BUDGIE Never Turn Your Back on a Friend RARER ORIG UK 1973 EX DECCA-PRESS RECORD

	£		34
	$		45

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers will now be blocked at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: BUDGIE

Album Title: Never Turn Your Back on a Friend.

Producer(s): Budgie

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Breadfan; Baby Please Don’t Go; You Know I’ll Always Love You; You’re the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk.

Side 2: In the Grip of a Tyrefitter’s Hand; Riding My Nightmare; Parents.

Label/Format: MCA – original intense matt black format. This first issue pressed by Decca.

Label Conditions: Both in superb condition: ultra clean, super-fresh and hugely attractive. Three or four spindle marks on side one, and just one on side two. This very clean and shiny record appears very little played.

Cat Number: MDKS 8010.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Weight of this Record: 148 grams. A more typical Decca-pressed heavyweight original. Later examples on the rainbow label (with a different catalogue number) were much thinner and lighter.

Country of Manufacture: England.

Rarity: Rarer as a first pressing, especially in this very clean condition. MCA were a label that changed it’s design regulary, sometimes within a few months. First issues of this album on the black label are elusive and difficult to find. This particular format was one of the shortest-lived of all and came and went quickly. A rare chance for collectors and fans of this band that are in high demand, this record will prove difficult to find like this again.

Original Year of Release: 1973

Matrix Nos: 7-LNMG-277-2L / 7-LNMG-278-1L

Stamper Codes: 1 B / 1 B [ultimate first mother and stamper codes for the Decca pressing sequence of ‘BUCKINGHAM’].

Musicians: Burke Shelley – vocal, bass; Tony Bourge - guitars; Ray Philips - drums.

Brief Info: Superb third album from this Welsh heavy rock trio. Known for rather spectacular, if bizarre, artwork on their covers, often with budgies in different forms of dress. This is another classic Roger Dean design famed for his wonderful artwork on rock sleeves. Self-confessed as ‘not the greatest composers’ and ‘not particularly subtle’ and ‘not progressive’ but a ‘freaking good Rock band’. I guess that sums it up pretty well, rarely critics favourites, but like Uriah Heep, this band were quite popular and their mid-period and later albums sold fairly well. Of course, featuring the expressive and unusual voice of Burke Shelley that gave Budgie their almost unique sound. This rare original black format label original copy looks hardly played and has clean powerful sound. Heavily pressed by Decca to their usual top quality standard – this album at times, really rocks – who’s a pretty boy then?

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT: actually looks better. An unlaminated gatefold format with matt, smooth surfaces, printed and made in England by Robert Stace, and it includes the original MDKS 8010 inside – beware of substitutions that have a different number.

Cover Front: Classic Roger Dean artwork and this front has minimal traces of wear and is very clean with a high degree of freshness. Superb colour and no rubbing, any marks ultra fine and faint as seen critically under light.

Cover Back: Very similar again, a little corner tip rubbing and odd tiny mark or two. Faint rim dulling seen under light near the top, little elsewhere. A back clearly prone to ringwear and seldom seen without it. Both front and back are way above average.

Cover Inner Gatefold: Very impressive with hardly anything really to fault.

Top Edges: Both straight and barely worn at all – any rub traces tiny.

Bottom Edges: Light and very light surface rubbing that is seldom avoided on storage edges. Again straight and neat.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean, mostly very sharp with hardly any wear, any thickening or burring tiny and light as seen viewed end-on. Record entered on the back edge, there are no enhancements to any area of this cover.

Spine and Text: Solid, thick and straight with any compression light, just a very gentle tilt to right. Folded squarely so the edges meet up closely and parallel. There is one very small surface chip, but the main issue is a surface crack (NOT split) near the central area. These thicker spines are more prone to this. In terms or rubbing, there is barely any to the text at all, but there is a natural crease line that affects the word ‘NEVER’ the most, being progressively finer to wards the bottom corner. A real bonus on this cover: the folds have avoided wear which is never easy.

Corners: Small tip rubs with very fine to excellent shape retained.

Cover Summary: A very nice and attractive example of this famous and sort-after Roger Dean cover, always harder to fine an original with lesser wear, it will prove difficult to find much better. It should please many collectors, maybe even most being honest.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): a Decca-style heavy-duty polylined inner that has only aged a little with mild darkening that few will avoid. The lining remains super-clear as seen through two crisp and undamaged window circles. Barely any creasing and all edges unsplit with no repairs.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT: an impressive visual copy that is very clean with very fine shine and solidly pressed on top quality Decca-pressed vinyl. Side two is superb and on it’s own grades with at least an extra (+). Side one has a few small, light and totally superficial light surface marks as seen under angled light. These are not stylus marks and I would be highly confident they were present from new. Finding such an early copy a great deal better could prove very difficult.

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 snippets 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 rock gem plays even above it’s high visual grading with practically nothing to fault. Strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and very detailed sound. This blows away the later, thinner pressings. Any surface sounds barely registered and a very clean pressing as you would expect from what I regard as the very best of record manufacturers – Decca. The mix a little deep in the bass and the sound is punchy and warm, it will always benefit being played a little louder. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this quality, and now getting rare rock album. This copy could prove difficult to find significantly better and merits strong recommendation.

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/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

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, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. 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. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are 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 at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. 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 the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand+ based on over 10,000+ items sold in over 12 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

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] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; 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 [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an 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: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. 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. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

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 necessarily 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’.