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Best of 1980-1990 Polygram prize
pack
by Matt McGee
This month's featured item should be enough to make any U2
fan drool. This is the prize package given to the runners-up
in Island Records' Best of U2 trivia contest, which they conducted
online to promote the November release of "U2: The Best
of 1980-1990." The contest was open to anyone who visited
the official "Best Of" website. Contestants were given
the list of 15 B-sides appearing on the second CD of the (so-called)
Limited Edition of the album, and had to correctly name the
matching A-side for each song listed. That shouldn't have been
too difficult, so the tie-breaker was a mini-essay question,
"The Sweetest Thing about you is?", with a 25-word
maximum answer.
We still have not seen a complete list of winners (if we do,
we'll post it to satisfy the multitudes who have emailed about
a winners' list), but we did find one friendly runner-up who
will remain anonymous ... but who shared these pictures with
the @U2 Collectors' Resource Guide. And no, we're told this
item is not for sale.
Note: a collector in Belgium who
also won a prize package tells us that Polygram Belgium distributed
ten numbered box sets of the vinyl singles, using transparent
stickers (001, 002, 003, etc.) on the inside of the fliptop
box lid. Needless to say, this increases the value of those
items dramatically!
Above: the wooden crate it all arrived
in. That "1980-1990" stamp with the Joshua Tree logo
is on all four sides of the crate. We're told this was VERY
DIFFICULT to open!
Below: in addition to the crate were
two CDs, one is the A-sides disc and the other is the B-sides
disc. Also, a 16-page booklet (below left) which is the same
as the one inside the retail CD, but bigger. And on top of all
that, a box set (upper left) of 14 seven-inch singles, seven
with the A-sides and seven with the B-sides.
Above: the seven A-side singles.
Each has its own photo on the inner label. Our source in Belgium
says the group of prizes distributed there do NOT have any vinyl
singles with a white cover; all have the standard gold.
Below: the seven B-side singles.
Above: the final piece of the prize
is this replica tin military helmet with the U2 logo on front
and the "1980-1990" stamp with the Joshua Tree logo
on the back (see below). Inside the crate was a pro-forma invoice
which read as follows:
This is to certify that this
package contains the items listed below. They are for inter-company
use only and are not intended for sale or re-sale. They are
of no commercial value, but for customs purposes only, they
have a nominal value as shown.
Contents: U2 Tin Hat. Value for
Customs: 20.00
Below: the back of the "tin
hat" with the 1980-1990 Joshua Tree logo.
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