The DAT (digital audio tape) format was a thing for a hot second in the late 80s. The Durutti Column's 1987 album The Guitar And Other Machines was the first album to be released on DAT, and was later followed by The Ideal Copy by Wire, U2's The Joshua Tree, and New Order's seminal album Substance, among others.
The Smiths' live album Rank was originally given a DAT release, but as legend has it DAT copies were eventually pulled by the label and presumably destroyed. EIL, a record shop specializing in rarities, recently managed to get a hold of a copy of Rank on DAT and it's up for grabs. According to EIL, there are reportedly only 50 copies of Rank on DAT in circulation*; the copy they acquired has remained boxed since manufacture and has never been played. Check out the listing here if you've got the inclination and the bucks! Not sure if you'll be able to find yourself a nifty DAT player to play it on (not that you'd want to), but it sure is a cool collectors item for a fan of The Smiths.
Published August 25th, 2017