The Pocket Gods are hoping to sell one-off album Vegetal Digital for £1 million. Here’s why…

Published

3 years ago

October 4, 2022

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At a small independent record store tucked away in a neat courtyard of shops next to St Albans’ famous cathedral, a vinyl record that one band is hoping could become the most expensive ever sold in the UK is about to be released.

Just one physical copy of prolific indie band The Pocket Gods’ latest album Vegetal Digital has been produced, going on sale at their hometown’s Empire Records for the rather large sum of £1 million.

With charts of the music industry’s “most expensives” usually throwing up world-renowned artists such as The Rolling Stones, Madonna and U2 (most expensive tours), and songs such as Michael and Janet Jackson’s 1995 hit Scream (most expensive music video of all time), it might seem an improbable feat.

But the Hertfordshire band’s frontman Mark Christopher Lee is confident they will find a buyer.

Why are they trying their luck? Well, they have long protested about what they say is the lack of fair royalties paid to musicians by Spotify and other streaming services – an issue raised by high-profile stars including Taylor Swift in recent years, which was also the subject of an inquiry in the UK in 2021.

Highlighting the fact it only takes 30 seconds for a song to trigger a streaming payment, The Pocket Gods have been recording songs of around this length since 2015; Only The Rich Can Tour and We’re All No Hit Wonders Now are among the quickfire tracks you’ll find in their back catalogue.

But Lee says it’s now time to “stop moaning about Spotify” and do something productive to help artists and songwriters. So if the one copy of Vegetal Digital sells for £1 million, the proceeds will fund a new rival “ethical” streaming platform, Nubplay.

It sounds ambitious, but the musician says he believes the record could be snapped up within a couple of weeks.

‘Actions speak louder than words’

“Someone who’s got lots of money and wants to do something good with it,” he tells Sky News, pondering what kind of person might invest. “It’s a crazy world we’re getting into… but we’re making a stand, we want to make a better future for artists and songwriters. We talk a good game but actions speak louder than words and this is what we’re going to do.

“For years and years, music – a lot of the arts – has been devalued. And I just can’t imagine a world without music.”

Nubplay would guarantee to pay artists and songwriters a minimum royalty of 1p per stream, says Lee. “It doesn’t sound that much, but it’s 50 times the current rate we get from Spotify.”

Formed in 1998 at Tower Records in London, The Pocket Gods are said to have been championed by the likes of the late John Peel and Steve Lamacq over the years, and have broken Guinness World Records for the most studio albums released digitally (75) and most songs on a digital album.

Earlier in 2022, the band – now made up of founding members Lee (vocals and guitar) and Noel Storey (keys), Simon Herries (bass) and former Searchers drummer Scott Ottaway – released Nobody Makes Money Anymore, an album of 1,000 30-ish second tracks.

“That went really well, it went viral around the world,” says Lee. “It’s had nearly a million streams, which sounds really, really good, but we’ve had about 450 quid in terms of royalties. So, no, it hasn’t been a great money-spinner but it has gained us a lot of fans and helps us to raise this issue.”

The one-off $2m Wu-Tung Clan album sold on by the US government

As Vegetal Digital is released, the band will remove their back catalogue from streaming services; if it does go for £1 million, it could become the most expensive album ever sold in the UK. However, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, the seventh album by American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, holds the title of most expensive in the world.

An early stand against streaming, the group made just one physical copy which sold for $2 million (about £1.3m at the time) to pharma company executive Martin Shkreli in 2015. Shkreli, however, was jailed in 2017 – and last year, the US government confirmed it had sold the one-of-a-kind album to help pay off the $7.36 million the businessman was ordered to forfeit after being convicted of fraud.

According to a 2019 article by music company HMV, the top five most expensive albums chart is a Beatles-heavy list; after Once Upon A Time In Shaolin are copies of The Beatles (the White Album), Elvis Presley’s My Happiness, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy.

But could Vegetal Digital become an unlikely contender for the number two spot? A £1 million sale would place it ahead of the first mono pressing of the White Album, sold by Ringo Starr at auction in December 2015 for $790,000 (about £521,000 at the time).

“I’m excited to see it and hear it,” says Dave Burgess, manager at Empire Records. “We certainly haven’t had [a record selling at this price] before. It’s really interesting and exciting. I jumped at the opportunity to get on board.”

Lee is documenting the band’s unique story in a film, entitled Inspired The 30 Second Song Movie, which is set to be released in December.

He hopes a million-pound sale will be part of it. Could a big-name artist be the one to invest?

“Well, I did message Taylor Swift on Instagram, invited her to the launch,” he says. “Maybe we’ll see her there.”

Vegetal Digital, by The Pocket Gods, is on sale from Tuesday 4 October, only available at Empire Records in St Albans

Entertainment

Saturday Night Live announces creative team ahead of UK launch

Published

6 hours ago

November 13, 2025

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Saturday Night Live announces creative team ahead of UK launch

Saturday Night Live UK has announced its top creative team ahead of the series launching next year.

An American pop culture institution, SNL launched the careers of stars including Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell – and now a “new generation” of British comedians is set to be cast in the first UK spin-off on Sky.

While the show’s stars are yet to be revealed, details of the creative team behind it have now been announced.

Two-time Emmy winner James Longman will serve as lead producer, BAFTA winner and live broadcast specialist Liz Clare will direct the series, while writer, comedian and composer Daran Jonno Johnson takes on the role of head writer.

Longman’s credits include The Late Late Show With James Corden, for which he produced famous sketches with stars and notable figures including Sir Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise and then president Joe Biden.

He also worked on the Friends reunion special in 2021 and hit UK shows such as Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, The F Word and The Friday Night Project.

Clare’s directing credits include An Audience With Adele, The Brits and MTV awards ceremonies, Glastonbury, the BAFTAs and shows such as The Voice UK and Britain’s Got Talent, while Johnson, who is part of the acclaimed sketch group SHEEPS, has written for shows including Wedding Season for Disney+, Siblings for the BBC and Rose d’Or winner Parlement for France.TV.

Saturday Night Live UK marks the first time the US producers have adapted the show, which celebrated 50 years on air earlier this year, for a British audience.

Channel 4 ran several series of a similar programme on Saturday and Friday nights in the 1980s, featuring comedians like Ben Elton and Harry Enfield, but it was domestically produced.

‘A lot of big US comedy is stolen from the UK’

Comedian Pete Davidson, another SNL star, told Sky News he’s excited about the UK version – and that it is about time the UK is able to take from US comedy, rather than the other way round.

Speaking in the summer during promotion for The Pickup, Davidson said: “I think it’s a smart idea to have SNL over there because… not that it’s a different brand of comedy, but it is a little bit.

“A lot of the biggest stuff that’s in the States is stuff that we stole from you guys, like The Office or literally anything Ricky Gervais does… there’s just tonnes of great comedy over there. Jimmy Carr is a great stand-up.”

Also highlighting Jack Whitehall, he continued: “I think anything that’s great over there, we just kind of steal… and it doesn’t seem like the other way around. This is the first time I’ve ever heard anything American going to the UK, so I think it’s great.”

Read more from Sky News entertainment:
Dua Lipa backs ticket resale cap
Sam Fender donates Mercury Prize cash

Producers say the UK series will follow the same format as the original, featuring “a new generation of comedy players in the core cast, alongside guest hosts and musical performances”.

The UK show will be overseen by US producer Lorne Michaels. Along with his production company Broadway Video, which has made The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and 30 Rock, the show will be led by UK production team Universal Television Alternative Studio.

Saturday Night Live UK will be broadcast on Sky Max and streaming service NOW in 2026.

Entertainment

Dua Lipa and Coldplay call on government to keep its promise on ticket resales

Published

15 hours ago

November 13, 2025

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Dua Lipa and Coldplay call on government to keep its promise on ticket resales

Some of the biggest names in music – including Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead – have urged the government to honour a pledge to cap ticket resale prices and shutout touts.

They have joined artists including The Cure’s Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey and this year’s Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender to sign a statement calling for a cap to “restore faith in the ticketing system” and “help democratise public access to the arts”.

Other signatories include the watchdog Which?, FanFair Alliance, O2, the Football Supporters’ Association and organisations representing the music and theatre industries, venues, managers, and ticket retailers.

In the statement, the coalition says new protections are needed to “help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre, and sports they love”.

Labour had promised in its manifesto to put a stop to concert-goers being scammed or priced out of events by touts using bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites.

In government, the party again made that promise – but more than a year after it vowed action, and seven months since its consultation on the issue closed, there has been no clear indication of when new laws will be introduced.

The campaign comes as a new investigation from Which? found prolific sellers in locations including Brazil, Dubai, Singapore, Spain, and the US hoovering up tickets for popular events in the UK before relisting them at vastly inflated prices on StubHub and Viagogo.

How much?!

Which? found Oasis tickets for Wembley shows listed for £3,498.85 on StubHub and £4,442 on Viagogo.

A seat for the Minnesota Vikings vs Cleveland Browns NFL clash at Tottenham Hotspur was listed for £3,568.39 on StubHub, while a Coldplay ticket, also for Wembley, was £814.52 on StubHub.

And a ticket for the All Points East festival in London’s Victoria Park, headlined by Raye, for £114,666 on Viagogo.

The watchdog found it was often difficult for buyers to establish the seller’s identity or to contact them – despite the Competition and Markets Authority securing a court order in 2018 requiring Viagogo to outline the identity of traders.

And there’s more…

Which? also found evidence of speculative selling – when tickets are listed on secondary sites even though the seller has not bought them yet.

Tickets for a Busted vs McFly show in Glasgow, which were available through Ticketmaster – the original seller – were simultaneously being listed on StubHub and Viagogo at double the price.

Government to set out plans ‘shortly’

Which? consumer law expert Lisa Webb urged Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer to commit to legislation.

A government spokeswoman said it is “fully committed to clamping down on touts,” had listened to comments in response to the consultation earlier this year, and would set out its plans “shortly”.

Entertainment

Police take no further action over Bob Vylan’s London performance

Published

1 day ago

November 12, 2025

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Police take no further action over Bob Vylan's London performance

Police will take no further action over alleged chants at a Bob Vylan concert in London.

Met Police had launched an investigation after allegations the singer, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, was heard in footage saying “death to the IDF (Israel Defence League)”.

The footage was filmed at a performance supporting Iggy Pop, 78, at Alexandra Palace in May.

In a video, Mr Robinson-Foster is also alleged to have said: “Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel.”

But the Met Police confirmed they are closing the investigation following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

‘No further action will be taken’

A spokesperson for the force said: “On Wednesday 2 July, officers became aware of footage that appeared to have been filmed at Alexandra Palace in London on 28 May. An investigation was launched into the language used in the footage.

“Early investigative advice was sought from the Crown Prosecution Service who considered a number of potential offences but determined that, based on the information and material available, there would likely be insufficient evidence to take the case forward.

“As a result, officers have decided that no further action will be taken. We recognise the concerns that the footage caused, particularly among many in London’s Jewish communities.

“It emerged during a period where we have seen a concerning rise in antisemitic hate crime.

“We continue to work closely with community representatives to understand those concerns, to ensure the safety and security of Jewish Londoners and to provide reassurance moving forward.”

It followed footage of Mr Robinson-Foster allegedly leading a chant of “death, death to the IDF” during a BBC live-streamed performance at Glastonbury Festival, in June earlier this year, leading to an investigation from Avon and Somerset Police.

A man, in his 30s, understood to be Mr Robinson-Foster, had voluntarily attended an interview on Monday in relation to the band’s Glastonbury performance, the force said.

Police added the individual was not arrested but an investigation is ongoing.

After the Glastonbury appearance, the group were dropped from a number of festivals.