$150,000 Velvet Underground bid "fake"

The eBay seller of a rare acetate test-pressing of the Velvet Underground's first recordings now says the final winning bid of $155, 401 for the record was fake.

Seller Warren Hill told CBC that "It seems to have gone badly at the end... I just don't really feel like talking about it." He did say that he was still interested in selling the rare acetate, however.

The 12-inch disc, which was dated April 25th, 1966, was found at a street fair in New York City in 2002, where it sold for 75 cents. The buyer originally thought it was just a pre-release version of the band's debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, but the record features different performances, different mixes, and a different running order from the official release.

It's thought this was the album that artist Andy Warhol shopped around to get the Velvets a deal. There's been no official comment from anyone regarding the authenticity of the piece, but singer-guitarist Lou Reed did put a link to the auction at his loureed.org website, under the heading "Velvet Underground & Nico 1966 Acetate LP Andy Warhol."
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