THE BAD PROMO 12''S 
WITH GOLD STAMPS BAD UK PROMO GOLD STAMP EPIC 651155 6
BAD USA PROMO GOLD STAMP EPIC 4907462

There was a time when, in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available, record companies used a particular "stamp", golden or silver, stating the copy is "promotional - not for sale". Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as music radio and television stations, and to tastemakers, such as DJs and music journalists, in advance of the release of commercial editions. Here we have a classic example from USA - several singles from "Bad" have been distributed in this way with a picture sleeve - and an unusual golden stamped promo from UK!!!! - very difficult to find a copy like this.
Gold stamps promo were released in Australia too (on 12''s, and even on cd albums and singles) and Brazil (on every format available) and generally and rarer than the commercial copy, even though they don't achieve the same interest of a promo with an unique design among collectors. So...here they are : Bad 12'' US promo version and Bad 12'' UK promo version...back to back : Who's badder?

Today's ON THE AIR : 
"MORPHINE" BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR CANADA CD ALBUM
EPIC/SONY EK68000
 
"He got flat baby
Kick in the back baby
A heart attack baby
I need your body
A hot kiss honey
He's just a bitch baby
You make me sick baby
So unrelying
I'm such a swine baby
All down the line daddy
I hate your kind baby
So unreliable
A hot buzz baby
He's one of us baby
Another drug baby
You so desire
Trust in me
Trust in me
Put all your trust in me
You're doin' morphine..."

 https://youtu.be/84CZVyg5KjI

THE INDIAN HISTORY OF 
MJ'S GREATEST HITS HISTORY - GREATEST HITS INDIA "BEST DEAL" 
DIGIPACK EPIC/SONY BMG 501869 2

During the last decade, the Sony Music division of India released several Michael's records, often different than the classic and well-known releases (The "Definitive collection" boxsets, for example). They tried also to introduce in the indian market the MP3 cds (a format that for more than one reason didn't get a good appeal on music buyers). Among these releases, there are some very beautiful that could clearly become huge collector's items : the "BEST DEALS" digipack of "HIStory - greatest hits vol.1", is one of them. It has a beautiful design, and its digipack case is in the form of a slidepack. I think it's not easy to find nowadays, because indian presses, often, are not released in big quantities.

A PICTURE OFF THE DISC : OFF THE WALL UK PICTURE DISC BOOTLEG
No cat.#

The Showroom often prefers an official record more than a bootleg. That's why it's hard to find a post about an unofficial press here. But sometimes, bootleg producers come out with something even better than an original product : the "Off the wall" picture disc - released sometime in 2010/2011 - is one clear example.
Epic/Sony did never release a pdk for the 1979 album, and this
unofficial version looks like a legit product (even though it's not) : it has the Epic logo on the back, the vinyl is heavy (180 gr.?) and the outer plastic sleeve is almost indentical to some picture disc official sleeves. And then, the image has the right colours - a detail often defective in this category of records. Also, a "Thriller" version, very similar to the original artwork, surfaced in some shops at the time (not the "zombie" one). This proves that sometimes, the official labels should get inspiration from the "black market", rather than fighting it.

Today's ON THE AIR : 
"EARTH SONG" EARTH SONG AUSTRALIA CARDSLEEVE CD SINGLE
EPIC/SONY 6626452

"...What have we done to the world
Look what we've done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son...
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far..."

EARTH SONG

RECORD OF THE WEEK :
THE EARLY YEARS BOXSET T-SHIRT + CD
THE EARLY YEARS BOXSET T-SHIRT+YELLOW VINYL

 
Motown ‎– B0013767-01 Under "Bravado" license

This week the Showroom chosen, for "the record of the week" section, 2 boxsets released in USA : "The early years" is a limited box produced by Motown/Universal in 2009, including a T-Shirt (Small/Medium/large - you have to see the sticker on the box) and released in 2 versions : 1 contains a cd, the other contains a beautiful yellow vinyl version of the record. Several copies of these boxes were on sale on the "Michael Jackson Shop" in London, aT THE o2 "MICHAEL jACKSON eXHIBITION" (that's the place where I bought them).
TRACKLIST :
A1 Got To Be There
A2 Rockin' Robin
A3 What Goes Around Comes Around
A4 Ben
A5 We've Got A Good Thing Going
B1 I Want You Back
B2 ABC
B3 The Love You Save
B4 I'll Be There
B5 Never Can Say Goodbye

THE SHOWROOM'S MOST WANTED : MAKING MICHAEL JACKSON'S THRILLER
JAPAN BETAMAX 8MM TAPE VESTRON PVE2001
 
Here you can see an hard collector's piece coming striaghtly from 1983. It's the betamax version (8mm tape) of the "Making Michael Jackson's Thriller", a common item in USA and in Europe (several versions are findable on the web) but...this is the ultra rare Japanese edition! It comes in a "cassette-like" clear shell, and it has liner notes and the description on the back insert written in japanese language. I saw this just one time (the pictures come from the seller) but I wasn't so lucky to get it. I hope to find it one day...

Today's ON THE AIR : 
"DANCING MACHINE" DANCING MACHINE ITALY CASSETTE
MOTOWN/RI-FI RECORDS

"Automatic Systematic
Full of color self contained
Tuned and channeled to your vibes
Captivating Stimulating
She's such a sexy lady
Filled with space age design
She's moving
She's grooving dancing until the music stop now
Yea
Rythmetic acrobatic
She's a dynamite attraction
At the drop of a coin she comes alive
Yeah
She knows what she's doing
She super bad now
She's geared to blow your mind
Dancing, dancing, dancing
She's a dancing machine
Ah babe
Do it baby..."

DANCING MACHINE 

THE ITALIAN ESSENTIAL! THE ESSENTIAL EU/ITALY "RADIO CAPITAL" EDITION
EPIC/LEGACY 520422 2

Unknown for a great number of collectors, here it is a special "italian stickered" version of "The essential". This release was distributed for a short time in 2006 only in some shops in Italy, then suddenly disappeared. It carries upon the front sleeve a big sticker with a "Radio capital" advert, with its special price and several MJ song titles. This version is now hard-to-find even in Italy, where I couldn't see other copies in shops since then. The cds and the release is the classic EU edition.

THE MOON IS WALKING IN ITALY : MOONWALK LIMITED EDITION 
SPERLING/FRASSINELLI 2009

Moonwalk is a 1988 autobiography written by Michael Jackson. The book was first published by Doubleday on February 1, 1988, five months after the release of Jackson's 1987 "BAD" album, and named after Michael's signature dance move, the moonwalk.
The book was edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and reached #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.
The book had several reissues in 2009, after Michael's left us.
The most beautiful edition of "Moonwalk"? Probably, this italian reissue, with a leather outer box, embossed golden titles and Michael silhouette on it. The book measures 11''x 9''.

THE "RECORD" OF THE WEEK : THE OFFICIAL MICHAEL JACKSON OPUS
2009 - Opus media group

This week, the most important post of the Showroom is dedicated to THE book. With its heavy weight (something about 12 kg - 26,5 lbs!!), and its 400 pages this Michael "encyclopedia" featuring hundreds of unreleased pictures, drawings by Nate Giorgio, arts, career infos, tributes from other artists involved in Michael's world and music (Quincy Jones, John Landis to name a few), stories, curiosities and anything you can imagine about Michael Jackson.
The book is stored in a 13''x18'' red-tissued clamshell box with a black drawing by Nate Giorgio showing Michael in a classic dancing pose. Inside the box, you'll find a white glove : a clear homage to Michael's glove, as well as a necessary object to turn the pages without the risk to leave fingerpints on it. This book is literally amazing, even though it's hard to read and even harder to turn its pages because of its weight and its big size.
I bought this book just a few months after its release, in London, straightly to the Opus shop. Now it's sold out on the official Opus site, but it's still possible to get it on several auction sites.
When I've got it, I found in the Opus shop a lot of lithographies signed by Michael, as well as several books dedicated to other artists (if I should mention one, I will say "Walt Disney"). A must-have for all the MJ's collectors!!