David Bowie - Diamond Dogs UNCENSORED SLEEVE - HOLY GRAIL

	£		5,900
	$		7,042

Okay, here's the write-up,... it's long, but it's worth it (this is a serious investment):

I am reluctantly selling my beloved and highly treasured copy of arguably the rarest, and most sought after, David Bowie commercial item in existence: the uncensored sleeve proof from Bowie's greatest album (in my opinion), Diamond Dogs.

You can Google all about this sleeve, though serious Bowie collectors and investors will already know the rarity and value of this item.

And here's a potted history:

In 1974, the Diamond Dog gate-fold sleeves were manufactured by the graphics company,  AGI, in Chicago. Remember, Bowie released Diamond Dogs in the US first (he was already there as he had 'retired' the hugely successful Ziggy Stardust character the year before). He was at his pinacol of his fame at that point. The basis of the gatefold album was an airbrush illustration of Bowie as a half-man, half-dog (to be used as the outside front and back covers) with an eerie, futuristic city-scape used for the inside spread. A normal part of the design and printing process was for the client (RCA) to see, comment on and/or approve the artwork and printing of the album sleeve, before the ultimate print-run for commercial issue. And as part of this normal process, AGI had created several 'proofs' of the sleeve which were discussed by various RCA people at various stages. Colours were adjusted, text amended, and layouts tweaked – with a new set of 'proofs' being created following each set of amendments.

When he saw the penultimate run of proofs, Richard Fiore, RCA's Production Manager, said that he then noticed the dog-man’s genitals resting casually on its thigh, and he placed a call to RCA label management to simply notify them of the cover’s content and ask their opinion. “Go with it” was the management’s reply, according to Fiore (who later served as BMG Direct’s senior director of production). It's important to note that, at this stage, Peellaert (the Belgian artist who had created the work) and Bowie, himself, had also signed off on the cover.

Later, at meeting at AGI, with RCA executives, Peelaert and Bowie, a call came in that the dog's genitals should be 'removed' from the artwork. Senior RCA executives were nervous that the US public might consider it a step too far and the resulting bad publicity might affect sales. Bowie was a proven cash-generating artist at that point and they were investing a lot of money in their 'star' off the back of the hugely successful Ziggy Stardust album released the previous year. They didn't want any hiccups with the next release.

There and then, in that meeting, the graphic artists airbrushed some of the proofs to see what they could do to alleviate the offending imagery without losing the overall artistic impact of the original illustration.

In a later interview, Q magazine interviewed both Bowie and Peellaert. “The only problem with the project is that they removed the prick,” Peellaert commented. “I thought it was very sad.” Bowie, however, told Q that his concession to the airbrushing was indeed based on the fact that he, like RCA, believed “no record store would carry it” with the genitals intact. “I let them do a reprint rather than lose the album completely.”

Eventually, a satisfactory 'airbrushed' version was approved and AGI went ahead and pass produced the hundreds of thousands of sleeves ready for the vinyl discs that had already been pressed elsewhere. For his records, Fiore kept possession of a sleeve, complete with his pre-production notes and a handful of employees, who happened to be around at the time, saved a few of the unretouched covers. The rest of the consignment of proofs was destroyed.

Until as late as the early 2000s, the 'saved' copies from this meeting were so scare (never showing up in auctions or sales) that urban myths began to circulate that they didn't even exist. Until then, even specialty shops were likely to dismiss the original cover’s existence as nothing more that rumour.

I bought this copy from a really great guy who still lives in Chicago. His mother worked at AGI and was at that meeting and she took home three copies of the uncensored sleeve that day. This is one of them. Her son provided me with the most interesting stories of that time and the prominence is astonishing. I won't go into details here but will furnish the successful bidder – including contact information and back stories – if they required it. I'm still in touch with him today and I've told him the sad reason why I am having to sell this beloved sleeve today and I sought his blessing to sell this copy. His story and the sleeve means this much to me.

I have been a David Bowie fan since I first discovered him around 1980 and I knew, even then, that he would wind up in the annals of musical history alongside Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stoned, The Doors, Led Zepplin et al. And because of new technologies, downloading and streaming, album sleeves – including their primitive printing techniques – are a thing of the past, making an acquisition like this all the more appealing. Today's artists have no chance.

A copy of this sleeve was sold at auction in the US on 12th March 2022 for $16,250. Here's the link (though you'll need to register with the site (it's free) to see the final price confirmation): https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/music-memorabilia/recordings/david-bowie-diamond-dogs-original-uncensored-and-withdrawn-gatefold-vinyl-lp-rca-cpli-05/a/7233-89176.s?ic4=OtherResults-SampleItem-071515&tab=ArchiveSearchResults-012417

Interestingly, this sale included a record, though none was issued with it; the records were pressed separately and were only ever paired with the newly retouched 'censored' sleeve.

This sleeve is a museum piece. Even the Victoria & Albert museum in London, holds a copy. It's a significant piece of British music history. In the years ahead, it's importance to the next generation will increase, especially as this album is such a pioneering piece from the time (try to find anything like Diamond Dogs from that same year - 1974. It was years ahead of its time).

This lot isn't for every pocket and, for that, I apologise. All of my other Bowie LPs have a 1p opening bid with no reserve. But as I really need to raise some money (for my daughter - long story) I have set a reserve. The occasional copy rears its head every few years and with each 'rearing' the sums seem to double. And I'm aware that this will be the case for many years to come.

It's a significant investment, I know (I knew that when I bought it too) and if you have any questions or would like to see any other photos etc., please reach out. Please note that shipping this abroad (especially the US) will attract a ridiculous amount of tax and you need to be aware of this before bidding. I actually flew to the US to collect it in person when I bought this. It is that precious!

Anyway, thanks for reading all this... and if you are able to bid, I wish you well. I have a few more 'normal' albums that I'll be listing in the coming days and week (at the usual 1p opening bid with no reserve) so all is not lost 😉

I've set this as a private listing so that any individuals who bid are not identified. I will also cover the postage and insurance cost within the UK. For oversees buyers, please message me for a cost.

Kind regards

Mark