SLAPP HAPPY – SCARCE ORIG UK 1974 EX++ EXAMPLE + VERY RARE BOOK, PLAYS SUPERBLY

	£		72
	$		95

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrive damaged in them at some time. Here, you get what you pay for – SAFE PACKING in BOXES using 7mm DOUBLE-WALL STIFFENERS. Full details nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘2-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important for any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

FINALLY: Late payers, non-payers and ‘0’ bidders will now be blocked or cancelled at my discretion. As will any bidder who cancels a bid. I do not like this practice as it is most often used to phish out the price to beat. Ebay does not approve and neither do I – so only bid on my items if you want them.

Artist or Band: SLAPP HAPPY

Album Title: Slapp Happy

Producer(s): Slapp Happy and Steve Morse

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Casablanca Moon; Me and Parvati; Half Way There; Michelangelo; Dawn; Mr. Rainbow.

Side 2: The Secret; A Little Something; The Drum; Haiku; Slow Moon’s Rose.

Label/Format: Virgin – original coloured virgins format with matt, smooth surfaces.

Label Conditions: Both very clean, fresh and attractive with hardly a spindle trace to be seen. I know for certain this record has hardly been played, the one-owner put this direct to cassette tape and stored it away. You will rarely find a better looking, sounding, cleaner original – AND, it includes the very rare booklet.

Cat Number: V 2014

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 126 grams. Around average for it’s era.

Country of Manufacture: England

Rarity: A scarce record, never commercial. A tiny few first run copies included a small lyric booklet which are genuinely rare – this is the very first I have ever seen or had. Most examples of this record that surface will rarely ever include it, in terms of unit made for this booklet, it has to be one of the rarest standard issue inserts put inside a rock album.

Original Year of Release: 1974

Matrix Nos: V 2014 A-4U / V 2014 B-3U

Mothers / Stampers: 1 T / 1 H

Musicians: Anthony Moore – keyboards; Peter Blegvad – second vocals, guitar; Dagmar Krause – lead vocals. With: Marc Singer – drums; Dave Wintour – bass guitar; Graham Preskett – violin, mandolin; Roger Wootton – backing vocals; Eddie Sparrow – drums, congas, whistles, etc.; Jean Hervé Peron – bass guitar; Clare Deniz – cello; Nick Worters – double bass; Jeremy Baines – sausage bassoon; Andy Leggett – jugs; Clem Cattini – drums; Henry Lowther – trumpet; Geoff Leigh – saxophones; Keshave Sathe – tablas, tamboura.

Brief Info: Slapp Happy were an Anglo-German experimental band and went on to record two collaboration albums with fellow experimental art-rockers Henry Cow. This was their second album under their own name, it was originally to be titled ‘Casablanca Moon’. However, after the total failure of their debut album ‘Sort Of’, a slightly more commercial sound was wanted by Polydor records. ‘Casablanca Moon’ was first recorded for Polydor with Faust as the backing band – it was not issued, as again, it was deemed uncommercial. So Slapp Happy signed to Virgin and rerecorded and retitled the album as ‘Slapp Happy’ with new backing musicians. Still hardly mainstream listening for most, and, predictably, selling in small numbers. Vocals are largely handled by Dagmar Krause. A very fine album blending avant garde pop and rock, never an easy one to find and one of the more obscure albums on the still fledgling Virgin label that specialised in these more experimental acts of time. As stated further up, and seen in my picture, it includes the rare and elusive small lyric booklet. It may appear quite basic in design, but do not be fooled. On paper (no pun really intended), this looks easy to fake, but this would prove close to impossible to any one who has seen the real thing. The light grey cover is plain and simply. But the inner biscuit coloured paper is thin with a delicate textured surface, and importantly, has a very complex watermark made into the paper as seen when put to light. Intricate design ‘antique’ looking paper, the watermark appearing like a floral design, easily seen, but complex and indistinct. So any booklet printed on standard paper will not be the genuine article. Few copies of this scarce enough album – and this copy in superb all-round Excellent++ condition with fantastic sound – will show up better and include this rare little insert. A great opportunity for collectors, both cover and record could indeed prove a major upgrade for some.

Cover Grade and Format: EXCELLENT(++): a single unlaminated format with matt, smooth surfaces. Printed and made in England by Robor Ltd, includes the plain white inner sleeve and the lyric booklet.

Cover Front: A very impressive front with little to fault. A difficult dark cover that often rubs and ages, this has very little to fault. Any minor blemishes small and light seen under light with barely any creasing. Clean, fresh and attractive with no sticker issues, they seldom surface better.

Cover Back: Largely the same all-round. Any rim impression gentle and light with no penetrating ring wear. The flats at the spine ends or minor folding creasing nearby is the result of the spine being gently pinched in manufacture.

Top Edge:Perfect straight and unworn.

Bottom Edge: As above.

Right Edge(s), and Type: Clean and still very sharp with barely any hint of wear. Any thickening or burring minuscule, barely anything at all, even viewed end-on. Record enters on this edge that is guaranteed untrimmed or enhanced.

Spine and Text: A beautiful spine: solid, straight with barely any compression, the ends are gently pinched in manufacture. All text is perfect and unworn, also perfectly centred for good measure, the surface clean and unfaded.

Corners: All in incredible condition with no rubbing and superb better than excellent shape retained, any tip creasing microscopic.

Cover Summary: One of the more elusive early Virgin covers, and rarely will a better example show up. A potential upgrade for some, and most collectors will enjoy it.

The Lyric Booklet: EXCELLENT(+): a small booklet that measures 4 inches x 6 inches (103 x 153 mm) and has 16 pages (including the cover). I had to mark down a little for the tarnishing of the two original staples that have stained the immediate area near them a little – this mostly seen on the outside cover and the very centre of the book. This the only blemishing or ageing evidence on this rare item, all the pages paper is perfect this apart as seen on my pictures. As mentioned further up, the inside pages have complex watermarked paper as seen against a light source – so faking what appears to be a ‘simple’ booklet is little short of impossible. The song lyrics are all in English. Only a tiny number of these were ever made, and is rarely seen or offered – this is 100 per cent genuine and my first ever.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT: a plain solid unlined white inner, gently aged with the usual darkening of the edge seam adhesive. No splits, repairs or creasing of note. As can be seen on the bottom edge of the text side, the booklet staple has left its tarnished mark, clearly the booklet had been left inside undisturbed for many years.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): a superb visual copy that is very clean with equally fine shine and solidly pressed. A copy barely played on all the evidence with any surface trace marks ultra light, very few and faint as seen critically under bright angled light. Nothing more than super-fine hairlines that barely even register visually. No penetrating stylus scratches and visually a beautiful early Virgin record that should please most collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or minuscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: This elusive, quality album plays even above it’s high visual grading with barely anything to fault. Offering strong, distortion-free sound, all frequencies are sharp and clear - sound quality is very high with a wide dynamic range and very detailed sound. Any surface sounds barely even registered and this is an exceptional clean pressing with no tracking issues*. Beautifully pressed, few copies will match or outperform this very early pressing I feel sure. Both channels are clean and sharp, I know this record has hardly been played and has been very well stored and carefully handled. Nothing spoilt my pleasure when play-grading this wonderful record. It will prove immensely difficult to find better (and with the book) and can be strongly recommended.

* As played-graded on a high-end Linn LP12 Sondek turntable with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge tracking at 2.2 grams.

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay as I Play-Grade every record I offer in their entirety – also on higher-end equipment – not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean it’s good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. Room light factors can make things vary sometimes, that is hard to control, especially in winter. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Quintet Black moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2.2 grams). Amps: Naim Supernait 2 with Project USB phono stage and Tellerium Black interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Tellurium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting, better quality packaging costs, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is minuscule in over 14 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE – they offer next-to-no-protection, and should be banned, no ‘professional’ should consider using them in my opinion. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of TWO days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the bid, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site as will any suspicious bids or bid withdrawals. Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £7.50. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £1 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.