There’s obviously a new generation of music fans who are buying vinyl records and weren’t around when some historic albums were origianllly released. And a there’s a large group of old fogies like me who were around but have worn out their original copies (or, again, like me, sold much of their original vinyl) and record companies have not beeb slow in realising these markets and producing anniversary reissues of old favourites — and in many cases reissuing albums that weren’t greatly appreciated when originally released but have become cult items. Many of the reissues are released on variously coloured vinyl, so collectors might have to buy several clopies.

I don’t know when the anniversary reissues forst arrrived. I suppose you could say it was when CDs arrived in the early eighties and vinyl albums were tranferred to the digital format. I remember the posters advertising the release of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band CD in 1987 used the “It was 20 years ago today” byeline. Could that have been one of the first “anniversary” reissues?

But 25th, 40th, 45th, 50th anniversary issues now appear with shocking regularity and are often in the form of expanded editions in box sets. Viz. The Velvet Underground & Nico‘s 45th anniversary 6CD box (one of th efirst I fell for) and the 2017 Sgt. Pepper release on single LP, double LP and four CD box set (I fell for these as well.) Lavish boxed sets of each of the Led Zeppelin albums (which tempted me, but I was strong) and many others.

But there’s a newer phenomenon; 10th and 15th anniversary reissues. I’ve just fallen for the 15th anniversary reissues of Malcolm Middleton’s A Brighter Beat album with its David Shrigley covers. I already have the origianal both on vinyl and CD (two different covers) and signed up for the promised 15th anniversary issues when they were announced in the autumn of 2021. Release was, however delayed until May. The “standard” reissue was a limited edition of 1000 copies on clear vinyl and then there is a “Dinked” edition of 500 copies on silver vinyl with a differend Shrigley cover (the same design as was used on the original CD.)

And now I’ve just “invested” in a 20th anniversary reissue of The Promise’s Believer LP, originally pressed on clear vinyl (100 copies) or red vinyl (900 copies) and now repressed on purple vinyl (200 copies). This 2002 album featured a very early reworking of Banksy’s I Fought the Law artwork on its cover and has become a collector’s item because of its cover.

Many, if not the majority, of these anniversary reissues are limited editions and have become collectible in their own right. I realise that it is great that out of print albums are being rereleased so that a new group of listeners can hear them on pristine vinyl, but I can’t decide if it is just a marketing jippo tat has sucked me in.

According to an article I read some time ago, one fifth of people who own vinyl records do not have a turntable on which to play them. I imagined they must be people who had moved on to CDs or even to streaming music. But then I thought of all those who were selling their vinyl records filling the racks in my local record emporium. They didn’t need to own a turntable any more. And what about the people who just packed their old vinyl away in boxes and put them in the attic or wherever people store unwanted and unloved stuff?

Then I had an eureka moment. Hey, wait a minute! I don’t have a turntable — or a stereo — any more. My Transcriptor deck is with my daughter, who doesn’t listen to vinyl records and my amplifier is with my son-in-law, who, like me, doesn’t have a turntable.

My turntable was passed on in 2012. But I still collect records — preferably vinyl records. I collect them for the cover art. I’ve always had a love of nicely designed covers and followed the careers of record cover designers. Hipgnosis, Roger Dean, Peter Saville, Vaughan Oliver, John Berg, Jan van Hammersfeld, Eve Babitz, Rob Jones and others. Late in my “career” I discovered Alex Steinweiss, Jim Flora and Martin Stone Martin. But I always new about Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Roy Lichtenstein and Richard Hamilton and Klaus Voormann. Then there was Damien Hirst followed by Banksy and, most recently, David Shrigley.

So now I have limited my collecting to specific artists: Banksy, Peter Blake, Damien Hirst, David Shrigley, Klaus Voormann and Andy Warhol. I have been quite lucky in getting hold of many of the early and rarer covers by these artists soon after the records were released, or, in the case of Andy Warhol and Banksy, early enough to be able to find them cheaply.

I follow many on social media and via mailing lists, so I hopefully don’t miss any new releases by my favoured designers. I also try not to fall for other merchandice (prints, posters, tee shirts) by these artists, but sometimes feel they complete a collection. For example, the poster for Drake’s 2021 Certified Lover Boy album, so far only released digitally with no vinyl or CD format. The cover was designed by Damien Hirst and I managed to pull a couple of posters off hoardings near where I live.

A side effect of limiting my collecting to specific artists is that I am no longer tempted to buy beautiful covers by other designers. I find that there are so many lovely covers that could tempt me but I try to resist temptation so that I can continue to find (and finance) covers by those I do collect.

I should mention that I have always catalogued my records, CDs and cassettes on sites like pop.nu and rateyourmusic.com so I have complete lists oc my collections. And I can still listen to the music via streaming, so I really don’t miss my turntable. And, I have all the covers of the records, CDs and cassettes to hold and admire while I listen.

It seems that people only get around to collecting major artists’ record sleeve art when prices for paintings or limited edition prints become unaffordable. Record sleeve art — particularly on vinyl covers — must always be released in limited editions, even though the “edition” might be as big as ten or twenty thousand copies. I am sure that in the 1990s CDs were produced in far larger numbers than vinyl releases, and this is probably true up to the middle or late 2000s.

One only has to look at prices for Andy Warhol’s or Jean Michel Basquiat’s record covers to see that collectors of their art woke up very late to the fact that many of their record covers were issued in very limited quantities. And there are other examples. Record covers bearing works by Banksy have have increased in price almost exponentially in recent years as the result of all the publicity that has surrounded sales of his prints by famous auction houses. Perhaps a warning is in order here. David Shrigley’s art is becoming highly collectible. Once again, collectors have been slow to collect his record sleeve art. A little strange when one considers Shrigley’s own love of vinyl records coupled with the fact that the majority of records and cassettes with his sleeve art are very limited editions, often produced by art galleries or as own releases.

I also have collections of Peter Blake’s record sleeve art. Here prices have not escalated as they have for the artists already mentioned. It is really only original vinyl copies of Blake’s & Jann Haworth’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album and, possibly, the vinyl release of Oasis’s Stop the Clocks collection that have increased in value. Nor have records with cover art by Damien Hirst increased dramatically in value in recent years. My collection of Klaus Voormann’s record sleeve art is, at best, worth what I originally paid for each item. Only a copy of The Beatles’ Revolver signed by Klaus has increased in value.

I was lucky to have started collecting record sleeve art before prices went over the top. I am constantly amazed by the sums some collector are prepared to pay for some record covers. Several sleeves with Banksy’s art have sold recently on Ebay for over £2,000! And these were released in editions of 1000 copies. Even some CDs with Banksy’s art have started to increase in value although only a few were issued in limited quantities.

The sport now, is to guess which artist who also lends his art to record sleeves, will be next to tempt collectors.