MICK FARREN MONA Transatlantic TRA 212 MINT 1st Punk

	£		93
	$		123

A very rare and high book value Freak-Rock LP - "MONA - THE CARNIVOROUS CIRCUS", the first solo LP from Mick Farren after he left the Deviants on TRANSATLANTIC ~ (STEREO 1970)

It wasn't actually a solo LP of course as it was effectively the Pink Fairies, as the drummer is Twink from the Pretty Things with Steve Took from Tyrannosaurus Rex together with guitarist Steve Hammond, ex Johhny Almond band, and organist Pete Robinson and Johnny Gustavson from the underground band Quatermass, all on this.

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This is in stiff, medium weight 136 gram vinyl and has the matrix numbers
"TRA-212-A1" on side 1 and
"TRA-212-B1" on side 2, (the TRA 212 numbers are repeated on the labels); Both sides also bear an omega imprint ?.

I bought this unheard 40 years ago because I had seen Mick Farren and the Social Deviants plenty of times playing in and around central and North London, but I never actually liked this LP unfortunately, so have only played it three times since I bought it new (in Harrods of all places!)
I have just played it just once more to properly check it out and I really think you are never going to find a better copy than this one........
I have also listed a 1980's Deviants LIVE LP in similar condition for the same reasons.

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This auction then is for a valuable, rare and highly collectable LP from my own collection, which I bought new when it came out in 1970 and so is in pristine order and plays really well, as one would expect.

I am not a record dealer, just always been a lover of great music and lucky enough to have seen many of the 1960's and 1970's great & famous playing in the London clubs like the Marquee, Crawdaddy and UFO (I still have my membership cards!) and this LP, like the others I will be listing from now on, is from my own collection and was bought because of the music and benefits from having always been in an animal free and non-smoking environment.
It's started at a realistic price with NO RESERVE; fantastic vinyl condition and a great cover and clean inner sleeve.

Please scroll down and see the large images I have put for this record

I stopped selling my records on eBay back in August 2008 because of eBay's stupid free postage rule but now it's been reversed, I am starting again, so please check my bidder's feedback on the records I sold before then - you will see I describe my records 100% truthfully so you can bid in confidence - any questions, just ask!

The record itself is pressed in medium grade, fairly stiff vinyl and is very clean on both sides and beautifully shiny; it has NO spindle marks on the labels, No writing, fingerprints, stickers or other negative aspects and it has a tight spindle hole!
The labels are the grooved type with a sharply printed purple TRANSATLANTIC logo and outer ring of makers details on a clean bright white ground, with the record track & music listing printed in black, (the side two logo is not as ashrply printed for some reason)

There are a NO *sleeve marks on the record surfaces, which has no discernable surface noise, NO clicks or jumps and NO crackles or pops and obviously, NO scratches!
There is a miniscule vertical movement of under 0.2 mm peak to peak at the record’s periphery and a horizontal displacement, which I estimate to be well under 0.2 mm peak to peak so it runs absolutely flat and true and plays beautifully and in this respect is "as new"; (please understand that there is absolutely no audible effect from such very low levels of mechanical movement, but I am stating these parameters from now on to further improve the accuracy of my estimates of the true condition of records I sell on eBay).

*Surface marks are either a sort of matt area marking over the record surface, (usually from the plastic inner liners of some sleeves and probably due to pressure from adjacent records when stored - caused I believe by migration of the plastisizer from the polythene inner sleeve onto the vinyl surface), or they may be faint lines originating from the withdrawal and reinsertion of the record back into it’s sleeve. Such markings will always be present in a record that has been played and are discernible often only by holding the record at an angle under a strong light, but these cosmetic only and are NOT scratches, which are mechanical damage caused by actions such as dropping or knocking the arm so it skates over the record surface, or worse. Such scratches, as I define them, WILL be clearly visible and will definitely be audible at the very least and I shall state if they are there, as well as defining the level of any surface marking.
I will also always provide the best images I can of the actual record surfaces and labels so that bidders can actually SEE the condition of the record in all respects, (any dust specks you may notice on the images are always inside the damn camera lens assembly!)

I have just played this to check it out once more and I cannot detect any audible degradation, it still sounds fresh and sparkling, despite it’s age, and is very representative of the hard proto punk sound of Mick Farren's bands of the time.

The famous "NAZI" storm trooper, non flipback cover is the original, being a "Clarifoil" laminated front, MacNeill Press UK printed one, in good condition with just two very minor spine creases, no corner wear, no shelf wear, no writing, no stickers and just a tiny amount of pressure ring rubbing visible on the cellophane above the "MONA" on the front. The rear cover is also laminated, with only a very slight lifting of the film by the spine and at the bottom where there is a minor crease I think and some light pressure rubbing.
(Scroll down to see the large images to check the reflections in the angled images I have given of this cover to see for yourselves how good this cover really is)

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The sleeve is the original and correct simple cream coloured paper type and has no folds, no writing or marks and without the age browning that is typical of these early coarse papers.

Using the Record Collector grading system, the vinyl is thus MINT on both sides, the cover and sleeve are also EXCELLENT.

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So the provenance for this record is great, as I can vouch for it’s history from new; generally, all my records were purchased new by me and are from my own personal collection, built up since the early 1960’s and have genuinely been played very little and then only on quality turntables, (Garrard Zero 100, Lab 80 and Goldring GL75), set up with a low tracking force, using Shure, then Grado then Stanton cartridges over the years.
All records have been dry stored, vertically, in the dark in a proper custom made record shelving system and only ever played by myself and NEVER loaned to anyone and especially, never, ever partied!

If you are interested in early British R & B and Progressive Rock Bands and the USA West Coast bands of the time then please add me to your favourites as I do have some rarities that I have never seen on eBay.
I generally do not go in for all the b******s about rare first pressings and the excessive detailing of group histories that I see other sellers boring eBay members with, but have put more details in than usual as this band are not well known, and will describe the records honestly, just indicating the basics.

The packed weight of this item is estimated at 490g and signed for postage via 2nd class Recorded Delivery is shown as £2.69 to UK addresses, insured to £41.00, (if the final value goes over this, then I shall send it Special Delivery in the UK, insured to £500.00 at £5.50).
International shipping will be via Airsure or International Signed For small packets rate; International bidders can check for themselves the postal costs at the www.royalmail.co.uk web site; for example, the Airsure Small Packet rate to Germany and most of the EU is £8.75, increasing to £11.25, insured to £500.00 should the final bid go over £41.00. (To the USA & Canada, these prices rise to £11.77 & £14.27 respectively; to Japan, Australia & NZ the record has to go via the International Signed For Small Packets service at £11.12 & £13.62 respectively)
All records are now protected with Jiffy foam and packed into the heaviest grade of mailer I could find with two of the heaviest available stiffener boards and so I do now add a charge at cost of £0.70 to the above prices for the foam and the heavy grade mailer & boards set.
Records are generally sent within their paper sleeves, inserted into a separate bag and over-wrapped with new Jiffy foam for protection, the cover is placed in it’s own plastic protection bag for in-transit water damage protection, then placed with the record between the boards and taped up on all edges for overall shipping protection prior to insertion into the mailer.
This protects the sleeve from record edge cut through as I want my customers to get their records and sleeves undamaged, but if you wish me to use another method of packing, please ask.
No packing charges are added, other than the materials cost; you just pay what I pay to send it!

The small print, but please read it

NB: This item may be picked up in person, or will be despatched securely, on a traceable and insured service only, so it will need to be signed for on delivery; I will not send it to a PO box, or care of a business address without written acceptance of your liability for loss, theft or damage; the delivery address must also tally with the registered address within both eBay and PayPal.

Carriage charges, where indicated, are for UK (zone 1) post codes only. If you are in other zones or are an overseas bidder, you can get an estimate of carriage costs by checking with the www.royalmail.co.uk web site, choosing the International Shipping option, and then entering the estimated shipping weight shown above, tick "packet" and choose Airsure and an insurance value appropriate to the item's final value.

Payment may be by bank transfer, Pay Pal, cash if collecting in person, or cheque, but please note that I am now very reluctant to accept cheques over £100 net and am also advised by the bank that I must wait at least 12 working days for clearance on both cheques and bank transfers before items can be despatched or picked up; this means that items will not be released on average until two weeks have elapsed from a transfer or a cheque's deposit at the bank, so please be patient!
NB: If you wish to pay by postal order(s), you should be aware that these are treated exactly the same as cheques now and so you should contact me first before sending any.

Please confirm your full address and landline telephone number when completing the transaction via the eBay and PayPal notes system to avoid delays on despatch; I now check identifies before sending items because of fraud attempts

I now also reserve the right to cancel your bid if you have zero or very low/bad feedback; if you are in this situation, you must provide me with your full details by e-mail prior to bidding to avoid this action, and please remember that this auction is in £ Sterling (GBP) and not $ US or Euros or whatever! You can also forget it if you think I will fall for money laundering attempts. All attempts at fraud or deception will be reported and the perpetrator blocked at once!

I will immediately cancel the bids of anyone who has only just joined eBay, or is bidding from Cambodia or Nigeria, etc. (including any winning bids at the last second); sorry, but I am fed up with losing fees that eBay will not refund!