Five pristine vinyl copies of Prince‘s ‘Black Album’ have reportedly been discovered – with three of them selling for up to $20,000 (£15,000).
The 1987 record was due to be the 16th album from the music icon, but it was entirely shelved ahead of its release date after the singer became convinced that it was “evil” and created by a spiritual demon.
All 500,000 copies of the record were recalled and destroyed – although his label was later allowed to sell it on CD and cassette, but crucially never on vinyl.
Now, five vinyl copies of the album have been discovered by a former Warner Bros employee after he hunted through boxes of vinyl stored in his attic at the behest of his daughter after she purchased her first record player.
Prince – Factory Sealed 1987 U.S. "Black Album" Vinyl LP – One Of The Rarest Records In The World #Prince #TheBlackAlbum https://t.co/4RwSwRUN8p pic.twitter.com/SM71AOaPro
— Jeff Gold (@recordmecca) December 13, 2017
The records have remained untouched for 25 years and three copies have now been sold, one at a staggering $20,000 and a further two at $15,000.
It is believed that the man has retained the other two copies – but he is considering selling one of them.
Meanwhile, it was recently confirmed that a new Channel 4 documentary will chronicle the final year in Prince’s life before his death in April 2016.