Pink Floyd ?– The Dark Side Of The Moon

March 1973 - UK First Issue - Original & complete
1973 first UK issue, with A2 B2 run-out matrices, and Solid Blue Triangle labels. Midnight Blue gatefold sleeve, with Purple Hype Sticker, is in Excellent condition, no splits, tears or writing.
(I have taken a pic of this issue next to a Black issue sleeve, with hype sticker, so you can see that it IS Midnight Blue, as it can be hard to tell in the pictures)
Complete with Two posters (Original, wide border, low gloss finish EX) and Two stickers (Original, "Permanent" backings, unique to UK 1st issues, and a tiny amount of very early 2nd issues), and original Black, poly lined inner sleeve with patent numbers.

The vinyl is in Excellent condition, other than the start of "Us And Them", which has a handful of light pops sitting faintly in the background, nothing ugly, and still a good listen Side One is EX 
Side Two is VG+

The labels are in fantastic condition, no writing, very clean, minimal signs of use, with a clean and unworn spindle hole....
The spindle holes have been punched dead centre on both labels, which is not normal, these are notoriously pressed off centre, often leaving a part of the Black spot marking the centre of the label, exposed and looking ugly around the centre of the label. Also, it looks better spinning on the turntable when punched dead centre... a small and not often considered little detail.

The constant audio is brilliant....
The vinyl record has not been played much, the dynamics are still top notch, the stereo image / separation is well defined, the audio is crisp & sharp.

The vinyl record is EX
The labels are NM The gate-fold cover is EX
The posters are EX  (original)
The stickers are NM  (original)
The Inner sleeve is EX  (Original Black, poly lined, made in Great Britain with patent numbers)

Weighs over 500 grams, unpacked, but at under 1kg, there is plenty of room for excessive packaging. Insurance on the package is recommended, and can be arranged at cost price through Australia Post. Will be well packed, with record outside of the sleeves, in a new transit poly inner, well stiffened, and double boxed.

Label: Harvest ?– SHVL 804, Harvest ?– 1E 064 o 05249 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold Sleeve
Country: UK Released: 24 Mar 1973 Genre: Rock Style: Prog Rock, Psychedelic Rock

Tracklist Hide Credits

A1 Speak To Me
A2 Breathe
A3 On The Run
A4 Time
A5 The Great Gig In The Sky Vocals – Clare Torry
B1 Money Saxophone – Dick Parry
B2 Us And Them Saxophone – Dick Parry
B3 Any Colour You Like
B4 Brain Damage
B5 Eclipse

Companies, etc.

• Record Company – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Published By – World Copyrights Ltd.
• Pressed By – The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
• Pressed By – EMI Records Ltd.
• Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.

Credits

• Artwork [Sleeve Art, Stickers Art] – George Hardie N.T.A.*
• Backing Vocals – Barry St. John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, Liza Strike
• Bass, Vocals, Synthesizer [VCS3], Effects [Tape] – Roger Waters
• Design [Sleeve], Photography By – Hipgnosis (2)
• Engineer – Alan Parsons
• Engineer [Assistant] – Peter James
• Keyboards, Vocals, Synthesizer [VCS3] – Richard Wright
• Lyrics By – Roger Waters
• Music By – Pink Floyd
• Percussion, Effects [Tape] – Nick Mason
• Producer – Pink Floyd
• Supervised By [Mixing] – Chris Thomas
• Vocals, Guitar, Synthesizer [Vcs3] – David Gilmour
• Written-By – Gilmour* (tracks: A2 to A4, B3), Mason* (tracks: A1, A4, B3), Wright* (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B2, B3), Waters* (tracks: A2 to A4, B1, B2, B4, B5)

Notes

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London between June 1972 and January 1973.

? 1973 The Gramophone Co. Ltd.
Made in Gt. Britain

E.M.I Records (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.) Hayes · Middlesex · England
File under POPULAR : Pop Groups
_______________

This is the original form of the release, it has solid light blue prism LP picture labels with silver lettering, later forms have an empty prism. It has a gatefold sleeve, and there are three known variations of the original blue-tinged sleeve - see below. Originally delivered with 2 posters and 2 stickers.

There are 2 systems for track numbering on the release. The cover lists the titles A1 to B5 (used in this submission). The labels however number the tracks from (a) to (i) so, for example, "Breathe" is listed as "(a)(II)" on the label but "2" on the cover (see images).

The following is a guide to identifying all of the elements that make up the first pressing:

1. The label has a solid light blue prism. Subsequent pressings have a blue glowing inner edge prism with the centre black.
2. 'The Gramophone Co.' text starts at 10 o'clock on label.
3. A-2/B-2 matrix stamps appear in the runout area.
4. Thick heavyweight vinyl believed by some to be the 'finest' and most true encapsulation of this historical recording as the first pressing was pressed direct from the original masterplate.
5. There is a distinct bluish tint/tinge in the black ink of the cover.
6. There are three known original sleeve variations. 1. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is sealed with the two sides glued together. 2. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is sealed with a fold over flap that is glued inside the opening. 3. The right front opening of the gatefold cover is not sealed. A known 2/2 matrix, 1 mother, G stamper copy came with (3), an unglued and non-'folded in' sleeve at time of release, which hints at the possibility that very first pressings did not come with glued flaps, which is where the poster and stickers were located.
7. Inner sleeve is a distinctive polythene lined die cut black semi matt paper with white printed text stating 2 patent numbers bottom left [1125555/1072844] and 'MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN' bottom right.
8. Posters and stickers were printed on paper stock that has a rough texture (later pressings used paper that was gloss laminated).
9. Stickers have printed backs with diagonal lines across them, and the words 'Fasson' 'FasPrint' and 'Crack-Back'.
10. Some copies came with a small round sticker white text on blueish black stating 'Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon', while some others do not.
____________

This first edition was initially pressed by The Gramophone Co. Ltd., from July 1st, 1973 by its legal successor, EMI Records Ltd. at the same plant.
International E.M.I. catalog number 1E 064 o 05249 appears in small fonts and parentheses on the cover rear.

Note on Credits:
Though credited for the entire album, Barry St John, Doris Troy, Lesley Duncan, and Liza Strike perform backing vocals only on tracks A4, B2, B4, and B5.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Label A): SHVL 804A
• Matrix / Runout (Label B): SHVL 804B

A few words about condition.

Grade & 
score out of 100
                                           GRADING
Mint is a Rigid Band - The next Four Grades are all Narrow Bands, that slightly widen as the condition gradually deteriorates - Good is still Good, but there is a rapid widening of the Grade Bands, as the condition deteriorates over the last Four grades.

MINT
100
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.
Only graded on records that are sealed or clearly unplayed.
 
NEAR MINT
97 to 99        

EXCELLENT
90 to 96
The record shows virtually no signs of having been played,  there is no lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have the slightest of tiny defects.
 
The record shows some slight signs of having been played, but there is very little, (if any) lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have very slight wear. 
 
VERY GOOD PLUS
80 to 89

VERY GOOD
69 to 79
The record shows signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality.
The cover and  packaging might have slight wear, light creasing.

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.
This is an above average used record, that has been well looked after.




GOOD
56 to 68
The record has been played so much that the sound quality has deteriorated, but the record will still play through, and it will not be a completely unpleasant listening experience, even at the bottom of this grade (56).
The cover and contents may suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc. 




FAIR
41 to 55
The record is still playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even stick, skip or jump.. This is starting to be an unpleasant listening experience at the top of the grade (55) and will not be a pleasant listening experience at all by the end of it (41).
The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced. 
 
POOR
25 to 40
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
0 - 24
The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection-filler.
The Sleeve is non existent (0) or what is left, is only just recognisable.

A few words about postage.

Within Australia, the best value for multiple purchases is a 5KG satchel, where as many as 15 to 20 LPs can be posted for $22.00 registered post. (well packed in a box, inside the satchel)

My Policies on postage are simple.

I post at cost.
The user pays.
I package well.

Any item that you purchase without choosing the option of "Signed for" or "Registered" Post, is at your risk.
I do accept that "signed for" can be expensive, especially internationally, but whether you take the option of this insurance, is entirely up to you.
I do not wish to withdraw the option of standard postage for the cheaper records, but it must be at your risk.