PINK FLOYD 1st UK PRESS SOLID A2/B2 DARK SIDE OF THE MOON BLUE COVER, ONE POSTER

	£		199
	$		264

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Here is an original 1st pressing of Dark Side of the Moon. It has been fully-play-graded, very strictly, using the UK Record Collector Grading system. This is a playable copy and the whole record plays through with no jumps or skips. It is complete with the original 'Midnight Blue' cover. It also has one poster.

This has the following 1st press matrix numbers:

Side 1: SHVL 804 A-2

Side 2: SHVL 804 B-2

Detailed description

Vinyl: The vinyl has has obviously been well-played and not treated with particular care and shows lots of marks, scuffs, hairlines and scratches. But the good news is that it plays much better than you might expect from its appearance, especially on side one.  I have played the entire record, twice, in full from start to finish and it plays surprisingly well compared to its appearance, especially on side one. Please note that this copy does NOT have the pressed skip in 'Money' often found on first pressings - and there are no jumps or skips anywhere else on the whole record. Needless to say, considering its appearance, there is background noise, crackle and some clicks, especially in the run-ins/outs, fades, segues and quiet parts. Like most Pink Floyd albums Dark side of the Moon has lots of quiet and sparsely arranged passages and there are some sections which are always 'difficult' on original vinyl copies of this album (e.g. the long-fade explosion noise at the end of 'On the Run', the heart-beat fade-in at the beginning and fade-out at the end of the album, the quiet end section of ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’, the intro and quiet sections of ‘Us and Them’ etc), and this copy is no exception, but despite its appearance it is not significantly worse in some of these parts (especially on side one) than copies I've heard that LOOKED much better. On side one, there's not much else to mention that isn't covered by the above description, apart from a short repeating click in the fade and run-out at the very end of the side, but that was the only repeating click I heard on side one and some parts of it, such as the loud bits of 'Time' or 'The Great Gig in the Sky', sounded great. When I acquired it, it was play-graded as Very Good on side one, so obviously there are people who would grade it as that, but personally I think that is too optimistic and so, grading very strictly, I think it should be play-graded around Good Plus (G+) to Very Good Minus (VG-). For side two the general observations above are all valid, but there are a few more repeating-clicks (in particular in parts of 'Money', 'Us and Them' and 'Brain Damage'), and a higher than acceptable (to me) amount of crackle in the quiet parts of 'Us and Them'. Generally, side two doesn't sound as good as side one, although it too has parts that sound great (such as the loud bits of 'Money'). When I acquired it side two was play-graded between Good and Very Good, but again, I think this a bit optimistic, so grading very strictly, I think side two should probably be play-graded around Fair (F) to Good Minus (G-), but it doesn't jump or skip anywhere, so I wouldn't put it any lower. This is clearly not a copy for someone looking for audio perfection, but parts of it are still very listenable and side one isn't bad at all. Please note that the visual grading for both sides is lower than the audio grades given here, especially for side one.

Labels: Both labels show typical signs of age and use, with some wear, fading and marks, and plenty of spindle marking, suggesting that the record was relatively well-played.

Sleeve: This is the original 'midnight blue' cover. It has no splits or tears but shows various signs of wear, age and use, including ring-wear, corner wear, edge-wear, spine-wear, creases etc. There is some indentation on the back that has been touched-in .

Inner sleeve: Comes with a black inner sleeve but this is NOT ORIGINAL.

Poster: There is just the band poster (no stickers or pyramid poster). The band poster has some small surface damage to the print in one panel, a corner repair and some foxing to the rear. All these issues are shown in the photos.

Detracting features not covered above:  Clearly not for a fussy collector or an audiophile, but it is a playable copy being offered at a bargain price, so might be suitable for someone looking for a cheap, original example.

All photographs are of the actual item for sale. Please 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 = £4.95, 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 = £14.95, each additional item = an extra £2.20 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £11.95, each additional item = an extra £1.00 P&P charge.

Rest of the world:

First LP or 12" record = £24.95, each additional item = an extra £2.20 P&P charge.

First 7" record = £14.95, each additional item = an extra £1.00 P&P charge.