KING BOOTLEG IS BUSTED
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dealer
By Russell Findlay
Sunday Mail - 26 June 2005
A BOOTLEGGER who sold rare live footage of top bands U2, Oasis and the
Beatles had £250,000 worth of illegal discs seized by police last
week.
Pony-tailed Thomas McColl, 52, ran his own record label, Revolver
Records, from his bedroom in Clydebank.
Police nabbed 15,000 DVDs and discs in simultaneous raids on McColl's
home and business premises.
Among the haul were recordings of concerts at the Barrowland venue -
next to the Barras market in Glasgow where McColl sold his illicit
goods.
McColl taped a number of high- profile acts at the venue, including
former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown.
He also had DVDs of U2's current Vertigo tour and Pink Floyd playing
New York in 1996. Also seized was rare footage of The Beatles.
McColl also called his stall Revolver Records and many of his discs
were stamped with that name.
Concerts sold by McColl included Rod Stewart at the SECC in 2002 and
Bob Dylan at Barrowland in 2004. He was also a regular visitor to T in
the Park where acts taped included Coldplay in 2003.
Prices for a single concert on DVD were £10 with a special offer to
sell three for £14.
Police and record industry investigators will scrutinise the
recordings. McColl and wife Irene, 52, could both face criminal
charges.
One source said: 'He has been raking in a fortune but everything he
sold was stolen property' He would secretly record many big-name acts
and sell the discs for up to £300 for a boxed set.
'McColl was effectively running an illegal record label from his house
in Clydebank. He also appears to be part of a network of bootleggers
who trade footage from different countries.'
The Barras market is a thriving centre for pirated computer software,
music and movies.
BMW-driving McColl does not compete with the crooks who run the
market's pirated goods trade.
One Barras source said: 'Pirated stuff shifts in huge numbers and just
about anyone can make copies. But McColl was more of a niche market -
although a profitable one.
'He thrived on recording concerts and some of his footage is unique and
of pretty good quality.
'But when you're ripping off some of the biggest recording artists and
record labels in the world, you're going to attract some heat.'
Barras manager Tom Joyes said: 'He has been suspended from here pending
the outcome of this investigation.
'I know he previously sold gigs recorded at Barrowland and I asked him
to remove them from sale, which I understand he did.
'To the best of our ability, we don't allow the sale of pirated goods
at the market.
'But we are seeking clarification on the law in relation to bootleg
stuff, which is a grey area.'
Last night, a spokesman for the watchdog, the British Phonographic
Industry, said: 'The sale of bootlegged concerts is in no way a grey
area - it is black and white.
'The sale of such recordings iscovered by two acts of Parliament and
can result in 10 years imprisonment. The only persons who have rights
to artists' performances are the artists themselves.'
Last night, the boss of a legitimate record label called Revolver
Records slammed McColl.
Wolverhampton-based Paul Birch's label first signed the Stone Roses.
He said: 'I am also a magistrate and I would love to have him in front
of me. I would give him 20 years and chop his hands off.
'This man has got nothing to do with us and we're delighted to hear
he's been put out of business.'
On Friday, the British Phonographic Industry announced a big rise in
pirated music.
Their figures show that music piracy in the UK was worth £76.9million
last year - a 37 per cent increase from 2003.
Last night, a Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said: 'A 52-year-old man
and a 52-year-old woman will be the subject of a report to the
Procurator Fiscal in connection with alleged copyright offences and the
alleged production and sale of counterfeit goods.
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