Crikey. Who knew there even was such a thing ?
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They used to be called Bootlegs.
I like it when the artists took responsibility.
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Surely counterfeit would be a recording by a copycat/tribute band, rather than a bootleg.
This guy [Hutter] was selling fakes, counterfeits. Bootlegs are something completely different. Fans like bootlegs, and collect them. Counterfeits are merely attempts to profit from deception. As Clinton Heylin says in his book Great White Wonders:
Bootlegs should not be confused with counterfeit or unlicensed recordings, which are merely unauthorised duplicates of officially released recordings, often attempting to resemble the official product as closely as possible. Some record companies have considered that any record issued outside of their control, and for which they do not receive payment, to be a counterfeit, which includes bootlegs. However, some bootleggers are keen to stress that the markets for bootleg and counterfeit recordings are different, and a typical consumer for a bootleg will have bought most or all of that artist’s official releases anyway
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I saw this and wondered, how?
Yes. Given the shortage of pressing plants, I wonder what he used to cut the discs. Have an image of some Heath Robinson contraption in the garage 
I’d like to claim ownership for this comment but it’s not mine…
Given the mention of the Clash fan, surely the title should have included ‘I fought the law and the law won’ ?
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I reckon someone here must have some of this stuff.
If he made £1.2m and charged up to £35 let’s say on average to make the numbers easier £30 that’s 40,000 albums. Some scam.
I managed to buy a copy of Gorillaz Demon Days that was said to have been a Russian pressing.
The sleeve wasn’t so bad, the clear vinyl and labels weren’t bad looking either; hole was central and the right size…
But the sound quality was awful. I suspect that someone cut a master straight from a CD (probably using the cheapest, nastiest CD player they could find as the source) and then just ran these off in some factory with no real concerns about copyright (which could well have been in Russia…).
Still, it does a good job of separating Goldfrapp from Plastic Beach.
Judging by some reviews much of the vinyl produced by record companies nowadays is little better.
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Yes. Pink Floyd Animals did come to mind !
Being extremely pedantic, it is the LPs that are counterfeit, not the vinyl they are made from.
I remember back in the early 1970s warnings not to buy bootleg albums because as well as being illegal due to infringing copyright and not duty paid, they were generally poor quality, often recorded with the crummy portable cassette recorder of the day. IIRC the implication of the warning was that some at least might have been passed off as genuine releases with a price to match.
When Virgin records opened their first shop, -a small affair above a clothes boutique in London’s Oxford Street, I remember being surprised to find a whole rack dedicated to bootlegs! But at least, even if illegal, the customer knew exactly what they were.
Looks like the same in Brighton
https://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/places/placestree/queens_road/queens_road
Yes, if you walk up that street, you’ll be at the train station in under ten minutes.
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