The 2026 White Label Auction achieves a hammer price of £42,000 for The BRIT Trust music charity and the causes it supports

The White Label Auction in Aid of The BRIT Trust – the world’s only known auction of white label test pressings¹ has achieved a total hammer price of £41,870 for 155 lots that were put up for sale to UK and international fans and collectors to raise funds for the BRIT Trust music charity.

Results from the auction hosted by Omega Auctions (23 June) can be found in full here, and assets are here.

Among the many star items was a signed test pressing of BRIT School alumna Olivia Dean’s album Live at the Jazz Café, which sold for £2,600. Test pressings from Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender (People Watching and Rein Me In, £1,300) and global rock sensation Yungblud (Idols, £400) also performed well to underline the rising collector demand for recordings by the new generation of British global stars.

Demand is always strong for test pressings by heritage artists, and the item that sold for the highest price overall was an original 10” acetate of Roxy Music’s landmark single Do The Strand, which went for a staggering £3,200. Signed by the band’s Andy Mackay, Bryan Ferry and Phil Manzanera, it was cut at IBC Studios in London’s Portland Place in 1973. The various Roxy Music related discs – generously donated from his personal collection by the band’s guitarist and songwriter, Phil Manzanera - contributed more than £5,500 to the sale total.

Test pressings of The Cure albums signed by their iconic frontman, Robert Smith, also attracted massive bids. The 2018 album Torn Down Mixed Up Extras sold to a collector for £2,200, while a test pressing of The Cure’s Greatest Hits went for £1,700. In all, the various Cure test pressings, all signed by Robert Smith, achieved a combined total of £6,600 – the most of any artist – and across the various editions of the White Label Auction to date, Robert Smith alone has been personally responsible for well over £40,000 of the monies that have been generated for The BRIT Trust.

Other artists whose test pressings commanded high sale prices included Celeste, Coldplay, Rachel Chinouriri, Duran Duran, Gary Moore, Gorillaz, Madness, Mike Oldfield, Muse, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Sex Pistols, Supertramp, Thin Lizzy, Louis Tomlinson, Paul Weller, and The Who. For full details see the Omega site.

The White Label Auction in aid of The BRIT Trust has now raised nearly £250,000 in total for the charity since its first edition in 2019. The BRIT Trust works to improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts and supports causes across the UK that promote education and wellbeing, including its longstanding beneficiaries The BRIT School and Nordoff and Robbins, as well as ELAM, Music Support, and Key4Life, among many others.

The White Label Auction is made possible by the generosity of the UK’s recorded music community – its many artists, managers, PRs, and record companies and labels, who every year give their support and donate hundreds of items between them, including lead contributors Universal Music UK, together with BMG, Warner Music UK, Sony Music UK, AWAL, Cherry Red Records, Domino Recordings, and others. The organisers of the White Label Auction and The BRIT Trust express their profound thanks to them all.

Tony Wadsworth CBE, Chair of The BRIT Trust, said:

“The success of the White Label Auction keeps blowing us away, although we shouldn’t be surprised given the legendary generosity of the music community that makes it all possible – its artists, managers and record labels. It’s amazing to think that we have raised nearly £250,000 to date to support the vital work of our longstanding beneficiaries the BRIT School and Nordoff and Robbins, as well as other important causes across the UK that draw on the power of music to improve lives.

On behalf of the Trustees, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to this year’s wonderful result, led by Johnny Chandler and the whole WLA team.”

Johnny Chandler, White Label Auction Co-Founder and organiser, said:

“Another outstanding result today, reflecting the breadth of highly collectible items so generously donated by artists and their record labels. We never take their support for granted and I am so appreciative of all that they do to make the auction possible.

Huge thanks to Robert Smith, who alone has helped to raise well over £40,000 for The BRIT Trust and the many causes it supports through the various editions of the auction. Also, a massive thank you to Phil Manzanera, who for 2026 donated and signed many items from his personal collection. Just wonderful.”

Dan Muscatelli-Hampson, Omega Auctions Director of Operations and Consignments, added:

“It’s great to see The White Label Auction go from strength to strength, with a new generation of collectible stars coming through. We always enjoy working on this unique event, and the superb results for The BRIT Trust ensure that it remains a highlight of our annual calendar.”