Reading another thread about Prince's cassettes becoming sources for bootleg, I remembered that back in the day local public radio station played the whole Black Album - yes, in its entirety. They must have received a copy from German pressing plant Alsdorf or whatever - and the 17 year old me could not believe his luck while listening to NDR2 at night ("a new Prince record? I did not read anything in the press, and saw nothing in my local record store... wow, what is this") and taped this on that night, and the sound quality was really excellent. Very likely that this broadcast became one of the sources of the many boots that soon showed up. Warner Bros of course very quickly issued a cease and desist order, and the record was never played again at NDR2...

There is a short article in German on this:

https://www.musikexpress....25-112209/

and it is also mentioned in the German Wikpedia article on the Black album:

https://de.wikipedia.org/...nce-Album)

This is the relevant piece translated:

In the meantime, however, a copy of the album had even landed at NDR (correctly: Norddeutscher Rundfunk) via whatever channels, a broadcastable one, yes, which then also went over the airwaves in full length on the station's night-time programme. Klaus Weilershaus, head of department at NDR, saw ‘no reason to keep our hands off the record’ at the time and blames the confusion that arose on WEA's poor information policy. Wellerhaus: ‘The thing was there, and why shouldn't it be possible to play it if it is not explicitly stated that it is not free.
The WEA was simply asleep in this case. If we had been informed about it, then we wouldn't have played it either, but I didn't have to listen to any rumours.’
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Any other Germans here on the side who had switched on NDR2 on that night?

A bit off topic, but still:

I have a similar story from almost the same week (I will check the exact date).

I vividly remember it all. At the time, I was often listening to Dutch radio stations (Radio Veronica I think it was...). Cause her in Belgium our radio stations weren't all that great.

On one of those infamous evenings (here in Belgium), they played the unreleased ‘The Black Album’ in its entirety, in superbe quality.

Only, during the playback, and throughout all the songs, at irregular intervals, an irritating radio jingle was mixed with the words ‘The Black Album’ (and "Exclusive".. also i think), by some dark voice with a lot of reverb and effect.
I also have the complete recording of this unique event on cassette.

It had already been announced on this radio station during the day, that an unexpected Prince surprise would arrive that same evening.

So I was all set with my newly acquired, big eye-catching Philips D8110, 2 Band Stereo Radio Cassette Recorder!

Proud as a fresh 21-year-old, in my students room far away in the big city.

Gone out of my mind to the most incredible thing I heard. Then I tried to filter out the irritating ‘djingle’ effects, which I never succeeded in doing.
Fortunately, I still have everything, the Philips boombox and the tape.

-

I have loads of tapes from back in the day. All from the days before the release of a new album. Most radiostations played a new song every hour, with often some positive exciting DJ info.

-

Back on topic;

So, could it ne that this Dutch radio station also have gotten its hands on a stolen copy?

That is so cool!!!
I remeber buying a Cassette Copy from some random guy who advertised his bootleg casettes it in our local newspaper

a few month later I found a vinyl copy in a record store - I listened to it before (not) buying and noticed it wasn't Prince at all! Some dutch (I think) band covered the whole Black Album, crazy... Wish I could here this cover album now!

Krid said:

Reading another thread about Prince's cassettes becoming sources for bootleg, I remembered that back in the day local public radio station played the whole Black Album - yes, in its entirety. They must have received a copy from German pressing plant Alsdorf or whatever - and the 17 year old me could not believe his luck while listening to NDR2 at night ("a new Prince record? I did not read anything in the press, and saw nothing in my local record store... wow, what is this") and taped this on that night, and the sound quality was really excellent. Very likely that this broadcast became one of the sources of the many boots that soon showed up. Warner Bros of course very quickly issued a cease and desist order, and the record was never played again at NDR2...

There is a short article in German on this:

https://www.musikexpress....25-112209/

and it is also mentioned in the German Wikpedia article on the Black album:

https://de.wikipedia.org/...nce-Album)

This is the relevant piece translated:

In the meantime, however, a copy of the album had even landed at NDR (correctly: Norddeutscher Rundfunk) via whatever channels, a broadcastable one, yes, which then also went over the airwaves in full length on the station's night-time programme. Klaus Weilershaus, head of department at NDR, saw ‘no reason to keep our hands off the record’ at the time and blames the confusion that arose on WEA's poor information policy. Wellerhaus: ‘The thing was there, and why shouldn't it be possible to play it if it is not explicitly stated that it is not free.
The WEA was simply asleep in this case. If we had been informed about it, then we wouldn't have played it either, but I didn't have to listen to any rumours.’
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Any other Germans here on the side who had switched on NDR2 on that night?

Wow, that's cool. Could we get that here?

Rough said:

That is so cool!!!
I remeber buying a Cassette Copy from some random guy who advertised his bootleg casettes it in our local newspaper

a few month later I found a vinyl copy in a record store - I listened to it before (not) buying and noticed it wasn't Prince at all! Some dutch (I think) band covered the whole Black Album, crazy... Wish I could here this cover album now!

I still have that one too!

I'd like to hear the covers album, to be honest - sounds cool

Rough said:

That is so cool!!!
I remeber buying a Cassette Copy from some random guy who advertised his bootleg casettes it in our local newspaper

a few month later I found a vinyl copy in a record store - I listened to it before (not) buying and noticed it wasn't Prince at all! Some dutch (I think) band covered the whole Black Album, crazy... Wish I could here this cover album now!

That cover album was sold in many record stores in germany. It came with a sticker "I own the black album".

ludwig said:

Rough said:

That is so cool!!!
I remeber buying a Cassette Copy from some random guy who advertised his bootleg casettes it in our local newspaper

a few month later I found a vinyl copy in a record store - I listened to it before (not) buying and noticed it wasn't Prince at all! Some dutch (I think) band covered the whole Black Album, crazy... Wish I could here this cover album now!

That cover album was sold in many record stores in germany. It came with a sticker "I own the black album".

yes, where is it? Would still love to hear it even if it is crap

lustmealways said:

I'd like to hear the covers album, to be honest - sounds cool

It's cheap:

https://www.discogs.com/r...lack-Album



I have FLAC/MP3 files of it. I haven't listened to it in ages.

[Edited 10/1/24 2:31am]

Vannormal said:

A bit off topic, but still:

I have a similar story from almost the same week (I will check the exact date).

I vividly remember it all. At the time, I was often listening to Dutch radio stations (Radio Veronica I think it was...). Cause her in Belgium our radio stations weren't all that great.

On one of those infamous evenings (here in Belgium), they played the unreleased ‘The Black Album’ in its entirety, in superbe quality.

Only, during the playback, and throughout all the songs, at irregular intervals, an irritating radio jingle was mixed with the words ‘The Black Album’ (and "Exclusive".. also i think), by some dark voice with a lot of reverb and effect.

.

That was Countdown Café, broadcast on Friday evening from 22:00-midnight on Radio 3. The voice was Alfred Lagarde's, one of the two presenters.

.

Background info in Dutch:

.

Het zou Prince zijn tiende album worden in 1987, The Black Album.
Maar zonder officiële opgave van reden werd het album geannuleerd door Prince zelf.
De platen waren al geperst en lagen klaar in distributie centra in Duitsland die ineens de opdracht kregen om alles zo snel mogelijk retour te zenden naar de platen perser die de hele oplage moest vernietigen.
Dat gebeurde onder strenge controles maar laat ik nou net een goede kennis hebben die daar werkte...…
Hij wist dat ik gek was op Prince en zo kreeg ik in het grootste geheim (en voor een aardig bedrag) de meest gewilde plaat van de wereld in mijn handen.
Het was een aparte plaat, erg donker maar ik draaide hem grijs die eerste dagen.
Ik kwam Kees en Alfred tegen en vertelde ze dat ik de plaat in mijn bezit had.
Bijna niemand had de plaat nog gehoord en er waren zelfs nog geen bootlegs van op dat moment.
Alfred zei meteen, "mogen wij die niet uitzenden in CountDown Café?"
Ach en waarom ook niet dacht ik.
Ze checkte bij de juridische afdeling wat de gevolgen zouden kunnen zijn en die raadde het resoluut af maar Kees en Alfred lieten zich niet tegenhouden.
Twee dagen later hadden ze een absolute wereldprimeur te pakken, niemand had nog maar het lef gehad iets te laten horen van de plaat!
Ze draaide zonder het groots aangekondigd te hebben het hele album achter elkaar zonder pauze en werden vanzelfsprekend wereldnieuws.
De platenmaatschappij op tilt en ik werd een beetje bang want ik was net bezig als fotograaf een beetje naam te maken en als het uit zou komen dat die plaat van mij af zou komen dan zou ik nog wel eens een probleem kunnen krijgen.
Kees en Alfred hielden vol dat de plaat anoniem in hun postvak terecht was gekomen.
De problemen vielen achteraf wel mee en eigenlijk vonden ze het wel een mooie stunt allemaal.
Prince verklaarde jaren later dat het album was opgenomen in een donkere periode van zijn leven en dat hij bang was dat wanneer hij onverwachts zou overlijden, men hem het meest zou herinneren aan dit album.
In 1994 kwam de plaat alsnog uit in een gelimiteerde oplage.
Uiteindelijk heb ik het origineel voor heel erg veel geld verkocht aan een verzamelaar, te bang dat hij zou beschadigen en zijn waarde zou verliezen.
Achteraf gezien was dat misschien niet zo'n slimme zet van mij, maar ik heb altijd gedacht dat Prince wel 100 zou worden…..
(De lp die Alfred vast heeft is niet DE plaat, deze lag op dat moment op de draaitafel en werd live uitgezonden!).

.

[Edited 10/1/24 3:25am]

bizzie said:

Vannormal said:

A bit off topic, but still:

I have a similar story from almost the same week (I will check the exact date).

I vividly remember it all. At the time, I was often listening to Dutch radio stations (Radio Veronica I think it was...). Cause her in Belgium our radio stations weren't all that great.

On one of those infamous evenings (here in Belgium), they played the unreleased ‘The Black Album’ in its entirety, in superbe quality.

Only, during the playback, and throughout all the songs, at irregular intervals, an irritating radio jingle was mixed with the words ‘The Black Album’ (and "Exclusive".. also i think), by some dark voice with a lot of reverb and effect.

.

That was Countdown Café, broadcast on Friday evening from 22:00-midnight on Radio 3. The voice was Alfred Lagarde's, one of the two presenters.

.

Background info in Dutch:

.

Het zou Prince zijn tiende album worden in 1987, The Black Album.
Maar zonder officiële opgave van reden werd het album geannuleerd door Prince zelf.
De platen waren al geperst en lagen klaar in distributie centra in Duitsland die ineens de opdracht kregen om alles zo snel mogelijk retour te zenden naar de platen perser die de hele oplage moest vernietigen.
Dat gebeurde onder strenge controles maar laat ik nou net een goede kennis hebben die daar werkte...…
Hij wist dat ik gek was op Prince en zo kreeg ik in het grootste geheim (en voor een aardig bedrag) de meest gewilde plaat van de wereld in mijn handen.
Het was een aparte plaat, erg donker maar ik draaide hem grijs die eerste dagen.
Ik kwam Kees en Alfred tegen en vertelde ze dat ik de plaat in mijn bezit had.
Bijna niemand had de plaat nog gehoord en er waren zelfs nog geen bootlegs van op dat moment.
Alfred zei meteen, "mogen wij die niet uitzenden in CountDown Café?"
Ach en waarom ook niet dacht ik.
Ze checkte bij de juridische afdeling wat de gevolgen zouden kunnen zijn en die raadde het resoluut af maar Kees en Alfred lieten zich niet tegenhouden.
Twee dagen later hadden ze een absolute wereldprimeur te pakken, niemand had nog maar het lef gehad iets te laten horen van de plaat!
Ze draaide zonder het groots aangekondigd te hebben het hele album achter elkaar zonder pauze en werden vanzelfsprekend wereldnieuws.
De platenmaatschappij op tilt en ik werd een beetje bang want ik was net bezig als fotograaf een beetje naam te maken en als het uit zou komen dat die plaat van mij af zou komen dan zou ik nog wel eens een probleem kunnen krijgen.
Kees en Alfred hielden vol dat de plaat anoniem in hun postvak terecht was gekomen.
De problemen vielen achteraf wel mee en eigenlijk vonden ze het wel een mooie stunt allemaal.
Prince verklaarde jaren later dat het album was opgenomen in een donkere periode van zijn leven en dat hij bang was dat wanneer hij onverwachts zou overlijden, men hem het meest zou herinneren aan dit album.
In 1994 kwam de plaat alsnog uit in een gelimiteerde oplage.
Uiteindelijk heb ik het origineel voor heel erg veel geld verkocht aan een verzamelaar, te bang dat hij zou beschadigen en zijn waarde zou verliezen.
Achteraf gezien was dat misschien niet zo'n slimme zet van mij, maar ik heb altijd gedacht dat Prince wel 100 zou worden…..
(De lp die Alfred vast heeft is niet DE plaat, deze lag op dat moment op de draaitafel en werd live uitgezonden!).

.

[Edited 10/1/24 3:25am]

Exactly!

Oh thank you very much for this info!

Really appreciate it.

The guys from Coundown Café from Radio 3, back in the day, while spinning that famous Black Album.

(Thanks Bizzie)

Vannormal said:

The guys from Coundown Café from Radio 3, back in the day, while spinning that famous Black Album.

(Thanks Bizzie)

I remember that night very well too. The show was called Soultrain and the host was Ruth Rockenschaub. She was clearly a fan of Prince and often played him. I think she announced it before that she had a surprise for Prince fans. So I waited with my tape recorder that night and recorded the songs. But I think she did not play the whole album. Rockhard in a Funky place and another song (cant remember which) were missing on my tape.

I later bought the bootleg on cassette to hear those missing songs. Exciting times to be a Prince fan.

[Edited 10/3/24 2:34am]

Vannormal said:

The guys from Coundown Café from Radio 3, back in the day, while spinning that famous Black Album.

(Thanks Bizzie)

Looks like a white label on the vinyl. Or could it be a light reflection? ... I guess there wouldn't be bootleg pressings making the rounds that early.

theplejades said:

I remember that night very well too. The show was called Soultrain and the host was Ruth Rockenschaub. She was clearly a fan of Prince often played him. I think she announced it before that she had a surprise for Prince fans. So I waited with my tape recorder that night and recorded the songs. But I think she did not play the whole album. Rockhard in a Funky place and another song (cant remember which) were missing on my tape.

I late bought the bootleg on cassette to hear those missing songs. Exiting times to be a Prince fan.

Yes, that is right - SoulTrain must have been the show... can't remember if a song was missing or two at the broadcast - I also taped it on my wonderful Grundig tape recorder, and played that tape lots of times - then I bought a bootleg a couple months later at a Hamburg flea market, in red vinyl...

psyche2 said:

Vannormal said:

The guys from Coundown Café from Radio 3, back in the day, while spinning that famous Black Album.

(Thanks Bizzie)

Looks like a white label on the vinyl. Or could it be a light reflection? ... I guess there wouldn't be bootleg pressings making the rounds that early.

Last line in the article bizzie posted mentions how the album he's holding in the picture isn't the Black album and that the Black Album is on the turntable being played during the live broadcast

[Edited 10/2/24 2:06am]

psyche2 said:

Vannormal said:

The guys from Coundown Café from Radio 3, back in the day, while spinning that famous Black Album.

(Thanks Bizzie)

Looks like a white label on the vinyl. Or could it be a light reflection? ... I guess there wouldn't be bootleg pressings making the rounds that early.

The real album was spinning at that exact moment.

(...is what I read...)

This vinyl isn't the real one. Probably just used to show it in a picturee being taken.

maybe cos im someone who likes lo fi music but i think the black album benefitted from bootlegging. just made it seem grimier, dirtier, murkier, more fucked up sounding. when i got it in perfect sound, i still liked it but the intensity was removed. they should release a dirty mock bootleg version officially. lol

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

maybe cos im someone who likes lo fi music but i think the black album benefitted from bootlegging. just made it seem grimier, dirtier, murkier, more fucked up sounding. when i got it in perfect sound, i still liked it but the intensity was removed. they should release a dirty mock bootleg version officially. lol

I kinda agree. I also like lo-fi music a lot!

Probably that's why i don't like that clean-licked played Prince & The NPG 90s and onwards music all that much.

The dirtier, sloppier, 'quick-effect' on Prince's earlier recordings are so much more alive to me. (or has it something to do with anolog recordings?)

I remember the fucked-up radio djingles played over that TBA broadcast still exactly. I even sing them when i listen to the official version, my brain knows exactly when to sign them, as if that previous murkier version that my brain heard first, was my master recording so to say.

(Same happend to earlier bootleg version of the let's say the Charade bootleg ones.

Later on we got cleaner versions. Don't get me wrong, i prefer those cleaner versions.)

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

maybe cos im someone who likes lo fi music but i think the black album benefitted from bootlegging. just made it seem grimier, dirtier, murkier, more fucked up sounding. when i got it in perfect sound, i still liked it but the intensity was removed. they should release a dirty mock bootleg version officially. lol

Actually, when I got the official repressing in 1994, I was disappointed that the sound wasn't that much better than the bootleg(s)!

It was still just as muddy

nayroo2002 said:

Vannormal said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

nayroo2002 said:

Actually, when I got the official repressing in 1994, I was disappointed that the sound wasn't that much better than the bootleg(s)!

It was still just as muddy

A lot of 80s prince songs were not that grest sounding sonically compared to other pop records of the time. Prince didnt care much for good production or engineering. Black album is no worse sounding than sott really. [Edited 10/2/24 9:00am]

Nope.

He released the 1994 version of 'the black album' with sub-par fidelity intentionally.

Ya know, to spite the bootleggers.

Someone with an original 1987 pressing please prove me wrong!

This thread totally makes me want to go through all my Prince bootlegs again.

nayroo2002 said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

nayroo2002 said: A lot of 80s prince songs were not that grest sounding sonically compared to other pop records of the time. Prince didnt care much for good production or engineering. Black album is no worse sounding than sott really. [Edited 10/2/24 9:00am]

Nope.

He released the 1994 version of 'the black album' with sub-par fidelity intentionally.

Ya know, to spite the bootleggers.

Someone with an original 1987 pressing please prove me wrong!

You're wrong, it sounds the same as the original pressing because it came from the same master that WB had and used from '87.

nayroo2002 said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

maybe cos im someone who likes lo fi music but i think the black album benefitted from bootlegging. just made it seem grimier, dirtier, murkier, more fucked up sounding. when i got it in perfect sound, i still liked it but the intensity was removed. they should release a dirty mock bootleg version officially. lol

Actually, when I got the official repressing in 1994, I was disappointed that the sound wasn't that much better than the bootleg(s)!

It was still just as muddy

This is what made me think it was never actually mixed properly for a real release. It was always supposed to be low quality and "leaked".

The difference in effort between the Black album and Lovesexy is stark!

As someone else already said Prince never gave that much attention to the sound quality of his output. Quickly getting his ideas to tape was more important.

I still remember when the host of the Soultrain Show Ruth Rockenschaub said that his music often sounds like it was recorded in a cardboard box. Not when she played the Black Album but I think when she played Adore one day.

happyshopper said: