BEATLES Abbey Road 1969 UK Apple PCS 7088 1st press Misaligned Apple SUPERB COPY

	£		172
	$		228

The BEATLES - ABBEY ROAD

A truly excellent plus condition (I am sure that many would grade the condition of the vinyl as "near mint") copy of this increasingly hard to find and highly sought after 1969 UK very "misaligned Apple" 1st press Beatles classic, on the UK APPLE label, STEREOO, PCS 7088

The dead wax matrix numbers are :

Side 1    YEX 749 - 2  with stampers "5" and "1.1 R H" at 9 o'clock and 2.30 o'clock respectively 

Side 2    YEX 750 - 2  with stampers "8" and "A D 0" at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock respectively

The overall appearance and condition of the vinyl is excellent plus (EX+). I am sure that many would grade the condition of the vinyl as "near mint"...they may be right. Each side of the vinyl has retained a beautiful jet black sheen and looks great, with no obvious marks at all when viewed in normal daylight. Even under a bright light I have to look very, very closely to identify just a couple of the wispiest of wispy hairlines on each side of the vinyl - beautiful. It is so rare (and a privilege) to come across a true UK 1st press copy of this LP still in condition as beautiful as this : clearly this record has been sparingly played, quite possibly only a few times. Stunning.

The condition of the labels is excellent plus (EX+). Gorgeous 1st pressing darker green apple labels with all text, all colouring, and the iconic apple all remaining beautifully intact. I can just (with very close inspection under a bright light) make out 2 small and very faint spindle trails adjacent to the centre hole on each label - apart from that, perfect! Note the absence of any "Her Majesty" credit on the side 2 label - another very 1st press indicator. 

The condition of the laminated Garrod & Lofthouse outer sleeve is excellent (EX). All edges remain firm with no scuffing at all, each corner remains a near perfectly defined right angle with just a little laminate creasing on the reverse side of the bottom right corner and virtually no rubbing at all on any corner, the spine also remains firm with all text perfectly intact, and the opening sides remain firm with no fraying - amazing! There are some very faint horizontal surface laminate creases perpendicular and adjacent to the spine (each 1cm or less) on both the front and reverse side, x5 sporadic light surface laminate crease marks towards the right side between Ringo and John (see photo), and a small and very light residue mark at the bottom left corner of the front side where a sticker once was (only noticeable when the sleeve is tilted at the right angle in a bright light) - these very minor aberrations are the only blemishes upon what is otherwise an outstanding condition outer sleeve. Both sides of the sleeve remain taut and glossy with all colours rich, deep and vibrant, and the photos retaining perfect definition. All text is perfectly intact with no unwanted writing or doodles anywhere, and the reverse side Apple logo is beautifully misaligned in all it's glory! Excellent, at least.

Finally, the overall quality of the audio is excellent+ (EX+).  Hard to fault, in fact with fantastic tone and clarity throughout the entire record, even at higher volume and higher frequencies, with no skips, no jumps, no repeats, no sticks, no clicks, and no background crackle or interference of any sort. Stupendous STEREO sound quality from start to finish. Every track on this copy of this wonderful LP still makes for a great listen. This is quite possibly as good as it gets!

The tracks are :

Side 1 :

1. COME TOGETHER

2. SOMETHING

3. MAXWELL'S SILVER HAMMER

4. OH! DARLING

5. OCTOPUS'S GARDEN

6. I WANT YOU (She's so heavy)

Side 2 :

1. HERE COMES THE SUN

2. BECAUSE

3. YOU NEVER GIVE ME YOUR MONEY

4. SUN KING

5. MEAN MR. MUSTARD

6. POLYTHENE PAM

7. SHE CAME IN THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW

8. GOLDEN SLUMBERS

9. CARRY THAT WEIGHT

10. THE END

With no "HER MAJESTY" credit!

Comes with original plain white "PATENTS APPLIED FOR" and "MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN" horizontal text inner sleeve with no tears, splits, rips, or obvious creasing - in great condition and remaining 100% functional. Note that I will post the vinyl in a new plain white inner sleeve in order to protect the original.

In summary an absolutely brilliant condition copy of this increasingly hard to find 1969 very first UK press Beatles masterpiece - a "must" for any serious Beatles vinyl collection, and only continuing to gain in value.

 If you require any further information, including photos, then let me know and I'll do my best to oblige. 

If this record interests you then take a look at my other 60's & 70's classic vinyl listings.

A bit about myself : I have been collecting vinyl for more than 49 years and have amassed a huge collection covering a varied genre, but mostly of 1960's and 70's origin. Most of my records were originally bought by myself for my own collection, but during the past 30 years I have embellished my collection by buying records from a variety of sources : friends/acquaintances, car boot sales, auctions, and even through putting up a "vinyl wanted" notice in my wife's shop! I am now retired and take great delight in being able to spend more time scouring the country and attending boot sales and auctions in the hope of unearthing more vinyl gems...I am 64 years of age now and am still discovering bands and music of the 60's and 70's that I have never come across before. Wonderful! Richard

My ebay feedback speaks for itself so rest assured that you are buying from a trusted seller and in the very unlikely event that you are unhappy with your purchase just e-mail me and I'll sort out the problem. I offer a "no quibble" refund policy. 

On the subject of postage, I take great care in the packaging of all items, using a proper vinyl thick cardboard "crucifix" style mailer along with at least two thick cardboard stiffeners. I take great care in separating the record from the outer sleeve in order to help prevent sleeve damage in transit and I always insert the vinyl, outer sleeve and inner into a clear plastic sleeve, thus adding further protection. 

For this item postage & packaging will be UK £4.00, Royal Mail special delivery; continental Europe £11 and Rest of the World £15, Royal Mail 1st class international Airmail, tracked and signed for.

 I DO discount post & packaging costs for multiple purchases. I do NOT profit from postage.

Good luck with your bidding!

NOTE : My vinyl descriptions comply with the official Record Collector vinyl grading guidelines :

Mint

The records 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, discolouration, 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 are torn, stained and/or defaced

Poor

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

Bad

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