Smash Hits Christmas '82 Flexi Privilege Hard Pressing 7" Single

	£		26
	$		34

Smash Hits Christmas '82 Flexi Privilege Hard Pressing

Featuring Various Artists

Lyntone Label, Cat. No. 12570 / 1

Plays at 33 1/3 rpm.

This is a thick vinyl pressing (not flexi) of the 'Happy Christmas' From The Stars Flexi disc that was given away free (I presume) with Smash Hits Magazine in 1982.  With reference to the listing for this record in Discogs it includes the following artists:

Abba, ABC, Adam And, Bananarama, Bucks Fizz, Captain Sensible, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Fun Boy Three, Haircut One Hundred, Imagination, The Jam, Madness, Mari Wilson, Musical Youth, Piranhas, Police, Steve Strange, Toyah, and Ultravox.

Both labels are plain white with the exception of one side that has a stuck-on label.  It comes in the white generic sleeve that it came to us in but will will also put it in a clean and new sleeve.

Matrix Nos / Runout

Side A: LYN-12570-1S

Side B: LYN-12571-1S

Please Note: I visually and carefully examine all my records under a strong 35w halogen lamp, which shows up ALL marks that need to be seen and is far superior to any other light source for examining vinyl.  Please try one of these lamps out (they can be bought from Ikea for about £25) and you will be amazed.  Records inspected under 'normal' lighting will not show up nearly as many marks as a halogen lamp, and sometimes none at all even when they are present!

Vinyl Condition

Viewed under the halogen lamp both sides have just a few faint marks, not scratches but a little bit heavier than 'hairline' sleeve withdrawal marks.  There is the tiniest 'nick' on Side A (the benefits of inspecting under a lamp!) and it really is a pin-prick of a 'nick'. I think it won't cause a problem but if you find it does we won't hesitate to give a refund to you if returned within 14 days.  

The problem is that I cannot play-grade the record.  As you can see from the photo, the spindle hole is covered by the stuck-on label and I would have to damage the label to play it!  Even trying to peel back the stuck-on label will damage the label underneath, or at least I am not willing to try! One could argue that, because of this, the record has never been played but I will leave that for you to decide!

Labels

As mentioned above, the labels are plain white with the exception of the stuck-on label on one side.  Both labels are clean and unmarked but are showing some signs of ageing.  Just to repeat, the stuck-on label is undamaged, which does mean that you will have to push the spindle through it to play the record.  A bit unusual I know!

Sleeve

The generic sleeve has some very minor soiling but that is all.

Grading (Record / Cover):

VERY GOOD +  /  VERY GOOD 

Grading Guide - Important!

I visually examine all records under a strong 35w halogen lamp, which shows up ALL defects.  Most sellers do not do this and, as a consequence, records graded under other sub-standard lighting, including normal room lights, will appear in far better condition than they really are.  Some even appear unmarked when, in reality, they are very scratched.  I grade my records according to the Rare Record Price Guide (with the addition of the Near Mint grade), which means, to me, as follows:

Mint - Must be sealed or I must have evidence that it has never been played.

Near Mint - Totally unmarked, no scratches, not even faint 'hairlines' / sleeve withdrawal marks.

Excellent - No scratches, just the odd faint 'hairline' or sleeve withdrawal mark that is barely visible under a strong lamp.

Very Good - The first mild scratches have begun to appear, but only very, very few.

Good - More scratches than Very Good and more severe, but I am confident that the record will play through with no problems and will still provide a good listening experience.

Fair - The record may not play through properly with a chance of it jumping, or it will play with significant background noise.

Poor - It definitely won't play without skipping or sticking.

Below Excellent I will use plus or minus with a grade to highlight fine differences.

I also sometimes play-grade records and the final grade is a combination of how it plays and looks.

Cover Grades

My cover grades are exactly as stated in the Record Collector magazine / Rare Record Price Guide as follows:

Mint: The cover and any extra items are in perfect condition

Excellent: The cover and packaging might have slight wear and/or creasing

Very Good: Normal wear and tear on the cover is acceptable

Good: The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration etc.

Fair: The cover and contents will be torn, stained and/or defaced.

A NOTE ABOUT COVER GRADES!  If the cover is torn or has been written on (ie. 'defaced') then it cannot grade better than Fair.  This is quite clear in the RC/RRPG descriptions and I fail to understand how other sellers can misinterpret this.  Please be aware of this because I have lost count of the number of sellers grading covers with writing on or torn as 'Excellent', and if the cover grade is way off how can you trust the vinyl grade?

All vinyl is dispatched using stiffeners and card mailers.

IMPORTANT - Please wait for an invoice before paying.  The postage costs given here are only an estimate - postage costs could vary according to where you live and I do not want to overcharge you.  I also want to ensure that the postage service matches your requirements.  If you have a preference for a particular Royal Mail postage service, please let me know as soon as possible otherwise I will choose a service based on your location and item value.  As a rough guide postage will be as follows:

Standard Post: UK £1.49; Europe £3.99; Rest of the World £4.99

Signed For: UK £2.49; Europe £8.99; Rest of the World £9.99

This record has been donated to Oxfam Books & Music in Bedford, UK. We always have a small but excellent display of vinyl of all genres.  I have been successfully selling vinyl for Oxfam for over 5 years on an almost daily basis, having valued tens of thousands of records in that time and sold just as many.

100% of the proceeds from the sale of this record will go to Oxfam GB.