On Finding Signed Albums in Charity Shops

Story time!

The album pictured above is Flap!, a thoroughly excellent little set from the Australian jazz troupe of the same name.

I picked this album up from a charity shop in Penarth (British Red Cross, if memory serves) back in 2012. I'd never heard of Flap! at that point, but my eye was caught by the eye-catching album cover and the presence of a song named Tetris on the tracklist very much sealed the deal (I'm a total Tetris addict, as I've mentioned previously).

Another big selling point? This particular copy of Flap! was signed by the band:

I love owning signed CDs. Not because of their potential value - none of my autographed albums will ever be worth very much, not even the ones that aren't made out to 'Gideon & Arabella' - but because they feel so much more like they belong to me. I'm sure that many, many people have the Young Knives' Superabundance on CD, but how many of them have a copy that was autographed by the people who made it?

However, Flap! is the only signed album in my collection that's made out to somebody else and that, internet, is where you come in. I would very much like to know the answers to these three questions:

1. Who are Gideon and Arabella?
2. How did a band from Melbourne (or their album, at least) end up in a shop in Penarth?
3. Why on EARTH did Gidz and Bella give their copy of Flap! away? It's AMAZING!

Flap! have sadly split up since I purchased their album (a great shame, as they really were superb - I've posted one of their songs below for your listening pleasure), but Gideon and Arabella may still be out there. If you live in South Wales and you know a couple by that pair of names, please email thealbumwall@outlook.com to let me know - I'd love to hear the story behind this CD and the journey it went on before ending up in my possession!