U2 'MYSTERIOUS WAYS' AUSSIE RED VINYL 12" (1 of world's rarest U2 items;2 ONLY)

	A$		3,750
	$		2,863

There's a very humble Australian U2 collector, who's been fanatically amassing one of thee largest collections of U2 items in the entire world...there'd be very few of you who may have encountered him, certainly, if you have, you'd be unlikely to know - he never mentions his passion just simply forks out for what he wants and moves on his way, with no fuss and no ego. I had a record store in Sydney for over 20 years (till 1998), and for most of that time, and for the years since, he's been an ardent customer and I've been privileged enough to have been solicited on his behalf to scour the world for U2 items, helping him amass that collection. He's also travelled extensively himself and has often returned with several suitcases extra, full of the latest booty he's uncovered. His collection includes every official 7", 12", 10", LP, cassette, CD, DVD, DAT, CDV, etc...etc...that he can lay his hands on from every single country that manufactured U2 items (and yes, there ARE gaps of course)...plus he tried to obtain every NON-official vinyl, CD, cassette, DVD in existence as well. If one word deviated on any given release from the same country, he collected that edition as well (for example, there are about 5 or 6 different inserts to the Aussie cassette version of "October" - very marginal differences only - he has them all).

He has items of which only ONE exists like the yellow and black 'oil-slick' vinyl Australian 12" of "The Fly"...and the red and black 'splatter' vinyl Aussie 12" of "Mysterious Ways" (also only ONE pressed)...both are legendary pieces...as is the Aussie red vinyl 12" of "Mysterious Ways" (with a small black sliver)...of which only TWO exist...he has them both. And the list goes on. (There's a story that goes with these 4 items...see below.) 

Just recently he told me his priorities had changed, and he's asked me to help find appreciative new homes for some of the stuff he's loved for so long. This 12" below, is the first of the above four 12"s he's selling:

  U2 
   "MYSTERIOUS WAYS"   

…vinyl 12" single…
LABEL:   ISLAND 

(distributed here by Polygram (Australia) Ltd.)

CATALOGUE #:  866 189-1     
DATE OF RELEASE:  1991   
PRESSED IN:      AUSTRALIA

 Correct original MATRIX NUMBERS:<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Side One:  79303-1    12 IS 509 - A - 1

Side Two:  79304-1    12 IS 509   B - 2

(NOTE: there is no 'hyphen' between the '9' and the 'B' on Side Two...ALSO: both matrices have an 'M' with a horizontal line through it, as well) 

PRESSED ON RED VINYL, WITH A BLACK BLOTCH/SLIVER 

ONLY 2 OF THESE WERE MADE

READ THE BELOW STORY FOR MORE INFO:

OK...Here is some info that I believe has never been shared. (I know that Holger Boernsen, a German collector knows about this, as do the folks in the U2 shop in Dublin....does that place still exist??) - Anyway, in October 1991, the head of Festival Records (I know his name...as may some of you...let's call him Bill) solicited his most trusted cutting engineer (know him too, though you're less likely...let's call him Dave) to hand-press a mix of colours to try and emulate an oil-slick, as an eco statement, with the intention of releasing "The Fly" as a limited edition like that. Dave tried some random un-named bits of vinyl, and then pressed up ONE copy only of "The Fly" on 12" in murky gold and black colours. You may wonder now, about the quantity and the certainty thereof, but read on. So Dave pressed up the one copy on the old hand-stampers that Festival had retained after automation had taken over....and delivered it to Bill, in his office, personally. Within a coupla days Bill has NOT gotten the go-ahead from U2 management, the idea was dropped/cancelled, and he kept the one copy in his office. A couple of months later, Bill asked Dave into his office and said they hoped to try a coloured vinyl release of the "Mysterious Ways" 12" and he wanted to know if an 'interesting effect' could be repeated, so he pressed up TWO copies of "MW" on red vinyl with a black blotch in it...and both copies were close to identical (close, but not identical). Bill then asked Dave if he could experiment with something else so he hand-pressed a red vinyl 12" of "MW" with a 'starburst' of black exploding out from the centre. Once again, the U2 management declined and Bill stored these 3 in his office as well. There were NO OTHER coloured vinyl pressings made at Festival of either of these 12"s. A few months later when Bill retired and left Festival he wandered down to Dave's office with these 4 records (plus 2 x 12"s by Kylie Minogue that Dave had pressed on a swirly purple vinyl for Bill in a similar circumstance - again these were the only two in existence) in a bag and gave these six 12"s to him, with a comment along the lines of "Here, Dave, these may be worth something to you some day." - It should be noted that Dave was a cutting engineer, not a pressing plant employee and worked one floor above the plant...BUT...in his earlier days he'd operated a hand-press and knew his way around the Festival model better than anyone...hence he was called on for special samples (he did clear vinyl with silver glitter embedded in it for a Blondie 7" and the same for a Specials LP at one stage...just two of each of them...but the glitter caused terrible noise when played and that idea was never used for any release - I had one of the Blondie 7"s many years back...amazing looking.) - Anyway, Dave was a good contact of mine as he'd cut many records for my own label back then, and we had a great rapport going. It so happened that Dave was a huge Beatles collector and I had several things of decent rarity that he was after, and he traded all 6 records (U2 and Kylie) to me for a few very nice Beatles items. All the background info here came directly from Dave at the time and is 100% guaranteed to be authentic, despite anything you may hear out there. Dave is a Christian...a committed and genuine fellow, who would have to sell his soul to tell a lie. All of this IS true, your only decision is whether you choose to believe it or not. I can't make you do that. - So! Within a couple of weeks back then (1992), I'd sold the 4 x U2 items to Australia's biggest U2 completist (i.e. the fellow mentioned above)...a very private collector who NEVER deals on the internet and doesn't mingle or trade with other collectors at all. He has other interests as well, and spends his time amongst those, and his money on U2 items. Nor does he deal on eBay. Never. He has his own ways of procuring. Nor has he ever sold ANY of his collection. Until now. I currently have all 4 of those U2 12"s, plus his near mint copy of the purple vinyl "All I Want Is You" Aussie 7", at hand. Holger was the only person I ever told about the four 12"s at the time. I watched from afar as some of this info spread and word got around a few collectors of the existence of these. I've also noticed over the years that even UK Record Collector has never got wind of these. Anyway, that's the story that goes with this 12".

CONDITION:

COVER / RECORD: ( EX- / MINT )...the vinyl is perfect!...and it looks like it's never been played...plus he insists he's never played it...the labels are pristine!...perfectly mint with not a hint of any spindle marks...the cover has some ringwear at the top on the back cover, and a little bit at the bottom too, but the front is virtually mint...

LABELS: (Side One: MINT / Side Two: MINT )...

If you have any concerns about the accuracy of my gradings, please check my feedback for the odd nice comment from some satisfied folk out there.... (and hopefully you may be able to join their ranks).

Thanks for considering this item...Cheers, Jules.

POSTAGE

: within Australia: AU$8.95 - PLUS EXTRA FOR REGISTERED POST ($3.50) & FULL INSURANCE ($1.50 per $100 of value) : first class airmail to the Rest Of The World = AU$19.95  - PLUS EXTRA FOR REGISTERED POST ($6.00) & FULL INSURANCE ($9.60 for the first $100, and $2.50 per $100 of value after that)   (EXCEPT: Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand, Pacific Islands = AU$17.95) - plus registration and insurance costs as per the Rest Of The World, above)
COMBINING POSTAGE: ...definitely possible, and postage drops considerably per extra item...

PAYMENT

WITHIN AUSTRALIA:
Pay by Paypal, MoneyOrderR, BankCheque, PersonalCheque (allow 5 days for clearance)...or DirectDeposit into my account (quickest method).. .. ..   OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA:
You can pay by: 1. MoneyOrderr (there are fees associated...check with me first)
.. .. ..or.. .. ..
2. Paypal ...by far the easiest and quickest  
PACKING:
Don’t worry - I'll pack anything you buy VERY CAREFULLY to make sure it arrives in EXACTLY the condition it left here. More specifically, in the way I'd like to receive parcels myself.
I MAIL OUT AT LEAST THREE TIMES A WEEK.

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