1st MOTHER & STAMPER 1G PINK FLOYD DARK SIDE OF THE MOON 1st UK PRESS SOLID BLUE

	£		495
	$		656

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Here is a very early 1st UK pressing which has been fully play-graded (see below). This has the following 1st press matrix numbers:

Side 1: SHVL 804 A-2

Side 2: SHVL 804 B-2

This also has the first mother on both sides and the first stamper on side one, making it one of the absolute earliest copies:

Side 1:  1  G

Side 2:  1  AP

This record has been played in full and a detailed play-grading can be found below.

Detailed description

Vinyl: The vinyl has obviously been played frequently and not particularly well cared-for and the playing surfaces show clear signs of this, including lots of marks, lines, scuffs and scratches, some of which look fairly bad. However, I've played the album in full from start to finish and it plays better than you would probably expect from its appearance. I would say that the vinyl's visual grading is probably around Fair (F) whereas its play-grading is much higher, with many parts, especially on side two, which sound Excellent (Ex). A detailed track-by-track play-grading is given below, but please bear in mind that this copy plays better than it looks. If you want a copy which LOOKS great, then this is not for you!

Play-grading: I have played the entire record in full from start to finish. There are various points where there is background noise, crackles and repeating clicks, but there are also parts which sound Excellent.

Here is a track-by-track play-grading:

Side one

A crackly, clicky run-in and intro to ‘Speak to Me’, with repetitive clicks during the heartbeat. Play-grades around Good Minus (G-).

A few clicks in the intro to 'Breathe', but soon gone and it sounds pretty good. Some random clicks, a bit clicky in the background and some slight crackle. Play-grades around VG, maybe VG+.

‘On the Run’ has some obvious clicks and fairly loud crackle which increase and decrease during the song, but which are constantly there to some degree. Starts off loud, get quieter and comes back loud at the end, with repetitive clicks at the end of the track in the explosion. Play-grades Good (G).

The clicks carry on as it segues into ‘Time’ and continue fairly loudly during the intro with background crackle, but once the vocals start it’s much better and the solo and rest of the track sound Excellent. Play-grade: starts off G, then goes to VG and then Ex for the remainder.

‘Breathe (reprise)’ has a bit of crackle in the background and some random clicks. Play-grades around VG, maybe VG+.

The segue into ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ is a bit clicky and crackly and the intro has some loudish clicks, then it's just a bit crackly, but when the vocals start it sounds Excellent, but when the track gets quiet, the clicks and crackle are noticeable again, and there are some repeating clicks.  Play-grade: Only G (at best) for the beginning which isn't great to listen to, then it's Ex, then drops lower at the end, so maybe averages around Very Good (VG) overall.

So, averaging out these different play-grades, I’d say that side one probably averages slightly under Very Good (VG) overall but with parts that are better and parts that are lower than this overall play-grade.

Side two

The run-in and intro to 'Money' has some brief, but very loud swishes/clicks and there is a single skip at the beginning of the track, but after this it quickly sounds great, with a few small random clicks and a some slight background noise. Play-grade apart from the very beginning is around Ex, but the first few seconds are much lower.

It's a bit clicky in the segue into ‘Us and Them’ and there are clicks in the intro which get louder, but it gets better when the sax comes in. It's around VG- once the vocals start with some random clicks and crackle, but the loud part sounds Excellent. It’s generally then dependent on the volume of the track, with clicks and crackle in the quiet bits, but Excellent in the loud parts. The varying play-grades for different parts of this track cover everything from G to Ex, so probably around VG overall.

‘Any Colour You Like’ play-grades Excellent (Ex).

The beginning of ‘Brain Damage’ is around VG with some clicks and crackle at the start, but it generally sounds great after that and would mostly grade around Excellent (Ex), so overall I’m play-grading it VG+.

The segue into ‘Eclipse’ and the track itself play-grade as Excellent (Ex), with just some small clicks near the end of the heartbeat ending.

Many parts of side two play-grade as Excellent (Ex) so, ignoring the first few seconds of the side, I would say that overall side two averages out around Very Good Plus (VG+), but again acknowledging that there are parts which are above and below this overall grading.

Please remember that the visual grading for both sides is much lower than these play-gradings.

Labels: Normal signs of wear and use, spindle marking etc.

Cover: This is the original 1st press 'midnight blue' cover. It does not have a sealed left-edge or a cover-sticker. There are no seam splits, tears or major issues, but the outside of the cover has ring-wear and marks and shows general signs of age and use, especially to the edges, spine and corners. The rear opening has some minor creasing. Inside the gatefold is relatively wear-free except for at the edges and corners.

Inner sleeve: This is the original 1st press black poly-lined inner sleeve with patent numbers and the Made in Great Britain text. As you can see in the photos, it has creases and some feint marks, but there are no splits, tears or major issues. There is an area at the top-left of one side which seems to indicate that a sticker was there at some point (see final photo).

Posters/stickers: The posters and stickers have never been on display and so have no pin-holes, sellotape, blu-tac etc, and minimal signs of any handling or use. They are all genuine items, but they are not originally from this copy. They come from a later copy.

Detracting features not covered above:  None. Not the best copy in the world, but one of the earliest!

All photographs are of the actual item for sale. Please ask any questions before you bid or buy.

Where gradings are given these are based on the UK Record Collector grading system (see below) and are visual gradings only, unless the listing specifically states that it is a play-grading.

I use the UK RECORD COLLECTOR GRADING SYSTEM. This grading system differs from some other grading systems, in particular the Goldmine grading system. Please make sure that you are familiar with the UK record collector grading system before you bid.

Mint: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

Excellent: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packag­ing might have slight wear and/or creasing.

Very Good: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable sur­face marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

Good: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discoloration, etc.

Fair: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for prop­erly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

Poor: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

Bad: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.

Plus (+) or Minus (-) are added where items fall between gradings. I only ever use one plus or minus.

P&P costs as follows:

UK:

First LP or 12" record = £4.95, each additional item no extra P&P charge.

First 7" record = £3.95, each additional item no extra P&P charge.

Europe:

First LP or 12" record = £14.95, each additional item = an extra £2.20 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £11.95, each additional item = an extra £1.00 P&P charge.

Rest of the world:

First LP or 12" record = £24.95, each additional item = an extra £2.20 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £14.95, each additional item = an extra £1.00 P&P charge.