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Aug 09, 2023

Rare white labels from Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, The Who and many more go under the hammer

The annual charity White Label Auction is almost upon us, and among the white

The annual charity White Label Auction is almost upon us, and among the white labels and test pressings up for grabs are records by Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, The Who, the Sex Pistols, The Cure, Rory Gallagher, Budgie, Gary Moore, Iggy Pop, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Genesis, Mötorhead, Nazareth, Status Quo, Manic Street Preachers, Mark Knopfler, John Mayall and the Scorpions.

The Cure's Robert Smith has been particularly busy, donating signed white label copies of the band's albums Disintegration, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me, Acoustic Hits, Greatest Hits, Wish, Three Imaginary Boys, Seventeen Seconds, Faith, Pornography, The Top and The Head on The Door.

Elsewhere, the test pressing of the 2018 reissue of Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same is one of only five produced, and is estimated to sell for between £150-£200, while the 11LP white label version of Status Quo's The Vinyl Collection 1972-1980 is expected to fetch the same amount – which is less than the box currently retails for on Amazon. A bargain, perhaps. And for those with deeper pockets, the bidding on some of those signed Cure albums is already heading towards the £1000 mark.

The auction catalogue is available online, and fans can either bid online or register to join the live auction, which takes place tomorrow (June 6) at 10am UK time.

"As ever, we are grateful to all the artists, their labels and teams for making the event possible with their generous support," says Johnny Chandler, A&R Director at Universal Music Recordings, who founded the White Label Auction, "and hope to generate as much as we can to help the Trust continue its valuable work."

Proceeds from the auction - which raised £44,000 last year – go to the BRIT Trust, the charity established by the UK record industry in 1989 that supports hundreds of causes around the country, including The BRIT School, East London Arts & Music, the Nordoff & Robbins music therapy charity and many more.