Strypes' fans splash up to €120 for latest single on eBay
Not only are Cavan band The Strypes currently considered the hottest property in the music industry worldwide, but the recent Record Store Day issue of their single ‘Blue Collar Jane’ is proving just as popular among fans, changing hands on internet auction sites for as much as €120 each since its release.
The local four-piece joined hundreds of artists across the globe in releasing an exclusive record to celebrate the annual Record Store Day event. The Strypes Record Store Day release of ‘Blue Collar Jane’ in particular came as a limited edition, numbered 7” gatefold vinyl containing seven tracks including their latest number one single.
Copies were only available on the day and purchased participating stores costing €13.99. However the exclusive two-disc vinyl, containing ‘Blue Collar Jane’, along with ‘What The People Don’t See’, ‘I wish You Would’, ‘You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover’, ‘29 Ways’, ‘Leavin’ Here’ and ‘Got Love if You Want It’ has since been appearing on sites such eBay, Amazon and in Ireland on DoneDeal for almost 10 times the price, selling for as much as €120.
Standard vinyl editions of the ‘Blue Collar Jane’ single have sold for as much as €40, as has the CD version, while anything Strype-related including recordings before the band were snapped up by Mercury Records and Elton John’s ‘Rocket Music Management’ are also hot commodity.
The Celt understands the scramble for The Strypes music has been buoyed by the fact that their new album, which is currently being recorded in the UK, will only include ‘Blue Collar Jane’ of the seven tracks contained on the new release.
Of the limited number released, a total of seven copies arrived especially for Noel Tierney of Multisound Records on Main Street, Cavan Town, some of which he told The Anglo-Celt had been booked well in advance of the official release date.
“We had ordered 50 but we only got seven copies here to the shop, but we’d been getting calls from the UK and a couple from different part of Ireland looking to get hold of one,” Noel told The Celt. “Myself and Anna Marie here have held on to two copies, they’re prized possessions now. The rest were sold within the first hour of the shop even opening. We had been hoping to get a few more but I believe the majority stayed in the UK and a lot went to Japan where the lads played last week.
“There’s so much interest in them at the moment, it’s a great thing to see and it’s a great thing to see a local band go so far,” he added.
Ross, Josh, Pete and Evan’s success is such that on a recent stopover in Dubai as The Strypes travelled to play a sold out show at the Club Quattro in Tokyo, Japan, they had their picture taken with a member of the public in full Saudi dress, labelling it with the caption ‘great day in Dubai, who did we meet, the MAN HIMSELF!! Big Strypes Fan!’.
The appearance of the picture immeidately caused a flourish of attention from unsuspecting fans who believed the unnamed person to be Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, believing he heard of the band’s arrival and made a special attempt to meet up with the local lads. This though has since been confirmed to be a hoax.
Meanwhile, following the reams of rave reviews the band received at last year’s festival, The Strypes have once again been added to the billing of Electric Picnic, though this time it’s expected they will share a slot on one of the main stages.
The four-piece have also announced yet another extensive touring schedule across the UK and mainland Europe for the summer, including supporting The Stone Roses in La Cigale, Paris in June, while a return to Japan is on the cards again come October.
Here's half of The Strypes sharing a stage with the Modfather Paul Weller on Record Store Day: