Bootleg Variations: Any Colour You Like...

(Dream Collector #5, January 1994)

Life is so wonderful -- and colourful. There are colours everywhere: You see them on flowers, on TV screen, on advertisement boards, and of course, on records and covers.

Bootlegs are extraordinary recordings, and this is why some bootleggers in former years decided to release their LP records in coloured vinyl: red, blue, brown, yellow, pink or even multi-coloured or sparkled by several colours. Bootlegs became colletcor's pieces: Some of these LPs not only contained rare music material but also looked very strange.

Starting with the earliest Tangerine Dream bootlegs in 1977, coloured versions appeared: Fotzenslecker and its reissues, Netzlautstärke! and Babylon's Strange, were not only pressed in black vinyl but also in multicoloured versions. These extremely rare and very expensive collector's items soon became something like a status symbol fir the first generation of hard core Tangerine Dream collectors.

Staatsgrenze West was the next bootleg release in 1980, and beside of an enormous number of black vinyl copies, some hundreds of pink vinyl LPs were offered at a higher price. For many years, there were rumours about a third version, and finally at the end of the eighties, the first copies in clear red vinyl appeared. Obviously, only a few of these ones have been made -- experts say 50 copies -- and they are no longer available.

During the following years, coloured vinyl became a common material for bootleg releases. Some LPs appeared in black and coloured versions like The Emerald Beyond and Relativity.

Later on, in 1991, bootleg collecting became a really colourful hobby with the release (and various re-releases) of Canyon Dreams and Bicycle Race. Both LPs were available in six (or even more) different colours. So far, these LPs have also been the last offert to distribute new stuff on a vinyl bootleg.

But, fortunately, there was no reason for colour lovers to despair of record collecting when the CD appeared on the black market. For example, the Bicycle Race LP was not only worth being pressed in many vinyl colours, but came (titled In den Gärten Pharaos / Bicycle Race) also in six different CD body colours (so far): green, turquois, pink, yellow, violet and red. (Did we forget any versions? Does anybody know which will be the next colours offered?)

Do you feel a burning desire to spend money for Mystery Tracks and Antarktis in different versions? No problem. And if you look for CD covers in slightly different design, keep your eyes open for Acoustic LSD and Soundtrack For Fantasy. Or, if you prefer a vast difference in cover artwork, try to get the 70/90 re-release.

But don't forget to put these CDs into your player from time to time. You will be surprised: Inside your player, they will all look and sound the same -- if you ever listen to them. Or aren't there any collectors who forgot the music beside the colours?