The Beatles : Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band 1967 (1st 1/1 Mono Pressing)

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 1/1 First pressing on Yellow/Black Parlophone label.  'The Gramophone Co. Ltd' etc is printed around the perimeter edge of the labels.

'Sold in U.K. subject to resale price conditions' etc printed below the Parlophone labels.  The K T tax stamp is on either side of the spindle hole on Side One.

Parlophone PMC 7027

Matrix / Side One XEX 637 - 1 // Mother Stampers OP 3

Matrix / Side Two XEX 638 - 1 // Mother Stampers PP 4

The audio is Ex+ (many sections play as Near Mint)

The cover is Near Mint

The labels are Near Mint-

The inner is Ex+

The Sgt Pepper Cut-Out card is Mint-

Visual grading

This vinyl and cover has been incredibly well cared for by its one previous owner.  The vinyl is visually stunning and only has one obvious hairline on each side that do not affect the sound quality.  There are a handful of other very faint hairlines that have obviously been caused by sleeve removal.  But quite honestly this vinyl looks absolutely amazing!  The glossy sheen just has to be seen to be believed and as per some of the other Beatles LPs I am selling they have all been so well preserved over the last 50 or so years.  The cover more than matches the audio also and is the cleanest I have ever seen, visually stunning again.  A real collectors' copy and genuine final upgrade.

Play grading  

The title track has very little lead in static and then plays with wonderful quality and only a few light dust ticks.  There is no intrusive crackle, only a little distortion which is probably due to this mono record being played on my stereo system.  'A Little Help From My Friends' plays in impeccable style and rarely have I heard better.  The audio is stunning and the clarity is of the highest quality possible.  The classic 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' plays equally as well with sublime audio.  'Getting Better' has a couple of quiet dull pops in the middle but still has great audio with only very light static.  'Fixing A Hole' plays with amazing depth and quality and I have honestly never heard better on a first 1/1 mono pressing.  'She's Leaving Home' plays extremely well but does have some light static/distortion.  Do not let this put you off though as it still sounds fantastic!  '...Mr Kite' ends Side One with stunning clarity and barely any background noise.  A wonderful end to a side that plays with overall high end audio. 

Side Two begins with no lead in static, just so rare on a record of this age.  'Within You Without You' then plays as near to Mint as is possible.  It would be impossible to improve upon the depth and richness of the sound here.  'When I'm Sixty-Four' plays very clearly with just a touch of very quiet intermittent static.  However, it is in no way intrusive and remains a quality listen.  The remainder of the side plays wonderfully well with again just a hint of static here and there.  'A Day In The Life' is a highlight and plays so clearly with just a little light crackle towards the end.

In summary this is a high quality first mono pressing.  I know I mention static sound a lot but I am only being complete in my grading and again I would not be surprised if it largely disappeared when this classic record is played on a mono system.  In saying that it still plays incredibly well with no loud crackle or pops at all.  With a fantastic cover that is almost Mint this is a stunning genuine final upgrade copy.

Gatefold cover

This G & L gatefold is without doubt the best I have seen, just look at the photos!  The laminate throughout remains in near perfect condition with only one small 'bubble' on the bottom right corner.  The edges are immaculate and the spine is visually in great shape and is still 100% legible but feels very slightly rough over one small area.  Hardly worth mentioning really!  Even the corners barely have any rubbing.  The inside of the gatefold and the back cover are just perfect.  There is no staining to the flipbacks at all.  There is no creasing, marks etc anywhere to be seen and I honestly believe it would be nigh on impossible to find a better gatefold.  It will be 50 years old this year and the previous owner has preserved this cover beautifully.  It is literally just a shade off Mint and would not disappoint any avid collector.

Red and White Inner sleeve

The original red and white 'fool' inner sleeve is in excellent condition with no splits, tears or marks.  It only has some mild creasing as you would expect.  It has 'Made in Great Britain' and 'Patents Applied For' printed on the bottom of one side.

Sgt. Pepper Cut-Outs

This is absolutely immaculate!  It is still 100% intact and has no wear or marks at all.

Labels

The yellow/black Parlophone labels are in excellent condition with only some spindle wear, no marks or writing at all.   As stated it has the K T tax mark stamped on Side One.

Play tested on my Technics SL-J110R turntable system

Parlophone PMC 7027

Matrix / Side One XEX 637 - 1 // Mother Stampers OP 3

Matrix / Side Two XEX 638 - 1 // Mother Stampers PP 4

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