NEW YORK (AFP) - One of the world's rarest records has resurfaced -- several vinyl copies of Prince's 'Black Album,' which the eccentric pop legend had demanded destroyed 30 years ago. Recordmecca, a collector's site owned by a former executive on Prince's Warner Brothers label, on Wednesday was selling a coveted sealed vinyl copy of the album for $15,000. The 'Purple Rain' star, then at the height of his fame, in December 1987 sought to release music like no one had attempted before -- sending it to stores completely secretly, without his name or any art on it.

Warner, with which he had legendary feuds, discouraged Prince but eventually relented and ordered the pressing of the vinyl -- which has no actual title but was informally called the 'Black Album' for its blank, dark cover. But Prince soon afterward declared that he had a spiritual revelation that the album was 'evil' and demanded the destruction of all copies. Warner largely succeeded in seizing and destroying the more than 500,000 copies at their factories. But Recordmecca owner Jeff Gold, who worked with Prince at Warner, said he was recently contacted by a fellow former executive who came upon five copies. Gold said that the executive, who requested anonymity, had been sending records to his own daughter, who had bought a first turntable amid vinyl's rebirth. Sifting through his collection, the executive discovered two envelopes distributed within Warner. Inside were five copies of the 'Black Album.'

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'For 30 years, the two mailers had sat unopened among their other boxed-up vinyl,' Gold wrote. The former executive decided to sell three copies. Gold was offering one copy online, saying he already sold another one directly and would list the third one later.

Gold said he would attach certificates of authenticity. Prince in late 1994 finally released the 'Black Album' on limited-edition CDs and cassettes but not vinyl, making the record a holy grail for record collectors.

Prince resented Warner's constraints and in the 1990s changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in hopes of getting out of contractual conditions. He finally made peace with Warner in 2014 in a deal that gave him control over his classic albums. He died two years later at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota from an accidental overdose of painkillers.

An impossibly rare 1987 U.S. First pressing LP of Prince’s The Black Album. To our knowledge, this is only the second confirmed example to be offered for sale (the first sold by Rockaway Records more than 20 years ago.) This copy was given by Prince to an employee, who passed it on to another Prince employee, from whom we obtained it.

The Black Album was supposed to be released December 7, 1987 by Warner Bros. Records, but Prince cancelled it at the last minute and virtually all copies were destroyed. Over the years, a handful of original CD copies have surfaced, selling from $3000 to $10,000. A few original German vinyl pressings have also surfaced, but most that have been sold are very convincing counterfeit copies. Likewise, a few examples of the two-disc promotional version have surfaced; one is currently listed on Discogs.com for $20,000. But this original U.S.

Single-disc commercial LP is among the rarest vinyl records in the world (an exceptional Black Album website is at ). The disc is barely played and is in Near Mint condition, as is the all black album cover. The only printing on the cover is the 1987 catalog number on the spine, 25677-1.

The black pvc inner sleeve is a bit scuffed, but from the look of it, we’d guess this was the case with all of them. If this had any shrink wrap or stickers, they are gone. The matrix numbers for Side 1 (until now, undocumented on the web) are 1-25677-A SH 2 (?stamp) B-28645 SH-2 (delta sign) 18817 1-1. To prevent bootlegging, we won’t disclose the Side 2 numbers.

In 1994 Prince finally agreed to let Warners release the album, but it was assigned a different catalog number, 1-45793, and wasn’t commercially released on vinyl. Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold was a senior executive at Warner Bros. Records at the time, and oversaw the 1994 release, including very limited edition promotional-only colored vinyl copies. Gold worked closely with Prince, and art directed his album covers for Diamonds and Pearls, the Symbol album, and the compilations The Hits 1, The Hits 2, and The Hits/The B-Sides.

Gold has authenticated this Black Album, and his signed letter of authenticity and Recordmecca’s lifetime guarantee of authenticity are included. Very likely your only chance to obtain the rarest Prince record in the world.