The Squires 45 Record on eBay

Mega rare Squires' "Sultan/Aurora" 45 RPM

On occasion, Thrasher gets word of some interesting items on eBay, like the rare "Give To The Wind" Artwork.

Now comes word (thanks Chris B.!) of an auction for The Squires 45 record "Sultan / Aurora" on eBay.

Hot and heavy bidding already exceeds $2,425.00 for the rare single.

Here's the story on Neil Young's first 45 released when he was at the age of 17:

"Many consider this to be the rarest 45 in the world.

Fewer than 300 were ever pressed and these were sold only at shows in Winnipeg in 1963. Only 8-10 copies are known to exist today and this is one of them. This 45 is so rare that Neil Young doesn't even own a copy.

This 45 almost never comes up for auction so this will be the chance of a lifetime for any record collector. (To put it's worth into perspective The Rolling Stones Street Fighting Man is thought to be the rarest 45 picture sleeve in the world - 15 known copies - and 2 of those sold in 2005 for $12,000 and $15,000.) It is difficult to put an exact value on The Squires V 109 45 record today because the last one to sell at public auction in this condition went for $3000 . . . and that was seven years ago.

Here is a history of the Squires surf and garage rock sound and their only recording.

In 1963, Neil Young attended Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, Canada. There, he formed the group "The Squires", heavily influenced by guitarist Hank Marvin of The Shadows. In fact, during their shows in the local club circuit they covered many Shadows instrumentals. Local fan and CKRC DJ Harry Taylor offered the band studio time in the radio station's two-track facility to cut a single. This July 23, 1963 recording session of two songs written by Neil Young was released on Canada's V Records when Neil was only 17 years old. Both were instrumentals featuring Neil's primitive Duane Eddy-like guitar.

Neil says of this session "It was my first recording session and I was just glad to be there for the experience, but I was still searching for the right sound". There were later recording sessions at CKRC but no other records were ever issued. This 45 will eventually be included on the much-delayed "Archives" box set and, in fact, this particular copy was originally considered as the actual source for the song's inclusion in that set. However, since then a better condition acetate source has been found. But as the set's archivist Joel Bernstein noted a few years ago, this is the best condition of the 8 to 10 vinyl copies that are known to exist.

The 45 that is up for auction today has had only one owner. Purchased from the band at a 1963 show in Winnipeg, Canada, the original owner played the 45 approximately 5 times. After Neil Young became famous (Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Woodstock) the owner carefully stored the 45 for the next nearly 4 decades. It has only been played two more time recently to record. This 45 plays without skips or pops (just the usual record noise). The vinyl is very glossy with a few light surface scratches."

More on Neil Young`s early Canadian years by John Einarson.

Thanks Chris B.!

UPDATE: 1/25/06: Yet another Neil Young and the Squires 45 RPM discovered.

UPDATE: 2/22/06:Goldmine article on Squires 45 auction by Lisa Wheeler