Biggest HANOI ROCKS Collection Changes Hands

R-Beat, an innovative Finnish event production company, has acquired the largest known collection of recordings (MC, LP, CD) of HANOI ROCKS, the first Finnish musical export to achieve international fame. This treasure, collected over almost thirty years by a dedicated private collector, consists of close to 350 items and covers both active periods of the group from 1980 to 1985 and from 2002 to 2009.

The collection includes a comprehensive set of official releases from different countries in all imaginable formats, including promo and special releases and misprints, as well as illegal bootleg versions that were particularly popular in the Eastern Bloc, from Soviet flexi-discs to Polish musical postcards. It also includes a set of record company's complimentary copies to the artist from the estate of the late drummer, Razzle, with a certificate of authenticity. The collection also includes extremely rare long-box versions of releases made under the Uzi Suicide record label, created by the original members of GUNS N' ROSES. GUNS N' ROSES regard HANOI ROCKS as one of their influences and wanted to promote the group in the USA by publishing their back catalogue.

"The scope of the collection takes your breath away and shows how much interest and passion HANOI ROCKS has evoked all over the world", says Kari Rantala, Managing Director at R-Beat. "The collector has been very dedicated; you can say that this is almost his life work."

The new owner plans to expand the collection, named Hanoi Heritage, and develop it so it can be exhibited in galleries, hotels and other suitable venues in Finland and abroad in the future. A web site for the project will be launched at www.hanoiheritage.fi.