ALEX SANDERS A Witch is Born VERY RARE BANNED 70 N/M LP

	£		80
	$		106

ONEADAYRECORDS – Delivering Quality Music to the World.

Artist or Band: ALEX SANDERS

Album Title: A Witch is Born.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Initiation.

Side 2: The Legend of the Goddess; The Great Rite.

Label/Format: A&M - original gold format (Please see my label picture).

Label Conditions: Both immaculate: a once played record from the collection I have been offering recently.

Cat Number: AMLS 984.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: A massive 170 grams. [These days, many modern Audiophile reissues are pressed on super-heavyweight 180 gram vinyl. Only a small percentage of ‘vintage vinyl’ was ever pressed this heavy. Records pressed in the 1960s averaged around 135 to 145 grams. Records pressed in the 1970s were usually lighter and averaged more around 115 – 125 grams. Some records pressed around 1973 were very thin and light due an oil crisis and shortage around this time. Some records were even issued on recycled vinyl from this period and sounded poor with crackle and surface noise evident from the very first play. If any record I buy is deemed ‘recycled’, I will never offer it, I have a very simple test to detect these records if I suspect this to be the case other than audible imperfection. Some records from this period were even pressed on other materials the most notable was ‘Dynaflex’, used by RCA around this time. Although inferior to vinyl, this at least mostly sounded reasonably acceptable but pressings on this material were wafer thin and flimsy. Beyond the 70s, many records often became thinner and lighter still but most played fine but were never quite the quality as from the ‘Golden Era’]. (This was based on ‘average’ weights for 50 records from these eras.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Very Rare indeed, seldom seen or offered. This apparently caused outrage when issued due to the subject matter and cover artwork – hence I can only show parts of the inside gatefold to confirm with Ebay’s regulations. This album was almost immediately withdrawn from sale. A tiny few curious collectors purchased this when first issued but they had to be quick.

Original Year of Release: 1970

Matrix Nos: AMLS 984 A-1 T STEREO / AMLS 984 B-1 T STEREO

Mother & Stamper Codes: D1 / H 1

High Priest: Alex Sanders.

High Priestess: Maxine Sanders.

The Initiate: Janet Owen.

The Coven: Nicola Kozak; Elaine Ferguson; Charles Mitchell; Rollo Maughfling.

Commentator: Stuart Farrar.

Brief Info: With Halloween just a month away: I offer one of the strangest, bizarre and rarest albums ever to adorn the A&M label. A substantial record label that must have known this album had no commercial potential and was likely to cause major controversy from the very outset. I would imagine pressing numbers would have been very small and the losses large. This even made the newspapers of the day which speeded up the controversy still further and the decision to withdraw and ban this record was swift. The album is a real witch’s initiation ceremony performed the UK’s most famous and powerful witch, Alex Sanders accompanied by his wife Maxine. The entire ceremony is performed live on record with commentary, the only music is in the background, some of which I recognised to be Wagner (Ride of the Valkyries) from ‘The Ring’. The dialogue has erotic overtones and is quite compelling, a true one-off, I can never imagine such a record would ever be recorded again. The cover has scenes of the initiation and when issued had a warning sticker around the opening to stop customers (or the curious) opening it. This has been removed from this example. A highly wear-prone cover, this one has survived in strong condition with just some rubbing to the lower back edge. The massively pressed record looks like new and was only played once. For this type of material a top pressing is necessary and A&M was not always reliable to provide this. But somewhat against the odds, this record plays near perfectly and super-quiet. A couple of ultra brief pressing sounds were just noted but little to nothing else and it will take an extraordinary copy to better this. Certainly one for the serious collector of rarity or the wierd and bizarre. The number of available copies of this original will be very few indeed and in terms of condition, this record is unbeatable. Certainly a contender for the strangest album ever made.

This Cover’s Potential for Wear: Very High: .

Cover Grade and Format: Strong EX. An unlaminated gatefold format. Printed and made in England.

Cover Front: Apart from very mild traces of where a sticker was removed (assuming this) on the right side, there is little else to fault. Clean, fresh and crease-free. A dark and broody cover.

Cover Back: A mild thumb semi-crease near the top left corner but again little else to fault. The merest hint of outline around the record’s rim but miles away from proper ringwear.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Little to fault inside here. If the decision to ban this album was due to this artwork I deem it somewhat harsh, there is no lower frontal nudity present and far less than on the Hendrix ‘Electric Ladyland’ sleeve.

Top Edges: A small rub top back left but little else.

Bottom Edges: The back edge has moderate rubbing, the front has hardly any. This only reason why an EX++ grading was not used.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, quite sharp with little wear and no feathering. Tiny burr traces if being somewhat critical. Record enters on this back edge.

Spine and Text: Solid, straight, uncompressed and square, both right edges meet up perfectly together and parallel. All text is perfect and unworn and there is hardly any traces of wear on the entire area.

Corners: Tip rubs but all retain excellent shape.

Cover Summary: A very strong all round example of this very rare early 70’s cover, one that will prove very difficult to find much better - it will never be too easy to find at all being honest. This controversial item should please many, if not most collectors.

The Inner: The original polylined inner is included.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: Certainly a strong case for a full Mint grading on this massively pressed record. Played just once before my sound-check, a better visual copy will never be found. A superb example that is super clean, shiny, intense black and very heavily pressed. The playing surfaces are as close to unmarked as any near 40-year-old record ever gets. Visually a super record that should please all collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippetts or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This outstandingly preserved record plays up to its high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Just a couple of milli-second pressing sounds were noted but nothing else. Sound quality is high but such material has only minor relevance to audio quality I suppose. Any surface sounds are minimal indeed and no major pops or clicks were noted and this is an exceptional clean pressing as it needs to be. Few copies will even get close to this, a very solid A&M pressing which has largely avoided anything unwanted. Nothing of real note impaired my listening experience when play-grading this bizarre and rare record. An almost ‘specialist’ piece, this copy will prove near impossible to find better and can be strongly recommended to the collector wanting this album. .

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12 with Ittok Mk IV arm and Ortofon Samba Moving Coil cartridge (tracks at 1.8 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional Moth vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too.

First-time, zero-rated bidders, who do not ask permission to bid, will be cancelled immediately and blocked – NO exceptions. For winning bidders who I consider excessively slow to make contact or submit payment, I will use my right to block future bids. If any bidder who wins in the final seconds is present to do so, surely they can at least email me to inform of intention and payment method? If swift or promp payment is a problem, please do not bid.

POSTING & PACKING: What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, mostly the very next day after payment is received or within three days maximum (unless on holiday). All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT mailers) with the record(s) REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with TWO VERY THICK stiffners for even extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed. The cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW heavy duty soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my Moth Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than 0.1 per percent based on over 5,000+ items sold in over 8 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FOUR records per packet. I will not respond to questions on shipping costs as all the details are included in the advert.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: I will cancel ALL first-time bidders with no feedbacks or excessive negatives who do not ask me if its OK to bid first – NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please Note: I will now offer any item to the runner-up after the mandatory Ebay 3 days if no contact is made by the winning bidder unless prior notice of any delay is given beforehand. The same applies if no payment is received within the mandatory 7 days so any bidder who has just lost out can still email me to reserve the item as priority second chance – it’s always worth asking.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (First Class Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500).

Posting & Packing: ALL EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA including RUSSIA and nearby countries. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £8. (insurance optional extra £3).

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (any part); Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£39 maximum]) = £12. (insurance optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: Please do not bid if you have negative feedback unless checking first, I will cancel any bids I feel are timewasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund minus the Posting and All Ebay costs as long as the item detail has been read and understood. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT neccessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.