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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.

The Pocket Gods are selling just one copy of their latest album Vegetal Digital for £1m at Empire Records in St Albans, run by manager Dave Burgess
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The one copy of Vegetal Digital will be on sale at Empire Records in St Albans, run by Dave Burgess

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’

The Pocket Gods album Vegetal Digital is going on sale for £1 million

“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

Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, an executive producer of the Hulu miniseries "Wu-Tang: An American Saga," poses for a portrait during the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
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Pic: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/2019

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

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Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

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Russell Brand charged with rape and sexual assault

Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.

The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.

The charges relate to four women.

He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.

Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.

He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.

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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges

The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.

Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.

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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.

He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”

Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.

“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”

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Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to ‘dear friend’ Val Kilmer

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Tom Cruise leads moment of silence in tribute to 'dear friend' Val Kilmer

Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.

Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.

Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.

Tom Cruise, star of the upcoming film "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning," leads a moment of silence for late actor Val Kilmer during the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP

Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
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Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP

His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.

“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.

“I wish you well on the next journey.”

The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.

Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.

Tom Cruise takes part in the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
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Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.

He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.

Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.

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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.

In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.

The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.

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Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven ‘lost’ albums

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Bruce Springsteen: The Boss to release seven 'lost' albums

Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.

The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.

The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.

Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.

Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.

Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 26, 2025: Bruce Springsteen took the stage at Carnegie Hall for People Have the Power: A Celebration of Patti Smith, an electrifying tribute to the legendary artist. The event, presented by Michael Dorf, honored Smiths profound impact on music, poetry, and activism, bringing together an all-star lineup to perform her most iconic songs. (Photo: Giada Papini Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire). Photo by: Giada Papini Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA

The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.

Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.

The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.

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Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.

The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.

The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.

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