Smiths: Ask + Girlfriend In A Coma Italian promos + PS (fakes)

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Anonymous

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Actually and in the past some Italian JB white label promos of the Smiths "ASK" and "GIRLFRIEND" surfaced the market.
Those promos 7" singles where pressed in Italy to be used in Juke Boxes. They came in plain white sleeve, some with a centre-cut Picture sleeve.
In the nineties copies with PS surfaced record fairs and shops, sleeves with band pictures , promo notes, "disco successo","sper circuit", "radio promo"....
While the 7" record is actually an official release, those picture sleeves are NOT, they are fakes , handmade and printed.

Many signs indicate that these sleeves are fakes:

- the graphics doesn't look professionally printed at all.

- usually records have heavy SPIRAL scratches, as they have been used in jukeboxes and NOT regular players (as always available on radio stations).

-"Sper" circuit NEVER released those promos.

- All the sleeves surfaced are in MINT conditions (even when the record contained is well-used), which is strange considering they should have been used in radios. Radio stations also often put a stamp or mark on their records and Smiths promos NEVER have one.

With that on mind you are free to cash $$$ for those records but ...you're buying a fake.
Cheers
 
Re: SMITHS: ASK + GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA Italian Promos +PS (FAKES)

Actually and in the past some Italian JB white label promos of the Smiths "ASK" and "GIRLFRIEND" surfaced the market.
Those promos 7" singles where pressed in Italy to be used in Juke Boxes. They came in plain white sleeve, some with a centre-cut Picture sleeve.
In the nineties copies with PS surfaced record fairs and shops, sleeves with band pictures , promo notes, "disco successo","sper circuit", "radio promo"....
While the 7" record is actually an official release, those picture sleeves are NOT, they are fakes , handmade and printed.

Many signs indicate that these sleeves are fakes:

- the graphics doesn't look professionally printed at all.

- usually records have heavy SPIRAL scratches, as they have been used in jukeboxes and NOT regular players (as always available on radio stations).

-"Sper" circuit NEVER released those promos.

- All the sleeves surfaced are in MINT conditions (even when the record contained is well-used), which is strange considering they should have been used in radios. Radio stations also often put a stamp or mark on their records and Smiths promos NEVER have one.

With that on mind you are free to cash $$$ for those records but ...you're buying a fake.
Cheers

Many thanks for your invaluable advice.

A boy from those ugly new houses
Who could never begin to know
Who could never really know...
 
Re: SMITHS: ASK + GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA Italian Promos +PS (FAKES)

Actually and in the past some Italian JB white label promos of the Smiths "ASK" and "GIRLFRIEND" surfaced the market.
Those promos 7" singles where pressed in Italy to be used in Juke Boxes. They came in plain white sleeve, some with a centre-cut Picture sleeve.
In the nineties copies with PS surfaced record fairs and shops, sleeves with band pictures , promo notes, "disco successo","sper circuit", "radio promo"....
While the 7" record is actually an official release, those picture sleeves are NOT, they are fakes , handmade and printed.

Many signs indicate that these sleeves are fakes:

- the graphics doesn't look professionally printed at all.

- usually records have heavy SPIRAL scratches, as they have been used in jukeboxes and NOT regular players (as always available on radio stations).

-"Sper" circuit NEVER released those promos.

- All the sleeves surfaced are in MINT conditions (even when the record contained is well-used), which is strange considering they should have been used in radios. Radio stations also often put a stamp or mark on their records and Smiths promos NEVER have one.

With that on mind you are free to cash $$$ for those records but ...you're buying a fake.
Cheers

Is this really "news" just in? Was it on the radio or some big news flash on tv because I missed it. This is the same old recycled garbage we have all heard before. I always thought these sleeves existed but had only seen fake photocopied sheets folded around the discs and never saw a proper sleeve until these. Now if someone has gone to the trouble of making these up and selling them on Discogs nearly 30 years after they were released then they are not as exactly in the big league of forgers are they? Now can you explain the "All the sleeves surfaced are in MINT conditions". Total and utter bollocks my friend, how many have you seen then? Show me the evidence of all the ones you have seen, if you can that would be great, if not quit the bullshit!!

ps Irregular Chap, trust you to put your hat in the ring, you are a true northern rock, god bless ya.
 
Actually and in the past some Italian JB white label promos of the Smiths "ASK" and "GIRLFRIEND" surfaced the market.
Those promos 7" singles where pressed in Italy to be used in Juke Boxes. They came in plain white sleeve, some with a centre-cut Picture sleeve.
In the nineties copies with PS surfaced record fairs and shops, sleeves with band pictures , promo notes, "disco successo","sper circuit", "radio promo"....
While the 7" record is actually an official release, those picture sleeves are NOT, they are fakes , handmade and printed.

Many signs indicate that these sleeves are fakes:

- the graphics doesn't look professionally printed at all.

- usually records have heavy SPIRAL scratches, as they have been used in jukeboxes and NOT regular players (as always available on radio stations).

-"Sper" circuit NEVER released those promos.

- All the sleeves surfaced are in MINT conditions (even when the record contained is well-used), which is strange considering they should have been used in radios. Radio stations also often put a stamp or mark on their records and Smiths promos NEVER have one.

With that on mind you are free to cash $$$ for those records but ...you're buying a fake.
Cheers

What makes you such an expert?
 
It seems that giving correct and well argued/reasoned infos could hurt feelings (expecially when you sell those fakes or you bought them in the past).
Well, as a said on the very last rows of my post you can still spend your money in the way you like more, really not my problem.

I collect Smiths records since the golden days and moreover I WORKED on CGD in Italy during those years. I UNDOUBTEDLY know
everything was pressed and released, I was there and I was a vinyl junkie (like today hahaha).

Again, those PS surfaced the market only in the 90s, NEVER BEFORE (try to demostrate I m wrong) and they are fakes.
Have a nice day
 
It seems that giving correct and well argued/reasoned infos could hurt feelings (expecially when you sell those fakes or you bought them in the past).
Well, as a said on the very last rows of my post you can still spend your money in the way you like more, really not my problem.

I collect Smiths records since the golden days and moreover I WORKED on CGD in Italy during those years. I UNDOUBTEDLY know
everything was pressed and released, I was there and I was a vinyl junkie (like today hahaha).

Again, those PS surfaced the market only in the 90s, NEVER BEFORE (try to demostrate I m wrong) and they are fakes.
Have a nice day

If they are fakes then so be it, but I would like to see your proof first. You say they surfaced in the 90's.....where exactly? Did you obtain any of them and can show us pictures or know of anyone that can? I always remember the "Girlfriend" sleeve being on the vulgarpicture discography site and searched for it but never could find one. The sleeves look well made and not at all like some cheap fakes. I have to wonder why anyone would go to such great lengths to produce such items back in the 90's, they would have had no value back then so it seems far fetched. I cannot demonstrate you are wrong but if you are correct you will have no difficulty proving you are right. If you are then that is one mystery solved for everyone.
 
Well, the first time I saw them it was on Milan record fair, it was 1992 i think...or something near. I had several copies on my hand through the years and while the artwork is well done the printing is absolutely handmade and statistically there are no better printed copies.
Pretty soon they were available in the UK too, even in Record Collector there were copies on sale.
I think everything was done for money,right? Record only= GBP 12 , record+sleeve=GBP 100 ....and they increased a lot through the years becoming quite rare.
Anyway , we can easily move from that discussions, i worked in CGD Messaggerie Musicali and I can say "NO SPECIAL/RESERVED PICTURE SLEEVE WAS PRINTED FOR THOSE PROMOS 7"". Never meant and never done.

All the best to everybody, Happy New Year

PS: as a record company we would NEVER release a promo record with ONLY the photograph of ONE band/artist, forgetting the other artist and putting him only on the back of the sleeve. And yes, even if Smiths were great, the other artists were even bigger here in Italy...this story just makes me laugh, sorry.
 
Well these have been a mystery to me for years and actually having them in hand they do not look like copies at all. I have seen the other folded sheet versions and they are of course just poorly hand made copies. These are so much better but you seem to know your stuff and I won't be foolish enough to say I know better. Did CGD do these promo vinyl's then? A bit of research into CGD shows it was sold off or merged before the Smiths came along? It says they did on the vinyl and there is a CGD sticker on the protective cover, someone went to great lengths if they are fan made sleeves.
 
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CGD was merged with Warner Bros in 1988...
There are 2 copies of those promo 7"s actually on Ebay and if you're talking about the small sticker on protective cover I notice on the attached seller' photos ,well, i think it's easy to print it with any pc printer even back in 90s.
All vinyls are 100% original, only PS are fakes and this story doesn't stop at the Smiths, it's the same for Nirvana/Queen/U2/Ramones....
Well done/counterfeit sleeves.
The same happened for the 12" promos: SHOPLIFTERS/BOY/GIRLFRIEND/ASK/THERE IS A LIGHT, they all were released on company sleeves and I ve never seen PS for those 12", in any form.
I have also seen copies with original Ricordi/CGD folders with fake promo sheets, this happened due to the fact that when CGD plant in Milan was abandoned, a lot of material such as letterheads, blank official CGS/Ricordi sheets, folders with CGD / Ricordi logos....were lost or stolen or simply changed hands.
 
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