Collecting exotic Dire Straits-Mark Knopfler Vinyl

[Klaus74]

Hi to all vinyl-freaks of Dire Straits records.
Now i have found another TAIWANESE edition of the Alchemy-Lp-Set.
Different front-cover-layout. Released on the Taiwan-Label New Jen Sheng. Cover is a folded paper-sheet, seamed on the bottom. I own another TAIWAN-edition with fold-out-cover and with the Vertigo-swirl-labels.

[dustyvalentino]

Cool cover!

[Klaus74]

My newest Exotic-Gem.
Dire Straits - Love over gold, Hits-Label, Taiwan. Very uniqe record-label from Taiwan and a thick cardboard-cover, similar to the US-editions.

[Klaus74]

Another new exotic-issue from my collection.
Dire Straits - Communique LP-Album on SWIRL-Vertigo Label from MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE. 

[Klaus74]

My newest Exotic-issue is from former YUGOSLAVIJA.
Dire Straits - First Album, released in former YUGOSLAVIA on Philips-Records/RTB-Records. (RTB stands for Radio-Televizije-Beograd). The Yugoslavian issues are on a blue-white-coloured Philips-Label.
According to my knowledge, there are two singles only in Yugoslavia, Sultans of Swing and Romeo and Juliet, with cover-design from the Dutch-releases.

Dire Straits played some concerts during their Love over gold-worldtour in Ex-Yugoslavia in 1983 and during their Brothers in arms-worldtour in 1985. 

[Klaus74]

Again some news in my collection of exotic MK and DS-Vinyls.
Here we have the Making Movies LP-Album from SOUTH-AFRICA. Just look at the different designed cover with the exchanged colours. Released in RSA in 1980 on a violet-silver Vertigo-Label.
The Dire Straits Twisting By The Pool-12-Inch-record from SOUTH-Africa. Released there in 1983 also with the violet-silver Vertigo-Label. 3-Tracks.
Distributed through Trutone Music. The covers made by INTERPAK printing-office. That is significant to detect issues from South-Africa.

[vgonis]

What a lovely collection of hard to find items! Thanks for sharing! Back in the 90ies when most people were trading their vinyl collections for CDs I could find many obscure things in second hand record stores, at relatively reasonable prices. Now,online the prices have skyrocketed, and i don't have the money or time to keep it up. If something comes by the shop, I have dibs but sometimes it is still too expensive to keep for myself and I let go.

[Klaus74]

Hi, yes that is true, but don´t miss your chances in the future. I also don´t have big money like Scrroge McDuck, but i swap and sell some other copies from my private vinyl-collection, also other artists. So i can re-create some money for further DS gems. Yes i know such record-stores in Germany, small and big fleamarkets, house-clearances and so on. That are all good chances to grab some nice items.
But you need some special contacts for such exotic stuff. In Germany i find all the regular German issues, also special record-club-editions from the early DS albums as well, and sometime a cool UK- or a USA-issue in some collections but i detect the special stuff on the online marketplaces worldwide, or on some record-fairs.

[vgonis]

The bug never goes away.  Let's stay in touch and if you have a list of doubles you wish to trade or sell, do send me a price list!

[Klaus74]

Yes, of course.
By the way, The Bug: Do you know the rare French Promo-CD-Single of The Bug. ?? OK, it is not a vinyl-item, but a very rare and well demanded CD-Item.
It is a one-track Single-CD in a special Bug-shaped cardboard-Cover. Just have a closer look to the regular French The Bug, CD-Single, Vinyl-Maxi-Single or the Seven-inch-single. In France The Bug has a totally different cover, to the EU or UK-editions. It is a drawing of an insect, a real bug, and the french promo-item is a shaped Bug made of Cardboard, and you have to open the two wings to get the CD.
Very crazy and interesting item. 

[vgonis]

Yes! I do have this one, https://www.discogs.com/release/6628825-Dire-Straits-The-Bug  but nothing else from French editions of this single.
Lovely cover! I think Dire straits are a very hard band to collect. So many unique items, promos, singles etc. from so many countries all over the world due to their global success.
I started collecting them in 1989, when it was hard to understand the enormity of the editions. I keep going, but other priorities take up the time and funds needed. And part of it is other music! 
I guess the sky is the limit in collecting them. Should you ever send me a list of things for trade/sale, send me also a list of what you are looking for. I might have something for trade!
I find  particularly  odd the decision of S.Korean and Yugoslavian Making movies editions, to rearrange the track order and ultimately leave out Les boys, altogether!!

 

[Klaus74]

Yes you have the 4-Track Maxi-Single of The Bug as French edition. Also hard to get now. There is also a 7-Inch single and a regular 2-Track CD single in France with that Bug-insect-cover.
We DS collectionists are in a really good situation. Picture this, in case of a Beatles or Rolling Stones collector from all over the world. They are going to be nuts in that case. Just have a closer look to worldwide issues by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones in those days. Our Dire Straits collecting-field is easily understandable, but if you are a collector of worldwide-issues by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and so on, you´ll getting mentally insane.

[Klaus74]

So, this is my newest exotic gem for my vinyl-collection.
Dire Straits - Making Movies LP-Album from TAIWAN. Released some time later in Taiwan on a label, called MAJOR-Records. It features a thick cardboard-cover, like the Warner-Bros issues from USA. The record carries a blue label and a lyric sheet is also included. The pressing itself is really thick and it plays marvellous. There are some other newer record-companies in Taiwan: CELL RECORD-COMPANY, MAJOR-Records and Yan-Yin-Records. They all feature the cardboard-covers.

[Klaus74]

In the next days i will receive a Czechoslovakia Issue of the Love over gold LP-Album. Released on the former state-controlled record-label SUPRAPHON-Records. Release-date there is 1984 not 1982.
Pictures of cover and label in the next time. 

[Klaus74]

A little update.
In the next days i will receive some Dire Straits vinyl-singles from Republic South Africa, a Brothers in arms LP-Album from Turkey and two LP-Albums, Making Movies and On Every Street from Ecuador.