DAVID BOWIE SELF TITLED 1969 PHILIPS SBL 7912 1st UK PRESS SPACE ODDITY

	£		494
	$		655

All my items have a full money-back guarantee - if it's not as described you can return it for a full refund.

****************************************************************

This is an original 1st pressing bought in the UK at the time of first release. It is not a modern reissue.

Please note that this IS the true first UK pressing: I've seen a lot of inaccurate information written by people selling the so-called 'unassigned credits' version, claiming that it is the first pressing because the publishing credits for most of the songs hadn't yet been assigned to Essex Music. This is complete nonsense: Essex Music only ever owned the publishing rights to three of the songs on this album. The 'unassigned credits' version is a repressing which came out in 1970 (we can tell this because it has the revised THIN Philips logo labels which weren't introduced until 1970). The first pressing - the one listed here - has the wide Philips logo, but the labels have an error which shows the publishing for all titles assigned to Essex Music Int., even though, at the time, Bowie retained the publishing rights (copyright control) to all but two of the tracks. This mistake on the labels was corrected with the 1970 repressing to show the correct publishing information. Incidentally, the rights for all the remaining tracks except 'Memory of a Free Festival' WERE assigned the following year, but to Titanic Music, NOT to Essex Music!

The gatefold sleeve has no seam splits, tears, writing, stickers etc, just normal signs of age or use. There is wear to the edges and spine, but most of the spine-text is still legible (see photos) and I would say that this is a well-above-average example.

The vinyl is flat and has retained much of its shine, but it has numerous marks and signs of play and use to both sides. The labels show that this record was relatively well-played and, judging by the playing surfaces it wasn't particularly well cared for. In normal daylight there are a number of obvious visible marks to both sides, including some which are slightly feelable and under bright, direct light I could see additional hairlines, sleeve removal lines and fine surface marks etc. I have included photos of both sides of the vinyl but please note, that these make the record look much nicer than it really is. In real life the playing surfaces shows lots of marks and signs of use. I have played the whole album in full from start to finish and despite its appearance it plays through with no jumps, skips or sticking. Inevitably, there is crackle and some clicks, including some which are quite loud in places, but I would say that there is nothing that overpowers the music at any point (which, for an album with so many quiet passages, is a feat in itself). Despite the crackle and clicks in places there are also parts of this album that play really well, with almost no extraneous noise, and I would say that these parts play-grade around Very Good (VG) to Excellent (Ex). However, a lot of this record plays much below that and so I am play-grading this album overall around Good Plus (G+) to Very Good Minus (VG-), but acknowledging that there are parts that are much better than that, as well as some which are lower. I think that this play-grading is higher than you might expect from looking at the record, so a visual grading would be lower.

Detracting features not covered above:  None.

All photographs are of the actual item for sale. Please look at the photos and 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 = £5.50, 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 = £18.95, each additional item = an extra £2.20 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £13.95, each additional item = an extra £1.40 P&P charge.

Rest of the world:

First LP or 12" record = £29.50, each additional item = an extra £3.10 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £18.95, each additional item = an extra £1.80 P&P charge.