10 Top Who Vinyl Rarities
 
There exist more than a little Who records and CD's which are rare and valuable. The following 10 Who vinyls are not necessarily the 10 most valuable items but they shall gain a representative insight into the interesting world of The Who's vinyl rarities. The values listed here are estimated on average.

 

10  
My Generation / Shout And Shimmy
(7", Germany 1965, Decca DL 25209)
On position 10 in our little chart is a record which does not really belong to the top Who rarities but which is a very good example how the value depends on the records label number or matrix number or in which picture sleeve it was released. This German My Generation single was issued with three different picture sleeves. The sleeve pictured on the left is the common one, this release is valued at 10 Euro. The special yellow Beat For Beaters cover is much rarer with a value of 80 Euro. More difficult to find is the red version of the Beat For Beaters cover. This one is valued at a price of 100 Euro.
 
Value 10 Euro / 80 Euro / 100 Euro

 
9  
My Generation
(LP, UK 1965, Brunswick LAT 8616)
The Who's debut LP from 1965. When it was released The Who were very successfull in England and each of their records sold 100000 times or more, also this album. It is not difficult to find any copy but if you would like to find a first pressing in excellent condition it could be a real challenge. Most copies of this album are well played and well used. You'll find copies in all price regions between 5 Euro and more than 300 Euro. The value definitely depends on the condition of cover and record but at a price of 120 Euro you should be able to obtain a copy in clean condition with first matrix numbers MG-10256-1B / MG-10257-1B. The album was lots of times reissued, even with cat.no. LAT 8616 and recently with bonus tracks. Due to it's value it was also counterfeited. The counterfeit has a few but hardly visible cover and label variation. So be careful that you really get the original first pressing offered.
 
Value 120+ Euro

 
8  
The Who By Numbers
(LP, Austria 1975, Polydor 2480309)
The Who By Numbers album was usually issued with a light cover where you could connect the missing lines between the numbered dots with pen to complete the whole picture. Unlike all other countries only in Austria was a negative black cover released. It's not clear if this was a mishap or a deliberate joke. However, due to the small Austrian record market this is a rare item but now and then a copy appears again and if you invest around 200 Euro it could be yours.
 
Value 200 Euro

 
7  
Young Man Blues / Substitute (Promo)
(7" promo, USA 1970, Decca 32737)
Young Man Blues was written by Mose Alison and The Who played a very hard rocking version at their Live At Leeds concert in February 1970 which was recorded for the album of the same name. Summertime Blues from the same source was already released as a single in July and Decca Records USA planned to issue Young Man Blues as successor just a month later. Although the records were pressed and some of them sold it was by far not as successful as Summertime Blues. This is the promo version. The label just states "Young Man" instead of "Young Man Blues" and the record came in a special promo sleeve.
 
Value 220 Euro (50 Euro without sleeve)

 
6  
Live At Leeds
(LP, Spain 1970, Polydor 2480004)
There exist three different Spain Live At Leeds issues. This one is the original from 1970. It has a unique cover and was the very first Spain Who album. The before published albums like My Generation, Sell Out or Tommy were not released in Spain, just a couple of singles and EP's. It was the era of the strict Franco dictatorship regime which lasts until 1975 and led to the censorship of a few songs from Who's Next and Quadrophenia. Generally Spain records from that period are difficult to find. For all that reasons this record is a very rare Who item and the value increases up to 300 Euro or even more for a copy in mint condition.
 
Value 300 Euro

 
5  
Tommy (EP)
(7", New Zealand 1970, Polydor Polygram 2252-001)
In 1970 this EP which contained extracts from The Who's Tommy album was released by Track Records in UK and by Polydor Records in New Zealand. The record includes Overture and Christmas on the A-side and I'm Free and See Me Feel Me on the B-side. The cover of the New Zealand issue differs from the UK cover and purely shows young Pete in typical 60's Marquee poster design with The Who logo in big letters. Unlike the common 7 inches this cover measures 8 inches in height which is an extreme rarity but also prone to damages. Most of the covers must have been destroyed by their owners due to its outsize or because of suffered damages. The record itself is already hard to find but finding a copy with a fairly acceptable cover is nearly impossible. All in all an unusual item which will be a highlight in every serious Who collection.
 
Value 350 Euro

 
4  
The Who Sell Out
(LP, UK 1967, Track 612002)
This is the Who's third studio album which was released in 1967 in UK. But what makes this common issue so special and valuable is that the first 500 copies contained a large size poster (pictured right). A sticker on the appropriate cover says 'free psychedelic poster inside'. The album was reissued in 2006 with the original cat.no. and a poster reprint which differs hardly from the original. The reissue is approximately 25 Euro worth. So, if you get The Who Sell Out album with poster offered, be sure that it is the original record with the original poster.
 
Value 500 Euro

 
3  
Who Did It
(LP, UK 1970/1971, Track 2856001)
Who Did It was distributed via mail order only for a short time in 1970/1971. It is estimated that only 400 copies were pressed. The album contained already released tracks from A Quick One and The Who Sell Out. Therefore it did not gain much interest among record buyers and maybe 250 or 300 copies were sold before it was withdrawn. One of the rarest and most sought Who albums.
 
Value 800 Euro

 
2  
My Generation
(LP, Japan 1965, Decca SDL 10271)
In the sixties lots of Who records were released in Japan with different tracks and covers with never seen before group shots. Some of them were issued exclusively in Japan. Japanese Who records of the sixties are extremely rare and valuable. Although The Who already had three hit singles in the UK before their debut LP came out, this album was the very first Who record which was released in Japan and it is one of the rarest. Besides existing in very small quantity the album also has a unique and totally different cover. The Who were really unknown in Japan at that time and the Japanese record company found that the Who did not look Japanese-like enough on the common album cover. So they placed the faces of the four band members in little bubbles and hoped that the attractive woman on the cover would serve to achieve large sales. Despite her undoubtly attractiveness the record did not sell well. The album was issued with a lyric sheet.
 
Value 900 Euro

 
1  
Zoot Suit / I'm The Face (The High Numbers)
(7", UK 1964, Fontana TF 480)
This is where it all started back in 1964 and when The Who's band name was The High Numbers. The High Numbers only released this one record which flopped terribly. 1000 copies were pressed and approximately 300-500 of them were sold. Reissued with I'm The Face on the A-side in 1980 and 1990. The original release from 1964 is the most desirable Who vinyl among record collectors.
 
Value 1200 Euro