Beta Band - 3 Eps - Reissue

The Beta Band’s 3 EPs is reissued today, so here’s the story of how I came to own an original 12” of the first EP, Champion Versions, for £0, at a time when it was extremely rare.

I came home from the pub one night in 1998, put the radio on, and heard Inner Meet Me. It sounded like it was coming from space. I immediately loved it and went out and bought The Patty Patty Sound (EP2) the next day. And I then bought EP3 (Los Amigos..) when that came out.

Champion Versions, however, was LONG gone, and you didn’t even see it in 2nd hand places. I badly wanted a copy, but the chances of finding one were slim.

Then I started seeing this girl who has a student at Oxford Uni, and began spending weekends down there with her. I met all of her flatmates.

One lad was the poshest person I’d ever met. Lovely guy, but completely detached from reality in a way only the very, very posh are.

He was absent minded, pretty useless at basically anything, and probably these days runs The Treasury, or Goldman Sachs. One day, me and him started talking music.

He confessed he wasn’t really into music, although he did have a handful of records, and would I like to have a look?

Sure, I said. Not expecting much.

He only had 4 records. 3 of them were Classical, and the other one was….

(you guessed it)

…Champion Versions by The Beta Band.

Immediately I began telling him how rare the record was and asking how on earth someone with no interest in music had a copy of the most sought-after 12” in the country in his 4-record collection.

Bemused by most things, he was particularly bemused by this situation and my excitement

He said he lived in the same village as one of the band and had been given a copy. He also confessed then he’d never even listened to it.

Then (unprompted) he said the magic words, “You can have it, if you like”

I explained (again) it was very £rare, but he would not take a penny.

Like I said, lovely guy. And that’s the story.

The moral, I guess, is you should always take up the offer to look through someone’s records, because…well…you never know.

(Hello Jack, if you’re reading this. And thanks again.)