When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

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Fun 4 None
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Re: When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

Post by Fun 4 None »

First time I heard the word "bootleg" was probably in reference to the "despecialized" fan DVD versions of the original Star Wars trilogy.

My first Beatle Bootlegs were the Get Back b&w videotapes.
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Re: When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

Post by jgjohnson »

The first one I saw was Kum back. A friend of mine had it and was playing it for me and telling me how he got it a record store on Market Street (San Francisco). I think the first one I bought was The Never Released Mary Jane on CBM. A guy was selling them at a flea market. I wanted to hear the unreleased Beatles song Mary Jane. I remember listening to it and thinking how bad it sounded. This is a song? In 1974 I got a lead on a guy who was living near me who had been living in LA and was making Dylan bootlegs. He worked with TMOQ and others. He had a huge collection of all the bootlegs that were around at that time. Later I bought bootlegs wholesale from Viki Vinyl and sold them around but most record stores were reluctant to sell them and fans wanted them but never had enough money, so I gave up on that.
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Re: When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

Post by Lord Reith »

Actually I told a lie. A distant and half-forgotten memory burst into consciousness when I read some of those posts. The very first time i saw the word "bootleg" was on... an ABBA trading card!

It must have been at the height of ABBA mania so probably 1976. My friend had a little sister who loved ABBA (actually I did too, but I kept that a secret to prevent being beaten up) and we found her ABBA bubble gum cards. We thought they were all pretty stupid and funny, but I can especially remember us falling over with laughter over one particular card captioned "BOOTLEG MUSIC". We didn't know what it meant but it just sounded funny.

And lo and behold, when I did an internet search, look what I found:

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So that was actually my introduction to bootleg music, even though I didn't know it!
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Re: When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

Post by Lord Reith »

MrMurphMcgee wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:28 pm Same for me. The Beatles: An Illustrated Record Was where I first saw the word and I was instantly obsessed with finding them. Then photos in the DelBuono book, The Beatles: A Collection. I think I found my first after that. I devoured the book You Can’t Do That as well
My first bootleg book was Hot Wacks IX, full to the brim with misinformation but it was just so exciting to read about bootlegs in a publication. That must have been 1982.

I also found it rather arousing because of the cover with Honey Bane... ;) I kept that hidden too! :lol:
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Re: When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

Post by MarkRJones1970 »

Around the start of 1983, EMI's 'It was Twenty Years Ago Today' reissues of the singles had just started and I had placed a special order for a copy of the new run of the 'Beatles Monthly' at the local Post Office (the newsagent said he couldn't get it!) and I got the book, 'The Beatles An Illustrated Record' by Roy Carr and Tony Tyler, out from our local libary. I was 12 years old. At the back of the book I saw this:

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But I was a bit annoyed that was the only mention, I wanted more info. I then started to attend record fairs with my Dad and started seeing these records and tapes with strange song titles on them....
Last edited by MarkRJones1970 on Mon Aug 08, 2022 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

Post by afabman »

When I was a kid there was a real mistique around bootlegs. If you found one you felt you had hit the jackpot. It was actually Bowie that really got me into boots, mainly because there were some terrific boots if you could find them. The Thin White Duke and the 1980 Floor Show sounded terrific. My most loved Beatles boots are the Ultra Rare Trax. I remember when I found them in a store in Europe I was trembling with excitement. I couldn't believe how great they were. Having said that, I have bought many boots that were, let's just say, terrible! But I guess the thing is now you can get pretty much anything online. It's great, but there was something about digging through the second hand records and finding a gem that will never be replaced.
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Re: When did you first hear the word "Bootleg"?

Post by General Pepper »

Like Lord Reith, I first saw the word 'Bootleg' in this context in Tyler and Carr's Illustrated Record. I believe I bout this in 75 or so, when I was around 12 years old. I spent hours reading and re-reading that beast. And I read those strange album and song titles and wondered what they were.

The original edition of Illustrated Record had much more information on bootlegs than the later editions. But I had never heard or seen any., and presumed from their text that they were all dreadful.

A year or so later, an older friend gave me a bootleg catalogue from Pipé Records, a small record shop in Melbourne, Australia, that sold boots. It included tracklists and, from memory, some photos. And So many artists I had never heard of. I read that thing to death. I wish I still had it.

My friend then lent me some of his Stones boots. Jean-Clarke Mammorial Sonic Barbecue - which I loved. And then In Again, Out Again, and Out on Bail. Loved them all.

A few years later I saw my first bootleg in a market. Beatles, Live in Anytown, which I grabbed. Then a few months later, Omay Yad (Pink Floyd) for a few dollars.

Interesting aside, a couple of years later (early 80s) I rang Pipé Records, and chatted on the phone, They were really friendly, and then I asked if they had a copy of "In Again, Out Again", rather than asking if they had bootlegs. The guy's tone changed instantly. Never heard of it, he said, Don't know about it, Goodbye, and hung up.

Always wondered if they'd been busted.

GP

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