The Beatles : HELP! 1965 (1st Mono Presssing)

I recently purchased a Beatles collection and the majority of them are Mono first pressings.  They have been incredibly well looked after by the one previous owner and she stored them all upright in plastic sleeves since the 60s.  They have only been lightly played and the covers are in wonderful condition.  Any minor wear will be fully described.  There will be no 'buy it now' price as I prefer to let the auctions run.

  Mono 2/2 First pressing on Yellow/Black label.  'The Gramophone Co. Ltd' etc printed around the perimeter edge.

'Sold in U.K. subject to resale price conditions' printed below the Parlophone labels.  This also has the K T tax stamp on either side of the spindle hole on Side Two.

Parlophone PMC 1255

Matrix / Side One XEX 549 - 2 // Mother Stampers LA 7

Matrix / Side Two XEX 550 - 2 // Mother Stampers AP 3

The audio on S1 is Ex+ (the first two tracks are VG+)

The audio on S2 is Ex+ (the first two tracks are Ex-)

The cover is Ex+

The labels are Ex+

The original inner is Ex+

Visual grading

Side One still has a lovely glossy sheen to it and there are only 2/3 faint hairlines and no scratches of any note.  It is visually stunning apart from one fingerprint mark on 'Help!' and part of 'The Night Before'.  Side Two does have a couple of stain type marks over a small area on the first four tracks but have barely any affect on the audio.  Other than that it is supremely clean and plays with excellent audio as described below.

Play grading  

'Help' has a little static at the beginning and then plays with a faint swish type sound per each revolution of the record.  Despite that the track plays very clearly and with no other interference.  The 'swish' is a little louder towards the end of the track and then continues for the first minute of 'The Night Before' and then the remainder of this track plays with wonderful audio.  I'm sure the 'swish' is due to a fingerprint mark so perhaps the sound could be improved with a professional clean.   The rest of the side plays with sublime audio and could almost be graded as Near Mint in my opinion.  The depth and clarity is of very high quality and yes there is a little static on the final two tracks but it does not interfere with the listening and again could be due to this mono record being played through my stereo system.

'Act Naturally' has no crackle or clicks and plays with very clear audio.  The only interference is a faint swish type sound you can hear on the first half but quite honestly it does not impair the listening enjoyment and is very much in the background.  The remaining tracks play with exemplary audio with just a little intermittent crackle.  Do not let this put you off - this record is over half a century old and plays with such clarity it was a real pleasure to listen to.  You don't often find a first 2/2 mono pressing with audio as good as this.  'Yesterday' plays with incredible depth and clarity and so little background interference.  Only the final track 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' plays with a little distortion.

It is worth noting that there is complete silence between almost every track on both sides so I am sure any distortion type sound will disappear when played on a mono system.

Cover

The G & L cover is in fabulous condition and has only very minimal wear.  The edges and spine are in superlative condition and have no rubbing at all, such a rarity for a cover of this age.  Even the corners have hardly any shelf wear.  The laminated front cover remains in wonderful shape with only a couple of minor creases.  The whole cover is just so clean and free of any marks.  Just look at the back cover!  The flipbacks are in near immaculate condition with only a couple of tiny marks and one small crease bottom left.  A great looking cover and a final upgrade copy!

Inner sleeve

The original polylined 'Emitex' sleeve is in excellent condition with no splits, just minor creasing.

Labels

The yellow/black Parlophone labels are in excellent condition with only some spindle wear, no marks or writing at all.

Play tested on my Technics SL-J110R turntable system

Parlophone PMC 1255

Matrix / Side One XEX 549 - 2 // Mother Stampers LA 7

Matrix / Side Two XEX 550 - 2 // Mother Stampers AP 3

Any questions please feel free to ask

Please pay within 4 days of auction end

I SHIP WORLDWIDE BUT WHEN SHIPPING ITEMS TO ITALY, RUSSIA AND SOUTH AMERICA I WILL ONLY SEND THEM "TRACKED/SIGNED FOR" AS TOO MANY ITEMS GO MISSING AND THIS COSTS AN ADDITIONAL £6.00.  PLEASE ONLY BID IF YOU AGREE WITH THIS.

COMBINED POSTAGE IS ALWAYS OFFERED WHEN MORE THAN ONE ITEM IS WON.

ALL VINYLS ARE PACKED IN PROFESSIONAL MAILERS WITH CARDBOARD STIFFENERS.  THEY ARE ALSO PLACED IN SEPARATE SLEEVES AND PLACED OUTSIDE THE COVER TO AVOID SEAM SPLITS IN THE POST.

I WILL LEAVE FEEDBACK AS SOON AS I RECEIVE FEEDBACK - SO I KNOW THE ITEM WAS RECEIVED SAFELY AND THAT YOU ARE HAPPY WITH IT.  IF YOU ARE NOT ENTIRELY HAPPY WITH YOUR PURCHASE PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE LEAVING FEEDBACK AND I WILL ALWAYS RESOLVE ANY PROBLEM, 100% GUARANTEED.  I WILL ALSO PAY THE RETURN POSTAGE COST IF I AM AT FAULT - yes this can happen as I am only human!!

In the coming weeks and months I will be putting plenty of Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and Marillion items on the site so please keep a look out!  Many thanks.  Please look at my other items on now!

FOR ITEMS SENT OVERSEAS I WOULD SERIOUSLY RECOMMEND "TRACKED/SIGNED FOR" ESPECIALLY FOR ITEMS SELLING OVER £40.00.  IT PROTECTS US BOTH IF ITEMS GET LOST OR DAMAGED IN THE POST AND COSTS AN EXTRA £6.00 SO PLEASE JUST ASK IF YOU WOULD PREFER THIS. 

UK POSTAGE RATES (SECOND CLASS)

LPs/12" singles : £4.95 (recorded) then £0.75 per extra item 

7" singles / CDs : £1.95 then £0.35 per extra

EUROPE 

LPs/12" singles : £7.95 then £1.25 per extra 

7" singles / CDs : £3.95 then £0.95 per extra 

REST OF WORLD  

LPs/12" singles : £10.95 then £1.75 per extra

7" singles / CDs : £4.95 then £0.95 per extra