David Bowie The man who sold the world mercury SR61325 ORIGINAL U.S COPY

	£		68
	$		90

• Label: Mercury ?– SR-61325 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 
  Country: US Released: 04 Nov 1970 Genre: Rock Style: Hard Rock, Glam
• THE MAN WHO SOLD THE EARTH MERCURY SR61325 ORIGINAL
• THIS IS NOT THE BOOTLEG VERSION
• Matrix / Runout (Side A, Runout, Stamped): SR 61325-A- M2
• Matrix / Runout (Side B, Runout, Stamped): SR 61325-B- M1
• This is the original version released in the U.S. before the UK release and is considered to be the start of Bowie as we know him. This is what it says on discogs etc
• If The Matrix is not stamped it is not this original release. 
  The unofficial (bootleg Counterfeit) came out in 1973 and bears the scratched Matrix . 
  This came out after big success and desire for the rare (didn't sell much) Mercury sleeve. 
  When purchasing always ask if machine stamped as much confusion with convincing quality counterfeit that is not rare.
• Counterfeit / bootleg pressing of the US pressing of the album with Cowboy/ cartoon sleeve. 
  Not dated but it is fair to speculate pressed sometime post-1972 when Bowie was becoming more well known. 
  The country is also unknown but judging by the sleeve construction probably USA. There are said to be many more bootlegs of this album than real copies as it sold very few on release. 
  The bootleg is a very faithful reproduction of the original and appears almost exactly identical except for two prominent differences:
  1- the matrix # is hand-scratched, NOT machine stamped 
  2- about 2 seconds of music is missing from All The Madmen, there is a jump cut which misses out the words 'all the same as' from the line 'For I'm quite content they're all the same as me' from the end of the second chorus. Someone who had not heard the album before would probably not notice this edit. This is not a skip it is quite smoothly done and sounds like a tape edit. It suggests there was some imperfection with the source material which was deliberately edited out. Therefore this also suggests the audio is taken from an archival copy of the vinyl and dubbed to tape, rather than a master tape transfer. 
  Apart from this omission the music is of a professional sounding quality and artwork appears identical.
• also note the 3 black bars at the top right go over the top of the sleeve, the copies normally stop short. The sleeve itself is made of thick card and the cartoon picture is bright unlike the copies which are not as bright and the sleeve is not as thick.
• I have noted that some of the ones being sold on ebay at the moment seem to be the bootleg version (even the expensive one from a shop) and they have not said that.
• The condition of the cover is not great and is a bit dirty and the top and bottom seams are cracked although the cover is intact i.e not falling apart and the spine is intact and in good condition. The inner sleeve is poor but it has no i.d marks so it can be replaced. The vinyl overall looks good and has a nice sheen to it with no deep scratches but does have a light scratch across 3 tracks on both sides but I do not think it will skip or jump. I do not have a record player so I cannot test it but I will accept returns if the buyer pays return postage. 
• This is a rare album as Bowie was not as well known at this stage of his career and was released in the U.S. the year before the UK release.
• I have researched this Album as much as possible and have been truthful in my account on condition etc. The item will be sent is a record mailer with card stiffeners and bubble wrap and sent via Royal Mail signed for
• p.s. I have taken pictures of the matrix numbers (stamped) as best I can but the camera does not focus too well, however you can make them out ,just. Any questions please contact me

I HAVE GOT GOT HOLD OF A RECORD PLAYER AND RUN THROUGH THE ALBUM AND CAN CONFIRM THERE ARE NO JUMPS ON THE RECORD. AS I THOUGHT IT PLAYS THROUGH LOVELY WITH BARELY A CRACKLE. AS I HAVE SAID SO FAR ON EBAY I HAVE NOT SEEN ANOTHER ORIGINAL ON HERE AND ONLY THE BOOTLEG VERSIONS EVEN THE VERY EXPENSIVE ONE FROM A RECORD DEALER. ANY QUESTIONS WELCOME.

Have been looking for more of these online in various record stores, there are not that many about and the ones that are have import marks ie punch holes in the sleeve and bits missing. This one is complete.