JOHN LENNON, Cold Turkey (1969 APPLE 45 NEAR MINT)

	£		92
	$		122

This is the first pressing of John Lennon’s ‘Cold Turkey’ 45. The second solo Apple single by Beatle John, the b-side is the Yoko Ono song ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko’. Released in October 1969 it reached a lowly, for a Beatle in the 60s, number 14 in the UK singles chart and rarely these days shows up, complete with picture sleeve, in pristine order like this one so don’t miss out...

Year of original release: 1969

Year of this pressings release: 1969

Label: Apple

Catalogue No: APPLES 1001

Matrix No’s: APPLES 1001 A-1U / APPLES 1001 B-1U

Country of Manufacture: England  

Mode: Stereo

RECORD CONDITION

Labels: NEAR MINT

Completely clean and unmarked, the side 1 full apple logo has the ‘PLAY LOUD’ text over the spindle area and this instruction is repeated on side 2. The spindle areas suggest that this record was only ever played once or twice by the previous owner and all other evidence supports this.

Visual: NEAR MINT

These are immaculately preserved surfaces with a wonderful clean deep glossy sheen. There are absolutely no surface marks or wear even under a very strong light. It is possible to spot a couple of the lightest non-sounding paper scuffs but they are so minimal that they barely warrant a mention at all. This is vinyl that has impossibly maintained an ‘as new’ appearance.

Play: NEAR MINT

This record plays with absolutely no faults in the audio whatsoever. The run in grooves are close to silent and across both tracks you get a wonderful deep clear standard of audio with no pops or clicks. Following the ‘play loud’ instruction on the labels will lead to complete audio satisfaction!

COVER CONDITION

Card picture sleeve: NEAR MINT

An impossibly well preserved card sleeve with no faults or serious signs of wear to report. There are no creases or folds, no scuffs or seam splits and no marks or writing on either the front or the back. There is no ring-wear to report, only a slight circular impression round the edge of the label visible under light. You will rarely see an example of this original single cover in better shape.

ABOUT LENNON/ONO & THE PLASTIC ONO BAND - ‘COLD TURKEY’ / ‘DON’T WORRY KYOKO (MUMMY’S ONLY LOOKING FOR HER HAND IN THE SNOW)’

‘Cold Turkey’ was a song written by John Lennon, and recorded by The Plastic Ono Band. Its first public performance was recorded and released on the ‘Live Peace In Toronto 1969’ album by The Plastic Ono Band which included Lennon (vocal, guitar), Eric Clapton (lead guitar), Klaus Voormann (bass), Alan White (drums) and additional vocalizing by Yoko Ono. Yoko introduced it as the newest song written by John; John added that the band had never played the song together as a group before. The song was released as a single in October 1969, and was John Lennon's second solo single (‘Give Peace a Chance’ being the first). According to Peter Brown in his book ‘The Love You Make’, the song was written in a "creative outburst" following Lennon and Ono going "cold turkey” from their brief heroin addictions. Brown also states that Lennon presented the song to Paul McCartney as a potential single by The Beatles, but was refused and released it as a Plastic Ono Band single with sole writing credits to him. ‘Cold Turkey’ was the first song John Lennon wrote for which he took sole credit; his previous compositions, including his first single release, ‘Give Peace A Chance’ were attributed to the Lennon/McCartney partnership. (In the 1990s ‘Give Peace a Chance’ was officially credited to Lennon as sole composer.) Besides Lennon, this recording features Eric Clapton on lead guitar, Klaus Voormann on bass and Ringo Starr on drums. It was recorded in Abbey Road Studio 2. In 1969 Lennon returned his MBE to Buckingham Palace saying "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With love, John Lennon of Bag." John Lennon would perform this song, along with ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko’, live at the Lyceum Ballroom with George Harrison, Keith Moon, Eric Clapton, and others. This would be Lennon's last live performance with any of the other Beatles and this version would be available on his ‘Some Time In New York City’ album. The song's first appearance on a Lennon album was the 1975 compilation ‘Shaved Fish’.

POSTAGE & PACKING

UK:

Basic option – FREE / Recorded Delivery (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) £3.50

EUROPE:

Basic airmail - £4.00 / Insured delivery £8.00

REST OF WORLD:

Basic airmail - £7.00 / Insured delivery £12.00

We will always ensure that our records will be well packed in a secure manner. We do everything we can to provide a safe delivery and ensure that your records arrive in the same condition that they left us in. We use professionally packed heavy-duty mailers. We are also happy to accommodate pick up in person.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

If you are unhappy with your purchase, for any reason, we are not going to get into a long dispute with you about the items merits. We offer a no nonsense money back promise including postage upon return of the item. Obviously we do ask that you raise any issues within 7 days of delivery. Just get in touch, we can work it out.

GRADING

‘Record Collector Magazine’ have for years promoted a grading system that has been accepted as the all round standard amongst dealers and collectors. We too use that system but just in case anyone’s not sure here’s my basic interpretation:

MINT: Only ever used if a record is totally un-played and therefore can be classed as brand new. Even if a record has only had one play it can no longer be Mint.

NEAR MINT: This grading applies to a record that has no visible faults and no lessening in sound quality. Other than perhaps a little dust and in some cases the lightest of totally non-sounding paper scuffs visible under strong light, vinyl graded Nr.Mint will be extremely well cared for. Sleeves graded Nr.Mint will have no damage and only the vaguest suggestion of any handling or use.

EXCELLENT: Records graded thus will essentially be in a very well cared for condition and play without any problems. Excellent records have been used but they will have been well looked after and the worst you can expect with the audio will be the odd light pop or click and perhaps a little bit of light background noise in a couple of places, but certainly nothing that will spoil your enjoyment of the music. Covers graded Excellent have no damage or defacement to the artwork , their evidence of handling will only be in minor details like a few faint creases, tiny edge scuffs or a small amount of writing or sticker residue but certainly no serious damage.

VERY GOOD: Records graded VG will be totally satisfactory to all but those looking for total perfection. They will be used but still fully playable and only show the kind of wear you would expect to find on a second hand record that has had a few plays. The odd light scratch may be evident as well as general spindle wear and paper scuffs but nothing to cause any overall problems with your enjoyment of the record. Basically, be realistic in what you’d expect a used record to look and sound like and you won’t have any disappointments with a record that is graded Very Good. Covers graded VG may show a bit of general wear or scuffing around the edges, there could be some light ring-wear, a few creases and perhaps a little bit of writing (1960’s record owners seemed to always write their name somewhere on the sleeve) but they will still be fully intact and certainly not abused in any way.

GOOD: Vinyl graded as Good should be approached with a little more caution, as most dealers will tell you in record collecting terms ‘good’ means ‘bad’! We try and keep our items above this standard, however Good does have some saving graces and is not the lowest grading vinyl can be given. A record graded thus will still be just about playable although it will clearly have been played a lot by previous owners. You can also expect light scratches and definitely some surface noise. Covers graded as Good will be just about holding it together although you will inevitable find plenty of creases, maybe a few rips and seam splits as well as possibly chunks missing, writing or stains and indeed any other kind of defacement that it’s possible to find on record sleeves without them being totally destroyed.

FAIR: Don’t bother bidding!

NB. There may be occasions when we add a + or a – to a grading. The reason for this is fairly self explanatory but essentially, if something is VG+ that means it is a seriously strong example of that particular grading and potentially worth a higher grade. Please also remember that there are variables within all of these gradings (for example, it is not impossible for a Nr.Mint sleeve to have a tiny bit of writing present) but we’ll always endeavour to mention any especially relevant points within the bulk of the main description text