Most record hunters know the feeling of coming home from a car boot sale with a handful of cheap singles and a shrug. The collector behind @thevinylvault, a UK record fan who shares his boot sale finds online, says this was different. He calls it probably his best day buying records in the wild, and the reason is a single 7 inch he describes as an extremely rare hard rock psychedelic 45. By his account he has already played it, and it is “mindblowingly good.”
A Dry Day For Albums
The day did not start out promising. He tells us he bought nine records in total, the grail plus eight others, and no albums at all. The boot sale was, in his words, a bit dry, and the LPs on offer were junk, mostly middle of the road and classical. That is a familiar story for anyone who spends mornings at fields and car parks, where a long row of tables can hide nothing worth buying.
What he did find were singles, and the eight ordinary ones cost a pound each. He lists them like a proud shopkeeper. There are two Squeeze singles, Up the Junction on the A&M label and Pulling Mussels (From the Shell) in a picture sleeve that is more beaten up. He picked up Blondie copies, including The Tide Is High and Sunday Girl. There is a John Lennon single, Woman, paired with Yoko Ono’s Beautiful Boys. There is Squeeze’s Slap and Tickle on red vinyl, which he says goes on his coloured vinyl pile, and a Decca label Moody Blues single from 1967 with Cities and Nights in White Satin.
It is a good reminder of why singles are a fun place to hunt. For a pound apiece you can walk away with a stack of records that carry the sound and the artwork of a particular era, often in picture sleeves that would never fit on an album shelf.
The Grail
Then he turns to the one that matters. The record is a 1973 single by a group called Sardonicus, with The Nymph on one side and Evaporated Brain on the other. He is open about the fact that he had never heard of it before he bought it. He did his research after he played it.
Here is what he says he found. Only 101 copies were pressed in 1973, as a private press. On the record database Discogs, he says, four people claim to own a copy while 227 have it on their wants list. He reports that it sold for 1,131 pounds in November 2022 and for 1,600 pounds in July 2024. He thinks the group were from London, and he says that from what he can tell the record has only ever sold twice, so perhaps four, five or six copies are known.
The sleeve is part of the fun. He reads that the record was made at Chapel Studios in early 1973 and produced by the band, and he points out the tongue in cheek instructions on the sleeve. The mono record, it says, can be played on stereo equipment “if fitted with a magic cartridge,” and the reader is told to consult “your local witch doctor.” It also tells the listener to play it very loud.
Bought For The Skeleton
What makes the story charming is how he got it. He found it in a box of 45s and did not know what it was. He bought it because of the skeleton artwork on the sleeve. He does not say in the saved transcript how much he paid for it. He praises both the artwork and the condition. In other words, this was not a calculated purchase based on a price guide. It was an instinct that paid off.
A small press sheet came with the record, and he reads it out. It advertises the new single, The Nymph and Evaporated Brain, with a special sleeve, and lists a price of 50 pence. It includes a picture of a fish and a set of tongue in cheek press opinions, which adds to the humor of the whole package.
He also reads the label. It carries the County Recording Service name, with Bracknell on it, the group name, the song title, a year of 1973, a speed of 45 rpm and the word mono. He shows the second side as well. Some of what he reads, such as the catalogue number, is uncertain in the saved transcript, so it is best to treat those details as his reading rather than a verified listing.
What He Takes From It
He predicts that the wants list on Discogs will rise above 227 after he shares the find. He says anyone who owns a copy is “mega lucky,” that the last sale was 1,600 pounds, and that “It’s not about the money for me.” For him, it is about owning what hardcore collectors want. He recommends the record to anyone who loves hard rock psychedelia, and then he heads off to play it again.
Tips For Hunting Rare Singles
You do not need a lucky day to learn something from his approach.
Flip through everything. Rare records often hide in plain sight in a box of ordinary 45s, and a private press may look unremarkable at first glance.
Trust strong artwork and handmade details. Odd sleeves, small studios named on the label and unfamiliar pressing plants are often signs of a limited run.
Research after you play, or on your phone before you pay. Discogs shows pressing details and sale history, and its marketplace history gives a sense of what copies have really sold for.
Check condition honestly. Look at the vinyl in good light, check for scratches and warping, and be careful with sleeves that have split seams.
Store it properly. Use an inner sleeve and an outer sleeve, keep records upright and away from heat.
Do not expect a windfall every time. Most boot sale days will resemble the dry stretch he describes. The grail is the exception that keeps people coming back.
Whether or not you ever find a record like this one, a pound single with a good song on it is a pleasure, and that may be the real lesson of a day that began dry and ended with a skeleton on a sleeve.
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