I had no problems picking up a copy on Saturday morning but had to queue from about 7am 'til 9am and was around 17th in line at the store I ended up at (Sounds Of The Universe in Soho). Kept thinking "I must be mad" while waiting in the freezing sunshine but it is admittedly a cool reissue to have and a nice addition to the old collection. I also picked up Neon Neon's "Years Of Lead EP" and Pet Shop Boys "Fluorescent" 12". The PSB one seems to be a real tout favourite on Ebay at the moment with copies fetching up to £90 (naughty) I think it's the most limited out of what I bought at 1,000 copies.
With regards to the Joy Division AIFL reissue there seems to be two different pressings floating around; one European and one American. The Rhino web site lists the quantity as 13,500 (hardly limited) but I'm not sure if this is worldwide or just the US pressing. I've read elsewhere the Euro pressing is limited to 1,500 copies so maybe take that off the 13.5k figure and you've got the American allocation. Easiest way to tell which pressing you have is by checking the matrix/run-outs on your vinyl to the entries on Discogs. For those who missed out on a copy, knowing there are 13,500 copies out there means you probably will be able to pick up a resell for a reasonable price... eventually. Just wait a little bit for the tout madness to die down.
With regards to the Weller article and touting in general; it's definitely not something new and is a downside which has plagued RSD from the off. Disappointing to see nobody "behind the idea" has admitted as much either. By all means release special records in order to raise awareness for indie shops but don't limit the quantities so frigging much. It's no skin off the record label's nose to manufacture twice the amount which they will almost definitely sell providing the price is reasonable. Ironically this year they probably did manufacture enough of the JD one.
It's easy to attack the touts and I don't condone what they do either (especially with gig tickets) but slagging them is a bit pointless. The music industry in general needs to modify the system which delivers the goods as they ultimately enable what touts do. I'm not saying I've got a perfect answer but there's got to be something that can be done to make it a bit more difficult for people to take advantage and fleece genuine music fans.
