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Parlophone ask fans to register their interest for repressed Brilliant Live Adventures

Register to be in line for more CD and vinyl

By Paul Sinclair

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61

After the disappointment towards the end of the David Bowie ‘Brilliant Live Adventures Campaign’, Parlophone said sorry and promised fans who missed out that they would get a chance to buy the products at a later date.

Today the label have made good on that promise and emailed fans a link to a page where they can register their interest in whichever products they would like to buy.

The message to fans is as follows:

“As promised, due to unexpected demand, we will be making the Brilliant Live Adventures available again. Please select the products you wish to register your interest for below, and then enter your details at the bottom of the page. As soon as we have more information on when the products will be available to pre-order again we will contact you with more details”.

You have three weeks to register your interest in each specific release/format since registration closes on Monday 14 June.

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61 Comments

61 thoughts on “Parlophone ask fans to register their interest for repressed Brilliant Live Adventures”

  2. All the albums in vinyl and cd including the boxes are now for pre-order on Bowie’s official store, great news if you ask me to make this albums more widely available!!!!

  3. I posted my request for slipcases (yup, really) having been lucky enough to get all 6 vinyl & CD at the time.
    Never heard another word from Parlophone about this though.
    It’s enough to make a man want to start a label called ‘No Slipcase Required’ for multi-album releases.

  4. Just received a mail that in the automn more sets should be available. There will be possibility to pre-order.

    Good news if you ask me – I just hope that pricing will be reasonable.

  5. Well, I may be late to this Bowie Live Àdventures repress discussion, but I saw the page just now & the link, tried the link, it worked, had the list of items & tick boxes, said it was good until 14 of June, but no year listed (hmmmmm, 2021, 2022??)…I ticked off each of the CDs & CD holder box, hit submit & they took it, said they’d be in touch!! And this is right before Christmas, 2021…so I’ll see what happens…perhaps they will have these BLA releases at the Bowie 75 pop-up stores in NYC & London?? I went to the one in NYC & it’s amazing…only up thru end of January, 2022, on my visit, I bought a commemorative T-shirt, the Width of a Circle 2CD bookbox & the 1966 EP…in the vinyl racks, there were at least 10 copies of the orange vinyl Berlin live album previously only available at the Bowie Is exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum from 2018…will be back there at least once more before it’s gone…

  7. I managed to get all of these on LP and CD and the boxes from the official outlets so didn’t have to pay over the odds for any of them. If I had done I’d be annoyed but for those who didn’t/couldn’t then this is good news. As long as they are identical to the original releases I don’t have a problem with more copies. But they should just press more up front!
    Perhaps the people running the reissue programme have finally seen sense after the groans over this, the random coloured LPs and the very limited Mother single (didn’t manage to get the cream one, only the black). But won’t hold my breath…

  9. Impossible to submit my request, it doesn’t want to recognise my email addresses (of which I have 2,Hotmail and gmail)…. complete farce

  10. This is a total disgrace, and totally disrespectful of we fans who went out of their way, across the Atlantic 3 times in my case, to ensure we got hold of copies. And to those who paid vastly inflated prices on discogs, eBay and the like.

    It makes a mockery of “limited editions”, and the original statement that these would be single-run pressings.

    I consider myself a mediocre Bowie fan – as interested and eager as any other to get my hands on rare material. But without the finances to feed my eagerness. I still fret over not getting my hands on the cream vinyl 7″ of “Mother/Tryin To Get To Heaven”, released for Bowie’s 74th Birthday in January of this year. It now fetches hundreds of pounds on ebay. So unless a reprint is issued, I will never have a copy.

    I’m in my late 50’s now, and have been putting my record collection together not only for my enjoyment, but also as an investment for my family to take advantage of when I finally pass on. What should have been a medium-range collectable has now become as sought after as a 7″ copy of Dancing In The Street. Without a picture sleeve.

    1. Well if it goes out of print even after a second pressing, I have no problem with it. They are trying to make good for a disaster in the way this was released for many.

  11. Maybe the issue for the record company was issuing a box which would accommodate the full set of releases? A box you had to purchase! The ‘collect the set’ marketing left people with an incomplete box-set. Who wants an incomplete box-set? Had the ‘box’ never been issued then I doubt there’d be any repress at all.

  13. I understand that 6,000 is a fairly standard run for a vinyl release, and not every copy sells out in shops or online. I suspect that if these had been released into the mass market from day one without any nonsense of random colours etc then there would still be copies hanging around HMV today. The online only nature of BLA meant people were ordering multiple items from three different countries to have a chance of getting one copy. The difficulties experienced automatically created a secondary market at inflated prices as collectors got desperate for FOMO. I also suspect that no lessons will have been learned and a similar scramble will ensue for the represses, especially if there are any differences in the packaging that the completists will decide they MUST own.
    They should just release them into the mass market (including bricks & mortar) at decent numbers and it will sort itself out. I think they have a bit of an obligation to make amends in some way to Bowie fans, and to promise never to do anything like this ever again.

  14. And so the miss management continues a limited edition looses its limitedness.

    The whole 6000 number which seems to have been plucked randomly from this air was a joke as anyone with half a brain could have told the record company.
    Glad I did not get scalped to make my set up though I had to go outside of the record company to complete the set.

    As I said previously if you wanted to do a study on how not to do a limited release then this is a peach.

  15. I wonder if collectors have always been like this in terms of frustration and anger and we’re just more aware of it now because of forums like this (and others where people compare collecting notes) or if we’ve just gotten so used to being able to get pretty much anything no matter where it is released in the world or how limited it might be. I remember a point when I paid over $400 for a fanclub-only Saint Etienne CD that had been out of print for quite awhile, and then they reissued it in a boxed set with three other fanclub-only albums for $25 about two years later. It didn’t really bother me though. I was excited to have the original release and packaging. I realize this situation is a bit difference because the “reissue” is coming so quickly after the original and isn’t a different edition/packaging, but surely some of the people being “hurt” by this (though I think the definition of hurt in this case is a bit loose) also come out ahead in some other similar situation. I don’t begrudge other people being able to get what I already have without being ripped off. And if I got “ripped off” and then there was a repress, then I guess I should have just been more patient.

    I think the internet has taken some of the fun out of collecting. There was time when finding something rare seemed like an achievement. But now we don’t even have to get off the couch to find stuff if we don’t want to. It feels like we may have become a bit entitled as collectors–we want it, we want it now, we don’t want to pay extra for it, and we don’t want to buy it and then have other people be able to get it for less. That seems a bit selfish. Maybe my perspective is a bit different because I grew up with no money in the country where the only music you could buy was whatever showed up at the department store. So maybe I’m less easily bothered by this. I’m more upset when I simply can’t get something at all.

      1. I may be wrong but I think it is supposed to resemble two eighth-notes attached to each other, but with the right-hand one reversed.

  17. I can’t help thinking this is what they should have done in the first place:
    Create that very same page with tickboxes, and THEN only manufacture the discs according to the number of people. That way, everyone who wanted one would have been served.
    (I already have all 6 Lps + box, but I’m happy for others to have another chance to get their hands on them too.)

  18. Remember when record labels would release records, distribute them to retailers, any punters who wanted them would buy them, and if they sold out, the label would make more? Those were good times…

    … and it’s been alluded to already here, but what is all this “unexpected demand” nonsense? This is frickin’ David Bowie, the pre-eminent star of the rock era. I can understand the rationale for a print-to-order model for more niche and marginal artists, but this has been a dreadfully-handled project from the box onwards… big shame.

  19. It’s likely pointless, but I selected the lot (plus box) on CD for notification. When it became obvious early on that it was all goin gto be a rather dodgy crap-shoot whether I’d be able to complete the set at all, I gave everything a pass. If they really wanted to sort this out, they’d do a short run of individual pieces folks missed out on at reasonable prices and actually do a run of proper full boxes.

    At this point, goodwill isn’t showing up to the party, so the best thing to do is just make sure as many ears as possible get to access the music on offer with as little hassle as possible.

    Some might say I’m a dreamer… Oh wait, wrong guy…

  20. In other Bowie news, there are 2 very limited Insolar tour posters in the Bowie store. One is the Main edition, run of 175. The other is a variant with a run of 75.

  21. I wonder if they are going to show some visual distinction on the represses as Warners did with the Neil Young’s Archive II (yep, same record label)? There are some that spent a lot of time and money to complete the set, either on the extra shipping costs for each installment vs a single box set or hustling on eBay to track each one down at a humane price.

    What they should have done was either make a box set, like the studio albums, or on demand print one CD/LP per order with a cutoff date for an installment before doing the same with the next one. Also they should have done an Iron Maiden or a Phil Collins and gave you the empty box with the first title in the campaign for free. As it stands, one of the worst release campaigns in recent history just tipped cold custard on itself for further embarrassment by devaluing an expensive box set for those that bought it the first, stressful, time around.

    As for Warner Records my trust in them has gone. Why would you buy limited edition release of theirs in the future knowing that they could just print more off on a whim to satisfy demand a few months after the scalpers have already had their fun? For those that missed it, good news for them, but for collectors that bought into this campaign on Warner’s terms last year, not so much.

    Such a shady business practice.

    1. I don’t think that they will make a change in the labels with the Bowie releases as they are simply new pressings.
      The Neil Young box, although containing the same music is a different box complete with a different catalogue number.

      And while I understand your annoyance with Warner Music, they had no control over the Neil Young situation, as he at least still controls his own releases instead of whatever mystery cabals control Bowie’s posthumous output.

  22. Great stuff for me, I was only after the Kit Kat Club vinyl, I can understand why so many are not happy as they’ve paid over the odds on eBay, but if it allows fans to complete their collections at normal prices all good, whatever they did it’s going to leave some unhappy , & they’ve got the Width of a Circle release right. Hopefully lessons learned for future archive releases.
    It’ll be interesting to see if the eBay prices come down. The Breaking Glass picture disc is a fiver on Amazon at the moment. To digress a little I was given a fabulous Denon CD player, amp & speakers today , a lad at work was going to dump it, I got it home and going fine and what a huge uplift from streaming, all my neighbours got a blast of The Kick Inside tonight.

    1. The prices seem to be heading downwards with the news of the repress. Kit Kat LP was the only one I needed and got that this week from eBay for $40 all in. I’m just glad the box is complete… and stress levels are back to normal.

  23. I’d rather they did another run of ‘Is it any wonder’ surely if they are doing this then the former should also be considered?

    1. There in lies the hole Warner’s have dug for themselves. It makes a mockery of the phrase “limited edition” if they make a habit of this.

    2. Completely with you on this missed out due to the stupidly small limited editions that they are doing for what is a major artist.

  24. Maybe next time parlophone should just ask some fans in advance how they should do such a release. There would certainly come out something much better…

  25. Sorry but this makes me angry. I bent over backwards to get these limited Bowie albums and bought the last 2 on EBay for 3x the normal value because I wanted a complete Bowie box and I figured they are now out of print. Record companies rarely ever care about the fans being upset that sth is out of print and now you can basically order a la carte what you missed in the supposedly limited edition of the Bowie Live Adventures. This is total nonsense. Once again record companies screwing up and the fans pay the price.

    1. I was lucky and got all of them without hassle but I completely agree with you, the only people who lost are those who had to rebuy them from eBay at inflated price.

    3. This reminds me of the chaos when they brought out the first set of 10 inch Uber collectable Elvis singles starting with Jailhouse Rock which came complete with fairly decent cardboard box to keep the set of 20 titles in.

      The initial “limited edition” run quickly sold out in the shops (remember them?) and prices quickly rose to £50 on ebay. Then they pressed and released a second batch due to public demand and the price crashed. Those who missed out first time round were delighted. Those who coughed up on ebay were furious!

      Anyone remember this set, plus the volume 2 10 inch set the following year or so later?

      1. Yeah, I got them. The first couple were easy to get but I remember queuing outside HMV Oxford St at stupid o’clock in the morning for one of them (maybe A Fool Such As I) and it being mayhem once the shutter opened. I ended up getting them all, but after that played the set maybe once and then sold it.

    4. i hear your pain ,my sentiments exactly . bad enough experience scrambling to
      obtain the last 2 titles .Then ripped off on ebay for the box (you have to have the box right?)
      Now all that work and money for nothing. As a collector of Bowie for decades this is the nadir

    5. Today’s information accessibility is both a blessing and a curse. One can find out about releases more easily but so can thousands of others. Though I am still sometimes surprised when I hear about special editions that were released years ago about which I was clueless.

      Yes, labels making you think an item is out of print then re-pressing is frustrating, especially if you paid a lot to get the item when their initial production did not meet initial demand. It can feel like a bait and switch though in this case Parlophone did apologize and said they’d fix the situation later. I have been glad that some items have had second pressings (e.g. Donna Summer’s Encore which came out during COVID and for which shipping outside the UK was suspended for a long time).

      One thing I will never understand or condone is people complaining about loss of value if an item is re-pressed/reissued. I find that a very selfish perspective. For me its all about the music. I don’t care if one of my rarer items gets reissued. The value for me is the music not the item itself. And I want as many as possible to have the joy of hearing whatever music they want.

      1. Hi Derek, I agree with you in certain points but also disagree with you. When a label issues something as limited, by definition it has more value than something that is generally accessible. It is not selfish to be upset when something you spent time (waiting in line, or online) getting is suddenly available for everyone to get.

        The part I agree with you is that the music should be available for everyone, so there are ways to deal with it, like for example Neil Young Archive vol. 2 with 2 different box sets, both having the same music, but the initial press had different booklet.

    6. totally agree. it’s the first time i ever bought a limited edition of anything and will never do it again. while i appreciate the music the marketing was despicable.

  26. It’s David effing Bowie. Who thinks there isn’t enough demand for any of his products that requires Parlophone to get people to register their interest? Why are music companies so obsessed with limiting releases, that means only the most motivated and organised fans ever get to own such items? Why not keep items in print and sell lots more over many years, just like they used to? Ahh!… this was before business thinking got confused, not ‘smart’, and started to hurt their own profits by denying the public the ability to easily purchase their products.

    I feel sorry for anyone who started collecting this series and then got screwed over, wasting hours of their lives, trying, but not able, to buy the lps or cds. I bet there’s a large dose of resentment to Parlophone for those who end up buying to complete their sets?

    Any thought of purchasing this series of records and cds ended the minute the announcement of purchasing a box was made. It’s a proper shit show in corporate recordland.

    1. I agree. These limited insta-collectibles, imo, make a few fans happy and the vast majority of fans frustrated and angry. I would love to see a different approach. Ideally, open preorders for a limited time, then manufacture to that number. Fans who want one get one. Label/artist should make more money without the risk of leftover inventory. Understood it could take longer from order to delivery but I think fans will tolerate the wait knowing they don’t have to guess when an unknown quantity will go on sale, frantically clicking refresh only to get the dreaded sold out status once they finally get through.

    2. Doesn’t matter who it is. Six late-period live albums from the bit of his career where he was more of a joke than cool (I was at school and Little Wonder was considered hilarious by nearly everyone) are of no interest to the general public.

      And personally I’ve got far better things to do than waste energy on resenting a record label. Perhaps you should channel your negativity into something more worthwhile?

      1. No joke at that time, much more relevant than his contemporaries, who just played their old hits. Europe didn’t get it as much as the college towns in the US did. The Outside/Earthling shows are great, the Hours maybe a bit less so (this is when his Elvis phase started).
        Great addition to a Bowie collection.

    1. Because the majority of people interested in this have probably got some of the titles and just want to finish off their set.If it was put out as a box set they would be forced to rebuy titles they already own to do this.
      As someone who managed to get the CD of each at initial release I am glad to see Parlophone do this and think this method is probably the best solution if they are not going to have a general retail release.

      1. In my opinion, they should have simply offered a cheap jewel case version for 50€ similar to the Sound & Vision Box. Then at least the announced “one time limited edition” would have remained limited and everyone could have gotten missing titles with such a box. So it makes everything ruined and the fans who have invested hours and horrendous sums, are the stupid …
        I find this whole limitation also all nonsense, but first to limit and then no longer to limit, is even greater nonsense.
        I am missing in my 40th anniversary collection also still the Starman 7″. We could also release it again. I would like that…

      2. It wouldn’t surprise me if they released a complete box, in some wat or anotger despite of your argument. It won’t be the last time that any of us will buy the same music for the second, third of fourth time within a couple of years

    2. I’m with you. My form submission included everything on CD plus the box. It’s probably a pipe dream, but I’d like to hope that maybe they’ll get a rash of submissions like that one from people like me who gave the whole series a pass based on the obnoxious sales method and decide to just offer some complete sets (i.e. the way the thing should have been released to begin with).

  28. With this disclaimer…….By registering your information Warner Music cannot guarantee your selected products will be available to purchase……

    1. Because if only 10 people register for Volume 1, for example, they won’t manufacture that volume. (too low quantity – It would cost too much.)

      1. Which is going to mean that some of their other counts will be off, because if I can’t get the whole set, then I’m not getting any of it, so they’ll have too many copies of some of their titles.

  30. So I’m wondering if they are researching interest and will determine production numbers of the reissues on that. Or do another fairly limited run. It’ll be interesting to see how they will follow up on this.

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