Collecting exotic Dire Straits-Mark Knopfler Vinyl

[Klaus74]

Hello to all fellow DS MK Fans, who also like Vinyls.
I´m Klaus from Germany, Dire Straits-Fan since 1985 and i´m still collecting so called exotic vinyl-versions of the well known albums, Maxis and Singles. To me it documents a world-wide phenomenon, because music itself knows no borders.
I own some copies from the following countries: Israel, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Republic South Africa, South-Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Venezuela, Hungary, Czech Republic, DDR (German Democratic Republic), Greece (Testpressing of OES), Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Equador, Panama. I´m still looking for more Vinyls on LP, Maxi-Single and Single-format in pristine condition. I also have the rare Japanese Promotional-12-Inch Record of Lady Writer-Sultans of Swing, and the dutch Tunnel of Love 12-Inch-Promo with the Stereo and the Mono-Mix.
So, are here some other Vinyl-fans, which also are interested in the exotic stuff. ?
I also have some white-label Testpressings from different countries, and one Acetate-Single So far away from the Sound-Clinic Mastering Studio. To me it is very fascinating to discover such exotic records.

[Klaus74]

Here a picture of a Zimbabwe Dire Straits LP-Album. First Album on Vertigo Zimbabwe (South Rhodesia). The state of Zimbabwe produced vinyl records until the mid Nineties. There was a pressing-plant in Harare and a music company called ZMC Zimbabwe Music Corporation. The cover-colours differ from the other issues and the used paper is not glossy, but more rough.

[Klaus74]

This is the rare Japanese Promotional-12-Inch record by Dire Straits. Pressed through Nippon-Phonogram as a Maxi-Single for DJs only. Lady Writer / Sultans of Swing. White-Label with special Promo-Catalogue-Number and the Japanese Promotional inscriptions. To my knowledge, the one and only 12-Inch record in Japan by Dire Straits. Very hard to find.
The cover is a white cardboard-cover with a red 45-rpm stamp and pasted regular 7-inch sleeves from Japanese releases. Possibly handmade, but regular and released in tiny quantities with that record.

[Klaus74]

Some more exotic Dire Straits records.
Dire Straits - First Album. TAIWAN Edition, different front and backcovers and a different label: New Jen Sheng
Dire Straits - Communique. INDIA Edition, slightly different front and backcovers and with the Vertigo-Swirl-Label
Dire Straits - Communique From Bahamas - Straits Power, ULTRARARE Japanese Promo and Documentary-Record for DJs in Japan. Tracklisting not equal with the Communique record and with additional spoken comments in Japanese and English language by Japanese Music-Journalist Yuji Kon-No. Very rare Japan only record.

[Klaus74]

Brothers in Arms as SOUTH-KOREA Edition. Released there through Sung-Eum-Limited in Seoul, South-Korea. Different colours on cover and a blue Vertigo-Label.

[Klaus74]

Some more exotic Vinyl-gems.
Dire Straits - First Album (Los Reyes Del Swing), VENEZUELA-Edition, Vertigo Records, different coverdesign and spanish inscriptions
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing (El Baile Del Sultan), Philips-Records, Single from EQUADOR
Dire Straits - Brothers in arms, Vertigo-Records, CANADA-Edition, Canada-only cover for that single
Dire Straits - So far away, GONG-Vertigo-Records, HUNGARY-Edition, unique cover, the one and only single by Dire Straits in Hungary. There is also the Money for nothing LP-Album on Gong-Vertigo records in Hungary, that´s it.

[Klaus74]

Some more exotic vinyl-gems.
Dire Straits - Walk of life, UK-Testpressing in Vinyl with handwritten archive-label, possibly pressed by PRS in UK. Vinyl-Pressing-plant, where Phonogram Ltd. was a client.

Dire Straits - So far away, UK-ACETATE-Reference-Disc, manufactured by The Sound Clinic, a well known Remastering Studio in UK. The prä-owner was a woman, who worked for the Phonogram Record-company in UK. She overpasted the original green-grey-coloured archive-label from Sound-Clinic with an UK-official So far away label. An Acetate-Record is a record, made of metal with a coated nitro-cellulose surface. Only a few copies were made, mostly for the artist, the producer, manager or sound-engineer, to get the first impression of the recorded work.  My Acetat-record plays the final mix of the single-version. Those records are very desirable if alternate mixes or other unknown versions had been recorded. A very rare record anyway.

[Klaus74]

Some more bizarre and obscure Dire Straits vinyls from my collection.

Russian Flexi-Discs in 5-Inch Format and in different colours. Dire Straits - Les Boys, Record Label called BudKon Russia. Some more titles are known. I have actually 3 different discs.

Polish Flexi-Discs in an envelope-Cover, here the complete Album Making Movies divided into different Music-Postcard-Discs in a Set. Poland-Edition of 20 Sets only.

Those records does not offer a very good sound-quality, because of the used material, but they are really obscure.
Sometimes in the past those flexi-discs are issued as freebies in Newspapers or Magazines.

[Klaus74]

Here are the Polish Postcard-Records from Making Movies-Album.

[Klaus74]

Again some exotic Dire Straits stuff. Exotic Vinyl-Editions

Dire Straits - Sultans of swing, JAPAN-Promo-Single with special cover, two versions of Sultans of swing included
Dire Straits - Sultans of swing, PHILIPPINES-Edition, White-Label Vertigo, manufactured through DYNA-Records Manila
Dire Straits - Twisting by the pool, ZIMBABWE-EP-Edition, White-Label Vertigo, pressed in Harare
Dire Straits - Money for nothing, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH-AFRICA-PROMO-Edition, violet-Vertigo-label, two versions of Money for nothing included.

[Silvertown]

Interesting stuff! Thanks for posting these!

[Klaus74]

Hello Silvertown. Thank you.

[Jules]

Some more exotic vinyl-gems.
Dire Straits - Walk of life, UK-Testpressing in Vinyl with handwritten archive-label, possibly pressed by PRS in UK. Vinyl-Pressing-plant, where Phonogram Ltd. was a client.

Dire Straits - So far away, UK-ACETATE-Reference-Disc, manufactured by The Sound Clinic, a well known Remastering Studio in UK. The prä-owner was a woman, who worked for the Phonogram Record-company in UK. She overpasted the original green-grey-coloured archive-label from Sound-Clinic with an UK-official So far away label. An Acetate-Record is a record, made of metal with a coated nitro-cellulose surface. Only a few copies were made, mostly for the artist, the producer, manager or sound-engineer, to get the first impression of the recorded work.  My Acetat-record plays the final mix of the single-version. Those records are very desirable if alternate mixes or other unknown versions had been recorded. A very rare record anyway.

I'm very interested in acetates. I have also several test pressings but only one acetate of MFN

[Klaus74]

Hi, congratulations for MFN-Acetate. It is also a collection of it´s own.

[dustyvalentino]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

Any chance you could rip the mono mix of Tunnel of Love? I'd be interested to hear what that sounds like.