Rare 1975 test pressing of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody 7" single goes for £8,800 in the White Label Auction in aid of The BRIT Trust – contributing to a £44,620 total

• Other star lots saw test pressings signed by Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, John Lydon, Wolf Alice, Paul Weller, Robbie Williams and other world-leading artists generate over £6,000 between them

• Oasis’ ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory (30^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)’ was sold for £600

• Nearly £200,000 has now been raised for The BRIT Trust charity and the causes it supports since the first edition of The White Label Auction in 2019    

The White Label Auction in Aid of The BRIT Trust – the world’s only known auction of white label test pressings¹, today (7^th October) achieved a total hammer price of £44,620 for just over 170 lots that were put up for sale to UK and international collectors and to fans to raise funds for the BRIT Trust music charity. 

Leading the star items was a rare white label 7” test pressing of Queen’s legendary single Bohemian Rhapsody, which this October celebrates its 50^th anniversary. The special lot, generously donated by David Munns OBE, who worked on the EMI campaign to first release it in 1975, sparked fierce bidding among collectors to reach the incredible sum of £8,800. It went to a UK buyer, who actually invested £11,000 in all after paying commission.

Other big sellers on the day included artist-signed white label copies of new or classic albums by some of the world’s biggest artists. These included signed items by Coldplay (£2,600 for ‘Music of the Spheres’ and ‘Live In Buenos Aries’ combined), Ed Sheeran (£1,200 for ‘Play’), Paul Weller (£600 for ‘Find El Dorado’),John Lydon (over £2,000 for various Public Image Limited test pressings), Robbie Williams (over £500 for ‘Life Thru’ A Lens’ and ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’ combined), and Mercury Prize shortlisted rock band Wolf Alice (£700 for The Clearing).

The auction concluded in grand style, with a test pressing of Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), which was reissued just last week, fetching an impressive £600.

The full list of all the auction lots and the amounts they went for can be found on the Omega Auctions site.

This total means that the White Label Auction in its six editions to date since 2019 has now generated nearly £200,000 for the music industry’s charity, The BRIT Trust, which works to improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts, and supports causes across the UK that promote education and wellbeing, including its principal beneficiaries The BRIT School and Nordoff and Robbins, as well as ELAM, Music Support, and Key4Life, among many others.  

The auction was made possible by the generosity of the UK’s recorded music community – its many artists, managers, and record companies and labels, who every year donate hundreds of items between them, including Universal Music UK, who lead in contributing to it, Warner Music UK, Sony Music UK, AWAL, BMG, Cherry Red Records, Domino Recordings, and others.  The organisers of the White Label Auction and The BRIT Trust expresses its profound thanks to them all.  

White Label Auction Co-Founder and organiser, Johnny Chandler, said: “Absolutely incredible result today, a reflection of our strongest line-up to date. A beautiful mix of new and established artists, current releases and future classics, legendary albums and that original 7” test pressing of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year and bringing in the single biggest amount for a lot that we have ever seen in the White Label Auction to date.

“As always, my endless thanks to the many artists, managers and record labels who’ve supported the WLA again, and to those that bid so generously to help generate much-needed funding for The BRIT Trust. I’m indebted to the WLA team, Gennaro, Julian, Alexi and Sterling for their commitment and hard work and to Dan and all at Omega Auctions.”

Dan Muscatelli-Hampson, Omega Auctions Auction Manager, said: “We were well pleased to achieve a record price paid for this fantastic Queen rarity, coming up just shy of the 50^th anniversary of its original release date. The market for vinyl records is incredibly strong at present and we are so pleased that we are in a fortunate position to be able to work with The Brit Trust to support the amazing work that they do.”

Tony Wadsworth CBE, Chair of The BRIT Trust, said: “We are blown away by this amazing total and by the generosity of the artists, managers and labels that made it possible. It’s so wonderful that the White Label Auction has been able to tap into the value of items that might otherwise simply gather dust on shelves. Thanks to this auction, they can do so much more good, whether in helping The BRIT Trust to fund music therapists at Nordoff and Robbins, or in contributing to the special extra curricular activities that make The BRIT School the unique place of learning that it is. 

“We are hugely grateful to the music community for coming together to support The BRIT Trust in this way, and we also extend our sincere thanks to Johnny Chandler and to the whole White Label Auction team for their brilliant efforts in pulling all this together – I know that a huge amount of work goes into it.  Finally, I must personally thank our trustee David Munns OBE for so kindly donating the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ test pressing from his personal collection – the £8,800 it raised by itself will make a big difference to the important work that we do.”