face which might not be so happy once you've chucked £142 at it. We Are The Mods was a rallying cry the buying public soundly ignored back in 1980.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120516239846&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY-----Used Needles are expensive Anything on Ellie Jay seems to whip up a froth of interest. The Needles are a mystery to me but someone parted with £43.79 to acquire Jayneski/Gotta Know You. Did they do anything else?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370317170835&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY--------Clive alive! Clive Culbertson's Time To Kill single never fails to make a pauper out of someone and that someone will be £153.12 poorer. This single seems to appear every few months or so but still attracts high bids.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370323846166&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Monday, January 25, 2010

EYE ON EBAY-------Put out more flags Pleasant indiepop 12" by No Flags Etc. shifts for £30.30. They have a CD out where this single and more can be experienced.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180453320634&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY--------An expensive addition to the wardrobe It's the What To Wear EP. Now I can report this little accessory fell at £93.74. Draped on the record deck it'll take you to the hinterland of weird and you'll find very little to go with it. Four tracks make up the Casual But Smart 7" and I was smart enough to pick it up as a buy it now for about £7 a couple of years ago. What a saving I made!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120517633528&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY------Expensive library book A 7" record that Clive Culbertson engineered by the Faders stretched into three figures, selling at £103.50. Cheatin' c/w Library Book is apparently a raw rock belter. Is it? Mr.Culbertson has his Time To Kill on ebay right now with one day to go before the auction ends, currently selling at £85.27.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120519073391&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

EYE ON EBAY----From the Mike Read collection. Sympathy is extended to Mike Read who recently had to auction thousands of records to help stave of bankruptcy. Among the mainly sixties and seventies pop items was this effort from Wasteland, their second single, a follow up to their Want Not EP. £93 was the final total, no doubt devoured by Mike's bankruptcy black hole, which is a high price; perhaps its provenance helped it attain such a healthy return. I've seen it sell for under £60.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120515791021&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Monday, January 11, 2010

EYE ON EBAY----Overcooked indie from East Anglia One wonders if the sole bidder of this item knew the legendary Potting Sheds featured on this comp, pleasantly named Burn It To A Crisp, a practice witches suffered at the hands of suspicious yokels in East Anglia, oh, only several decades back. Subtitled A Taste Of The Norfolk and North Suffolk Indie Scene because hey, "we wouldn't want any of those talentless South Suffolk sorts spoiling our buzz with their inferior indie", it is liberally littered with inferior indie. At the time though, circa 1990, this probably had pre-grunge kids yelling insults and bragging about Insanglia (as opposed to Madchester) across the fens as the rest of England took a giant-sized E and floundered on the dancefloor like a broken Bez. Sold for £4.99, about what I paid for it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130355464110&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Coastal commotion I have no information to impart about Brouhaha except that which the seller yields. Released in 1993 it was the first release on Sep records, were there others? A 12" called Pebble Beach it excited a couple of indiepop collectors and sold for £59.74.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200412962107&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY Up for re-release apparently in the new year this didn't prevent this single by Straightshooter on Strolling Bone fetching in a tidy £170 for the seller.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120498802902&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Bunch of failed liars. The seller kindly gave bidders a listen and I liked what I heard. This is Society and their single Can't Hide A Lie. A rousing roistering punky number released in 1980, apparently without a picture sleeve. Sold for its starting price of £30.82 and I'm regretting not chucking £40 at it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230398407179&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-------If only they'd had texting back then Mystery powerpoppers the Bodgers cut this single Stutter/I Hate Phoning Girls back in 1982 on their imaginatively named label Bodgers Records. Did this originally come in a sleeve? If so it might have sold for more than £26.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360208073186&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, December 3, 2009

EYE ON EBAY---Let's have a Ball Regular visitors may remember I snapped up this artifact in a charity shop earlier this year. Pop Goes Art by the Times had a homemade sleeve which is as artistic as anything Damien Hurst has belched out. Netted the seller a reasonable £57.60.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200394822687&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY------Bought off the street This four track EP by the Street People is rarely seen. £165 sale price should see them get a bed for the night. I considered a punt at this but if I'd have paid that for it the girlfriend would have put me out on the street.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200394235183&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT 

EYE ON EBAY----Welsh punks educated enough to write their names A signed copy of this little gem by the Screen Gemz, which bears a slight resemblance to the Jags, fetches a healthy £275. Never sells for under a £100 but this is one of its highest sale prices.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200399219765&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, November 27, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------Big Strange Noise Choice piece of obscure synth tomfoolery from the Outsize Oddments who sound like they've graduated from the Martin O'Cuthbert music academy. Mesmerising simplicity has the bidders entranced and what I suspect is a one off adventure on the Spurious Artists label secures the seller £183.16.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OUTSIZE-ODDMENTS-rare-EP-UK-PUNK-diy-minimal-synth-KBD_W0QQitemZ330378251500QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4cec140cecQQautorefreshZtrue

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Cheap child Not exactly neat neat neat but a decent enough stab of punk from the Damned. Stretcher Case Baby could have been yours if you'd been at the relevant gig or won an NME competition by supplying a humourous one liner to accompany a picture of the group. Of course it's been bootlegged but the seller stressed this was the original. Sold for £68.99.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310179262307&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Crocodile Echo Two copies of the Suede Crocodiles single sold by Yekserves netted him a tad over £414 in total. Not often two singles sold so closely together attain equal price status but this was achieved on this occasion, as single two (£208.15) sold for slightly more than single one (£206.25).

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUEDE-CROCODILES-STOP-THE-RAIN-C86-UK-INDIE-TWEE-1983_W0QQitemZ200404169287QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item2ea904f247

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUEDE-CROCODILES-STOP-THE-RAIN-C86-UK-INDIE-TWEE-1983_W0QQitemZ200401423714QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item2ea8db0d62  

EYE ON EBAY-----Scratch A Scottish Scrotum Scottish scamps classic DIY single sells for £134.70. About £20 more than I paid for my copy. I think my favourite Scrotum Poles track is Pick The Cat's Eyes Out. Nothing for the RSPCA to get worried about, it's not a tribute to violence against felines.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200399559153&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY----Better than meerkats In need of weird? Get acquainted with the Performing Ferret Band. I think this LP is now available on CD but it doesn't stop someone paying £147 for it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380172240094&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Limp bid A cowardly bid of £22 was unlikely to win me this single on Matchbox Classics, a joint effort by the Limps and No Support. It went for exactly double my bid. I would have been braver with my cash but I have two weekends of record fairs approaching, London and Utrecht.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120487115805&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY Astounding price paid, £206, for this pleasant slice of C86 pop by Playing At Trains. If I'd have been bidding for it I'd have been derailed at £50 but I didn't need to as I picked it up in a charity shop in Warwick a few years ago for the outrageous sum of £1. Feel my smugness.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320443826791&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, November 6, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------Gross oversight Only a few days before I found this Gross Club single on ebay it had been recommended to me by an ebay seller. I was hoping it would slip by unnotticed and my pathetic bid would secure it for me, loathe as I am to acquire British releases from US sellers and incur large P+P posts. No doubt the attractive shot of a naked behind aroused certain bidders. I was stifled out at £10, the record eventually selling for £54.81.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180426185078&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

EYE ON EBAY An arm and a leg were sacrificed to obtain this lone single by Scottish indiepoppers SuedeCrocodiles. £243.70 was the final price, amazing when you consider this sold for less than £100 a few months back. Interestingly seller Yekserves has this up for auction, in fact he has two copies! Will it break the £100 mark? Find out in a few days.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUEDE-CROCODILES-rare-UK-1983-INDIE-POP-TWEE-C86_W0QQitemZ330372012779QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4cebb4daeb

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

EYE ON EBAY Under the guise of the Cardiacs I saw this lot live a couple of times at the Marquee. Over the years they built up a ferocious following; many swooned over their cabaret prog indie recipe and whether you loved them or not they were always entertaining. Originally known as Cardiac Arrest this debut release on Tortch usually gives good return for the seller but the final price of £134.32 is the highest I've seen it sell for. Advisable not to bid on this if you have a weak heart.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380169320607&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY It's cold wave, it's minimal synth, it's enough to encourage a huge outlay of £144. This is Betrayal by Secession. It's also on the Garden label and it's Scottish. And extremely rare the seller assures us so it got Bidder 6 excited and he ousted Bidder 1 from the top of the auction tree. Me, I haven't an inkling who this lot were and I wasn't prepared to pay enormous sums to find out.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200394742686&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Viral epidemic Reminding us of those dimly-lit days in the early seventies when we often lived by candlelight the Jermz delivered a vicious little punk tune called Power Cut. Their only legacy, it's a fine effort and had a flurry of collectors showing an interest. And once one appeared selling for £292.89.......http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360193628779&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

......another two surfaced, the first accruing £315 whilst the second failed to exceed the £200 mark selling for a paltry £129.97.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370271422872&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320434514503&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------More from Medway Modern mods the Claim return with a 12" EP called This Pencil Was Obviously Sharpened By A Left Handed Indian Knife Thrower. What passes for humour in Kent may not raise a titter in Middlesex but that notwithstanding this was claimed for £26. One I intend to pick up one day when the price is right; it wasn't this time.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180418321223&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY-----The unloved Two singles here that failed to seduce punters.
First an effort by Apes In Control. This has generated minor interest in the past but this time out bidders stayed away.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350265196327&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Next a fascinating, if flawed, attempt at being experimental in an extremely tentative way, by long forgotten galactic travellers Faraway Stars. I put this on the blog many months back to a fairly indifferent response. Even less response on ebay. No takers at the low starting bid of 99p.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120480018816&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, October 16, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----El of a way to go It always surprises me that the El label doesn't attract more interest. A bastion of eccentric musical outpourings of a very British nature El consciously dodged the mainstream eighties music scene so successfully their accountants would have needed the creativity of Mozart to have kept them in the black. This very excellent Would Be Goods single, the band are one of my girlfriend's favourites, mustered no more than £6.50 in the ebay arena.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290354940362&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY------Claim on Something from Medway that isn't Billy Childish, the Claim are much revered among indiepop types who have reacted positively to their inner mod. A single called Loser's Corner, could that be an ode to unlucky ebay bidders? Only if the band were prone to premonitions as this was released long before ebay. Sold for £14.99, a fairly low price.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130334878752&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-------Seize the day A £26.36 smash and seize for this fine spiky effort by the Seize. Thirteen bids were spread between seven bidders.

http://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=290357440403

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------Tiny riot A minor scuffle and this raucous classic by the Mekons sells for a penny over £27. I remember buying Never Been In A Riot in Rough Trade some thirty years back and being overwhelmed by its potent racket.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300352706808&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT  

EYE ON EBAY-----An early Spring From damp and dreary Scotland came April Showers and, their name notwithstanding, their single had all the sunny gorgeousness of Aztec Camera or Friends Again at their most uplifting. Even with Chrysalis behind it this single drowned without a trace. Valued in the 2008 RRPG at £100 it collected the seller 20% of that. I found my copy in Marylebone High Street Oxfam for 99p.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120475826912&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY------Queue getting smaller This faux jazzy pop number from Queue Dance would have had feet tapping in a wine bar in 1987 but in 2009 fingers were almost still on keyboards as this sold for a meagre £17.57. Has sold for twice that in the past.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140349759591&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, October 8, 2009

EYE ON EBAY--------Early riser Reference books are a thing of wonder, aren't they? But are they to be trusted? To safeguard the author from plagiarism said books have been known to invent facts. Even the A-Z has the odd false street marked in it. Waylaid by the wonder of a band called Morning Spunk found in 45 Revs I doubted the veracity of the entry. From what spurt of imagination did this name ooze? Whereas the Sex Pistols was a reasonably witty moniker what was amusing about a name possibly inspired by a dawn greeting from a chipper Australian?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400076146697&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

But there's the £80 proof. Two naked girls drenched in a deluge of man jam adorn the cover; or alternatively they've just stepped out of the shower together. Released only in Italy, land of Berlusconi and topless TV presenters, the band shot their load of talent to little effect. Perhaps their brand of sleazy sex was a little premature, thirty years on Italy seems ready for them now.

EYE ON EBAY----Gets on my wick The Penny Candles came from Hull, the place the Devil created for his kingdom, misspelling it so a vengeful God couldn't find him, and it rather annoyed me when their wonderful jangular 12" sold for a mere £23.55. I paid almost double for mine. Light a candle for me and fling a penny or two my way.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330362755570&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY Not fond of bidding on anything Modboy1 sells as it usually attracts Rockefeller types. Lazily and tentatively bid just under £30 for a single by Greenlines. Why? Because they reminded Modboy of the Homosexuals and the TV Personalities. Inevitably I was intrigued but cautiously and so lost out, said single selling for £30.55.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330360947770&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY---Lose 39 lbs in a minute Here's one my girlfriend bought me for my bithday several years back. I hope she paid less than £39.89 for this excellent piece of punk whimsy by the Thin Yoghurts. Not often seen on ebay the buyer got a bargain.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250502854766&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Like Dolly Mixture on fags Modboy1 claimed that Spirit Level sounded like Dolly Mixture and that may have been enough of a prod to push this over the £70 mark. The sleeve would have one thinking they were perhaps more rocky than that, but then only Peters & Lee could be less rocky than the Dollies, and with a song called Cigarette World and a singer in trousers so shiny and tight even Olivia Newton John would have gasped I suspect they could hold their own on a boozy night in the Dublin Castle.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330360957545&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, September 25, 2009

What Is Oil? indeed. This must be the very best grade. This single rarely bruises the £20 mark. I've seen it sell on ebay twice and I won it the second time for about £16. And yet some maniac pays £93.55 for it. This highlights the insanity of ebay. Seller Modboy 1 has an impeccable ebay history and anything he sells usually generates a flurry of interest but he must have been overcome with glee when he raked in nearly £100 for this decidedly average effort.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WHAT-IS-OIL-rare-1982-UK-DIY-PUNK-SYNTH-PRIVATE_W0QQitemZ330360951280QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item4ceb0c11f0&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14

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Thursday, September 24, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------V's V's Me After driving 4,000 miles around Europe in two weeks I'm too exhausted to invite controversy so I'm certain there's a legitimate explanation as to why this single by the Chevrons fails to meet the necessary criteria to award it a place in 45 Revs. The seller, the reliable Hypstr 66, claims it was released in 1979. Yet to sell, he has it at a buy it now price of £120.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160363290752&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-----I got the Point Helpfully the seller of the Point's single let potential buyers hear the whole song. I listened and liked what I heard, then swiftly went off to Gemm and bought the one copy on sale for just over £8. This I did a few hours before the listing ended and then saw the seller reel in £22. Maybe my quick thinking ensured the seller a better return.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230377887391&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


EYE ON EBAY ----- A grey area Not sure who the Black And White Lovers was. Hopefully not named after the execrable Ebony And Ivory they inspired enough passion among bidders to push the final price up to £84. Once again this came from C86/indiepop dealer Strike Up Matches who has a knack of unearthing obscure pop which attracts a few dedicated bidders.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220479009796&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, September 4, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----A cheap Picasso An original Guernica sells for £74. Seller Strike Up Matches found this in a charity shop in London and I'm still seething with indignant jealousy especially as the shop is one I've visited on several occasions. I stayed out of bidding range as this came to a close, at a decent return on his £1 investment.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220470363523&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Strike Up Matches has an abundance of indie delights that he throws into the ebay ring and here's another by Second View from Germany which made him £100 richer.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220470361013&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT  


EYE ON EBAY----The price of Modern Art Modern Art mutated into psych monsters Sun Dial. I have a single which I bought for £10 from MVE a few months back. It had perched on the shop wall for months and I watch the price tumble until I snapped it up. Nobody seemed interested so I'm a little surprised that this sold for £34. Still it is an LP and that seems good value to me.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370248025195&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY----Will the Arctic Circle be unbroken? I have to admit that I have no idea whether Varaus came from anywhere within a match girl's icy breath of the Arctic Circle. I imagine they make the sort of racket that inspires Norwegians to burn down churches so it's just as well they come from Finland. That match girl should move to Norway, she'd make a blazing trade. Sold for £123.06.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350245370393&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Sunday, August 30, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Man on the wrong track The Sound LP Jeopardy sells for £50. The singer Adrian Borland threw himself under a train at Wimbledon nearly ten years ago. Whether that affected the final price one can only guess. I picked up a copy of this LP for £3 about a year ago.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120461640028&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Saturday, August 29, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Ice cold in Morecambe The Ice Factory from Morecambe raise temperatures to around 77, pounds that is. Apparently the band are still performing and you can hear A side Jerusalem on Youtube.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200376467353&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, August 27, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------A demon with the dictionary. Oooh tasty. I'm not a huge fan of American punk but I do love Lexicon Devil by the Germs. The song's name always intrigued me, I'd rate it up there with Keep An Open Mind Or Else as one of the greatest song titles, and its legend grew for me as the years passed, until I finally heard it about three years ago. Musically it almost matches its moniker although it took me several plays to succumb to its feral charm. It sold for £215.26.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400065228595&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY-----Not many Risk takers. It's a strange world where various artists contribute to a tribute CD to underachievers the Jet Set. But it may get stranger as there is rumoured to be a similar project devoted to the Risk. Still if Cherry Red can see fit to reissue LP's on CD by the likes of Geordie and Blitz to a resounding " Who buys this stuff?" then why not pay tribute to forgotten mod bands? Sales will be small though judging by the indifference paid to the Risk's Loud Shirts And Stripes ep which sold for a dismal £7.49.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190327440679&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT 


EYE ON EBAY----Find it a round hole. Absolutely no idea who the Square Peg were and interest was not sufficient to even launch this into double figures; the seller collected a miserable £8.27. But his grading was thorough and he was niggardly with it which may have put bidders off.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260458803638&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

WHAT I WON ON EBAY Finally netted this rare ep featuring a rather wonderful effort by some Welsh chancers called What To Wear. Final price skimmed the undercarriage of a £100. The Sex, Violence And Eternal Truth ep contains contributions from three other bands with varying degrees of competence.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270406763115&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

What To Wear EYE ON EBAY-----Slow moving target Very few hands raised at the back of the auction room for the Moving Targets only release. Sold for a meagre £5.50. For more info and a chance to hear the A side, see below.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110421417553&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------Another Brix in the fall? Apologies for the headline and for disappointing any visiting Fall fans. Brix was a band from Lincolnshire who released this powerpop/new wave in 1983 on Marco records. All this info I gleaned from the seller, as to the authenticity of any of the aforementioned your guess is as good as mine. I know nothing of this band but this release intrigues me. Sold for £46.03.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300335250240&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Monday, August 17, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Unseen Art makes Modboy money An indiepop/twee/C86 rarity by Art from 1982 which seller Modboy claims sounds like Twa Toots with a hint of Slits stokes the bidding fires until the furnace burns out at a fiery £71.08. Initially I was interested but my desire for this piece of art vanished around the £30 mark. Love to know what it sounds like.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330351574798&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Popclassics on parade Four Popclassics items to savour. This seller has some interesting stuff and we'll start with the most controversial. According to Popclassics this single by Surreal Modern Musik was released in the UK in 1979. If so why is it not in 45 Revs? Seeing as one side is called Lust Of Berlin and they spell music with a K maybe it's a German release. Sold for £32.09.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350235057080&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Next is definitely a pop classic. The Shadowfax single about reds under the beds and in sheds and advancing on homesteads nets Popclassics a respectable £79.38.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330349389750&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I have no idea who You was but interest peaked at £22.07. Issued in 1980 on Ram/SRT. Any info is welcome.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SViewItem&item=350235059027&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

And lastly the biggest moneymaker, the Gobblinz single London issued on Pinnacle in 1979. This unsurprisingly zoomed into three figures, final price £132.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270437224309&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT  

EYE ON EBAY------A Gyppo on Baker Street Gyppo single which Gerry Rafferty and mates knocked off when they got bored making pleasant music for the wine bar set. High Rise Love is the killer track but I'd never want to pay £175.02 for any record Rafferty was involved in.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330347094783&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT  

EYE ON EBAY----Well blow me down with a trumpet Amazing sum paid for this comp, the Jericho Collection, which netted £77.65 for seller Yekserves. I picked up an extra copy of this at Leicester record fare last year for £1. I have seen it since then for about £3. Certainly has a fine selection of bands, mostly from around the Oxford area, that would please any C86/indie collector, including My Fellow Men, Anyways and Clamheads. Methinks I better get my extra copy on ebay soon.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200368292331&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT  

EYE ON EBAY------Were they jumping someone else's train? Not sure how good this single by Three Imaginary Boys can be with two participants calling themselves Wog and Studge. That didn't seem to deter this powerpop/punk crossover, as seller Modboy describes it, selling for a substantial sum, £114.23 to be precise. The third member of the band is called Ollie. You'd have to be tempted to stick a G in front and place his name next to the imaginitively named Wog.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330349981143&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Thursday, August 6, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------They went Mental for this. Bidders broke through the £100 barricade and stopped right there as this single by the Mental attracted four punk enthusiasts. Bidder 4 felled his rivals and secured this only release by the band on Kamikaze Pig records. Only 600 were pressed.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190322177133&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

EYE ON EBAY An expensive way to keep cool but you'll be the envy of all your powerpop-loving friends if you own this sizzling tune by the Fans. On Bristol's second finest label, no piece of toast is complete without a Fried Egg record or two, this is as essential as their other single Giving Me That Look In Your Eyes. It earned the seller £74, money well spent.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200363544097&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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Friday, July 31, 2009

EYE ON EBAY Episode 4 released one 12" single before mutating into East Village, a band much beloved of Bob Stanley of St. Etienne. This single has surpassed the £200 mark in the past but recently it has stalled far short of that. Its final sale price of £108 is the cheapest I've seen it sell for. A friend told me that it used to turn up regularly in the bargain basement in MVE. If only I had a time machine.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170362156146

EYE ON EBAY The Men Of Westenesse came from somewhere just east of London and released this lone single in 1989. £28 is a reasonable winning bid considering I paid about £40 for my copy. Musically it's pleasant indiepop.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250470273763

EYE ON EBAY More indiepop, this time of an Irish nature. The seller picked this up in a charity shop I have been known to frequent so out of sheer jealous stubborness I refused to bid on it. As far as I know this is Cuba Dares only release and £44 is a good return on something which probably cost £1, he exclaims through gritted teeth.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220455245751

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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Almost set the universe on fire. Despite both songs being available on LP's the lure of this little blue beast by Galaxie 500 on Aurora records snares the seller a decent £113. Remember seeing them live many years ago with my friend Melanie. Every tune made us swoon. A great gig.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=120446084883

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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----By george, they're everywhere A plethora of Harrison singles have surfaced on ebay in recent weeks. Most of them have been sold by Mike the Hoarder who, it seems, as his name suggests, hoarded many copies of this one and only release by the midland's band. Due to its abundance it's no longer the Holy Grail for indie collectors, that would be the Wee Cherubs single. This one was sold by another seller and went for the knockdown price of £74.11.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Harrison-there-is-no-refrain-7-single-indie_W0QQitemZ270421139575QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Records?hash=item3ef65b2077&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A13%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C293%3A3%7C294%3A50

 
EYE ON EBAY----Emergency Ward 34 Time was when this would sell for double this sale price of £41.22. Ward 34 had Andy Taylor as trainee producer on this effort but even the Duran Duran connection couldn't propel this beyond the £50 mark.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330342988862  

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY A foreign indiepop effort of which I know nothing but that didn't prevent me from bidding on the Hip Horace single which was released in 1988 in Sweden. I gazed in awe as it sold for £98.99. And not to me I might add. I suspect it sold to either Atichon or Picheux, my old indiepop collecting rivals.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220444009121

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Sunday, July 12, 2009

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY-----No joy on this ride Advised by a respected follower of this unholy parish I went all Chopin on the keyboard but came out loser for the Joyride single, Goodbye/Something Special released on their own Joyride label. For some inexplicable reason this veered into a ditch at £152.67 selling for less than Modboy 1's other big seller described below. Please illegal bootlegging comp camp sort something out, I want to hear this.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330342239951

EYE ON EBAY-----From the outer limits of the twilght zoneHaving escaped from the asylum the lunatics logged on and let their craziness loose on ebay. This Twilight Zoners effort is a mediocre meander through DIY pastures and isn't good enough to polish the Desperate Bikes' handlebars. I have the second single which was released in 1980, picked up for £1 in Brighton about a year ago, and that doesn't come within a tramp's vomit of the majesty of the One On The Clapometer single. I can't believe this broke through the £200 barrier but the seller Modboy 1 (does that mean he's the original mod?) must be rubbing his lambretta with glee.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330342239295 

EYE ON EBAY----Tango in mango Dieter Meier didn't have to cry for fame for too many years as he and fellow musician Boris Blank raced into the charts under the guise of Yello in the late eighties. This single, Jim For Tango, released on Periphery Perfume on mango coloured vinyl, waltzed over the £40 mark. I remember buying this in MVE for about 50p nearly thirty years ago.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=180359102470

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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Keeping their cool The Fans very wonderful Giving Me That Look In Your Eyes on the Bristol based label Fried Egg reels in £34. Worth every penny and about what I paid for it three years ago.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200357566811

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY-------Not my virginity How I Lost My Virginity by the Spunky Onions spurts past my maximum bid and sells for £53.85. It's enough to make one cry. Vies with Regular Fries for the worst band name ever. According to Messthetics this was released in 1979. By its omission from 45 Revs this is almost certainly an error.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200358337683

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Saturday, July 4, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Sending pop to the Abbatoir. Quiz yourself this, how many Scandinavian bands can you name that don't begin with A? Abba, Ace Of Base, Aqua, A-Ha, Acid House Kings, one wonders if those bands ever got past the letter A in the English dictionary. Kriminella Gitarrer were obviously page turners and, even more radically, they weren't in thrall to the English langauge. Their rebellious nature wowed some punters as their scorching punk single sold for £250+.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270415981817

EYE ON EBAY---Hit the road Jack Kerouac. From the Hypstr66 collection comes Nicky Beat And The Beatniks. 45 Revs likens them to the Desperate Bicycles in their amateurishness which had my bidding finger twitching. Such comparisons though remind me that nobody is equal to the Bikes and if I won said item I'd be constantly disappointed every time I read Mr 45 Revs' description. What also dissuaded me was the final price of £81.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=160344630167

EYE ON EBAY-----Sema 4 sale signals economic upturn. Caution, recession ahead. What recession? In the artificial economic landscape called ebay a vintage blast of punk can still persuade some punters to plunder their piggy banks. Blitz my wits, I didn't imagine Sema 4's seminal debut to gallop past £300, finally refusing to jump the £330 fence. For the benefit of Hypstr66 the boys from York delivered a yorker. I'm so glad I bought the reissue for under a tenner.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=160344628118

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Friday, July 3, 2009

WHAT I WON ON EBAY----Fish not thrown back I cast a line with a £20 bait and hooked a Fish John West Reject single. At that price nothing to carp about. They swam about in the Australian indie backwaters around the late eighties/early nineties. I favour the B side Twenty Ways.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=370213313452

I also scooped a bargain. Perhaps nobody noticed Peppelkade 14's lone single up for grabs. In the past this elusive indie 12" has heavily injured pockets selling for over £70. I snatched it at the starting price of 99p. No link to this as for some reason it's vanished from my ebay page.

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------On the Razorcuts edge The Cinematic's one and only single was released in June 1982 and featured two founding members of the Razorcuts, Gregory Webster and Tim Vass. It came out on the Pulsebeat label which was based in Luton. A tweeful example of Postcard-like pop the outstanding track is Puffa Train. The girlfriend bought me this single for £50 at the London November record fair several years back. It dragged itself past that total by £1. In the past it has sold for over £90 so I claim this a bargain sale.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=180365892328 

EYE ON EBAY------Secondhand Escort is a nice little earner I'm in a fug of bewilderment. Who were the Escorts? Their single on Rainbow Sound burned rubber to the tune of £137. Do any of my faithful followers know anything about this bunch? They've got me in a wheel spin.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=120437515105

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

WHAT I WON ON EBAY Nobody interested in this Po! release on Spain's auspicious Elefant label so I snap it up for its starting price of £4.99. My Po! collection may now be complete but they were p(r)olific and hawked their goods all over the indie universe so there could be another release I'm unaware of on some label like Rutland Water or Farmyard Collectables.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220435516786

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------A plea to Mr.Costello. The Zipps' Don't Tell The Detectives surges over the £350 mark. The seller advised interested punters to check out Popsike where potential buyers would either be dumbstruck or feign nonchalance. After visiting Popsike those with a spare £200 might have been sanguine about their chances but in the auction's closing minutes their optimism would have drained away.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=230348849230 

EYE ON EBAY----Children's version of a Gang Of Four classic? Once upon a time this Pipettes single could shatter the £30 mark, now it just licks its undercarriage. Indie's answer to the Crystals have been quiet of late, have they hung up their polka dot dresses for good? I await the day I find I Love A Boy In A Uniform in MVE for a fiver.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220435545292

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------Countdown to a bargain. The Stereotypes ultra rarity was brought to my attention by the man behind the blog Junk Box Jury. I missed it being listed so he sent me the details of its sale a few days ago. I expected a wild sum to be flung at it but it went for a modest £200. Would I have bid beyond that? Probably not even though I imagined it would graze the £500 mark.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THE-STEREOTYPES-S-T-7-EP-1979-ULTRARARE-UK-KBD-PUNK_W0QQitemZ160342189011QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Records?hash=item255523a3d3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A3%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A

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Saturday, June 13, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------Absent from the holy text. An oversight by Mr.45 Revs. According to the seller this single by the Sweeney is a punky effort released in 1979 but it is absent from the 45 Revs tome. I'm thinking the seller is at fault here with some incorrect info but if not perhaps a rewrite is on the cards. Only sold for a paltry fiver.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320381535740

Those scamps in cast-offs Dolly Mixture appear again, this time represented by their wonderful LP. An improvement on its last performance it stretched provocatively up to £100. My extra copy is for sale at £80.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150349529951

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------Clog rock. Dutch punk I am completely ignorant of ensures Lpman can put a down payment on a small windmill. The Squats, who?

EYE ON EBAY-------You better shape up. Lpman returns with a single by the Squares, a band of minor interest. This is the original issue of No Fear on Airebeat before Sire scooped them up and they re-recorded it to meet a no better fate than its predecessor. I picked up the second version in an Oxford charity shop a few years ago. These shapes shifted for a few pounds short of £40.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270381225382

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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------Someone left the crypt open. Another Thing From The Crypt crawled out again. It had sold for a much higher sum a few days before. An example of the law of diminishing returns. If anyone else is planning to sell this I suggest you keep the crypt padlocked for six months.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170338248491 

 EYE ON EBAY----Missing Lynx Highly sought after this single by Lynx scaled the financial heights plateauing out at £277. This is the second time it has appeared on ebay in recent months. Only 500 pressed.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=310145467760

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Thursday, June 4, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------Caught by the Buzz. Redball records found Shrewsbury's finest feral youth and encouraged them to wreak musical havoc on this first release. The Buzz would return with slightly different personnel to record an LP in 1981 called Asylum.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=380125496435

EYE ON EBAY-----Dr.Who's deadly foe seeks new home. Dumb punk of the finest kind. Has been no.1 on the Dalek's planet for thirty years. Only singles by Dalek I Love You and Dalek Beach Party have dared to challenge its superiority but they have all been exterminated. This is the Art Attacks single I Am A Dalek which sold for £30+, probably not to a Cyberman.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=230344613924

EYE ON EBAY-----Japanese seller giving a little back Here are a few powerpoppers presently residing in Japan although they are all about to go travelling. I have not heard this single by the Neat but it fetched a tidy sum.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320377782359

I've been tempted by the Extras effort before but never had the courage to bid blind (meaning I've never heard it). Always seems to generate interest but sold for a mild £31 this time.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320377778054

And finally the classic Your I's Are Too Close Together by the Elevators. I have the A side on a comp but is the B side any good?
Sold for an extremely low price due to the sleeve being a xerox copy.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320377776472

WHAT I WON ON EBAY Cutbacks in the household have dictated harsh decisions have had to be made. Only ensnare the extremely intriguing or the most wanted. Applying the former rule I cornered an opponent and dealt them a fatal blow. Having discovered this Cindy And The Barbi Dolls/Young Marble Giants hybrid I could not approach this auction in a listless manner. Indifferent Dance Centre was from Chichester and released this single in 1982. I am unaware of any other releases.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=380127050622

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY I made sure the winner of the Beyond The Implode single delved deep to claim their reward. This was their second release which is almost as desirable as their first. They have recently released a new single should you wish to subject yourself to their peculiar slice of sloppy genius.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=160338493927

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Monster emerges carrying casio. The Another Thing From The Crypt comp hauls in a £100+ for the seller. One of those comps where I suspect a lot of the bands ( features Jesus Couldn't Drum, Vertical Hold, Sleeping Pictures and Silent Race) make music consisting of bleeps, burps and boops. In the name of experimentation many crimes were committed against music.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110391447051

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Sunday, May 31, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Way over my limit. A Lennon/McCartney cover by the Limit that generates great interest. Sources claim that the B side, My World At Night, is an exemplary example of pristine powerpop. I didn't have a spare £90 to find out.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280347990706

EYE ON EBAY Welsh powerpop single returns. The Screen Gemz are guaranteed to secure a hefty return for the seller. Finding this, minus picture sleeve, in MVE for 50p still sends ripples of pleasure through my very essence. Anyone got the picture sleeve they want to sell me?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250432361981

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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Man of the cloth fills collection box Fabric fetishist Lawrence Hayward of Felt and Denim fame first etched his name on pop's family tree back in 1979 with this rare single cheaply recorded in his bedroom. Certainly it champions the DIY ethic of the times, though those that heard it thought it should have stayed in his bedroom. I can't offer an opinion having never heard it and I declined to hurl £100+ just to have the privilege.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=230342473182

EYE ON EBAY If they were behind the sales of their records they could now afford to shop in Selfridges but I think the Dolly Mixture girls will have to live off Happy Talk royalties for a little while longer as I suspect they aren't behind the latest deluge of Dolly Mixture vinyl that has swamped ebay of late. A decent £85 was taken by seller silasgreen5000 but I've seen this item soar over £100 before.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150346296221

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Friday, May 22, 2009

EYE ON EBAY----Mod moves in mysterious ways. Ed Ball produced the Reflection AOB 12" and the seller was proud to claim his copy had been signed by trumpeter Wiggy. I can outdo him as my copy has been signed by all seven band members. Mod revival exports from Essex long after that scene had fizzled out, they recorded this, their only single, in July 1986. I have a spare so if anyone wants to offer me £62 for my signed copy I'm waiting.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=360154381444

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Friday, May 15, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-----Double scoop of dolly mixture. Oxfam chic and St.Etienne connections are enough to stoke up no small interest among twee indie collectors. Not surprisingly these two singles by the saccharine-soaked Dolly Mixture brought in a reasonable return for the sellers. In fact I've never seen Remember This sell for £50+, a more likely price would be around the £40 mark.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330326924597

Meanwhile Baby It's You went for a meek £27.71. I should have bid as it remains the one Dolly Mixture record I need and the longing for it is becoming like a toothache.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200337780715

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Sunday, May 10, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------Lpman selection. The mighty Lpman offered up rarities from the R section of his collection.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-RIVALS-on-Ace-Future-Rights-U-K_W0QQitemZ270370104514QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item270370104514&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/REVENGE-on-Loony-Were-Not-Gonna-Take-It-U-K_W0QQitemZ270368051569QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item270368051569&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-RESIDENTS-on-Ralph-Satisfaction-173-200_W0QQitemZ270367546244QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item270367546244&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-RED-LIGHTS-on-Free-Range-Never-Wanna-Leave-U-K_W0QQitemZ270366545679QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item270366545679&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RADIO-CITY-on-Media-Wave-Love-And-A-Picture-U-K_W0QQitemZ270359307089QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item270359307089&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A2%7C294%3A50http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RATTUS-on-Hilipili-Khomeini-Rock-FINNISH-RARE_W0QQitemZ270359832353QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item270359832353&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A2%7C294%3A50

EYE ON EBAY-------15 year old girls go cheap in Wales Welsh punk doesn't come much finer than Y Trwynau Coch's song extolling the virtues of fifteen year old girls. Not being fluent in Welsh I'm not sure what those virtues are and having encountered gangs of teenage girls in the street I'm puzzled as to why Y Trwynau Coch find them so likeable, apart from the obvious reason. On the Isle Of Wight the boys are even more hasty to explore the opposite sex, witness Henry Essence's 14 Year Old Lover; but after all, as Johnny Logan said, what's another year?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110384863150

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------OverReacta The amazing Lpman returns with another punky gem. A staggering £187+ is paid for this one off release by Reacta. I paid less than a third of that for my copy off ebay about a year ago.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270359844552

WHAT I WON ON EBAY --- Having seen the Shitbirds' Oh Joy (it features the delectable April March) single slip through my grasp twice in recent weeks, once for £33+ and again for only £15+ I was ecstatic to see it appear a third time at the starting price of £5. I then forgot all about it and failed to bid. Fortunately nobody did and the seller put it back on at £2.50. This time it attracted a bid. But it was a tame effort and I won it for less than a fiver. One of those rare ebay stories with a happy ending.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=280335915244

EYE ON EBAY-----Nothing to do with Beatle George --- A mad scrambling in the indiepop undergrowth was predicted when the Harrison single appeared. And so it came to pass. These Birmingham boys, or from somewhere near that urban dystopia anyway, can always guarantee a three figure sum for the seller. If you're intrigued to hear it go to Youtube and put in Harrison C86 in the search facility.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200330988909

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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------------No Way, yes way. Lpman returns with a single from Stockton's No Way. Only 500 copies were pressed and the sale price, a few pence short of £300, reflects its rarity. Two members of the band went on to play in the Amazing Space Frogs. One wonders what remains in Lpman's attic. Want to hear one of the tracks? Seek out a copy of Bored Teenagers 1 which won't cost you £300. If it does you've been ripped off.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270345992658

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY----------Not quite as extinct as the Dodo A four track EP of great rarity, the Sex, Violence And The Eternal Truth 7" contains contributions from the Dodos, Venom, Lost Boys and What To Wear. The seller had the initiative to treat potential buyers to a clip of What To Wear's We're The Martians Now which was rather wonderful. Slightly superior to anything on their later EP which rarely visits ebay, although when it did as a Buy It Now for about £5 I was quick to pounce. My luck ran out around the £60
mark on this though, the final total being £144.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=180343071913 

 EYE ON EBAY-------A sentiment I'd only apply to certain oligarchs First heard Carl Gustav And The 84's on a Messthetics CD. That track was the B side, Through Birds, Through Fire, But Not Through Glass which was an interesting post punk effort. Never heard the A side, I Want To Kill Russians, but am annoyed I didn't risk a punt on this as it went cheaply.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110374285967

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Thursday, April 9, 2009

EYE ON EBAY--------They'll eat your daughters' peaches With that fun festival of frivolity the Elton John fashion parade, more commonly known as the Eurovision song contest, looming on the horizon like an inverted rainbow it's time to look back to a time when a punk band unsuccessfully attempted to represented England in that clownish carnival. Door In My Face was an apt title for the Fruit Eating Bears' song as they promptly had their faces slammed into it. These days a slice of vintage punk might ensure we at least get 10 points. If the atrocious Lordi can win it..............

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=390040039484

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Monday, April 6, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------For gold-plated tomato soup Extremely rare despite it being on Logo the Tinopeners 7" causes much excitement and leaves Remunj £391.60 the poorer. Highly rated by those in the know but I remain uncognizant of this record's charms. Go on, enlighten me someone.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=320353439576

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Thursday, April 2, 2009

EYE ON EBAY--------Nothing is free I have visions of Lpman planning a round the world trip. His latest sale for a single by the Nothing plus twelve other 7" records raises him a staggering £1,129.62. That should get him as far as New Zealand. I know nothing about the Nothing but they mean something to somebody.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270348900394

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY Somehow it seems inappropriate to part with prodigous sums of money for an old cassette. Ethics, a fickle principle, call it what you will, it means I won't get to hear the Penny Candles song Sometimes. Just how many songs are called Sometimes? It's been used by Firehose, Erasure, James, Britney Spears and Ash. Yes I know there are more.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220375249953

EYE ON EBAY------Got it on tape, but at a price. In the grip of some crazy fever a cassette featuring the Penny Candles and the Wallflowers ( from Slough ) sells for a hefty £75. I can't fault anyone for liking the Penny Candles ; this is the second cassette featuring songs unavailable elsewhere as far as I know. How about a Penny Candles retrospective CD? Hull should have something to be proud of, now the football team is sinking fast.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220383195932

 EYE ON EBAY--------Now that's what I call music Lpman secures another fine wad of cash for the Now's second single on Raw records. That's a rare record but the tracks are easy to obtain so no need to sacrifice £444.71.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270349357588

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------It's art, apparently. Lovely comp with such luminaries as the Gifted Children, Direct Hits, TV Personalities, Pastels, Revolving Paint Dream and the Laughing Apple featuring. It's on Whaam! so the mighty Ed Ball has his over-sized hand involved in this. Fetched a decent £62.60.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=400035934741

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY Redball records released the Buzz single in 1979. The band were based in Shrewsbury, that hotbed of mischief and militancy. Not satisfied with one stab at fame they poked destiny in the chest by producing an LP but fate refused to bend and they embraced obscurity. I threw a meagre £34 at this and was not surprisingly outbid but the sale price seemed low at £46.57.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=350176086795

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

EYE ON EBAY--------Kiwi on drugs

Here's an example of antipodean antipathy, the Steroids' Mr.Average sells for a decidedly non-average £163.34. Looks like they were based in my father's home town of Wellington on New Zealand's north island. Completely unknown to me but pricks my interest as it originated from the ancestral home on my paternal side.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250374581972

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Cancelled
TURNTABLE REVOLUTION GIG

May 22 at the Windmill in Brixton (http://www.windmillbrixton.co.uk/main.php) should have been the first Turntable Rev gig. Featuring the Understudies and My Raining Stars. I still haven't sorted out a headline band. I have tried to get Ed Ball and the School but they are unavailable. The School are playing at the Cavern in Liverpool that night.

Are you a headline act? Are you of a indie/powerpop nature? That is if you sound like Orange Juice, Buzzcocks or Heavenly I'd be interested. Even if you only sound a little like them. Or if you sound like, or indeed are, any band on the Fortuna Pop, Cloudberry, Moshi Moshi, Elefant, Siesta, Wee Pop or Matinee labels get in touch.

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Thursday, March 5, 2009

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY

A tentative bid and all was lost. Admittedly I have no idea who Harvest were or what they sound like but the words powerpop caught me in its crab-like claws and I wriggled to break free. Which I did and it was not me that paid £92. This single appeared on ebay a few weeks back and sold for just over £100. Have I missed out on a classic?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110355280191&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=001

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Eye On Ebay Tuesday, March 3, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------Seller not amused

Bidders failed to put a smile on the face of Romarocket despite offering him £7,085.97 for God Save The Queen on A&M. The reserve was not met and this Sex Pistols rarity will be remaining where it is for now. I wonder what his reserve was. I'm guessing £8,000.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320344261659&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=011

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Eye On Ebay Friday, February 27, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------Morally worth more than the radio station Capitol Radio, that vituperative blurt aimed at the radio station sounds much rawer and vital than the version that appeared on The Cost Of Living EP if I recall correctly. I have the original version taped off of a John Peel show circa 1978 and despite the rather inadequate media on which its preserved it still retains a startling ferocity. One of the Clash's finest moments. Sold for £65.70.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270337707839&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

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Eye On Ebay Thursday, February 26, 2009

EYE ON EBAY Apparently this single by the Lemons was rare indie twee. I feel like an acidic rugby ball-shaped fruit for not knowing anything about it. Help me somebody.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190279324900&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

EYE ON EBAY------Seasick melodies Nancy Sesay And The Melodaires are not conversant with the convention of creating a tune. Need I offer more praise than this to insist you make yourself familiar with them. I snatched this from an ignorant dealer at Reading record fair about two years ago for £10. I found an extra copy in the Greenwich MVE about four months ago for £5. Here it sold for £28.99. Note the sellers misspelling of Nancy Sesay.

The Homosexuals had a hand in this. For more of their unique interferences see below.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260337433527&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016

EYE ON EBAY-----Sara Pops! A high price for this off kilter wedge of avant garde genius. Sara Goes Pop are Homosexuals related hence the final sale of £62.10. I paid half that when I won it on ebay about a year ago.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260337436652&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016

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Eye On Ebay Monday, February 23, 2009

EYE ON EBAY------Sarah, the rare and the rarer Here's a selection of Sarah records which sold recently on ebay.

First up the reasonably rare Come Get Me by the 14 Iced Bears. This is the fifth release on the legendary label by a band represented on several labels during their existence.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190279644358&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

Here is the Orchids very fine single I've Got A Habit. This is the Bristol based label's second release and I remember paying £18 for this in MVE nearly twenty years ago. Poor old Vanbrugh had to part with £77.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190279642848&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

And finally the single that started it all. Sarah 1, the utterly essential Pristine Christine by the Sea Urchins. Many would argue that Sarah never equalled this debut release. This fell a few pence short of £70. That's £70 well spent.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170295202052&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007

EYE ON EBAY I like Hypstr66. He's the man from whom I won the Evening Outs single. We completed the transaction in a car park in Walthamstow. It was most clandestine though he did invite the girlfriend and I to the pub for a drink. He could certainly afford to buy us one. But we had to hurry off to a party and so declined his kind offer.

Anyway he scooped £43 for You're A Rebel by Metropak which I picked up for £1.99 in a local charity shop a couple of years ago. Metropak followed this single with the inferior Here's Looking At You 7" before changing their name to Pak and releasing one more single. Found the second single in a charity shop too.

(An Evening Outs update. Since I parted with an incredible amount of cash for aforesaid record the little beast has made ebay its natural habitat. It sold for just over £100 a few weeks ago and currently two sellers have it up for auction. One has it a reckless starting price of around £250.)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160311209427&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

EYE ON EBAY------Keys please me Rather surprised that this single by the Keys gathered in £42.30 for the seller. I picked it up in MVE last year for £3 (smug smile). I also own an LP by them which I confess I have yet to play; it has been lost among recent purchases which are cluttering up our hall.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330304136351&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014

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Eye On Ebay Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Ipman 13 strikes again. Everybody knows that the Incredible Kidda Band generate wild bidding especially when this single turns up with a picture sleeve. £437.28 was the final price which is probably more than anyone from their home town Nuneaton earns in a month.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270319597952&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

Meanwhile back in the UK the Northatitsheight reels in £115 for their second single released under the name Kidda Band.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230317462429&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=013

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Eye On Ebay Tuesday, February 17, 2009

EYE ON EBAY-------Keeping an eye on the Ball

Ed Ball having guested on a Turntable Rev video now pays a visit to ebay in the form of the Times. Pop Goes Art was the first LP released on Whaam! and is very sought after. It comes in a spray painted sleeve designed by Ed's brother Andrew. Sold for £101.60.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=220332847473&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=012

More Ball. O Level released two seminal diy singles. East Sheen was the first and Ed Ball featured on it along with other members of the TV Personalities. Crude and defiantly ugly sounding yet strangely beautiful I had no choice but to buy this at the time as I lived in East Sheen. In the chorus O Level declared they would burn East Sheen down but they never did although late one night after returning from a Marc And The Mambas gig I saw the local timber yard ablaze. As far as I know O Level was never asked to explain their whereabouts. There are three versions of the sleeve and this one is the second rarest; it's also the sleeve my copy lives in.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190281530432&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=009

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EYE ON EBAY Thursday, February 12, 2009

A couple of Low Down Kids releases surfaced on ebay. An Y Trwynau Coch comp and a Singles comp. These are getting harder to find and if I hadn't been concentrating on other auctions I would have made a bid or two myself. I was lucky to pick up the two Low Down Kids various artist comps at the Birmingham record fair a couple of years ago. Essential purchases as many of the singles featured are extremely difficult to locate. Does anyone own or has anyone ever seen the Brent Ford And The Nylons single?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300286500915&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300286500704&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020

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Eye On Ebay Wednesday, February 11, 2009

EBAY-------THOSE THAT GOT AWAY

Firstly the Stolen Picassos which was stolen from me. The seller lists it as an LP. With four tracks? Are they an Australian Yes? They are purported to be twee indiepop. Has a twee indiepop song ever exceeded five minutes?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270339775324&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=017

Next up the B Team single which I've been courting for two years and it still hasn't accepted my proposal to come live with me. Final price £64.53 a little too high given that it sold for under £50
a few months back. Be away with you.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200306923076&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=010

The Extras single has featured on ebay before. Always attracts attention. Wonder what it sounds
like. Anyway I bid a hesitant £36. Got swept away.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200306923076&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=010

Far superior to their other single the Cybermen EP with the classic Cybernetic Surgery eluded me once again. I was elsewhere when the auction ended and left a rather hopeful £46 bid which failed.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=310118921563&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=021

I have the A side of the 021 single on a comp so I tentatively and absurdly chucked £15 at it. It went for £49.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=310118921563&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=021

Again I have the A side of the Zoot Alors single but am wondering if the B side is half as good. After finally finding Abstract Art by Flying Colours I was absolutely underwhelmed by the five minute instrumental on the B side. My £29.99 bid failed spectacularly.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120370245685&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT&ih=002

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Eye On Ebay  Tuesday, February 10, 2009

EYE ON EBAY---------More piss, vicar

Ipman 13 must be buried under an avalanche of cash. The Grout single on the wonderfully named Urinating Vicar records brought him another huge payout of £763.57. Only a hundred copies pressed, what you get is basic no frills punk judging by the two tracks I've heard, Creamtion At Belsen and Fast Cars (not the Buzzcocks song), which are all energy and endeavour if not that tuneful. The EP was reissued a few years back if you're not prepared to dip into your pension money.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270317435166&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

EYE ON EBAY----------Shake Yer Pyramids

The Tammys single is one of the best girl group singles. Completely bonkers, it could have been a writing collaboration between Spike Milligan and Neil Innes. Egyptian Reggae, Walk Like An Egyptian, they are indistinct hieroglyphics in comparison to Egyptian Shumba which should have a pyramid built in its honour. Not surprising then that it soared to a final price of £230. My friend Jeanette Leech who is an avid girl group collector could only seethe in frustration as it blew her budget into the Nile.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150324732490&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

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Eye On Ebay Monday, February 9, 2009

This intrigues me. The Stripes single attracted 18 bids. The successful bidder sacrificed £265 to own this mysterious item. I want information. Is it as good as Abstract Art by Flying Colours? It may well have been comped as the seller claims but I can't find it on any of my comps.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160310452879&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

EYE ON EBAY--------Out of Peel's box

I think I'm correct in claiming this was one of the records that John Peel always kept in his record box. The seller, the indefatigable Ipman 13, seems unaware of this but I imagine some of the bidders weren't, driving the price up to a mouthwatering £86.54. The Galactic Symposium was from Nottingham and they tinkered with such classics as Pink Floyd's Money and that homosexual anthem YMCA. Apparently the experience is akin to listening to Brahms and Liszt simultaneously at the wrong speed. Accomplished musicians were involved but they all decided to play instruments that they hadn't mastered hence the cacophonous result. Low Down Kids released a whole LP of their disturbing music in 2005.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270311227170&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

EYE ON EBAY--------Let's be 'avin' you....

Norwich, the return. Obviously when it performed so well recently it was inevitable it would surface again. A higher return this time for the comp which features the Higsons. I await its arrival in MVE for a tenner; I can always rely on the ignorance of the MVE staff.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160310257206&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006

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Eye On Ebay Friday, February 6, 2009

Currently nuzzling up to the no.1 slot in the Turntable Revolution chart this sounds like it stumbled out of a 1950's revue written by Helen McCookerybook. Queue Dance was active in the mid eighties and this single and two tracks on the Paper Boats In Puddles comp are, as far as I know, their only recorded output. This is the second time the 7" has appeared on ebay in recent weeks but the 12", which I own, has declined to enter the auction ring. Queue Dance centred around two people, Nick Goddard on guitar, bass, vibraphone, keyboards and drum machine and Jo Bourne on vocals and additional percussion, lazy girl.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=400025370861&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=027

EYE ON EBAY--------Crocodile bite not so soft.

Among intelligent men it is an indisputable belief that Dirty Dancing is a dreadful film. That's not remarkable but this is: the Suede Crocodiles single selling for £331. Does the winning bidder expect the world to end within the next few weeks? Last time this had an outing on ebay it sold for just over £90. And to think I saw it in MVE fifteen years ago for a £1.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=200303246375&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=010

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Eye On Ebay Thursday, February 5, 2009

Rarely seen with a picture cover, and given the quasi Penthouse poses the four brazen young men with milky bar-coloured chests are striking that's a boon, the Spider single entraps a punter for a respectable £103. Dressed identically in sham glam they resemble stylish bin men. According to 45 Revolutions both songs, Back To The Wall and Down And Out
(both titles imaginatively expressed in a single image on the pic sleeve!) are fine examples of powerpop glampunk.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120368904595&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=002

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Eye On Ebay Monday, February 2, 2009

I know little about this record. A 1985 release it secured a handsome price for Strike Up Matches. I'm convinced Love Ambassadeux has appeared on ebay before and not reached such a high price. Anyone wise to who they were or what they sound like get in touch.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220327682391

EYE ON EBAY---------Pump up the wheels

New Cross New Cross, this EP is so good they named it twice. Whereas their abilities are stretched a little too far for a whole LP, the Desperate Bicycles brand of low fi eccentricity suits a six track EP. By now the eddies of originality they had sent rippling through pop's stagnant pool were beginning to, if not capsize a few lifeboats, at least make them rock. None of the six tracks on this EP can steal the yellow jersey from The Medium Was Tedium but there's no lack of flirt and flounce amongst the ire and outrage aimed at the status quo (not the band). Another one from the Ipman 13 collection and fetched him a high price of nearly £60.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270297030275

And here's what their fascinating, if flawed, LP sold for.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110324965133

WHAT I WON ON EBAY

Unisex is one of two superb LP's by Blueboy, the other being If Wishes Were Horses. I have both on CD but the CD version of Unisex is faulty so when the vinyl version appeared I manned the keys. Often this dallies around the £30 mark but a recent glut of Blueboy material softened the market and I pinched it for a reasonable £21.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270310152179

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EYE ON EBAY Friday, January 30, 2009

Uncompromising shrieky skronk from America in thrall to the muse of discordia. We're at music's funeral and in the threnody is the therapy. Inflatable Boy Clams is hotly sought after by those who appreciate that which cannot be whistled. Twice what I paid for my copy.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250347748112

The magic of the Go Betweens has not dimmed it seems. Constantly acclaimed by the critics they never realised the commercial success they deserved. Ipman 13's incredible array of rare records threw this gem into the ebay ring, Karen / Lee Remick on the Able Label, which I'd never seen before. Bidding was strong and the eventual winner sacrificed nearly £200 to acquire this excellent early single.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270315255933

Mint copy of the Deep Freeze Mice's debut LP vanishes into the hazy hills of high prices. £205.78, my jaw has carpet burns. I remember getting this monumental chunk of Alan Jenkins madness for £30 in a second-hand record shop in Ipswich back in the mid 1990's. And it had the booklet which had a recipe for grilled salamanders or something. If you ever have a dinner invite around ours, think twice.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=260339553959

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Eye On Ebay Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Both Gobblinz singles turn up courtesy of American seller Ipman who has had some delectable rarities up for sale over the last few months. As expected they both gallop over the £100 mark. These Peterborough punks have a slight Stranglers influence which is more evident on the second single. One of their number went on to play in the Pleasureheads who released a few decent indie records in the late 1980's of which Holding On and Treasure are recommended.Should you wish to acquire the two Gobblinz singles hunt down the reissues. They come in identical sleeves and you'll probably get change from £20 for the pair.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270315253828

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270315251522

Those three twee ladies Dolly Mixture always agitate the indie collectors. Whilst the singles fairly frequently venture on to ebay the LP is a little shyer. £84.58 is a decent price for both seller and buyer. I tried to shift my extra copy for a £100 a few months back but nobody turned up.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=230318594399

The Dolly Mixture seller also offered this minor punk gem by Three Party Split. A second single was recorded but never released and when one of the band left to join Fischer Z, Three Party Split split
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=230318218257

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EYE ON EBAY Sunday, January 25, 2009

The Rok label released a lot of rather ordinary knee-deep in mod/pub rock style singles. This is of interest to me as I used to work with one of the Debutantes backing singers in Readings record shop in Clapham Junction in the early 1980's. Her name was Valerie Shatwell (I'm not making this up) and I had a crush on her. My affection for her was never revealed though I imagine she was aware of it as I took her to see the Teardrop Explodes at Hammersmith Apollo (it wasn't called that then). Not long after being caught up in the Brixton riots, she lived in Railton Road and had her flat window smashed, she returned to her homeland, Scotland. I pined for her for a few weeks and then the resilience of youth returned me to my senses. She was 23 and I was 18 and it would never have worked. But whenever I play her single, an unremarkable effort, I think back to my hopeless crush and a sliver of nostalgia pierces my hardened heart.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270308844964

The legendary Ed Ball had a hand in the Reflection AOB single. The seller had originally placed a wildly optimistic starting price of £199. Months went by and ebay remained shy of free-spending idiots so it was come all at a greatly reduced starting bid. Mod revival fans queued up and it sold for a sensible £48.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200280408785

Seller requires information. Wants to know how much the English McCoy single is worth. My response, "name your price, I'll see if I can match it." Too late. The seller put it on ebay and offers flooded in. The seller yanked it off ebay and despatched it to Japan pocketing £237 thereby depriving the indie community of a ferocious bidding war. Nobody had a chance to place an opening bid. An instant £237 is good but a patient £300 is far better.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/The-English-McCoy-Give-Me-Something-To-Believe-In-12_W0QQitemZ150322380048QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Records?hash=item150322380048&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

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What I Lost On EBAY - Monday, January 19, 2009

Various friends lurk in the ebay shrubbery. On occasion they briefly become enemies as they declare an interest in an item you are itching to own. It might have been the role of loser for jbsolo if I'd have not malfunctioned with 12 seconds to go. I daintily struck the right keys but the computer refused to obey and furious typing on my part failed to correct the error, either mine or the computer's.

Anyway I'm fairly sure jbsolo is Jessel of Canada and he shuffles away with the Four Idle Hands single for its starting price. Enjoy it Jessel but just remember I know where you live ( too bloody far away ), ha, ha ( that was a blood-curdling laugh ).

This Home And Abroad single rarely raises its ugly head so I threw a cursory amount at it. I'm not entirely convinced by their stuff so there was little need for hugs and commiserations from the girlfriend. I'd have been willing to chuck £2o its way but such niggardliness on my part failed to woo it. Instead it went to old adversary Atichon for £44.87. When I find it for £2 in MVE I'll chew on a croissant in his spendthrift honour.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220314518673

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Eye On Ebay - Monday, January 19, 2009

These Swiss misses, Chin Chin, released one of the must-have indie releases on 53rd & 3rd called Stop! Your Crying. Other fine efforts were unleashed upon the world, an LP called Sounds Of The Westway and this single which netted the seller a staggering £67. Well it surprised me anyway as I paid a little over £40 for it. Congratulations Strumpet 06, you paid more than I did but you'll find it money well spent.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330289336913.

My old friend Strike Up Matches seems to have an unlimited supply of C86 connected classics, some of which I have never heard of. This release by the Passiondales was as much a mystery to him as it was to me but he claimed it was superior indiepop and buyer jiminee 1968 forked out £56 to acquire it, so he either knew its worth or he trusts Mr.Matches judgement.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220323441337

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EYE ON EBAY - Saturday, January 17, 2009

Apparently Fire Exit were formed after a heavy drinking session. I failed to imbibe suitable quantities of alcohol to allow me to bid without due care and attention and so I let this prize escape me. Released on Timebomb Explosions in 1979 it is reputed to be a classic. Their only single but there are a couple of live CD's and a studio offering called We're Just Punks which features six originals and a new version of the single.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330285542097

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EYE ON EBAY - Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Riots ensued as this Swedish indiepop rarity by the Mary Go Round on West Side Fabrication loped over the £100 mark. As good as the Happydeadmen the seller proclaimed and that created havoc in the indie community as no less than fourteen bids were collected for this tempting morsel. I was frozen out before I even contemplated bidding.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=160300275105

Australian indie pop that always evades me. The Fish John West Reject have always rejected my advances and being unable to pounce at auction's end John West and his inadequate fish swam away from my net.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=380080060217

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EYE ON EBAY - Friday, January 9, 2009

This delicious slice of powerpop by the Various Artists reels in the seller £71. I can vouch for the pedigree of the A side as it appears on the comp Powerpearls 2. They claim there is an extremely rare LP by this Bristol bunch out there somewhere. Let the hunt begin.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110306021166

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EYE ON EBAY - Thursday, January 8, 2009

£69 secures a powerpop classic by the Form. Is it a powerpop classic? I don't know but seller Funky Gibbon claimed it was. He also claimed to be selling more rarities and he did not disappoint. Meanwhile the mysterious Form single intrigues me; is it as good as anything by the Smirks?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170276056511

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EYE ON EBAY - Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Has the world gone mad? Or is it that the glorious city of Norwich inspires a boundless love? The cult of Alan Partridge has hypnotized the nation and now all that emanates from Norwich must be investigated. So this comp, Welcome To Norwich-A Fine City, excited somebody enough to part with £124. And who wouldn't be excited by the Higsons, Happy Few, Mohair Twins and Screen 3? I could certainly get mildly intrigued by Screen 3 who have released a couple of decent singles but I'd not untangle more than a few fivers to sate my curiosity. Anyway apropos of very little I'd just like to say that Norwich is one of my favourite cities and was once home to a very fine record collecting person, Jeanette Leech. And though she no longer resides there it is still a fine city with two or three decent record shops.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=120335238205

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WHAT I WON ON EBAY - Wednesday, December 31, 2008

I had made several insignificant attempts to win the Beyond The River compilation in the past mainly because it featured the Shrinking Men who released one striking low-fi single. The comp showcased several other bands from around the Reading area circa 1980 and the majority contributed solid efforts. I was particularly fond of the Stills meander through a Cure-like landscape. Superior though were the A.1.Vegetables and Dig Dig Dig, both atrocious names which belied their talents. And I secured this item for an extremely reasonable price considering it had always managed to scramble over the £30 mark in the past.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=330291188893

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What I Won On Ebay - Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Evening Outs : Channel/Stammer

Having now owned this evasive gremlin for a week or so I feel suitably balanced to reflect. There's a vacuity to fill. Try as I may to transfer an ineffable desire to another of my wants a rapacious zeal is yet to develop for say Candy Ranch's Section 58 7" or Keen's Feline Groovy 12". It's time that stretches desire and I've only wanted those singles for a few years. Would they generate equal excitement on ebay as the Evening Outs? As they have both sold for under £100 the answer seems to be no. But then if you pay a visit to Popsike you'll see that the Evening Outs sold for a sixth of what I paid when it was on ebay some years back.

The C86/private indie releases that I collect have not yet inspired numerous collectors and for that I am grateful. Only certain records such as singles by the English McCoy and Hardy Boys stoke up an unchecked fervour. The latter single sold for a massive £352 when it appeared on ebay. Search for these records in the Rare Record Price Guide and you'll find them absent. As is the Evening Outs single. So if some green dealer serendipitously unearthed it he would perhaps mark it at £10, the default setting it seems for obscure independent releases, at least in MVE. So now I wait patiently for my new top wants to appear and anticipate battles with my usual ebay foes, Picheux 89, Atichon (both French) and some unexpected upstart from Japan.

In the meantime here's the what you've been waiting for......

channel.mp3 - evening outs

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EYE ON EBAY- Sunday, December 21, 2008

Go into space with the Astronauts. Ebayer Yotasos certainly did launching a £103 bid to plant his flag on this rare satelite. The Peter Pan Hits The Suburbs LP has been orbiting around my wants planet for a while now and there it shall remain; for that sellling price I'd expect it to come with a chunk of the moon.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250340962923

WHAT I WON ON EBAY - Friday, December 12, 2008

I DID, I DID, I DID.
I did suppress my common sense and outbid all opposition to finally acquire the Evening Outs single. As the final minutes approached the girlfriend retired to bed wishing me luck as she went, knowing that there are some moments in life when a man must be alone. I was left to fend for myself like a baby crocodile among a pool of hippos. The omens had been good. In the afternoon I had beat my parents at scrabble and I'd resisted playing my Desperate Bicycles collection for fear of an attack of light-headedness. Friend Harvey had emailed and told me he would bid no higher than £121. That, my friend, I thought, is amateur financial fencing, my riposte shall smite you. As the final seconds fled by I did not falter. I flexed my fingers, they were nimble and deadly after an afternoon of sparring with neighbourhood cats, and punched in a reckless sum of £544. Take that you downbeats, you don't mess with the Scavenger. But they tried and they failed and they had their passports stamped as they returned back to Loserland. Dizzy with triumph I ventured into the bedroom where the girlfriend was pricing up objects for the boot sale. " £377", I said. She looked at me despairingly and added another zero onto the bed's price tag.

EYE ON EBAY - Wednesday, December 10, 2008

The Nine Steps To Ugly flexi sales past the £100 mark. Last time it sold for considerably less. Now I'm familiar with the fabulous Eddie Lopez Lives In Slough (what's with these crazy monikers?) as it features on two compilations I own. But Bobby Charlton's Haircut remains an unknown delight. As far as I know it's never been comped so maybe it's an unremarkable instrumental.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220322782439

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Legendary single by Episode Four who later evolved into East Village once again secures the seller a hefty financial return. I once bid on this whilst on holiday in Dorset. I located an internet cafe above an art shop in a seaside town and threw a few paltry pennies into the auction ring. Of course I got short shrift so I consoled myself by gorging on expensive homemade chocolates from a local shop. Does plugging your arteries with unhealthy food eradicate the misery of defeat? I don't know but since I discovered ebay I've put on weight.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270312034746

EYE ON EBAY Friday, December 5, 2008

I bid on this rare indiepop single by Commotion Upstairs just to see if I could win it for a low price. In the past it has tentatively tip-toed over the £100 mark. I dropped out once it hit £20.
Smugly I picked it up in a local charity shop for 50p. Apparently it's also available on 12" but I've yet to see it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT&item=150312087637

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY Tuesday, December 2, 2008

This is now officially getting tiresome. I have been after the Das Schnitz single for a few years now and thought it was within my reach last weekend. It had the doctored sleeve, the one where Chaka Khan plays an unwilling participant in their shot at fame, and despite the high postage cost some US dealers feel the need to charge I was poised in the final seconds to apprehend the elusive rascal. The girlfriend was kindly subbing me and she'd told me to go up to 150. The auction being in dollars I took her to mean dollars and bid $154. That bid did not secure me the item and when I told her the bad news she told me she meant £150. I have reached the age where tantrums are unseemly but I did feel like gathering up some toys, squeezing into a pram and throwing them violently around the room.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270296679662

EYE ON EBAY Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Representing the steel city of Sheffield we have the Deaf Aids first release which never fails to fire up strong passions among ebay's punk collectors. Though I have a roomful of piggy banks (one is actually a pig, three are hippos and one is a yellow Malta bus) they had been eviscerated to pay for my annual spending spree at the Olympia record fair. So I merely sat and gawped as this perky little item zoomed past the £200 mark. Isn't someone going to comp this?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=270296691018

EYE ON EBAY Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Beez buzzed around ebay and stung a punter for £266. Now I love my original 7" singles but I thought getting the Beez LP compilation a good deal for a tenner. Funky Gibbon was selling both their singles and I imagine there will be an extra large Christmas tree in his house this year.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170275900221http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=170275900221

I have absolutely no idea who What The Curtains were. Those in the know seemed quite satisfied to part with £80. I suspect some bidders may have got over excited. I suspect a rather flat keyboard dominated tune may have been their input into the 80's music scene. Annoyingly I may never find out but my curiosity would run no further than a tenner.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=220308100765

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I went no further than a few yards for this obscure slab of eighties indie by Miracle Mile. I fear I may have lost a gem but I saw it pass the £50 mark and I felt reason tugging at my rampant urge to consume all indie obscurities at any cost. Reason wrestled manfully with temptation and vinyl lust and overcame those twin idiots.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT&item=330287368806

Beyond The Fence Begins The Sky.It was inevitable that someone would bite hard on this compilation. It had the attraction of the Jeremiahs and Home And Abroad among many other lesser lights. Has anyone ever heard of Enamel Animals or Too Sweet To Suck? That last name could be a Disney porn film. More likely an over-sugared lollipop, this being indie world. I pushed old rival Picheux to a vertiginous price but he simply admired the view.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT&item=220314010486

EYE ON EBAY - Thursday, November 13, 2008

GREEK INDIE RECORD STRIPS PAINT OFF BANK WALLS

A big night out at the local Athenian taverna for [email protected]as he ropes in £227 for a legendary vinyl adventure by the Jaywalkers. Allegedly only a hundred pressed the indie community went into a frenzy for this grecian antiquity from 1989. Seems like it features two Beatles covers and nobody can have enough versions of Tomorrow Never Knows. But are the Jaywalkers as good as Fantastic Something?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JAYWALKERS-HAPPY-ALL-THE-TIME-12-GREEK-C86-INDIE-POP_W0QQitemZ300270697212QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300270697212&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY - Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Congratulations Picheux 89 for trouncing all opposition in the hectic fight for Fallover 24. Here is a competitor who will throw obstinate heaps of money at records no matter their true worth. No need to point that gun at me, I'll admit that if I'd had the financial resources I'd have valiantly waded into fiscal deep waters. In cyber space there is no recession, the consumer tumor has not spread to ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=200259634685

EYE ON EBAY - Thursday, October 23, 2008

In the last month those architects of the jejune Joy Division have been exercising their cultdom
all over ebay. A big fuss was caused over this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110299705537.

A nice little earner for the seller though not the equal to this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150293332813

34 bids and not one of them was mine. I'm sure it'll break into four figures one day. But until I can perfect my design for a fold up car I'm out of any future bidding frenzy on these essential
JD ephemera.

Eye On Ebay - Saturday, September 20, 2008

Atgreatfm also sold the Bracknell ep by Infra Red Helicopters. It went for a respectable £49.88.
I'd say that was slightly too high a price but winner Tecnostation obviously disagrees. The single attracted my attention at the last November record fair at Olympia but I passed on it. It was half the ebay price so I have instructed my right foot what to do to my left ankle.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110287426822

Will ebay be flooded with the Clive Culbertson single Time To Kill after it sold for an astonishing £152? This is the Rip Off release, not the later Logo version. Both failed to ensnare that fickle beast fame and poor Clive remained on the fringes of the music scene for many years. The seller was atgreatfm, a formidable Greek collector who I've tussled with in the past; specifically over the Bullseye single and I lost. Warning: in an auction atgreatfm never gives up.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=110287681703

EYE ON EBAY - Monday, September 15, 2008

I have half of this double pack, unfortunately not the half with Joy Division's contribution. If only I'd bought it at the time, I can't think why I didn't. Anyway there seems to be a bootleg (at least it appears to be) floating around which is available on ebay for under £20. Or £165 will get you the original with all the inserts.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/A-FACTORY-SAMPLE-1978-Joy-Division-Cabaret-Voltaire_W0QQitemZ320297061455QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item320297061455&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Eye On Ebay - Tuesday, September 9, 2008

My old ebay sparring partner Atichon bites on a Meltations single for a staggering £85. It's one of those rarities championed by Tweenet. I just sat and watched this one go,barely an itch in my trigger finger.

A tidy £52.50 ensured someone snapped up Chloroform by the Bleach Boys. Not as fierce as their later release, Stocking-Clad Nazi Death Squad Bitches.

Eye On Ebay - Thursday, September 4, 2008

Street People's Personal Values EP sells for £103.25. They came from Scotland and the single rarely crops up. 45 Revolutions declares it to be an impressive effort. I'll have to take their word for it as I failed to win it.

Eye On Ebay - Saturday August 16, 2008

Here's a first on T.Rev. I'm commenting on an auction that is due to finish later today. Up for grabs is Ten Feet Tall by the Flowershop. It's not a cover of the XTC song. It is though a cracking C86ish pop tune and one I stumbled across in a charity shop last year along with a batch of Cherry Orchard flexis. No bids as yet but it's available as a buy it now at a very reasonable price. Any lovers of pop left alive? That Noah And The Whale single can wait until next week, sand down your bidding fingers and prepare to pounce. Trust me, I'm a blogger.

EYE ON EBAY - Saturday August 9, 2008

The Machines aggressive muddily-produced True Life ep accrues £83.25. If you want a taste of the Machines I suggest you buy the compilation Bored Teenagers 4 on Bin Liner records which also contains the amusing Public Pisstake and a powerpop classic by the Elevators.

EYE ON EBAY - Wednesday 6 August 2008

Das Schnitz was a band formed at Torquay Boys Grammar School. They crossed the sexual divide and played a fifteen minute gig at the girls grammar school. In early 1979 Ellie Jay helped them attain immortality by pressing 533 of their only single. About 100 of the singles had sleeves "designed" by the band, they couldn't afford proper sleeves so they bought a large quantity of unused ones and scribbled their name on them. Blondie, Funkadelic and Chaka Khan were a few of the artists that had their sleeves doctored. Despite the "support" of those famous pop stars their notoriety remained rooted in the Torquay area.
Appearing sleeveless on ebay the single sold for a paltry £63.90. Those with sleeves usually sell nearer the £100 mark.

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY - Thursday 31 July 2008

Sarah 13 and 14 surface and I venture a conservative bid. They are eventually scooped up for £35.10. I have virtually every Sarah release but the flexi and fanzine evade me. I'm confident they'll reappear as I've lost them on several occasions. Patience is prudent sometimes.

Eye On Ebay - Tuesday 29 July 2008 

I sometimes think I'm doing Popsike's job here, venerable site though it is there are glaring omissions. Latest news for those who like their punk Welsh is that the Screen Gemz single made another appearance. Despite having its picture cover it barely peeked over the three figure parapet selling for £113. On the previous two occasions their single appeared on ebay it sold for well over £200.

A demo by C86 stalwarts the Siddeleys achieved a respectable £88. I did bid on this but exercised self control. I'm surprised it didn't make three figures. Back in the early 90's I bought their exceptional 12" from a seller advertising in Record Collector for a meagre £7. A bargain.

Eye On Ebay - Monday, July 21 2008

Some may accuse the Ting Tings of being as insubstantial as a bouquet of feathers but there was substantial interest in their Fruit Machine 7", apparently a gig only item. It sold for an eye-opening £135. I wonder if it'll generate that much interest in a few years time.

Another notable money maker was a Jam acetate, Strange Town, which collected the seller a formidable prize of £768.

Surprisingly the Buzzcocks first release Spiral Scratch amassed a healthy £56.79. I remember paying £10 for mine, that's the one without Devoto's name on the front of the sleeve, to a boy at school back in 1977. When it was reissued I was mildly annoyed especially as it was nearly identical to the original. The New Hormones original was pressed and pressed again due to demand so there are in the region of 15,000 out there hence my bewilderment at its high sale price. Looks like I made a reasonable investment.

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY - July 11 2008

Of late I'm being outbid on everything. Astronomical prices for relatively new records is the theme. Anything with Josephine Foster's name creeps dangerously close to three figures. I'm talking vinyl here, not CD. A friend paid in the region of £40 for one of her LP's some months back and now hails that as a steal. Said LP, Hazel Eyes, fetched over twice that on ebay this week. I'm prepared to wait for it to slip into MVE where I'm certain some ignoramus will thump a £15 sticker on it.

Then there's the Vivian Girls LP. Released within the last year the vinyl merrily meanders around the £40 mark. 500 were issued on vinyl and it seems to crop up every week. I'm wondering if any of the sellers actually wanted it or if they were all speculators. Will all 500 appear on ebay and if so will I be able to obtain it for a fiver?

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY - July 7 2008

Detour Records are shedding some of their treasured punk 7"'s this week. I've been on the trail of Llygod Ffyrnig's NCB for several years now. I know it's been reissued but I want the original picture cover. Detour listed it and stirred up much anxious activity. It soon soared past the £100 mark. I was left adrift long before that and could only watch jealously as Pop2289 scooped it up for a meagre £135. I'm off to Cob Records in Wales next month and imagining it will be waiting for me there for half the price. It's a dream but we collectors gnaw daily on our dreams until they are disjointed hallucinatory threads...........................................

EYE ON EBAY - July 1 2008

A hefty windfall in Cyprus as a seller there nets a £178.05p for the Deaf Aids Do It Again EP. I submitted a negligent amount and was roundly set upon by fellow bidders. Originally known as Charles Hawtrey And The Deaf Aids they formed in Sheffield in 1978. Only 250 pressed so if they sold the lot today they would secure a place in the top twenty. The seller let bidders hear a snatch of the single. What I heard enabled me to suppress my renegade nature; it was a reasonable effort but until I've vast amounts of disposable income I'll not suffer sleepless nights on letting it go to some unknown bidder. What I want to know is how the seller spent that 5p. .

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY - July 1 2008

It's a mad scramble in C86 world as Book Em Danno's 12" Papa's Gone And Got A Brand New Disease makes its probable debut on ebay. I'm floundering around with a conservative bid and am left gasping as Yaakkii arrests it for £65. So it's off to Japan. We give them so much and what do they give us, raw fish. (OK, they aren't too bad with electrical goods and cars).

WHAT I WON ON EBAY - June 20, 2008

Despite forgetting to log in to ebay as I press the bid button I still manage to win the Newpolitans single with two seconds to spare. Seems to be a good tactic, maybe I'll try it again if I can take the stress.

WHAT I LOST ON EBAY- May 9 2008

Astonishing cash is flung at Ember Days' Plaza 12". Came with a lot of paraphernalia like posters and photographs which probably convinced Joymorp to part with £80.96. Minus all those gewgaws and maybe it would have stayed in my price range.

WHAT I WON - May 3 2008

Patience Atichon is a valuable virtue. You paid twice what I did for the Penny Candles which I finally won last night. According to my records I scooped it for its lowest price. A seasoned ebayer knows that when an uncommon item wrestles a hefty sum from a twitchy buyer said item suddenly becomes a tad more common, usually within a month. As the auction finished I was at the cinema enduring emotional fatwa watching Persepolis. Disney be damned, this is an animated film that really moves one.

EYE ON EBAY - May 2 2008

An ebayer called Burghskin parts with £452 for a rare punk record by a band called the Rebels. The A side is called Suicide which would be my option if the girlfriend ever found out I spent that much on one 7" single. It's on Rigid records, probably the band's own label, and the seller says there were only 250 pressed. He bought it in a shop in Sunderland in 1980, the year it was released. Some of the Rebels went on to play in Red Alert.

WHAT I WON - May 2 2008

One second to go and I snatch a 12" by Fragile Friends. It was all down to my keyboard summer school course that made me so fleet of finger. This record rarely appears on ebay and when it does hearts quiver with excitement, at least among the three or four who have it high on their wants lists. A 7" by them has yet to surface and when it does expect pulses to pulsate.

What I Won - April 9 2008

I had been waiting for a fascinating DIY jewel by the Inflatable Boy Clams to climb out of its shell and slither onto ebay for some time now. It appears every four months or so but always in the hands of an American seller. Postage can be steep, often adding another £6 or so. So I was in a state of happy hysteria when it washed up on ebay in the hands of a UK seller. I doubted it would be an easy catch and so it proved. In the final moments I deflated Bidder 4 and swam to shore with my prize. Bidder 4, what has ebay done? It seems sellers now have the choice of keeping bidders' identities anonymous. Bidder 4 just doesn't have the same ring to it. I wonder if I could confuse ebay and change my ebay moniker to Bidder 4? I'd find that mildly amusing for a day or two. Anyway Bidder 1, 2 and 3.....no, hold on, I think I was Bidder 3, anyway Bidder 1 was a faint hearted fellow/lass and .....or was I Bidder 1? Oh who cares? I won and I am not a number, I'm a free man.

What I Lost - April 9 2008

Damn Atichon. He circled with intent and swooped on the much sought after Penny Candles 12". I pushed him beyond the reasonable limits. In the past this 12" couldn't muster more than £38.
He paid £60. Poor fool.

What i won - Tuesday April 1 2008

Having received two amazing indiepop cd compilations from a fellow collector in Canada I felt I had no choice but to bid for one of the bands featured thereon. Late last year I won a Potting Sheds 7" and their East Anglian Inspiral Carpetishness seduced me. The 12" appeared on ebay about a week after I received the two cd comps and I was prepared for rampant bidding. Indeed some familiar names laid down their money but only one sent waves of anxiety pulsating through me; his name, Atichon. We've traded cyber blows before and we've both experienced fabulous financial outlay due to the unchecked enthusiasm of the other. It was a cordial battle and neither of us harassed the other into parting with an avalanche of coinage. Well, the final total fell far short of three figures.

What i lost - Tuesday March 11 2008

It came down to a face off with old enemy Atichon for the one and only Relations LP. I pushed him gingerly above £35 then denied my rasher instincts and snapped shut the metaphorical wallet. I couldn't persuade myself to pay more.

Monday March 10 2008

It was a difficult moment watching Nobodies Home by Newsflash grasped by the greedy hands of old rival Picheux 89. Having nobody to extort money from and doubting that declaiming my Larkinesque poetry at the underground station would procure the necessary funds to compete in the ensuing struggle for this musical morsel I played the part of observer. No surprise to see this rarity generate a bulky £122.

What i won - Friday, March 7, 2008

At last I have the set. Having obtained Obscure Independent Classics volumes 2-5 over the years number 1 has not only eluded it me it's never even grinned teasingly at me. It made its debut on ebay and then who appeared? Gothic Darkwave of course, surfing on a tsunami wave of funds, a rogue, a rapscallion, a minion of the devil; possibly, or perhaps a timid soul festering in fruitless labour who carves a morsel of pleasure from the edifice of his drab life by snatching remote records from cyberspace. With a second to go I outbid....Nykobing, an old adversary. Mr.Darkwave did not stir from his Gormenghastian outhouse. Soon the famous Cordelia cat will be mewing at my letterbox.

What i won

I became a little disappointed with later releases on Sarah records. My devotion faltered around the Sarah 80 mark. Now I'm making up for my former reticence and attempting to obtain those missing numbers. Autobiography by the Hit Parade appears fairly regularly on ebay but it rarely sells for less than £12. I'm very pleased to win it for £8.50.

What i lost

I'm a victim of cowardice when it comes to bidding for the Model Mania single on the wonderfully named Boob records. I stall well short of its final sale price £101.