It may seem strange, but specific prints of Absent Friends were manufactured in Ukraine. We do not know much about TDC’s publicity (promotional material, press articles, etc.), and how the album managed to raise interest over there. It was a third-party local distributor which licensed the album from EMI.

The album was distributed by Ukrainian label Comp Music. Therefore it was manufactured in Ukraine. On the other hand it seems that for their distribution logistic they do not affect new serial numbers to their releases. Hence, like Regeneration in Canada, the print shares the same serial number as the generic EMI print.



On the back cover, the copyright note has been extended to include all this relevant information: “Marketed and distributed by Comp Music/EMI. Made for sales in Ukraine” with contact information. The design still features the EMI frame regarding the Copy Controlled system. The back also features an anti-piracy sticker, with the reference ‘577127 AP’.
The CD itself features also the Copy Controlled system, since it seems everything was licensed from EMI, and the pressing is exactly the same with, around the centre: EMI UDEN ABSENT 01 @ 2 and IFPI L047.
However, the other side of the disc has a silver background under the blue design, instead of being blue and white. Probably a mistake (white being replaced by transparent) when the design was edited to feature the same Ukrainian references as on the back cover.