Complex was a British Psychedelic Rock band from Blackpool, Lancashine. They were formed in 1968 and broke up in 1978. They released 2 albums throughout their whole journey. One of them is their first and extremely rare “self titled” album.
VINYLOM Marketplace: Buy “Complex” on Vinyl
The band, rather than follow the traditional way of sending demo tapes decided to make an LP and send it in order to gain some attention.
The quality of the recording is relatively poor, but this does not prevent the quality of the songs from being highlighted. However, it is certain that with a better sound production, the songs of the album would be even more impressive.
An error was discovered also when the band attempted to slide the records into their sleeves. Rather than make sleeves to house a 12 inch LP, the printer had made the sleeves exactly 12 inches wide, leaving no room for clearance.
The end result of this mistake is that today, most surviving copies of the LP have a split seam. It was released in 1970 only in 99 copies to avoid the strict UK tax laws, and this combined with its high artistic value has made it sought after.
When the album was released Brian Lee’s mother (who managed the group) sent out copies to various record companies. The remaining copies were sold at the band’s gigs for …a pound each.
The EMI Record Company showed some interest(they offered them an audition and the band re-recorded two tracks from the LP, “Norwegian Butterfly” and “Images Blue”) , but In the end nothing remarkable happened.
Complex was one of the last great bands of prych-pop that appeared when this style began to fade.
The vinyl record of Complex is an excellent album with some wonderful songs (Norwegian Butterfly is my personal favorite).
According to an interesting article from the Vinyl Factory Website, a lucky collector recently bought a copy of Complex for £1 from a Junk Shop in Northwest England.
You who may not be so lucky, though I wish you to be, if you find it for sale, you will have to spend between 8 and 10 thousand dollars depending on its condition.
– In Hans Pokora’s book “Record Collectors Dream 5001” the vinyl record “Complex” has a Valuation of rarity 6/6
– RYM Rating 3.54 / 5.0
– Highlights: Norwegian Butterfly
– Reissue on Vinyl (official): Tenth Planet, UK,1998 – Guerssen, Spain, 2012
– Value (NM): $8,000-$10,000
TOP 5 HIGHEST SOLD PRICES (ebay)
- £10000 (1 bid – Start Price:£10000) / 2015-11-29 / ( Cover: VG+| Media: VG+ / Seller from GB)
- £8980 (24 bids – Start Price:£1) / 2015-02-16 / ( Cover: EX++ | Media: EX+ / Seller from: GB)
- £3000 (1 bid – Start Price:£3000) / 2016-08-26 / ( Cover: VG+| Media: NM / Seller from GB)
- $1439 (11 bids – Start Price:$10) / 2006-01-08 / ( Cover: VG++ | Media: NM / Seller from: USA)
- £588 (10 bids – Start Price:£3) / 2006-11-28 / ( Cover: VG++| Media: VG++ / Seller from USA)
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Complex Vinyl Records
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COMPLEX line Up:
Tony Shakespeare, lead vocals and drums.
Steve Coe, organ.
Brian Lee, guitars, vocals.
Lance Fogg, bass guitar, vocals.
Recording engineered by G.H.A. at “107 STUDIO”. November 1970.
Catalogue number TD 6869 (on the record)
Catalogue number CLPM 001 (on the back record sleeve).
